Returning and discouraging rustiness

[double_flip]

Greetings, folks.

I started skating at 12, having done a lot of ballet, and progressed quite quickly. I had all my doubles apart from Axel when I stopped competing around 18 and went on to do some Basic Skills teaching at college, which is now about 15 years ago (eek!). In the intervening years, I would skate every so often, just to make sure I could still land Axel and double sal and from time to time would toy with the idea of coming back. I've recently moved country and in my new city there's a rink nearby and I have gone a few times to test the waters. This is about two years since the last time I skated. At first it was quite exhilarating to be back and just reconnect with the sensation of stroking across the ice, but I find myself feeling bummed out by the inevitable clunkiness and lack of flow after such a long period away. Axel and double sal are MIA at the moment and it doesn't seem possible here to get on normal freestyle ice w/o a coach, which I'm not sure I want yet, so I've been skating on these slightly weird sessions where 1/5 of the rink is coned off for hockey and the rest of the ice is a sort of combination freestyle/public session. So obviously that's not ideal. My overall fitness level is probably better now than when I was last training, but I've lost muscle in my glutes and have the wear and tear you'd expect in a 34-year old body that has been dancing since it was 4 + 6 years of competitive skating. I'm finding myself questioning whether it's worth pushing through this period of readjustment and wondering if any others had similar experiences? How long before you started to feel like yourself on the ice again? Were you able to regain skills you loved doing without injury?

For a bit more context, my favorite things about skating have always been jumping and performing to music. I know I could do a lot of work on my basic skating skills, but that kind of training doesn't give me the same sense of pleasure or accomplishment. Off ice I work in dance and theatre - and one of my thoughts with returning was to eventually try to find a way to use my considerable performing arts experience to work with skaters (I wasn't aware Benji Schwimmer was doing this when I had this idea, but now that I've seen how he works with Adam and Ashley, that's kind of what I mean, only incorporating it way before elite level). I'm also curious how much of the way I move on the floor is informed by skating and would eventually like to make a piece about this, so getting back on the ice feels like an important part of that research.

So anyway, yeah - curious if anyone's been in any similar situations, how you moved through them, what you discovered on the other side, and/or if you decided it wasn't worth it and found other ways to be actively involved with the sport?

Many thanks!

(currently)double_flip(less)

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Greetings, folks.

I started skating at 12, having done a lot of ballet, and progressed quite quickly. I had all my doubles apart from Axel when I stopped competing around 18 and went on to do some Basic Skills teaching at college, which is now about 15 years ago (eek!). In the intervening years, I would skate every so often, just to make sure I could still land Axel and double sal and from time to time would toy with the idea of coming back. I've recently moved country and in my new city there's a rink nearby and I have gone a few times to test the waters. This is about two years since the last time I skated. At first it was quite exhilarating to be back and just reconnect with the sensation of stroking across the ice, but I find myself feeling bummed out by the inevitable clunkiness and lack of flow after such a long period away. Axel and double sal are MIA at the moment and it doesn't seem possible here to get on normal freestyle ice w/o a coach, which I'm not sure I want yet, so I've been skating on these slightly weird sessions where 1/5 of the rink is coned off for hockey and the rest of the ice is a sort of combination freestyle/public session. So obviously that's not ideal. My overall fitness level is probably better now than when I was last training, but I've lost muscle in my glutes and have the wear and tear you'd expect in a 34-year old body that has been dancing since it was 4 + 6 years of competitive skating. I'm finding myself questioning whether it's worth pushing through this period of readjustment and wondering if any others had similar experiences? How long before you started to feel like yourself on the ice again? Were you able to regain skills you loved doing without injury?

For a bit more context, my favorite things about skating have always been jumping and performing to music. I know I could do a lot of work on my basic skating skills, but that kind of training doesn't give me the same sense of pleasure or accomplishment. Off ice I work in dance and theatre - and one of my thoughts with returning was to eventually try to find a way to use my considerable performing arts experience to work with skaters (I wasn't aware Benji Schwimmer was doing this when I had this idea, but now that I've seen how he works with Adam and Ashley, that's kind of what I mean, only incorporating it way before elite level). I'm also curious how much of the way I move on the floor is informed by skating and would eventually like to make a piece about this, so getting back on the ice feels like an important part of that research.

So anyway, yeah - curious if anyone's been in any similar situations, how you moved through them, what you discovered on the other side, and/or if you decided it wasn't worth it and found other ways to be actively involved with the sport?

Many thanks!

(currently)double_flip(less)

Keep working at it and muscle memory can bring it back. You may have longer progress times though than you would have even ten years ago so be aware and try not to get discouraged. And please get a coach.

Benji Schwimmer had been involved with figure skating since 2011-12 choreographing for Jeremy Abbott.

As a dancer, yes you could possibly get involved like that, but just know he had rep from winning a US TV dance contest and being a decently known west coast swing dance champ.

You could possibly work with skaters on their off ice dance training too, so there is another option for you.

Feel free to PM me for more in depth conversation of this as I am unable to type all of my insight here.

Good luck!

 

[JSM]

After quitting at 17, I started skating again at 30. I was able to do axels immediately and coachless, but I shouldn't have, because I didn't have the musculature needed to do them properly anymore. I developed nasty habits that have taken years to undo. I don't have an extensive dance background but I did stay active in my years off the ice. Still, it has taken a long time to get my 'skating legs' back.

If you can, and if you decide you really want to jump again, spend some time on the basics and get a coach. It's a much less fun option, but rebuilding what you need will save time and money in the long run. I wound up working through the rest of my moves tests before focusing hardcore on the jumps, and it's really made a difference in jump progression. And I do still love it! For me, it's been worth the years of work, but only you get to make that call!

Edited to say: I highly recommend padding when/if you decide to pursue doubles again. That was a hard lesson learned.

 

[double_flip]

Thanks, both. Ic3Rabbit, I may take you up on that.

I am not at all anti-coach - I agree I need one. I kind of half-came back 5 or so years ago and I got one then. The hesitation now comes partly from lacking a well-developed skating vocabulary in the local language where I'm living and partly from the fact that the only coaching I'm seeing at the moment is focused on either adult starters with more basic freestyle skills than mine and reasonably competitive 8-10 year olds and I don't feel like I fall into either of those camps.

By way of further context, I teach contemporary performance-making at an internationally renowned institution, so am not super-super delusional. ;-) I'm also not so interested in working with people who are already famous. On my own journey from dance to skating to theatre and back into a sort of physical/dance theatre space, I've been struck by how much more I know about my body and how much deeper my awareness of embodiment is now than when I was skating. I had great coaches, who work with national competitors, but even with everything I learned from skating, I wasn't nearly as conscious of body placement as I am now. It may be that training has moved on since I was last seriously engaged in doing it, but I've also had some interesting conversations with my osteopath, who specialises in professional performers, about the way we only start to pay serious attention to these things in our late 20s when things start hurting. When you can just hurl yourself in the air, fall down and get back up, these things are admittedly less interesting then when they are essential to continuing to do what you do. Still, I wonder how the kind of contemporary morning class I do now (which is more about continuous development of one's personal expressivity and eradication of blocks, than teaching a particular technique or sequence) could productively inform skating choreography and lead to the development of personal styles and ways of relating to music. Nathan Chen is really interesting from this point of view. Obviously, he's exceptional, but he has such a strong dance background, as well as a style that feels very specific to him and he's managing to combine it with crazy technical content. Much to think about/try.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thanks, both. Ic3Rabbit, I may take you up on that.

I am not at all anti-coach - I agree I need one. I kind of half-came back 5 or so years ago and I got one then. The hesitation now comes partly from lacking a well-developed skating vocabulary in the local language where I'm living and partly from the fact that the only coaching I'm seeing at the moment is focused on either adult starters with more basic freestyle skills than mine and reasonably competitive 8-10 year olds and I don't feel like I fall into either of those camps.

By way of further context, I teach contemporary performance-making at an internationally renowned institution, so am not super-super delusional. ;-) I'm also not so interested in working with people who are already famous. On my own journey from dance to skating to theatre and back into a sort of physical/dance theatre space, I've been struck by how much more I know about my body and how much deeper my awareness of embodiment is now than when I was skating. I had great coaches, who work with national competitors, but even with everything I learned from skating, I wasn't nearly as conscious of body placement as I am now. It may be that training has moved on since I was last seriously engaged in doing it, but I've also had some interesting conversations with my osteopath, who specialises in professional performers, about the way we only start to pay serious attention to these things in our late 20s when things start hurting. When you can just hurl yourself in the air, fall down and get back up, these things are admittedly less interesting then when they are essential to continuing to do what you do. Still, I wonder how the kind of contemporary morning class I do now (which is more about continuous development of one's personal expressivity and eradication of blocks, than teaching a particular technique or sequence) could productively inform skating choreography and lead to the development of personal styles and ways of relating to music. Nathan Chen is really interesting from this point of view. Obviously, he's exceptional, but he has such a strong dance background, as well as a style that feels very specific to him and he's managing to combine it with crazy technical content. Much to think about/try.

I encourage you to get back into the sport. Also, now that I know your background more definitely pop into my PM.

 

[vlaurend]

I think you will find that you have an increased ability to learn analytically now that you are an adult. It might be a little tougher for you to recover from injuries than when you were 18, but you'll be better at training smart and re-learning what you used to know with a much deeper understanding of the technique than you had as a teen. Do it, and do it with the assistance of a good coach.

 

[cl2]

Thanks, both. Ic3Rabbit, I may take you up on that.

I am not at all anti-coach - I agree I need one. I kind of half-came back 5 or so years ago and I got one then. The hesitation now comes partly from lacking a well-developed skating vocabulary in the local language where I'm living and partly from the fact that the only coaching I'm seeing at the moment is focused on either adult starters with more basic freestyle skills than mine and reasonably competitive 8-10 year olds and I don't feel like I fall into either of those camps.

By way of further context, I teach contemporary performance-making at an internationally renowned institution, so am not super-super delusional. ;-) I'm also not so interested in working with people who are already famous. On my own journey from dance to skating to theatre and back into a sort of physical/dance theatre space, I've been struck by how much more I know about my body and how much deeper my awareness of embodiment is now than when I was skating. I had great coaches, who work with national competitors, but even with everything I learned from skating, I wasn't nearly as conscious of body placement as I am now. It may be that training has moved on since I was last seriously engaged in doing it, but I've also had some interesting conversations with my osteopath, who specialises in professional performers, about the way we only start to pay serious attention to these things in our late 20s when things start hurting. When you can just hurl yourself in the air, fall down and get back up, these things are admittedly less interesting then when they are essential to continuing to do what you do. Still, I wonder how the kind of contemporary morning class I do now (which is more about continuous development of one's personal expressivity and eradication of blocks, than teaching a particular technique or sequence) could productively inform skating choreography and lead to the development of personal styles and ways of relating to music. Nathan Chen is really interesting from this point of view. Obviously, he's exceptional, but he has such a strong dance background, as well as a style that feels very specific to him and he's managing to combine it with crazy technical content. Much to think about/try.

At my rink, there's a coach who conducts a "Flow class", where the emphasis is on expression through skating. I've never been able to make it to the class, so I can't give details, but I imagine it's the analog of a stroking class, but for personal expressivity and style.

There's also another coach who coincidentally is a good artist, offering lessons on drawing skaters---the idea being that drawing someone requires you to study and analyze the body alignment and form.

Sorry, this doesn't answer your original question, but I thought you might be interested to hear about these unconventional types of extra-curricular skating-related activities.

 

[Seren]

There are others here who can speak to your experience much more than I can but I would like to echo them in saying don't get discouraged. It sounds like you've only been back a short time- I'm sure you'll find yourself feeling better the more you practice and get that muscle memory back. As a higher level performer you are likely harsher on your skill level than the average person would be- give yourself time.

Good luck! I am glad you are enjoying skating again!

 

[Curlygirly81]

DO NOT give up! And do not get discouraged if you have a bad day on the ice.. Your muscle memory will kick in. And don't be afraid to fall. I stopped figure skating around the age of 14. At that time I had my axel, double flip, double lutz and double loop. I hated the double Sal but had landed it But it wasn't a jump I enjoyed practicing. Never really landed a double toe but never really tried hard to land It, It was my most hated jump, just felt awkward. I was and still am a big jumper, I just love jumping.
Fast forward about ten years to my mid twenties and I was able to teach myself all old double jumps..Including the double Sal and double toe! Go figure lol... And was able to do all my spins and even some of the new "modern" ones.
I stuck with it for a few years and then went MIA again.. But that wasn't the last of me... I repeated this pattern a few more times.. You know As adults sometimes other things come first and you get distracted from doing the things you enjoy.
Now I'm back again (At age 37) and today I landed my axel, first day actually practicing it, which got me pretty pumped! I've been on the ice about 5 times in the last two two months for my own skating. I'll attempt my doubles when I feel comfortable...

I do have a full time career but on the side I had decided to teach learn to skate (which I had taught before) and recently returned to after about 8 years. The program touches lightly on figure skating.

My point here is if you have a passion... Follow it! And never give up.
Skating makes me happy and I do what makes me happy lol...

It can be scary to return but you need to plow past that feeling.

There's also some really good books you can read if you want to brush up on proper technique:
-the complete book of figure skating
-artistry on ice

Hope sharing my story helps you, even a tiny bit.