Figure skating?

recently, i went to an ice skating rink.. and i skated for 3 hours.. it was fun gliding.. but what i wanted to do was do tricks like figure skaters do..like the jumps and spins.. i get kinda insecure when i see them.. I'd like to have lessons but we lack money.. any advice?|||Group classes at the rink school for really low levels isn't that expensive (it's not like they are going to charge you 70 dollars per hour). You can talk to your parents about ways to save the cash from less important things. Instead of giving you a Nintendo Wii, use the cash for the skating lessons instead. Save your allowance money or you could get a part-time job like in a Starbucks or a movie theater or something for a while to help pay costs.





Don't expect do be doing a Triple tomorrow. It took me over 6 months of private lessons to be able to start doing the Waltz jump which is just a half revolution. Beginners start with the two foot spin which is like hugging yourself while twirling counter-clockwise if you are right-handed for a few turns (everything in ice skating is done the opposite way if you are left-handed). This is how a beginner is expected to do a two foot spin. You don't need a lot of technical skill to do this:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU4ThFnja…





I'm not going to promote a site (I'm not being paid or anything haha), but there's a lot of nice short videos about ice skating on youtube. This video shows you how to do the right-handed hockey stop which is a required test element (and something everyone in the public session who wants to skate fast should know):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiDqHQltC…


The guy's accent is kinda annoying, but it's indeed something you could easily do when you go skating. Sreach for other basic moves you could do as a beginner like Lunges, Shoot the duck, crossovers or gliding on the inside and outside edge on both the right and left foot going forwards and backwards if you are up to it.





This video is pretty nice, shows you how a beginner does some of these things and it's stuff you could try out at the rink without paying a lot of money to a coach:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jl71a4lv…





Just be careful if you dare do a spiral going forward because you could trip on the toepick and fall right on your face. That used to happen to me a lot as a beginner. It's far safer (but harder because you need to be good at skating backwards) to do backwards spirals. As a beginner you could also try the Bunny hop which is the easiest jump in the sport if you have enough courage. You could ask a friend to hold your arm while you do it if it's too scary because you're not rotating at all. There HAS to be a video of that jump on youtube if you look it up.





The truth is that yes a coach is important to correct your errors and avoid bad habits, but you don't need one all the time if you have enough knowledge of the figures in your head already, coaches are mostly there to say you have to pull your leg up higher or bend your knee more, but they expect you to know what each figure is called. I self coached myself to do a lot of my figures by just watching what skaters did on tv.





The bad thing of self coaching though (but it's more a problem of harder figures than what I showed you here) is that you could get injuries if you don't know how the figure is done or if you didn't stretch before going on the ice, but for a beginner you probably will only need to stretch to do spirals.





Don't think because these are simple things you aren't allowed to skate with the figure skaters during the public session. Not at all. Just skate in a little corner, don't just run into someone while they are doing something that needs a lot of concentration like a Double Flip or something and avoid the corner where everyone does the Lutz jump because everyone will crash into you. We were all beginners working on Snowplow stops and lunges at one time.





As for asking figure skaters on the ice; I don't get asked a lot. I guess I just don't look like a happy camper with a huge bubbly grin on my face. I always look really serious and focused when I'm skating so people are scared to death of me haha (the fact that I have a bit of a temper when little kids are skating all over the place bumping into me doesn't help). Sometimes I do get a local person who builds up the courage to ask me something like how to skate backwards. I just tell them the answer real fast and continue working.





Remember that some of these skaters are being charged per hour on the ice, so sometimes they will barely have enough time to do their practise and hep you for free. It will be a far better idea if you go skating to them already knowing what a lunge looks like and ask them to keep an eye on you and to give you tips on what you are doing wrong instead of just popping out of nowhere asking for free all around classes.





I may be busy doing jumps and spins, but I'm always keeping an eye all over the place and can identify common beginner errors while I'm at work, I'm pretty sure other skaters do the same thing so it's possible if the skater has some free time and you got them in a good mood they will be coming back and telling you little tips here and there.





Skate safely!!!|||well, to be honest it takes about a year of lessons to go onto the jumps. maybe a half of a year to try a spin. try starting basic skills classes which are about 8 weeks long for $110 at my ice rink. if you are dedicated then you could try it. i had to quit practically all my sports for skating. so if you dont have time then i wouldnt skate.if you start skating then you wont feel insecure about the jumps anymore. when you start basic skills you will have to start at level 1 and you might be a little embarassed because there are like 5 year olds in that class. but the better you get, the more levels you go up.|||Often times ice rinks will offer group lessons which run around $30-$40 for a three week session which you skate twice a week for 30 minutes. The group lessons usually include rental skate costs and are much cheaper than doing private lessons. Good luck!|||Sometimes if you go to your local rink during a public session there are more advanced figure skaters there. If they are not in a lesson and look like they are not too busy, it wouldn't hurt to ask them for advice.





I know that when I go skating with my friends, I like it when people ask me how to do stuff. It is very rewarding and it is fun to teach them something new!!





So, by just being polite and asking for help you may get a few tips and form a friendship!!





Also, buying a book or two on figure skating can help you learn more about the sport while your not on the ice.





Good Luck, I hope this helps!!|||Hey. I have had lessons for 6 months now, i would of started sooner but money was also an issue. Stop having pocket money and put that towards your lesson, and ask your parents to make up the diffrence. To start on take the learn to skate programme, the cost covers around 6 week block lessons with practise and grading at the end, the grades are simple and get harder. When you have reached level 10 you can start taking 1-2-1 private lessons, i know these may sund out of your range, but have 1 every 2 weeks to start with and pratise every other week? Look around local rinks as the prices really vary. Good luck! and it takes alot of hard work, been scremed at by coaches, crying, smiling but it all pays off. If you want to put the effort it try your best, but ifyou wont be deticated is it really worth the money?