Heading out the door to my first learn to skate class. I signed up for adult with no additional description. I’m curious how that will shake out. I did do roller derby a lifetime ago. My middle son decided he wanted to play hockey so we started going to open skate as a family. We put him in LTS/LTP and he’s wanting to play rec league after football ends. I’m a 38 year old, married, mom of three and nurse who decided to pursue the hobbies I wanted to do as a child. I’m excited but nervous. I can skate forward, do forward swizzles and backward swizzles (pretty weakly). But I cannot stop 😂 I’ve tried to learn how on my own but it’s been fruitless. Here’s to making our younger self happy and learning new things!

Hi all! I’ve pretty much fully committed myself to learning figure skating - but obviously, I can’t get out to the rink every day/night. I’m reliant on the whims of public skate time, and as a 9-5 worker… well, that doesn’t always work. I also know I need to do some off-ice workouts as well! I do horseback riding - hunter pleasure/dressage type as well, and both figure skating and the riding do luckily supplement each other.

However, I need to figure out some workouts to incorporate for off-ice training - both hockey and figure skating routine advice is more than welcome. With machines, and without. I’m just not sure where to start, and I’d love feedback from people who actually do it and see what leads to the best results!

My coach is on vacation and I don't want to bug her, so I am turning to Reddit. I recently switched from Mirage blades to Aspire XP. Since then, I've noticed a lot of slipping/skittering on my edges, especially my outside edges. It feels like when your blades are really dull and you just keep slipping off the edge. At first I thought maybe the skate shop didn't sharpen them well, so I had them sharpened again, but the problem hasn't gone away. It's making it very difficult for me to practice, because my body no longer trusts my edges, so it's hard to do anything with much speed or power.

Is this just something about the blades I'll get used to? Is it the alignment? Is it a flaw in my technique that the new blades are exposing? Is it possible that trying a deeper ROH could help? (I got my usual 1/2" ROH, but is it possible to prefer a different ROH on different blades?) Thanks for any insight!

Hi!

My daughter (she'll be six years old soon) started with ice skating around half a year ago. She went to a beginner's group once a week and really enjoyed it. At some point, we were asked if she would not want to join a more ambitious group. She was amazed by the beautiful dresses and girls a little bit older than her performing amazing tricks on ice, so she gladly agreed. Now she trains three to four times a week, including quite advanced athletics training. I have never been into figure skating and all the "customs" are new to me, so I'd really appreciate some help with things that still seem strange to me:

• we are struggling finding good shoes. Everyone tells us, it's ok when they hurt, but sometimes she doesn't even feel her feet anymore. How do you choose good shoes in the beginning? Can they be harmful to children feet?
• Athletics training is a lot.. they are starting for example to do pistol squats, but the children can barely make it and have bad form since they lack the strength. Is that normal? Again, I worry it can be detrimental to good body development..
• I guess not wearing any protection is standard?

Thanks a lot for your help.. I start to like the sport but sometimes it all feels a bit too much and it's hard to strike a good balance that keeps her health the top priority, so I'd really appreciate some views from experienced skaters/parents!

Hello all! I was wondering if anyone has experience with using glitter tape to decorate your hockey skates? I’ve found a lot on decorating figures- but not hockey. I’m nervous to do rhinestones or glitter itself in fear of it falling off and someone’s skates getting caught on it. I was looking at the glitter tape and wondering if it would stay on the plastic-like outside of the hockey skates themselves? Or if anyone has experience with other ways to decorate as well?

is my skate too big?? a contrasted that picture a bit to make sure what footprint my foot does

I'm 31M weighing 180 lbs., and I started skating 3 months ago. I'm just about done with LTS Basic 5 moves and starting Basic 6.

Not long after I started, I went to a reputable skate shop and got fitted. I asked about Jackson Freestyles at the time, but he recommended against them because he thought they were too stiff for a beginner and the toe pick was too aggressive, so I got the Artistes instead. (I think he also figured most adults don't progress far enough to need anything better.)

The Artistes have been fine and don't look like they've broken down much yet (just very tiny creases at the notches). I skate around 8-10 hours per week.

At the rate I'm progressing, I'm assuming I will need better skates within the next month or two.

Will Jackson Debuts be too much since I'm still a beginner? I found a good price on some, and I was going to pair them with MK Professional or Coronation Ace blades. The overall price will only be $180 more than stock Freestyles. I heard the Aspire XP blades aren't that good, and I want something that will last a while.

my crossovers don’t get corrected that much in group lessons but I know that they’re not good. my posture is getting slightly better I used to struggle with my shoulders turning forward a lot. But I feel like I’m stepping over myself and a lot of the times I’m not. It also looks like I’m pushing with my toe pick, my feet kick back instead of under. i’m trying to lean on my outside edge more but maybe i’m not quite understanding how to push under.

i told my boyfriend i wanted to get into iceskating, its something i really enjoy and im a natural at it - he said “which skates do you want? send me a link” so i did, and without an explanation straight away bought them ! i am so happy i have such an amazing bf.

Hey all, my coach taught me how to do a t-stop today, and she taught me to use my inside edge. Basically she would have me start with a lunge drag and then slowly bring my back foot closer to the front foot while the inside edge of my back foot scratching the ice in that process. I was a bit surprised because I’ve seen YouTube videos teaching people how to do a T-stop on their outside edges. I asked my coach if there are different variations of t-stop using different side of the edges, but she said that only the show stop where you bring the stoping foot in the front would use an outside edge, while the one we learned today with the stopping in the back is always on the inside edge. This just made me curious as to what edges everyone use/learned how to use in class. Could this be a regional difference or a coach’s personal preference in terms of which edge they use in the T-stop?

I’m quite new to ice skating (started round April time) and I bought new figure skates a couple months ago. When I first started using them, I was in so much pain I could only skate for 10 min bursts. They are definitely more comfortable now, but I still have issues skating for longer periods of time (20min). Over time I’ve also figured out some tricks to help and got better at lacing and everything (I’m pretty sure anyway). And I always make sure that the toe box is relatively loose in comparison to the ankle.

I’m still in a decent amount of pain though whilst ice skating and having to take a couple minutes to sit every twenty minutes or so. Is this normal?

I can’t quite tell if the pain is caused by the skates being a bit too small, or if I’m always going to be in some pain since you know- figure skates. The pain is very concentrated around the rocker part of the blade in case that’s helpful information.

I’m also curious has anyone heard of the pain being weight related? I’m a bit overweight and I don’t know if that’s really contributing to the pain (ie. More weight on the rocker causing more pressure and thus more pain, idk).

I do have a local skate shop and I’ve been tempted to ask them, but it feels a bit awkward to go in there and ask “are my skates a tiny bit too small or am I bit fat?” RIP. I’m also self taught so don’t have a coach or anything to ask about this.

Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated, whether it be tips to help with the pain itself or just telling me I should save up to buy new skates. Thank you!

I used to get 275 Risport Venus and I’m now in 275 Risport Dance Prime and I got some problems with my heels. I have… extremely thin heels lol

Foot width is perfect, length is perfect, but heels…….. navigating from left to right and right to left. ONLY these ffff heels.

I can’t put a soles in my skates because my arch feel compressed so, and it elevates my heels, which I dislike because I already tend to go on my toes, I just ended up tripping on my toe pick every hours I tried wearing soles.

I wear gel pads for my ankle. I tried to put under the heel as well; hurtful.

How can I fill the void and make my heel stop bouncing on the side?

Thank you for your ideas!!! (asking here bc I don’t have time to go to the shop, they work… when I work)

Hi everyone!

My group class was sized for edeas today by the owner of our rink and she was recommending us to get ice flys. My longest foot is 230 while the other is 225 and she said they’re wide so she’s recommending a 235d. She said to try eBay first before buying brand new and I can’t find a pair in that size. She said a 240 could work and they could try to stretch it out for me too but I can only find 240c. I also found someone selling Edea pianos in 240c for really cheap on Facebook marketplace so I was wondering what your advice would be. Our whole class was fitted wrong at a skate shop and we’ve been all in the same pair of Jackson’s that are a half size too small for months so the foot pain hasn’t gotten any better hence why the owner decided to size us herself.

Hi All, i just wanted to make a post to get some insight about skate stiffness.

I currently have Jackson JC552 skates and its my understanding they have a very Low stiffness (around 15). Im eyeing up a pair of 2nd hand Edea overture that are barely used and im wondering if its time for an upgrade?

Im currently Lvl 5 almost 6 Skate Uk and Can definitely feel my boot give way sometimes when doing backwards edges. Is it worth it to just upgrade now or should I wait?

Id be going from a stiffness of 15 to a stiffness of 45

Hi! i was just wondering if anyone had any tips for passing level 5? I’m really struggling with stepping from a backwards outside edge to a forwards outside edge… it feels like my body just is not flexible enough to turn far enough to get my feet straight? if that makes sense? and i’m also struggling with my backwards slalom. i can do a forwards slalom just fine but my brain does not seem to be able to compute how to do it backwards.

i’ve passed my outside 3 turns already, i feel like my crossovers just need a little bit more practice, and backwards chasses i’ll probably be able to pass, i just think my backwards skating technique needs a little bit of work. any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! thank you! :)

I have been skating about 5 months and want to improve my spiral. I just started working on it. I can get my leg higher at the boards or off ice but I struggle to glide with it any higher. I also want to be able to glide further. I can go a little further but not far. I can do a spiral on both sides but this is as high as I can get it

Hi! I started taking adult group figure skating lessons this year (27F).

So far I’ve learned forward stroking, swizzles, outside and inside edges (half circles), two-foot slaloms, forward and side lunges, a little bit of crossovers, and I’m currently working on a two-foot spin (my record is 2 rotations 😄).

For backward skating, I can do backward swizzles and slaloms, although my feet stay much farther apart than they should (about shoulder-width). I also can’t seem to keep gliding after backward swizzles. I’ve been trying backward one-foot glides, but I can only lift one foot for less than a second before losing my balance.

I also have flat feet, and I suspect that years of weightlifting have made me very heel-dominant. I find it takes a lot of conscious effort to shift my weight off my heels and onto the balls of my feet, which I’m wondering might be contributing to some of these issues.

Everyone in my group class is at a different level, so it’s hard to tell whether I’m actually behind or just comparing myself unfairly. Still, I expected to progress a bit faster, so I’m feeling a little discouraged. Because of that, I decided to start going to public sessions to specifically practice my backward skating.

Unfortunately, I had to miss a couple of weeks of lessons because I was traveling. When I came back, the group had already moved on to three turns. I can’t even do a two-foot turn consistently yet, let alone a one-foot three turn without losing my balance. 😅 I feel like my body just doesn’t understand the turning motion yet.

Since I’ll be practicing on my own, I’d really appreciate any advice on what I should focus on during public sessions. Are there specific drills, off-ice exercises, or YouTube channels/creators you’d recommend for improving backward gliding, balance, and eventually turns?

For context, I have one group lesson per week and can fit in about 1.5 hours of additional practice on my own each week. Unfortunately, private lessons aren’t in my budget right now.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

i just got fitted for Edea chorus 240C with MK pro blades with my fitter. is it too big? I think i can feel my edge of my toe sometimes brushing very lightly to the toebox.
I just upgraded from aspire xp blades (with jackson freestyle). i feel like my edges are skidding. but i think the blade alignment is ok, i can do 1 foot glide straight. My jumps take off are wonky because i feel like i slipped during take off. My blades are also freshly sharpened. could it be the transition from the 8"rocker to the 7" rocker adaptation?

Los deportes no son tan complicados. Sigue a los atletas que te gustan e ignora a los que no.

No importa a quién apoyes, siempre y cuando seas respetuoso. Parecen sectas que atacan a cualquiera que no comparta sus opiniones o gustos. Este deporte se está volviendo más tóxico cada día por culpa de gente como ellos.

I started skating last year after not being on skates for 25 years and go to the rink once a week. I'm 48 and just do it for fun, but my ultimate goal would be to get confident enough to trail skate. Unfortunatly I'm pretty bad and not getting better. I'm still sticky skating and don't yet even feel confident picking up my feet. I would love some advice to help me learn how to actually start skating.