Tips on Ice Skating for Enthusiastic Beginners
While we tend to focus on news about ice skating at Ice Skating World, we realize that many visitors to our site are looking to learn to ice skate and don’t know where to start. We thought we would put together this short list of tips to help towards getting you on the ice at a rink for the first time, even if you’re a little scared that you’ll fall and get wet!
Here are a few suggestions for ice skating as a first timer or with just a little experience under your belt.
Try to Keep Your Head Up
It’s very tempting to always be looking down at your feet when getting on the ice for the first time. We all do that. The problem is that it risks you toppling over face-first because you’re intentionally putting your body off-balance. Do your best to look ahead and trust that you will skate forward in a smooth gliding motion. When you keep looking forward, you can maintain a good eye on the people in front to see if they’re about to fall or stop right in front of you, which gives you time to stop too.
Buy Your Own Ice Skates
Whether you’re interested in casual ice skating or you want to get into figure skating, it’s always best to buy a comfortable pair of ice skates and not rely on the ones you can rent at a rink. Outside of the issues of hygiene, the rented boots are well worn and won’t have the sharpest blades, which makes it harder to grip the ice to stay upright. They’re also not well balanced, which makes falling more likely. When you purchase your own pair of skates, you’re invested in the sport of ice skating and will put the time in to learn how to skate well.
Consider Hiring a Skating Coach
There are group lessons to learn how to ice skate without needing to do it yourself by trial and error. Many ice rinks and ice skating organizations around the country offer skating lessons for beginners to get them over their initial hesitancy or to improve the skills being developed. The lessons aren’t that expensive when in a group setting and being among people who are at the same level as you will make you feel less intimidated. You’ll be skating around at full speed in no time.
Improve Your Balance
Avoid the feeling of needing to lean backward. This is easy to do when you’re starting out. Keeping your balance is hard at first because you feel unstable. It’s more difficult for men because walking in heels has taught many adult women how to balance with a less sturdy base to rely upon. Practice at home walking on your skates to get used to the feeling of balancing on the blades.
When you’re looking to pair ice skating with another challenge for your balance and dexterity, then try skiing too. The create your own forum website has many tips for beginners and a busy forum to help people new to skiing on dry slopes before hitting the piste.
Is skating or skiing your passion already? Let us know!
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