Skating on the Planet

[moni]

1 hour ago, axelnojutsu said:

Can I ask how long you have been skating on your own without lessons and how far you've come?

 

I won't get to go to a trial session until November and I'll see how lessons and stuff are handled then, how much it'll cost etc.

I put aside some money specifically for skating but I know I won't be able to afford pricey lessons.. 

 

Something I realized today is I'm much more nervous when going on my own vs dragging a friend along, which then results in me being too scared to try anything else other than going in circles and hoping I'm not run over by some 12 year old who thinks he's the shit 

I'm also overall much more "shaky"..

But I know I won't have someone coming along with me most of the time, do you guys maybe have any tips for dealing with overcoming those fears? 

 

I'm probably not the best person to answer your questions because although I've been skating on my own since I was 10 I had absolutely no intention back then to try figure skating. I was just fooling around with friends. So I was only able to skate forwards and backwards (no crossovers), swizzles, very messy mohawks and that's all. And once I got interested in figure skating (2014), I started training with a coach right away.

 

What exactly are you scared of when you're skating alone? Too many people there? Or the opposite? Or that others will be watching and judging you? Or falling down?

Maybe you could bring an ipod and earphones with you next time?

[axelnojutsu]

Just now, moni said:

 

I'm probably not the best person to answer your questions because although I've been skating on my own since I was 10 I had absolutely no intention back then to try figure skating. I was just fooling around with friends. So I was only able to skate forwards and backwards (no crossovers), swizzles, very messy mohawks and that's all. And once I got interested in figure skating (2014), I started training with a coach right away.

 

What exactly are you scared of when you're skating alone? Too many people there? Or the opposite? Or that others will be watching and judging you? Or falling down?

Maybe you could bring an ipod and earphones with you next time?

I'm actually not worried about falling at all, I only fell a couple times so far but nothing bad and I'm not really scared of it. I also don't cling to the boards or anything.
Mostly it's too many people / people skating too close to me (especially since I don't have a lot of control yet) and also the judging part even though that's more my social anxiety than anything really so not sure if that's gonna improve anytime soon
But yeah, there's a lot of kids and teenaged boys that just like to race around a lot and having someone whizz by me with 2 inches of space freaks me out 
It doesn't really change whether I'm skating alone or with someone else obviously but I'm not as worried / focused on the other people around me when there's someone else to chat with and stuff.

[Xen]

2 hours ago, axelnojutsu said:

Can I ask how long you have been skating on your own without lessons and how far you've come?

 

I won't get to go to a trial session until November and I'll see how lessons and stuff are handled then, how much it'll cost etc.

I put aside some money specifically for skating but I know I won't be able to afford pricey lessons.. 

 

Something I realized today is I'm much more nervous when going on my own vs dragging a friend along, which then results in me being too scared to try anything else other than going in circles and hoping I'm not run over by some 12 year old who thinks he's the shit 

I'm also overall much more "shaky"..

But I know I won't have someone coming along with me most of the time, do you guys maybe have any tips for dealing with overcoming those fears? 

I also didn't do skating alone for long- pretty much started lessons as soon as I could. You could look into group lessons (assuming you're in US), which also helps if you're scared of skating alone. 

 As for the whizzing 12 year olds- is there a part of the rink that's a bit more closed off? Usually in the US at least, we had a center section that had cones marking its corners, usually used only by the skaters who were practicing on public sessions. As for control-are you able to stop yet? I'm not sure what skill level you are now. Are there sessions where there are less people? Such as weekend mornings? 

[axelnojutsu]

2 minutes ago, Xen said:

I also didn't do skating alone for long- pretty much started lessons as soon as I could. You could look into group lessons (assuming you're in US), which also helps if you're scared of skating alone. 

 As for the whizzing 12 year olds- is there a part of the rink that's a bit more closed off? Usually in the US at least, we had a center section that had cones marking its corners, usually used only by the skaters who were practicing on public sessions. As for control-are you able to stop yet? I'm not sure what skill level you are now. Are there sessions where there are less people? Such as weekend mornings? 

well, as for my skill level today was the 5th time in my life I was on the ice   stopping is still hit and miss
I live in northern Germany. rn there's only one rink open once a week to the public, the others start opening in November and that's when group lessons are available as well, according to the lady from the skating club I talked to. I definitely want to take lessons as soon and as often as I can, but I have to wait 2 more months at least 

[Murieleirum]

So, this thursday I went to my trial lesson. I did whatever I could do, and the teachers were very nice. But the course is overall too pricey and my parents can't help me with the cost at all. I'm still waiting for my job to start, so I just can't afford it. I've decided to wait and maybe start it in January when I will be in better economical conditions. I'm kinda sad, but it can't be helped. I'll try to keep learning by myself up until then! 

[moni]

17 minutes ago, Murieleirum said:

So, this thursday I went to my trial lesson. I did whatever I could do, and the teachers were very nice. But the course is overall too pricey and my parents can't help me with the cost at all. I'm still waiting for my job to start, so I just can't afford it. I've decided to wait and maybe start it in January when I will be in better economical conditions. I'm kinda sad, but it can't be helped. I'll try to keep learning by myself up until then! 

 

So sorry to hear that  I will also have to limit my lessons in the following months because I want to see Yuzu in Milano and can't afford both .
 

[Murieleirum]

1 minute ago, moni said:

 

So sorry to hear that  I will also have to limit my lessons in the following months because I want to see Yuzu in Milano and can't afford both .
 

 

Oooh yes it's definitely gonna be worth it! I can't wait for us European Fanyus to meet up there c: 

[robin]

I yolo bought myself new skates today and I'm so happy I'm going to take on a 2-hour train ride and go to a nearby town to skate bc our skating rink hasn't opened for the season yet. I just need to test them out asap.

[robin]

I had to relearn my crossovers first and worked on my edges but then in the last half hour I realized I could do single foot turns. (I think I did some 3-turns and rockers hahah tho I can't hold my back outside edges very well). And then I realized that actually jumping instead of turning was easier. I was suddenly doing waltz jumps!! So I asked a teacher at the rink to show me the basics of waltz jumps and she told me what's wrong abt my posture and how I can practice for jumps....  and asfhdfhhdjffsj I actually did waltz jumps. Very ugly ones but I can't believe I lifted off the ice. 

 

Skates makes such a difference! I couldn't do any one foot turns on my old ones and now, after a break of 6 months and skates I still have to break in it suddenly worked! And I can get so much faster with these! I can't believe I went from falling on crossovers to waltz jumps within 3 hours!

[Xen]

On 9/23/2017 at 8:56 PM, robin said:

I had to relearn my crossovers first and worked on my edges but then in the last half hour I realized I could do single foot turns. (I think I did some 3-turns and rockers hahah tho I can't hold my back outside edges very well). And then I realized that actually jumping instead of turning was easier. I was suddenly doing waltz jumps!! So I asked a teacher at the rink to show me the basics of waltz jumps and she told me what's wrong abt my posture and how I can practice for jumps....  and asfhdfhhdjffsj I actually did waltz jumps. Very ugly ones but I can't believe I lifted off the ice. 

 

Skates makes such a difference! I couldn't do any one foot turns on my old ones and now, after a break of 6 months and skates I still have to break in it suddenly worked! And I can get so much faster with these! I can't believe I went from falling on crossovers to waltz jumps within 3 hours!

Delayed congratulations here! Yes, that's the first step, getting over the fear of jumping! After that the jumps become so much easier. 

Right skates do wonders. Now wait till you speak to a skate technician about depths of hollows! XD

[guitarist]

So I finally got my own pair of skates, the Jackson Artiste. Will be taking my first lesson on Sunday, super excited! I'm not sure how often I'll take lessons, but I'll probably go skate on my own once a week, and perhaps more once the free/cheap public rinks start opening. Yay for winter! Sure, I doubt the ice will be as nice, but I shouldn't spend so much on skating because I'm saving up for my next Ridiculously Expensive guitar haha. 

[axelnojutsu]

I just had my first lesson 

[guitarist]

1 minute ago, axelnojutsu said:

I just had my first lesson 

Congrats! How did it go?

 

I've now been skating for 3 weeks, so I'm making progress. A little bit. I still can't do much, but I'm getting better at backward one-foot glides, so that's something hahaha. I'm having trouble with slaloms, though... 

[yuzuangel]

32 minutes ago, axelnojutsu said:

I just had my first lesson 

how was it?

[axelnojutsu]

56 minutes ago, guitarist said:

Congrats! How did it go?

 

I've now been skating for 3 weeks, so I'm making progress. A little bit. I still can't do much, but I'm getting better at backward one-foot glides, so that's something hahaha. I'm having trouble with slaloms, though... 

 

31 minutes ago, yuzuangel said:

how was it?

It was great, I was worried I'd be totally out of my depth but there were actually quite a few newbies and I did better than I expected 
Definitely gonna go again tomorrow  

I was surprised with how many different things we went through in just 1h and that I was (mostly) able to keep up - except skating backward apparently, that just didn't seem to want to happen for me