I have a fear of falling on the ice. It doesn't happen very often, but when I fall, I typically land on my knees (ouch). This fear has held me back in my back crossovers and my jumps.

Tonight, my husband and I were walking from a dark parking lot to a restaurant when I tripped over an unseen and unmarked curb, landed on both knees and did a somersault, ending up flat on my back with my legs up in the air! Both knees got skinned, but nothing is broken (except maybe my dignity!). After helping me back to my feet and making sure I was okay, my husband said that maybe now I will be bolder in my skating. And you know what? He's right! In fact, as I was falling, I thought "uh oh, if this was ice I would be sliding..."

__________________
http://www.swizzlesandtwizzles.blogspot.com

I think it was the fear of the unknown. I used to be VERY terrified to do spirals. I always imagined myself falling on my face and have all my teeth and nose broken and everything bleeding... I was avoiding spirals for about six months. Then one day I did trip on my toe pick and fell. Yes, it did hurt my knees and elbows, but I found out that it is not as bad as my imagination was making it. Since then suddenly I felt more confident doing it because the thing I alaways feared had happened and it did not kill me, so I knew it was survivable.

Yes but in your case I still might suggest some soft knee pads. The knees are precious to a skater!

This sounds exactly like the parking lot flop I took at the end of this past summer. I was walking to my car with my 3 year old in tow when BLAM! I stepped off a curb that had never been there before (parking lot had just been redone/redesigned) and went down hard. I was sore for at least a week afterwards. Pavement on bare knees is pretty unforgiving. LOL.

Swizzler, go here: http://www.skatingsafe.com/knee.html

I've been wearing the knee and elbow pads for two years and recommend them to EVERYONE. On the first day wearing them, I took a direct hit to the knee and it didn't hurt in the least. Since then I've landed on my knees a number of times, with the same result. You'll be amazed at the number of falls you can endure with these things, and the amount of self-confidence they give you.

Those are the most comfy pads to wear! I actually had the hip pads on when I had a very nasty fall (toe-loop when I missed my toe) and fell flat on my hip! I can't imagine how bad I would have hurt if I hadn't been wearing my pads! (and how much uglier the bruise would have been)

Yes, falling is scary but it does happen in this sport; falling happens walking around my house I'm so ungraceful (I fall up the stairs too hehehe)

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

The lesson I got from a similar fall on a sidewalk with arms full of grocery bags, was that I need to wear padding all the time, not just on the ice!

__________________

Thanks everyone for the great responses; I keep meaning to buy those kneepads (in fact I started a thread a few months ago all about padding!), but I just never seem to get around to it. This has provided the impetus I needed to get going!

Skate@Delaware, how exactly did you miss your toe on a toeloop?

__________________
http://www.swizzlesandtwizzles.blogspot.com

hahaha! it's one of those freak accidents....I went to put my toe down and my foot was almost sideways instead of toe down..... so it did not toe in....I skidded backwards and sideways! It must have looked very scary because my coach came over (she was in another lesson) and asked if I was ok....she saw the whole thing and told me what I had done...dumb, really!

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!