New Skater!!! Advice

[KelsOnIce]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum because I am looking for advice on skating technique. I am 30, 5'8", 140. I just signed up for my first learn to skate classes- Adult level 1, after going skating for fun while on vacation and realizing how much I missed it!!! I skated recreationally for about two years as a kid, and got pretty good as just skating around but never got the chance to do any classes or training for real, so I am not new- new to the ice in general, but I definitely don't know any technique yet. I just purchased the Riedell 114 Pearl skates and have skated in them about 5 times now. I have noticed with these skates that when gliding I keep accidentally hitting my toe pick, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for why this is happening/ how to correct it.

THanks so much!!!!

 

[overedge]

Hi and welcome!
Are you able to take your skates to a pro skate shop or technician? Not the people who sharpen skates at the rink (although they can be knowledgeable sometimes), but a shop staffer or technician who knows about figure skates. If you belong to a skating club, or if there is a club in your area, they may be able to recommend someone. It may be that your blades have not been properly sharpened or have not been placed correctly on the sole of the boot, or that there is something wrong with the shape of the blade. A technician should be able to look at the blades and see if any of those might be causing the problem.

The other possibility is that you are leaning too far forward when you skate. When you learn to skate as a kid and then come back as an adult, sometimes the muscle memory from when you were a kid kicks in, and it doesn't work on a bigger, taller person. When you are gliding, try thinking about your body being centred over your skates, and think about tucking your butt in and having a strong core. And try not to look down at your feet - this is really hard, but when you do it, your whole upper body can shift forward and push you toward your toepicks.

 

[hanca]

I think you have a wrong technique. Even the basic stroking has some technique behind it, and if you learned to just go forward somehow (anyhow it goes), the chances are that you are not doing with your legs what you are supposed to do. I used to have a freeskating coach, who was not as pedantic on the correct technique, and when after about five years I changed to a dance coach, she started completely from beginning, with forward basic stroking, then back basic stroking... It took a looong time to get me used to the proper way of doing it (and unlearn the bad habits I created), but when you do it properly, you will find out that it is completely effortless.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

Good luck in your skating classes! I also suspect you're too far forward over your toe picks when you're skating. The USFS has a lesson on basic stroking online, which may help you until you have your first classes. Have a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Wjwo-a5j4

And here's a video with an actual human doing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOiCAsFKXs

It's not normally good to learn from videos, but you'll have a coach in your classes who you can use to check your technique, and these videos may help while you're waiting to start class.

 

[KelsOnIce]

Hi and welcome!
Are you able to take your skates to a pro skate shop or technician? Not the people who sharpen skates at the rink (although they can be knowledgeable sometimes), but a shop staffer or technician who knows about figure skates. If you belong to a skating club, or if there is a club in your area, they may be able to recommend someone. It may be that your blades have not been properly sharpened or have not been placed correctly on the sole of the boot, or that there is something wrong with the shape of the blade. A technician should be able to look at the blades and see if any of those might be causing the problem.

The other possibility is that you are leaning too far forward when you skate. When you learn to skate as a kid and then come back as an adult, sometimes the muscle memory from when you were a kid kicks in, and it doesn't work on a bigger, taller person. When you are gliding, try thinking about your body being centred over your skates, and think about tucking your butt in and having a strong core. And try not to look down at your feet - this is really hard, but when you do it, your whole upper body can shift forward and push you toward your toepicks.

Thanks for the advice!!!!!!! When I bought the skates from the pro shop inside the rink, they came with one free initial sharpening, now I am wondering if they even got sharpened at all, because when I came back to pick them up they were still in the same box and didn't look touched but really I'm not sure!! I also probably am leaning too far forward or am not bending my ankle enough or am pushing my toes down. I spent all of last Saturday night trying not too but the rink was extremely packed with an anime convention visiting (LOL) to move around much.

 

[overedge]

Thanks for the advice!!!!!!! When I bought the skates from the pro shop inside the rink, they came with one free initial sharpening, now I am wondering if they even got sharpened at all, because when I came back to pick them up they were still in the same box and didn't look touched but really I'm not sure!!

If there is another skate shop that you can get to, I would definitely take the skates there and ask them to look at the blades to see if they've been sharpened. Some pro shops at rinks have really knowledgeable staff, and some don't.

 

[KelsOnIce]

Good luck in your skating classes! I also suspect you're too far forward over your toe picks when you're skating. The USFS has a lesson on basic stroking online, which may help you until you have your first classes. Have a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Wjwo-a5j4

And here's a video with an actual human doing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkOiCAsFKXs

It's not normally good to learn from videos, but you'll have a coach in your classes who you can use to check your technique, and these videos may help while you're waiting to start class.

Thank you!!! watching the videos helped a lot to see what to actually do!! I will try that in class tomorrow night.

 

[KelsOnIce]

I think you have a wrong technique. Even the basic stroking has some technique behind it, and if you learned to just go forward somehow (anyhow it goes), the chances are that you are not doing with your legs what you are supposed to do. I used to have a freeskating coach, who was not as pedantic on the correct technique, and when after about five years I changed to a dance coach, she started completely from beginning, with forward basic stroking, then back basic stroking... It took a looong time to get me used to the proper way of doing it (and unlearn the bad habits I created), but when you do it properly, you will find out that it is completely effortless.

Thank you that is very helpful!! I am just now learning to go backwards... barely.

 

[KelsOnIce]

If there is another skate shop that you can get to, I would definitely take the skates there and ask them to look at the blades to see if they've been sharpened. Some pro shops at rinks have really knowledgeable staff, and some don't.

I don't think mine does.. just from reading the reviews online, they have a machine that only one of their staff know how to use and you drop off your skates and have to wait three days to get them back sharpened. I will have to look and see if there are any other shops in the area.

 

[Yazmeen]

I agree with the others here that a proper sharpening is critical. Based on the brand you have, you bought a boot that came with a very basic blade already attached, so I don't think it's an alignment problem. However, you still need a pro to check it, and you also need to get your skates sharpened by someone who knows how to sharpen figure skates. Not every rink has this type of pro - a good friend of mine had her first pair of skates ruined by a pro in the rink we were at during that time. He literally sharpened off the back portion of the sharpenable surface of the blade because he didn't know how to sharpen figures skates (the rink paid for new skates for her, thankfully).

I'm back to skating with a freestyle boot and blade after a too-long and now aborted experiment with ice dance boots/blades, so I'm really learning my skills all over again. Many adults have trouble trying to NOT lean too far forward when stroking forward, simply because we're more fearful of falling over backward than kids are. One thing that will help you to keep your upper body more upright is plenty of knee bend. You really cannot bend your knees to much in skating. The more I bend, the better I get down into the ice and the more I can keep my torso upright. So, bend those knees!!!! And good luck with your lessons.

Hope this helps!!!!