Skates for beginners

[pk]

Hi everyone,

I just started ice skating - less than 25 hours on the ice (started from hugging the boards).  I have a pair of hand me down PVC riddle skates which I just sharpen , and I cannot snow plowed yet. I 'm planning to get a better pair of skates in hope that I can skate better with it.   I tried on Jacksons and Riddle beginner skates and they hurts my feet badly when tried on for less than 5 min.

Anyone in the bay area (CA): please recommend where I can  shop for new skates.

Thanks much for the recommendation!

[cittiecat]

I'm not sure about shops in the Bay Area, but a very painful trying on experience sounds like a fit issue. When I tried on a standard width Jackson skate it felt like I broke my pinkie toe. They also didn't have wider widths in stock for me to test out. I would recommend going over to kinzie's closet website and reading the descriptions of how different brands fit and maybe do a width measurement to see if you are going to need a wider skate. I don't know about Riedell Recreational skates but I know my DBX Recreational skates came very wide as compared to my Riedell Strides. But I can definitely say that skates that fit wrong or are tied too tight (tying too tight still occasionally happens with me) can cause pain.

[Query]

You can do an ice skating (forwards) snow plow stop on pretty junky skates.

The snow plow problem may be a flexibility issue (if you can't point your toes towards each other), a strength issue, or both - or something more subtle.

Needless to say, a one foot snow plow (where the other foot just glides) is easier than a two foot snow plow.

A lot of people say to snow plow with most of your weight on the braking (skidding) foot. That gives a much stronger stop. But it is a lot easier if you barely put any weight on the braking foot, because it doesn't require as much strength.

Also, the braking (skidding) foot should be on its inside edge, and you may need to lean back just a little bit so you don't tumble forwards.

And, while some people say to push sideways, you really need the toe-in position on the braking foot, and it should be slightly ahead of you, so your motion pushes against the scrape.

It may be worth asking a coach, or a reasonably skilled but friendly skater, for help.

I'm not discouraging you from getting your own skates - but be sure that they fit right, and have the "right" degree of stiffness for you, or they will be awful. And recognize they may not fix this specific problem. It may be a matter of getting more comfortable on skates, getting the edge, position, lean and weighting right, improving your toe-in flexibility, and building up your strength, all of which which may take time, no matter what type of skates you wear.

P.S. If you ski, a snow plow stop on skates is much different than on downhill skis. On downhill skis, you can lean forwards hard against the top of the boot(s), and that does most of the work. I think skates aren't high enough, and toe picks make leaning forwards problem prone, for this to work.

[Ethereal Ice]

I just started skating too. I started with a pair of very inexpensive skates and then found a better quality skate when I decided I was serious (after about a month of going regularly, probably about ten to 15 hours on the ice). As the other poster mentioned, I was also able to snow plow, even with my cheap skates. I could also do basic stroking, backwards wiggles, pumps, swizzles, the kind of basic stuff you see on you tube  . I agree that seeking instruction is always a good plan, especially if you are "stuck" on an element and getting frustrated.

As for skates, you should have many options in the Bay Area of CA. There are several ice arenas with pro shops, and I believe Harlick is even down there somewhere (expensive, but good quality skates). The most important thing is fit obviously, as was also mentioned, Kenzie's Closet is a wonderful site. They give you the different sizing for the most popular brands of skates and tell you how to measure your foot, what level of skate works best for your abilities and goals, just a great site. In my experience, your best bet is to at least get fitted for length and width at a pro shop, and they can also help guide you which skates may be more comfortable for your foot type. You duo not necessarily have to purchase from a pro shop, but there are advantages to doing so. In some cases, a pro shop may even let you know you can get a better deal elsewhere. Ours advised my husband, who has a very wide foot, of skates that were being discontinued this year that they no longer carried, but that we found online on clearance.
 
Also, most new skates required a breaking in period. I read a lot about breaking in skates when I was breaking in mine, there are lots of tips out there, some worked for me, some did not, so I will share my first experience here. My new skates felt too snug when I very first put them on, especially considering that my cheap skates were a bit too large for me. After few minutes of just sitting there with the new ones on though, I started to realize they felt pretty good, almost like they were an extension of my foot. I could move my toes just a little, but otherwise, there was no foot movement in them, for instance my heel was very snug and stable. During the break in period, I wore mine in the house with guards on for about an hour a day on days that I did not skate. The days I did skate, I did lots of deep knee bends and took several breaks when I was skating because my feet would get achey, I did not push it too hard, the first few skates I only did 20-30 minutes worth of skating, but by about ten skates in, they felt amazing, and all those elements I had been working on with my cheap skates were getting even better than before.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out, there is much to learn on this sport overall, and this is a great resource with many knowledgeable folks on it, I have found it invaluable.

[Toby Wollin]

My two cents - I just started skating in November. I wear, in street shoes, a 6.5 WW/EE (if I can get 'em; 7 if I can't). When I started, I used rentals and was literally in agony. After one set of 6 lessons, I decided that if I was going to continue, I would need to be comfortable, so I consulted with a professional skate fitter and went up and saw her. There were two skates she recommended, a Jackson (the coach model) and another one which looks like a standard ice skate. I tried on both in the size that she recommended and although the one which looked more like a skate was certainly more comfortable than the rentals (anything short of an iron maiden would have been more comfortable), the Jackson 'coach' model was the one I went with. It has been fantastic. Now, she did warn me - these have some limitations - I would not be able to do jumps in them, but she also said that at the rate I would be using them, they'd last me three years and by then, if I were going to go with jumps and more aerial stuff, I could always make the investment for a custom boot. Now, given that my age is over 60 and my aim in terms of skating is to strengthen my legs so that I don't break a hip later, my goals do not include learning how to do jumps; I'm more of an ice dance sorta gal. She said that if I wanted to replace what I have now with another pair, that would work well too. After watching other skaters in my classes struggling with poorly-fitting skates (whether rentals or purchased), I'm convinced that one of the major contributors to my making the progress that I have has been that I've had a pair of skates on my feet that fit, that feel supportive and comfortable and are therefore not a distraction in terms of learning or performing what the teacher wants from me.

[pk]

Thank You very much everyone for the advices on skates and techniques!

Cat: kinzie's closet website is great and I love the skate description for foot type on there too! I'll check out Riedell Strides if possible.

Query: Yes, I was thinking for skiing snow plow when I attempted with stopping last week (before posting).  The group coach told me to correct my forward stroking (45 degree), so while I learned that I realized that I cannot stroke/control my right foot at all and I cannot glide on left leg; that confirmed your theory that I have weak legs. So I'm starting to stand on one leg off ice now = )

This week practice I also realized that I 'm very comfortable at stopping by turning in a circle - my coach said that is very normal for beginner ; so I 'm thinking to practice stopping with single leg while my body turning in circle so hopefully that will turn into a single leg stop for me.  Is that correct?

Ice:  I love the youtube instructions and still working on those instructions.  2 shops (inside the ice skating places) told me that the Riedel size 6 and 6.5 is my size, while I tell them that I still have 1/2 or 3/4 inches or more at my toes in my current Riedel size 6. So it was a bit surprised to hear that. Stride also has 1/2 sizes so I'll ask if I can try .5  lower too.

Toby: As Cat mentioned, Riedell Stride is in the instructional group as yours. I guess last time when I shopped, I told them that I'm a beginner and they did not show me any thing higher than beginner skates. I'll ask to try Stride or instructional group to see.

Thanks again everyone for the advices! Much appreciated! please post more if there are more information!