Friends Self-Teaching

[Elchee]

I'd like to preface this by saying that I have no experience figure skating, about CanSkate level 3 with the help of a friend who plays hockey. I've been skating with my friends after school at least once week over the last winter season.

Two of my friends have been really interested in figure skating have been teaching themselves through videos tutorials. From the research I've done online, self teaching ups the chances of injury and leads to incorrect technique. I don't think either has plans of competing, but I don't want them to become unable to continue skating due to bad technique. Some of the things they have taught themselves: waltz jump, toe loop, salchow, two foot spin, and hydroblade.

I don't want them to injure themselves, but I don't want to ruin their fun either. Is there anything that I can do?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I'd like to preface this by saying that I have no experience figure skating, about CanSkate level 3 with the help of a friend who plays hockey. I've been skating with my friends after school at least once week over the last winter season.

Two of my friends have been really interested in figure skating have been teaching themselves through videos tutorials. From the research I've done online, self teaching ups the chances of injury and leads to incorrect technique. I don't think either has plans of competing, but I don't want them to become unable to continue skating due to bad technique. Some of the things they have taught themselves: waltz jump, toe loop, salchow, two foot spin, and hydroblade.

I don't want them to injure themselves, but I don't want to ruin their fun either. Is there anything that I can do?

Yes, tell them to get a coach that isn't a video. Proper learn to skate coach, you need to get one too. A hockey player isn't going to be able to teach you the things you need to know for figure skating.

 

[Elchee]

I don't plan on learning to figure skate neither do I have figure skates. I only want to be able to hang out with my friends when they go skating.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I don't plan on learning to figure skate neither do I have figure skates. I only want to be able to hang out with my friends when they go skating.

Again, your friends need to get a figure skating coach/enroll in learn to skate if they want to learn figure skating moves. If you want to do hockey skating around a rink, fine, you didn't specify in your first post that you have hockey skates so forgive me for not knowing.

 

[Elchee]

No, no don't worry, I don't think I was very clear.
Will bring it up next time I see them. Although what should I do in case they don't want to take lessons or can't?
Thank you.

 

[Diana Delafield]

No, no don't worry, I don't think I was very clear.
Will bring it up next time I see them. Although what should I do in case they don't want to take lessons or can't?
Thank you.

Be prepared to support them sympathetically as they recover from injuries, would be my guess. But I'm afraid all you can do is keep repeating that they can't teach themselves properly how to figure skate, that they need a real live coach (who will try to break them of all the errors and bad habits they've unknowingly picked up), and real lessons (where they'll go back to the very beginning and learn correctly). And real figure skates, which I'm assuming they don't have? Just recreational skates they bought in a sporting goods store? They can't jump safely in those.

You said you don't think they have plans to compete. Don't worry, they won't be able to if they don't join a club and take lessons and pass a series of tests. Skating competitions aren't like marathon races where people just sign themselves up and take part. Your friends would have to qualify to enter even the lowest level, and they can't do that if all they've done is fool around on a public session after watching some videos. They have to go through the test stream and have the support of their coach and club to take part, once they've passed enough tests.

That all sounds as if you have to perch on the boards like a vulture and croak at your friends over and over . Sorry! Just try to encourage them to have fun on the ice while you nudge them often about safety. If they start doing anything really foolish at public sessions, I would hope that your rink has attendants who are there to crack down on them if they're scaring or endangering other skaters.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

My take on it is, "Not your circus, not your monkeys". Obviously you care about your friends and don't want them to get hurt, but they are also not your responsibility. All you can really is encourage them to take lessons and learn properly - "Oh, wow! Think how amazing you'd be if you had a coach!" - and visit them in hospital if they don't take your advice...

 

[FlossieH]

I think that all you can do is have an honest discussion with them about your concerns and then leave them to make their own decision. They need to actually want to learn properly before they will do so. If they have got as far as doing salchows and toe loops without proper tuition, then they will have a lot of unlearning and relearning to do if they do get a coach. Unless they have a real desire to learn properly, the big step backwards and relearning is going to seem like a huge waste of time to them. It sounds like you are probably a bit more mature than they are and you are able to weigh up risks in a more realistic manner. Most teenagers have a fairly poor sense of risk (they might understand the risks on paper, but for most people your sort of age the risks/injuries are things which only happen to other people rather than being seen as something which would be just as likely to happen to them) and also prefer instant gratification to a long slow slog.

One other thing which is concerning me is whether they have boots which are actually safe for them to jump in? A lot of the entry level boot/skate combos are okay for little 6-8 year old children to start learning jumps, but not anyone who is getting closer to adult weight. I can tell that you must be teenagers, as you are going to the rink unaccompanied after school, but teenagers vary a lot in terms of growth and physical development.

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

Not much you can do in my opinion.
Figure skating is a high precision sport which cannot by any means be learnt by watching videos. Not having a coach leads to improper habits and technique and these take so much more tie to unlearn, since you've already created improper muscle memory which is much harder to undo than start from zero with a coach, as you observed in your research.
You can say you discussed this with several people online and all told you that is a great mistake to skate by watching videos. They are not "self learning" anything, they are merely attempting to mimic a skater on a video and they lack the proper way to do so.
If they listen to your talk or not is beyond your control.

 

[Littlerain]

The others have given great advice, but perhaps you can also suggest that all of you sign up for group classes together for fun! I think all 3 of you could learn something regardless of your skating goals and still have fun!