Confidence on the ice comes with practice, but when learning to skate it’s a good idea to know some of the basics before getting started.
Buy or Rent Skates That Fit Correctly
Ill-fitting skates can cause injuries. Ensure skates are tied up correctly and that the boots are not too tight or too loose. Skates are not always the same size as regular footwear, so it’s important to check that boots are comfortable with limited room to move the foot around inside.
Push the foot to the back of the skate and put several fingers into the space between the laces and ankle (under the boot tongue). If more than two fingers can fit there, it’s likely that either the boot is too big or the laces are not tight enough.
Number One Ice Skating Rule: Don’t Look Down
When standing on the ice, looking at the feet causes the body’s centre of gravity to shift forwards and often results in a fall.
Try to look up, not just to prevent falling but also to prevent colliding with other skaters.
Improve Balance While Ice Skating
Holding arms up while skating can help with balance. Take the arms wide, slightly forward of the body and just below chest height with palms facing down.
They may feel heavy at first, but this is a good habit to practice from the beginning and arm strength will develop along with skating skills.
Falling When Learning to Skate is Normal
Falls are part of the learning process. Even the most experienced skaters fall sometimes, however, there are several tips that will help make falls safer.
- Try crouching close to the ice and ‘falling’ to one side (onto the buttock). Come onto all fours, step one leg in front of the body putting the skate blade flat on the ice. Place one hand on the ice and one on the raised knee, then push up into standing position. Practice and get used to the process.
- Don’t lean backwards while skating. Try to keep weight slightly forwards.
- If falling backwards, tuck head towards chest to prevent concussion or worse.
- If falling forwards, try to land on the side like in the previous falling exercise. This is to avoid landing on outstretched arms and falling directly on knees.
- If feeling wobbly, go into the safety position - semi-crouched with hands on thighs.
Practice Basic Figure Skating Exercises
Get used to the feeling of having the ice underfoot by skating several times around the rink to warm up.
Next try some of the following:
- Lunge from side to side. Lean to one side, bend one knee keeping the other leg straight. Then swap sides. This is all about developing weight transference.
- March on the spot, lifting feet off ice one at a time. When this feels natural, try marching around in a circle on the spot.
- Twist on the spot. With feet close together, twist from the waist taking the feet from one side of the body to the other. Next, try twisting forwards, backwards, left and right.
- Practice forward skating. With arms held out to the sides and eyes up, keep knees slightly bent and stand with toes turned slightly outward. Start marching, concentrating on lifting each foot off the ice alternately, gradually try to hold the glide for longer on each foot. The same process also works for backwards skating with the exception that toes will be turned inwards at the beginning.
Remember that Ice skating lessons will help to improve ability quickly and ensure technique is correct.
References:
- Shulman, C. The Complete Book of Figure Skating. Human Kinetics, 2002.
Ange Norton - I'm a 26-year-old qualified journalist, figure skating coach and Les Mills personal trainer based in Auckland, New Zealand. In my past ...
