Beginner skates + fear | Golden Skate

Beginner skates + fear

LittleHaze

Spectator
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Hey everyone! :)

New to this forum and new to skating. I have started having private lessons and am a very nervous skater - I know that my fear of falling is really holding me back.

Recently I got my first pair of skates. They are Risport RF4s with a Graf M-IV blade, and I haven't yet taken them on the ice but the blade worries me... Compared to the rentals I'm used to, I think I am constantly going to be tripping on the toe picks - even just standing on the carpet they're touching the ground.

Just wondering if these are actually good skates for a beginner?

and if there's anything I can do to smoothen the transition from rentals to my own skates?

Thanks,

Haze
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Hi, LittleHaze!

Welcome to Golden Skate! Post long and often!

I moved your post to The Lutz Corner because that is the best place in GS to get technical advice. Good luck in your skating.
 

concorde

Medalist
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
I just googled Risport RF4 and it appears they come with a standard "MK IV" blade. If that is that combination is what you have, then I think you should be fine since they are billed as a good beginner skate.

I could not find a reference to a "Graf M-IV" blade.
 

LittleHaze

Spectator
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
I just googled Risport RF4 and it appears they come with a standard "MK IV" blade. If that is that combination is what you have, then I think you should be fine since they are billed as a good beginner skate.

I could not find a reference to a "Graf M-IV" blade.

Well, it says that on them but maybe it's the MK IV since they came with the skates. As I say, I'm really new to this, it's just what it says on the blade :)
 

sneakypie

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
One thing you can try to get used to your new skates is to put them on, put hard (plastic) guards on the blades and walk around at home for 15 minutes once or twice a day. Make sure you bend your knees and ankles as if you were skating. This will not only help you break in the skates, but hopefully help you find the part of your blade you will need to have your weight on.
For the fear of falling: What helped me (way back when I was a kid in gymnastics class) was falling excersises, were you let yourself fall slowly, on a soft surface like a mat at first, and learn how to correctly break a fall (i.e. fall sideways onto the muscled sides of your leg not your knees, never break your fall with outstretched hands, how to protect your head). Later you can slowly and deliberately let yourself fall on the ice and see how sliding into your fall makes it hurt a lot less. The first few times you likely will trip on your new toepicks, maybe you can get some soft knee pads (not the hard plastic kind roller bladers use), you can often find them in ice skating pro shops or dance supply stores, and wrist guards or padded gloves.
You could also try the skates out in a public session first, where there is not pressure and you can hold on to the boards until you're comfortable, if need be.
 

Babbette1

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 25, 2014
1. Tell your coach your fear. Your coach will teach you how to stroke properly, that is, not using the toe picks. If you're stroking using your toe picks, "You're doin' it wrong".
2. Don't hunch. Hunching will move your center of gravity forward, that is, over your toepicks...so use good posture. Hunching is your enemy.
3. Bend your knees.
4. Bend your knees until you feel you're about to sit in a chair. That's about right. THEN DON'T HUNCH.
5. You'll be going slow, so it's really, really really unlikely that you'll faceplant on the toepicks. There's bunches of other things to face plant on.
6. Get some wrist guards and knee pads if you're timid. I'm in my 60's, yes I wear them religiously. At my age it's good sense.

Really, that horrible movie The Cutting Edge made toepicks seem like assassin weapons of death. 7 years of skating and I can only remember actually catching a toepick forwards a couple of times--and once was when a 5 year old tackled me from behind, and another time it just happened, maybe something on the ice. I've caught on toepicks going backwards because of hip issues that make it impossible for me to sit back, a few times.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
First: Your blades should NEVER be bare on any surface except the ice. Get a pair of blade guards if you haven't already and make sure they are always on whenever you are wearing your skates and you are off the ice. Especially don't wear them on your carpet! Not only is it really bad for your blades, it's really bad for your carpet, too!

You are NOT going to be constantly tripping on toepicks. I went from rentals straight to Coronation Aces and I didn't faceplant. I stumbled a few times, but I just simply took them to the rink and did laps until I was confident in them. Practice is all you need.

Just so you know, I've only ever had a handful of toepick trips. Only two of them were bad: I bellyflopped off a forward spiral, which proceeded to knock the wind completely out of me, and one was a trip on a forward crossover which resulted in a sprained shoulder (and probably concussion). Neither particularly serious (though my shoulder hurt like the dickens for weeks). Neither usual. Neither common.

And for heaven's sake, don't watch any of those stupid skating movies (except Blades of Glory, which is funny).
 

LittleHaze

Spectator
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Thank you guys for your tips - really helpful :)

My coach knows I'm nervous and is very good, but the nerves are still there. Practising falling sounds like a good plan - As someone who doesn't play sports much, last time I fell over was probably a decade ago!

I also have pretty bad posture - I hunch even when I'm just walking about. So I think this is why I've already had a couple of incidents with rental skates toepicks. That said, only one of them hurt, and it didn't hurt much.

I do have blade guards and they are on the blades most of the time, I just tried that once to see how close the toepick was to the ground. Though, thinking about it, carpet is soft so it probably looked closer because they would've sunken in a bit...

I've decided to take them for a spin tomorrow after work so wish me luck :) hopefully the rink wont be too waterlogged but with the weather where I am right now it's a real possibility...
 

Alex D

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
To fall is a very natural thing on the ice and you can soften the "impact" a lot, if you know how to fall. Because of this you can practice how to fall in the gym as the others mentioned. ;)

Besides that you can also get a few protectors, like a hip pad for instance. Sports is a lot about confidence and experience, new gear always needs time and there is absolutely nothing wrong with having pads or falling on the mats in the gym. ;)

Let us know how it went if you want :) Good Luck!
 

Casey

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
When you fall on ice you can trust your ability to slide and thus send impact force outward rather than having to absorb it all. Once you get this you are no longer afraid of speed because higher speed falls are lovely and painless while near-stationary ones are the worst. Off ice you have to roll - it is *completely* different. I can fall great on ice but keep me away from concrete!
 
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pooh-beanie

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
i don't think i can help you specifically with the physical transition (i made the change over 8 years ago. also i'm still young which is actually a huge factor :/)
but i CAN help you with the mental transition. i had a huge block with my axel, and with most jumps in general (esp double toe jumps). the fear is all in your head. being afraid is often what ends up getting you hurt the most. if you let go of your fear and end up hurt, your body usually WILL NOT expect it if you DO NOT THINK about the possibility of falling and getting hurt. this way, your body can naturally ease the weight of your fall, rather being controlled by your mind and making impact while tense.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
We were talking about falls in here and then I went to practice and fell. :laugh:

All I can say is that older people do have a little extra advantage...we have a tendency to have extra padding in certain areas! :laugh:
 

LittleHaze

Spectator
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Thanks all of you for your encouragement :) I took the skates out for the first time today and it was both good and bad.

Good: they fit very well, and I didnt fall over.
Bad: I only didnt fall over because I took approximately 0 risks and was shuffling around the edge (though not hanging onto it. Much.)

That said, I think it's just a learning curve. It's made me realise how blunt the rentals I learnt on were - these are technically "blunt" from the shop, but much much sharper than rentals. Glad I didnt take them for the free sharpening, as I think it's be even more of a difficult transition!

I will definitely have toepick problems for a bit, and have to work out my balance. I think the more tense I get, the more my weight goes forward, though with any luck I'll stop that soon as I dont think these skates will be very forgiving! :laugh:
 

Littlerain

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Make sure you get them sharpened before you skate again! New, unsharpened skates tend not to hold edges and will most likely make you feel like you're gonna slip!
 

LittleHaze

Spectator
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Make sure you get them sharpened before you skate again! New, unsharpened skates tend not to hold edges and will most likely make you feel like you're gonna slip!

Hm I dont know - my instructor's advice was to not sharpen them for a bit because I am used to much blunter rental skates (as in they barely even have edges) - these skates, though supposedly blunt, definitely have edges I wouldnt want to run my finger along! I think, given that I am used to much blunter, it will be easier to not have the sharpest of the sharp until I'm used to something in between...
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
I can't speak to the best skates but you will get over your fear if you keep practicing. Go to the public skate (at a non-crowded time, preferably) as often as possible and just skate around. Eventually you will find your balance and gain confidence. I also had a lot of fear, having started as an adult beginner. But I did get over it, for the most part, at least for the basic stuff.
 

Littlerain

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
That's interesting. I've never heard that before! I would worry about getting used to unsharpened skates/ forming bad habits bc of it, or even not being able to make progress because of it. A girl who was in my group class immediately skated better after she got her own (sharpened) skates. (Faster, could do one foot glides and edges, more comfortable backwards, etc)
 

TheSnowQueen2013

Rinkside
Joined
May 4, 2014
They'll feel better after a couple of sessions. My toepick problems were horrible when I first got my skates but after a couple of lessons and tries they were a whole new experience. Once you get used to the pick being there you'll almost never trip. Good luck! :)
 
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