Hi Guys.
Im starting Skating lessons and Figure skating lessons the end of the month, Im having some trouble with my normal skating, I cant keep my feet up straight, they keep on bending to the inside a bit. Im skating on hockey skates at the moment, will this improve with figure skates or are there Techniques to get rid of this problem ?

Regrds
Jo

Properly-fitting boots which are laced tight enough will prevent this, I don't see why it would be different for hockey skates.

Improperly-mounted blades could also cause it, but that's not going to be a factor in your case.

Most likely, it's probably just fear of the outside edge - play with riding the outside edges with crossovers or just glides around a circle. This will go away very quickly as you progress.

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It does take a while to strengthen up your ankles in order to hold a good outside edge. It took me a few hours of practice at the barrier just to stand on one leg for more than half a second. It took about 3 months of skating twice a week to be able to skate without my ankles falling inwards.

You can have fun inventing exercises for yourself. One good one would be to do a series of drapes. Either alternate directions, progressing along the length of the rink; or same direction, "pumping" round in a circle.

A drape is where you stand on two feet, bend your knees, and skate on a tramline curve; but the inside ankle is bent onto a tight outside edge, and the outside ankle is on a less tight inside edge. You need to rock the ankle of the inside foot over to get the correct outside edge. All the weight is on the inside leg, very little on outside leg. There is a gap of 1 or 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) between feet. As you move forward, the body rotates round along with the feet. You could ask an advanced skater to show you (they will be pleased to help!)

When you can do the drapes, try to do alternate outside edges on one foot.

Join a class as soon as you can! You won't start working on outside edges formally for the first four sessions or so. You will begin by learning how to fall well, get up, glide and stop.

Having said that, I think that if you are technically minded, you may enjoy your skating more if you eventually get figure skates, which have a different blade from hockeys.

Hockey skates don't have the support around the ankle that figure boots do because they don't lace as high. Some are really low cut. If the hockey skates are new they're also a pain in the tushie to get pulled tight.

A quick solution for the kiddies is to tape the ankles with shin tape. This is the clear tape that hockey players use to tape their pads and socks and just wrap it around the top of the skates for extra support.

Hi all, thanks for the reply.
I will try all these exercises over the weekend.

What is the best figure skates to start with ?

Depends, it's a very personal matter and the subject of much debate (I'm sure you'll get plenty of recommendations, but really, most brands are good, especially for beginners). Find a good skate fitter - ask around and find out where whe better skaters in your area got their skates, and see who seems the best. Don't make the mistake of going to a lousy boot fitter like I did, or you'll be stuck with ill-fitting skates that you have to replace down the line. Once you find one you trust, tell him that you are just starting out and haven't used figure skates before, and he'll probably recommend something reasonably priced and comfortable to get started in.

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i think you have to tie your skates tighter. It might feel really tight, but as long as you still have circulation, i think thats how its supposed to feel. Enjoy your skating!

oh yeah. My first skates were Jackson Mystique's i think thats what it was..

You're Pronating. Get your feet looked at. Go to a podiatrist. You probably need orthotics to correct the problem. If you do need orthotics like I think you do, you should get a pair for your every day shoes and have your skate footbeds adjusted to match your new orthotics for your shoes. You also may need to move the blades on your boots inwards. But try the podiatrist first. Don't do everything all at once.

Brigitte, a fellow pronator who wears orthotics in both my shoes and skates.

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You're rushing to conclusions FAR TOO FAST. Nearly every new person on the ice I see makes the same mistake that kodlan is describing, it doesn't mean they have pronation.

Pronation isn't necessarily a problem either - my feet pronate somewhat and I do not need orthotics at all. I certainly do not get stuck on inside edges as a result of it.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

If you're using Jackson Mystiques, they probably just don't have enough support. IF, however, you still see a problem, you can look into orthotics....

I have some issue with my feet, not sure what it is but anyways, I use "super feet" (orthotic like thing) and they help a LOT with keeping my feet straight. Of course, talk to a doctor/podiatrist/etc about that before doing it, since it would be good to know if that's actually your problem. Casey's rgith... most beginners have some problem like that.

Hmmm? The first thing I thought of was to have a coach look at it to make sure your technique is right. Assuming it's correct, the second thing to do is to go to your skate guy and have them look at your boot or your blade alignment (maybe it won't matter with hockey skates but certainly for figure skates...) THEN have a podiatrist or a chiropractor take a look at you walk and see if you are crooked when you're walking. (Mine says I was crooked and probably would need orthotics for my shoes. I did opt for the orthotics option in my Harlick boots too!)

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Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Wow Thanks for all the perfect help guys!
I know of a place in South Africa that sells Jacksons, not of anything else....
What model would you suggest I get to start off with? I wanna get something that can last for a while as im going into figure skating in total....
By the way, im male! hehe

Thanks people!

The first thing this makes me think is that your skates are, as others have said, either too loose, or cut too low, or both.

If you were wearing rental figure skates, I would place the blame squarely there. So many people go skating the first time in bad rentals (or cheap sports store skates) which are so broken down, they actually flop over--and then when they can't stand up straight, they think they have 'weak ankles' and just can't skate. A good figure skate will indeed be stiff--much stiffer than most people are used to. But that's what provides the support to be able to stand up straight.

If you're using good skates that are stiff enough and tall enough, and if you've laced them tight enough, you shouldn't have a problem. If you do, then it's time to look at blade placement, and possibly whether your feet are 'mutant' enough to need some sort of orthotic. But that's going a bit far at the outset, unless you've checked out the usual culprits first.

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Don't get a boot that's meant for experienced skaters - it will hold you back. Same applies to blades. Ask for a good entry-level boot and blade combination, NOT leisure skates and not something designed for someone doing triple jumps! Then in a couple of years you will have worn the boots out, and may or may not be ready to upgrade, or you may want "the mixture as before". You may want to upgrade the blades earlier, but only to Coronation Aces, which are the only ones my coach recommends to all his skaters until they start to work on double jumps.

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If you get a good pair of figure skates that fit you properly, this problem should improve immensely. If you go out and get a pair of crappy off-the-shelf figure skates from a department or sporting goods store, then it will likely continue. If you get good figure skates and you're still having the same problem (which I bet you won't be) you can look into having the blades moved in slightly or getting orthotics for your skates. A good pair of skates should help a lot though.

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I'm laughing because the idea of figure skates 'lasting for a while' is a pretty common misconception for beginners (whether they're buying for themselves or for their kids). Because skates can be so expensive, people want to buy the 'best' at the outset, and then keep them until they've gotten their money's worth out of them. But what people forget is--skates are footwear. You don't buy a pair of shoes and expect them to last forever--or even for more than a couple of years at the outside. Skates are the same way. How much 'wear' you get out of them will depend on many factors, but primarily on how many hours you skate, and then somewhat on how 'hard' you use them, and how 'hard' you are on footwear in general.

If you're in a boot level that's appropriate for your skating level, your boots should last somewhere around 1-3 years, depending on the above factors. If you're hoping to get many, many years out of one pair of boots, you're going to be disappointed--unless you only skate occasionally, or have the good luck to be very easy on your footwear. (Yes, there are exceptions....but they're just that--exceptions.) Remember--the elites generally only get one year (at most) out of a pair of boots--and even though they're in super-strong boots appropriate to their skating level, they're also putting those suckers through the wringer on a daily basis.

Getting the 'best' boot for your money REALLY means that you're getting a boot that is appropriate for your skating level. A boot that is too stiff will only make skating harder/more painful for you, and it will hold you back, rather than 'take you farther'. A boot that is too flexible for your level (or improperly fitted) will likely break down sooner than a year, and may cause injury, not to mention simply make skating more difficult for other reasons, and not a lot of fun. A boot that is right for your level will help you progress to the best of your abilities, and strangely enough, will tend to need replacement at just about the time you're ready to upgrade anyway. At least, that's what I've found.

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Hey There....
when I said last for a while, I meant for about a year or so....
Thats why i am trying to figure out what boot is right for me.
Currently my CCM 152 hockey boots are killing me.
If I tie them real tight it hurts me, if I losen them for comfort, it feels like I cant skate and im gonna lose a boot.
I need a boot that not to hard and not to flexible...
What would you suggest me going for ?

Sorry to raise such an old thread, but the question that has been asked (about pronating and unwanted ankle bend) is a common theme amongst beginner skaters.

Blades on hockey skates cannot be moved around easily, if at all. The blade holder is riveted onto the bottom of the boot and will leave holes if you move the holder.

I own two pairs of hockey skates myself, both Bauer Supreme 7000s. These are pro-level, top-of-the-line skates, very supportive and stiff. One pair is fine, and one pair causes pronating on the left foot. It is not my technique that causes the pronation, because it doesn't happen when I'm in the good pair of Supremes.

It would seem to be very difficult to achieve proper outside edges techniques when battling a tendency towards pronating.

As for the lace tightness, I lace my skates extremely tightly. I may stop wearing socks soon, too. The lacing should be firmest at the 'L' bend where the foot meets the shin. hockey skates need to be very stiff and supportive (flying pucks can hit your foot) yet offer good forward flex for your knee and ankle bend.

Guys, Jo is in HOCKEY SKATES! There are no issues with pronation or blade alignment here, it's a different animal all together.

I will put my 2 cents in here. Hockey skates are made so you will be able to BEND A LOT at the ankle.

I am the mom of a hockey player so here is what I do for my son:

Tighten the laces as you would normally do, somewhat snug but not to tight until just before the bending starts.

When you get to the bend, lace them a bit tighter! Not so tight to lose circulation, but tight enough to eliminate any play in the boot. Be sure you can bend a little bit.

With the extra laces left over, wrap them around your ankle to the back then bring them to the front and tie your knot.

This should help. If you are still caving in to the inside, your boots are too big. You should be in boots that fit snug but not tight. You don't say how old you are, if you are young and your parents are trying to save $$$ by buying skates (or using hand-me-downs) then get an extra insole for the inside to build up the inside a bit more which should help.

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I'd say start with the rental skates just for the first few lessons to see whether you even like it or not... no sense to waste the money rushing in buying figure skates and finding out it's not for you.
After that it depends on what your goals are, but I'd say go with a decent pair of beginner skates unless you're planning to do more than just recreational skating. The Jackson Mystiques are ok, but if you're an adult and your feet have stopped growing Id go up a modell to the Classique. It will last you longer and is a sturdier skate for a heavier (as in heavier than a child not as in overweight or so) skater.

I think you have the posters mixed up a bit... the question came from KoDLaN who's in hockey skates... Kit Kat was the one that mentioned the Mystiques but I don't think has a problem with her feet not being upright.

Well, in that case neither the Jackson Mystique nor the Classique will do you any good.

Men's equivalents would be the Jackson Glacier (instead of Mystique) and the Jackson Marquis (instead of the Classique) but I'd say go beyond them and for the men's Jackson Freestyle, saves you in the long run since it'll last you much longer. I(female)'ve been skating on Jackson Classiques for 2 years now but really should be upgrading soon... actually should've already due to the jumping I do, but haven't wanted to spend the money. Finally made the move and have a pair of Jackson Freestyles on order.

Oops, shame on me... didn't pay attention to the posting dates... disregard my attempt!