Help on skating backwards and stops

[doubleoxer]

Hi everyone! Today I went to the rink to test out my new skates and it went very well! Kind of. So I'm still super new to skating, and I'm still just getting the hang of basic forward movements stuff. Pretty much all I can do is go forwards and do forward swizzles.

However. I was trying to figure out how to do backward swizzles today, and I just CANNOT for the life of me get the hang of it. I used to be able to do them VERY slowly and shakily with my older recreational skates, but with my new ones I either end up hitting my skates off each other or just falling forwards. I'd get a video of it so you guys could see what exactly I'm doing wrong, but honestly it would just be embarrassing lol and I don't really have anyone to video me anyways, but if anyone has any basic tips on that it would be very appreciated!

Also, another issue I have is that I can't stop! I tried to do a t-stop today but I get too scared to lift my foot high enough to position it correctly in order to stop. :/ (I am a super nervous skater and I'm not really afraid of falling per say, but I just hate the feeling of almost-falling so I never take any risks, and that includes learning to stop apparently lol. I'll get over that eventually though, I hope.) I just always end up skating up to the boards to hold on to so that I can slow down, and it's kind of embarrassing especially if I try to stop in the middle of the rink and fall because I can't stop fast enough when a little hockey kid comes speeding past haha.

I tried "scraping" the ice with my blade while holding on to the boards in order to get a feel for the t-stop, but like, I literally can't even do that??? I'm not sure if I have the angle wrong for my blade or what, but my foot always ends up twisting around sideways and then shifting so my toe pick digs into the ice. And then I fall. Also, when I try to do a t-stop AWAY from the boards, I just can't seem to even turn my foot the right way to place it behind my other foot, and then I end up losing my balance and falling. I can do it perfectly fine off-ice, but i just can't position it right on the ice. What the heck am I doing wrong? I tried to do it for almost half hour before I gave up and resorted to working on some really shaky one-foot glides (with my one foot like two inches off the ice to catch me if I lost my balance) so maybe that will help me get the t-stop?

I want to be able to at least get down my forward crossovers and stopping by the end of summer before I go off to college and FINALLY get a coach, but at this rate I'm not really sure I'll be able to accomplish that. I don't have a coach right now as I'm just going to be home temporarily for the summer before I go off to college, which is where I'm planning on finding a steady coach to stay with for the next 4+ years, but if anyone has any advice or tips, I'd be very grateful!

Also, I'm sorry for my post being all over the place. I am just kind of annoyed at myself right now because I really want to be able to just get the basics down before college and have some confidence in myself for once instead of just falling when I hit a teeny bump in the ice. Thank you everyone!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi everyone! Today I went to the rink to test out my new skates and it went very well! Kind of. So I'm still super new to skating, and I'm still just getting the hang of basic forward movements stuff. Pretty much all I can do is go forwards and do forward swizzles.

However. I was trying to figure out how to do backward swizzles today, and I just CANNOT for the life of me get the hang of it. I used to be able to do them VERY slowly and shakily with my older recreational skates, but with my new ones I either end up hitting my skates off each other or just falling forwards. I'd get a video of it so you guys could see what exactly I'm doing wrong, but honestly it would just be embarrassing lol and I don't really have anyone to video me anyways, but if anyone has any basic tips on that it would be very appreciated!

Also, another issue I have is that I can't stop! I tried to do a t-stop today but I get too scared to lift my foot high enough to position of correctly in order to stop. :/ (I am a super nervous skater and I'm not really afraid of falling per say, but I just hate the feeling of almost-falling so I never take any risks, and that includes learning to stop apparently lol. I'll get over that eventually though, I hope.) I just always end up skating up to the boards to hold on to so that I can slow down, and it's kind of embarrassing especially if I try to stop in the middle of the rink and fall because I can't stop fast enough when a little hockey kid comes speeding past haha.

I tried "scraping" the ice with my blade while holding on to the boards in order to get a feel for the t-stop, but like, I literally can't even do that??? I'm not sure if I have the angle wrong for my blade or what, but my foot always ends up twisting around sideways and then shifting so my toe pick digs into the ice. And then I fall. Also, when i try to do a t-stop AWAY from the boards, I just can't seem to even turn my foot the right way to place it behind my other foot, and then I end up losing my balance and falling. What the heck am I doing wrong? [emoji23]

I want to be able to at least get down my forward crossovers and stopping by the end of summer before I go off to college and FINALLY get a coach, but at this rate I'm not really sure I'll be able to accomplish that. I don't have a coach right now as I'm just going to be home temporarily for the summer before I go off to college, which is where I'm planning on finding a steady coach to stay with for the next 4+ years, but if anyone has any advice or tips, I'd be very grateful!

Also, I'm sorry for my post being all over the place. I am just kind of annoyed at myself right now because I really want to be able to just get the basics down before college and have some confidence in myself for once instead of just falling when I hit a teeny bump in the ice. Thank you everyone!

You should be doing a snow plow stop before ever thinking of a t-stop for the future. Don't hurt yourself or get bad technique trying to teach yourself things you are not trained properly to.

 

[doubleoxer]

I can't figure out how to quote, sorry! And ohhhhhh, really? Jeez, one of the YouTube videos I watched said that a t-stop is the first one you should learn! Omg. Yeah I don't want to accidentally do something too advanced and mess up!

Do you have any tips on a snow plow stop, then? I tried to do those once too a while back, but I just can't get my blades to scape the ice correctly and I end up falling. I don't know what the heck I'm doing when I try it.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I can't figure out how to quote, sorry! And ohhhhhh, really? Jeez, one of the YouTube videos I watched said that a t-stop is the first one you should learn! Omg. Yeah I don't want to accidentally do something too advanced and mess up!

Do you have any tips on a snow plow stop, then? I tried to do those once too a while back, but I just can't get my blades to scape the ice correctly and I end up falling. I don't know what the heck I'm doing when I try it.

Bend your knees! ALWAYS!

Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fzrRypGR28

 

[doubleoxer]

Thank you!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thank you!

That's the least I can do. Get a coach as soon as possible ok? You should not be teaching yourself.

 

[doubleoxer]

Oh yes, I definitely will!

 

[jf12]

It might have to do with your blades being sharper, and toepicks being bigger. Don't worry about it tooo much, just continue to skate around forwards and get used to your new skates. It might be worth getting some lessons here and there for the summer, whether private or with a group, there's no reason that you have to have the same coach through your whole skating life!

 

[doubleoxer]

Alright, thank you!

 

[ifshehadwings]

Absolutely agree with the above, if you are still learning to be comfortable with basic forward and backward skating, you should not even be thinking about a t-stop. Just work on your basic snowplow stop, because stopping is important!

Does your rink (or the one you will go to when you get to school I guess) offer group lessons? When you are just starting out, I think group lessons are the best way to learn your basic skills. It's fun to learn together with other people, and reassuring to see you're not the only one having trouble with certain moves. It's also considerably cheaper than private lessons. I wouldn't worry about getting a private coach until you are a bit more advanced unless you can't do the group lessons. And most rinks will offer adult classes separately, so you don't have to be in with the 6 year olds.

But definitely do get some kind of instruction as soon as you can. It's not really safe to try and teach yourself past a VERY basic level. And you will probably pick up bad habits that you will have to unlearn.

As to stopping and ... pretty much every other skating skill, if you are having trouble you probably need to bend your knees more. Knee bend is extremely important, especially for stopping and backward skating. Especially going backwards, bend your knees to an almost comical degree when you start out. This will keep you from falling backwards. Usually falling forwards or to the side is no big deal, but falling backwards can be really dangerous (trust me, I've smacked my head on the ice twice now).

Anyway, if you can't take any lessons before you go to school, there are some great tutorials on youtube. They can't substitute for a real coach, but they can be helpful.

Check out this one for the most basic stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRiteISNYST8Izy-u9yjG8H1huzZ9A4Z3

And these when you get a little more advanced:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kseniyaOleg
www.youtube.com/user/captainolegviii

(Incidentally, where did you get your new skates? If you didn't get them fitted at a pro-shop they may not be the right size or right brand for you. And skate fit can make a huge difference. Ask someone who works at the rink if you're not sure about the fit of your skates.)

 

[jenaj]

Sign up for lessons. Practice things you learn in the lessons on your own.

 

[doubleoxer]

Yeah I wasn't gonna take lessons over the summer because I want to get to know the coaches during group lessons at the college rink so I could figure out who would be best for private lessons. Plus none of the rinks at home offer group lessons during the timeframe I'm home for, so I'm kind of stuck on my own.

And yes, I got them at a fitter. They're heat molded and everything so they fit real good.

Anyways, yeah I won't worry about the t-stop for now. I don't want to accidentally do anything stupid and mess up myself or my skates. Thank you all!

 

[nebbalish]

Completely agree with the above posters!

Indeed you should start with the two footed snowplow stop, which is analogous to making a 'pizza' stop in skiing (a helpful analogy if you ski, less helpful if you don't haha). But practice holding onto the boards and just pushing out your inside edge to make 'snow' on each foot. Once you're comfortable doing it with each foot (there'll always be a weaker foot you'll have to focus on more), try doing it stationary with two feet. Just pushing out. Use your thighs and calves, and less your knees when pushing out.

For forward and backwards swizzles, what really clicked for me when I was learning them was to not compensate or mimic the move with my knees, and really use the muscles of my inner thighs and butt to bring my feet back to centre (in the latter half of the swizzle). Bend those knees, keep your head up so you don't tip forward, keep your shoulders in line with your knees. Tightening your core really helps stabilize everything as well. When you watch those videos, watch their body alignment, practice in front of a mirror off ice to get comfortable with the way your body should be positioned.

Before doing your backwards swizzles though, get more comfortable with just skating forwards, gliding, stroking and controlling your direction forwards on your skates. Make sure your skates are laced tight enough to support your ankles! Good luck I understand how frustrating it is for your body to refuse to cooperate haha I went home last night after skating so frustrated that my body hates left over right fwd crossovers.

 

[doubleoxer]

Thank you!

 

[sandraskates]

I can't figure out how to quote, sorry! And ohhhhhh, really? Jeez, one of the YouTube videos I watched said that a t-stop is the first one you should learn! Omg. Yeah I don't want to accidentally do something too advanced and mess up!

Do you have any tips on a snow plow stop, then? I tried to do those once too a while back, but I just can't get my blades to scape the ice correctly and I end up falling. I don't know what the heck I'm doing when I try it.

Because I naturally turn-out (spread eagles are easy for me) I HATE snow plow stops. If I had my way I'd teach T-Stops first (don't throw ice balls at me folks ).
That said, here's a little trick I use to teach the concept of snow plow stops to the newbies:

Do some forward swizzles but when you get the last one you want to do, as the "toes say hello" , bend your knees and slowly push your skates out into that triangular "pizza slice" position to execute the stop.
I hope that description makes sense.

 

[doubleoxer]

Ohhh okay, I'll try that! I still have trouble "scraping the ice" with my feet even when holding onto the boards for some reason, but maybe that will work for me? Thank you!

 

[cl2]

If, as you say, your skates are new, don't neglect that there is a break-in period, and also a period when you're simply just getting used to different boots and different blades. Especially if you had transitioned out from "recreational" (rental?) skates, chances are you are now in firmer boots, sharper blades, etc. If you changed blade models, it probably means a different rocker profile, so you may feel like you rock forward and backward on your blade differently than previously. Just be aware and get comfortable with it.

 

[doubleoxer]

Yeah I know. I'm actually adjusting pretty well to them I think, they're much better (and they glide so much better) over the ice than my old ones. The old ones weren't rentals but they had like a stiffness rating of 5 according to my fitter when he saw them lol. My new ones have a rating of 40 and they're Riedell Diamonds.

I don't know if it's the angle I'm trying to scrape the ice with or what, but my foot goes all over the place when I try to do it. I can't really explain it in words but my foot kind of scrapes off the ice and then bounces, which causes my toe to tilt down and dig into the ice with the toe pick and it spins my foot around?? Not sure why that happens. It may just be the stiffer boots and different rocker shape, but I had the issue when I tried with my old skates too. So I might just be digging into the ice too much or something?? I'll try again next time at the rink though, it may just be that I'm overthinking the whole "scrape just the top layer of ice" thing. Am I supposed to scrape away with the inside edge? I didn't get around to watching any of the videos linked in this thread yet because I've been busy all day so I'm not sure if they mentioned it or not.

 

[renla]

Have you tried the snowplow on each leg? I'm still in the process of learning it too (I can stop, but very slowly). I had been attempting it by pushing out my right foot, but my coach saw I was still having trouble so he told me to switch legs. It was much easier when I pushed out my left! He also said that when I start to push, I need to have my weight on my other leg, then gradually apply weight to the left to make the stop. If I push too hard too soon, I feel like I'm going to fall. I guess that will get better with time.

I also just learned backward swizzles like two days ago after believing that going backwards was super scary. What helps is knee-bend, not looking down (your head weighs a lot), and keeping my weight toward the front of my skates. Leaning forward helps you move back. Sometimes I find myself getting stuck, and I think that has to do with where my weight is centered on the skates, as well as what each individual foot is doing. My right is more mobile than my left, so sometimes they get off track and I veer sideways. There's so much stuff to pay attention to! It also helps to bend your knees deeply when you push out, then rise when you bring your legs in.

And if backward swizzles are too daunting, you can work up to them. My coach started me with backward wiggles just to get used to the feeling of moving backwards. I hope this helps! I'm new too, so maybe I didn't explain things well.

 

[doubleoxer]

Well I couldn't figure out how to do it so I ended up giving up and trying the t-stop. :/ (Not today, I mean, but yesterday before I made this post. Obviously I won't try that again lol.) But yeah I did try both legs but I don't think I was even doing it right so I usually just resort to grabbing the boards to slow down. Sigh.

And as for skating backwards, I'm not too nervous about going backwards, it's just that I tip forward when I go too fast or I can't bring my feet back together on the swizzle and I end up almost in a split and get scared haha. I can't even do backward wiggles for some reason. I just can't figure out how to shift my weight correctly in order to move backwards in that motion. If I lean forwards on the blades a bit and turn my skates out, I move backwards a few feet but then I get stuck lol

I'll try your advice though when I go skating next! I just have major issues with overthinking everything so I'm probably not even as bad as I sound when I describe it on here, so I guess I'll just see how it goes next time I'm at the rink??

Thank you!