Nerves after Falls

[fsk8r]

(I am just as scared of falling while walking outside in the winter.  It isn't just ice skating.)

I'm more terrified of falling outside in winter. At least at the rink I've got blades on! Having managed to fall without even realising it while deicing the car one winter, they're equally frightening (although thankfully it was one of the minor falls).

And while we should all just shake off the falls and see them as positives. It's often quite difficult to do. I know I can overcome falls and succeed doing things, but it's a slow process as an adult and requires a lot of determination (and support from coaches). It would be very easy sometimes to give up and avoid those things which scare us (generally from learned experience), but we're all still plugging away. It's just not always as easy to conquer the mind.  

I'm actually grateful that there are others here saying they're equally freaked by these things and that they can affect them days/weeks/months after the original fall. Sometimes I think I'm a complete nutcase. My coaches know me and know when to push and when to hold back. They also know that a long tiring week of work can make me less able to cope with the little things that skating throws at me, including falls.

Taka - thanks for the link to the meditation. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to meditate on a busy freestyle session but perhaps being more aware of the little things might help stop the focus on what's already happened.

[Laneybug7]

I tend not to worry about falls either.  Hey it's part of skating.  Avoid them if you can, but sometimes they do happen.  Sometimes if their silly falls on something easy or due to clumsiness, I usually take a lap around the rink(if I'm not hurt too bad).  But when they happen on harder things, I usually shake it off and go right back to working on whatever element it was.  I've seen an elite skater take some massive falls on double lutzes, yet she also gets right back up and tries it again.  It's all part of skating:)  Although I tend to trip and fall more off ice, than I do on.  I was once walking through Walmart and for some reason I tripped and fell..to the floor..in the middle of Walmart. That was pretty embarressing, yet funny at the same time.

[Skittl1321]

But as far as falling goes you've just got to keep trying, you don't want whatever move you were doing to get the better of you and scare you senseless.    Don't let it win! 

Oddly enough, the moves I'm scared of falling on are not the ones I've ever actually fallen on.  Eight step mohawk comes to mind.  Absolutely terrified.

But things I've actually fallen on, I usually can do just fine.

[ChristyRN]

Do be careful please.  The cast throws off your balance a bit.

I kept at least one skate on the ice at all times, and declined back inside edges.  (I saw the leading arm with a cast and visualized falling on it)  I did two foot instead.  And I did not jump.   Even when the kids did.  One thing I can't do is press my hands down--no flex in my left wrist.

I will say that it felt really good!  And the other adults from the Christmas show were all there and signed my cast.

[SynchKat]

I am so klutzy off of skates. I walked into a pole today and almost knocked my son over while walking along the sidewalk. Now that's embarrassing!!!

I think the answer to nervousness after falling is that there isn't an answer really. Like everything with skating it just takes time.  

[jjane45]

Total four pounds of safety gear takes care of most of my nerves.

[sampaguita]

I wear hip and tailbone pads. And I don't jump. Nor spin. And I skate slow.

Unfortunately for me, my spine is just not able to tolerate falls anymore. So I just take it easy.

I find it sad that the figure skating sport looks down on protective gear. Rinks have hard barriers, and wearing pads during competitions is looked down upon. Helmets are taboo. I hope that the ISU will take notice, but then a lot of elite skaters, some even World Champions, have had extremely bad falls and no one seems to care.

[AgnesNitt]

I wear hip and tailbone pads. And I don't jump. Nor spin. And I skate slow.

Unfortunately for me, my spine is just not able to tolerate falls anymore. So I just take it easy.

I find it sad that the figure skating sport looks down on protective gear. Rinks have hard barriers, and wearing pads during competitions is looked down upon. Helmets are taboo. I hope that the ISU will take notice, but then a lot of elite skaters, some even World Champions, have had extremely bad falls and no one seems to care.

The competitive side of figure skating may look down on it, but I can assure you that here in the US skating protection is alive and well in recreational skating.

[sk8lady]

All of my worst falls have been either outside on our slippery deck, in our frozen driveway, or on our stairs. I never expect it (although by now I should) so I flail around wildly and then wallop some unfortunate body part when I go down!

[Skate@Delaware]

A few months ago, I fell down the stairs...hard! I was really lucky that I grabbed the hand rail in time, otherwise I wouldn't be here to complain about anything (lol!)...I landed hard on my bottom and bounced down 8 steps. I was sore & bruised for weeks, and it took about 4 visits before my chiropractor could straighten me all out. I hurt from my head all the way down to my thighs. I'm sure I also had more brain trauma 

[Query]

Many people here know from my web page on falling that my own approach to a broken leg was to spend a few thousand hours learning how to fall, until it doesn't scare me any more. (Not good - it meant I started trying stupid things like roller blading, and spinning and skating backwards on skis, which did cause some injury, though nothing as serious.)

But my response was extreme. After the cast came off, it took me another year before I returned to the ice.
 
The more balanced approach some of the people have here makes more sense to the serious skater. One of the ladies on this board wants to wrap skaters up in bubble wrap, which should make a very light and airy fashion statement. Roller blading, hockey and football outfits (which are lighter than hockey outfits) have also been suggested. If it gives you the confidence to keep skating, that's an incredible boon.

That said, it doesn't hurt to spend a few hours on falling, and to review it once in a while to keep the reflex speeds up - once you have healed. Not all coaches have much fall training, but a lot do, so if you trust your coach, start with them. Master falls in all possible directions, out of all possible moves. Start low, sitting on the floor, and work your way up.

I also believe it probably helps to try other traditional injury reduction strategies, such as strength training (so your body can take more stress, giving you a larger margin for error) and flexibility training (if your muscles aren't long enough to give you an adequate safety margin - all my injuries are related to this issue), if they seem appropriate to you.

&) But your very FIRST step should be to move to a planet with less gravity!  &)

[fsk8r]

&) But your very FIRST step should be to move to a planet with less gravity!  &)

Skating on the moon. It's obviously the way to go!

I think where your fall training comes into help, is that it takes out the fear. I know the coaches all complain now when they fall as it hurts way more than it did when they were kids. Their conclusion is that they're out of practice. They just don't do it that often.

[SynchKat]

I can tell you one good thing that came out of falling while skating for me was learning how to fall.  I fell down the stairs carrying my son and was able to keep my wits about me and protected him practically laying him down on the ground. I on the other hand had to have my eyebrow glued together. .

[AgnesNitt]

In my pre-skating days, I slipped and fell down some carpeted stairs. I remember seeing my feet and the ceiling in the same instant. Being thrown off of horses helped. I didn't panic and rolled to the bottom of the stairs. I still hurt, but I crawled away from it.

The funny thing? My dog came downstairs to see what all the fuss was about. She licked me in the face and went back upstairs. I called after her, "Timmy's in the well. Go get help."

When I got upstairs, she was napping on the forbidden couch.

[drskater]

Synchcat: Wow! You have super-spidey falling skills.

Agnes Nitt: ba haw haw haw!

Hmmmm, lots of this off-ice falling sounds like my life. Are figure skaters more klutzy outside the rink?

[Harleyboy]

Well, I don't know about the others, but I am equally klutzy on or off the ice..


The nice thing about ice is,



it gives me an excuse.

[jjane45]

The nice thing about ice is, it gives me an excuse.

+1 

[taka]

Skating has helped my balance enormously! I used to fall ~3 times a month (tripping over my feet walking along the pavement mostly). Since I started skating ~19 months ago I've fallen 8 times in total, on or off the ice - twice off ice and 6 times on the ice!

It is not the falls that freak me out... it is the almost falls! I could do with falling more, particularly while jumping. I think I'd feel more confident that if the jump went wrong it would still be ok if I fell and was ok! Might help my being too scared to go for it most of the time! For some reason dance doesn't scare me so far!

[fsk8r]

It is not the falls that freak me out... it is the almost falls! I could do with falling more, particularly while jumping. I think I'd feel more confident that if the jump went wrong it would still be ok if I fell and was ok! Might help my being too scared to go for it most of the time! For some reason dance doesn't scare me so far!

Dance and moves in the field cause the worst possible falls. Spinning and jumping don't tend to lead to too many falls. There's the odd sit down on a sit spin and single jumps just don't give rise to enough opportunity to fall, although I will two foot a landing if I'm not confident / secure.

But the really really bad falls are the ones which come out of nowhere when you're not doing anything.

[ChristyRN]

But the really really bad falls are the ones which come out of nowhere when you're not doing anything.

Amen!  My first bad fall (resulting in a concussion) was from standing in the goal crease.  One  second I was standing, the next I was looking at the shiny silver ceiling and seeing stars.  I got off for a bit then got back on for LTS.  I shouldn't have, but if I hadn't gotten right  back on, I never would have.

[AgnesNitt]

I knew a national champion (not US) who was standing instructing, abruptly fell and cracked her elbow. They were hauling her to the emergency room as I walked in the lobby.

Amusingly, when I started skating I walked into the lobby of the same rink, and saw two women using a fireman carry to get a girl out of the building and presumably to the same emergency room. One of the women was a coach and knew me, "This is rare!" She desperately cried, "Really, really rare!"

[sarahspins]

Dance and moves in the field cause the worst possible falls.

I agree, but I think it's mostly because they rattle me much more.  I don't expect to fall doing moves, so I'm not as mentally prepared for it.  I know how to fall out of a spin or a jump without getting hurt - I've had lots of practice with that - but a fall doing moves isn't something I expect, so it always seems a lot worse.

[tazsk8s]

Dance and moves in the field cause the worst possible falls.

+1,000,000

I was pretty fearless before my infamous 8 step mohawk-induced broken wrist.  Even though I fell occasionally on various jumps, it never bothered me.

Good wrist protection has been the one thing that has allowed me to get back on the ice and still not be too bothered by falling.  When I first started back on the ice post-injury I wore wrist guards on both sides, ALL the time.  As I felt more comfortable over the first few months I got rid of the one on my uninjured wrist first, and then gradually on the one I broke.  Even now, 2 1/2 years later, it can still hurt to fall on the bad wrist, so I usually bring the one wrist guard out with me and leave it with my water bottle.  If I find myself falling a lot, or feeling wobbly, on it goes.  Other than that I usually only wear it for axel attempts because I do tend to fall on those frequently.

Now, I still have yet to attempt the 8 step again.  I can finally say the phrase "8 step mohawk" without feeling nauseated, but just seeing a kid working on it is enough to scare me.  I will probably need both wrist guards, knee pads, a motorcycle helmet, a suit of armor, and bubble wrap just to be convinced to try it again.

[fsk8r]

Now, I still have yet to attempt the 8 step again.  I can finally say the phrase "8 step mohawk" without feeling nauseated, but just seeing a kid working on it is enough to scare me.  I will probably need both wrist guards, knee pads, a motorcycle helmet, a suit of armor, and bubble wrap just to be convinced to try it again.

Have you tried the actual mohawk since (ie the turn not the pattern)? I've yet to break anything (touch wood) but I used to have pretty bad falls on back inside double 3s. It was normally only on the one foot and it did become a big complex. My coaches were just praying that they'd keep me upright long enough for me to get through the test. I fell two weeks before and they were having kittens because they weren't convinced I could keep the nerves in check. I did and I passed the test. The next test level has the same turns, but a different pattern. They thought this was going to be a challenge with nerves, but I've had one fall and I don't have anywhere near the mental issues. Just a thought. If you're happy with the mohawk on another pattern, it might make the 8-step easier.

On another note. After a week of freaking at my shadow since my latest fear inducing minor fall I've finally started to find a little confidence. It took to having a quiet session with the older adults. They tend to keep out of my way (I'm faster than a lot of them) and it was just what I needed to get myself going. Let's just hope I can get it to continue. Poor coach needs to keep me confident as there's another test looming.

[tazsk8s]

Have you tried the actual mohawk since (ie the turn not the pattern)? 

A couple of times, my coach had me trying it as an alternative loop entry.  It didn't go all that well.

I am sure part of my problem was that I was grandfathered through pre-bronze and bronze moves because I passed bronze FS prior to the implementation of adult moves.  I had plenty of time to think about this while I was off the ice - lol.  I was trying to dive right into silver moves without the benefit of the building blocks of any of the lower skills. I've been spending my time learning standard track moves (since I think the progression of skills is more logical and the judging standards seem to be much more consistent than the adult track), passed pre-pre and have been plugging away at prelim.  So I've managed to make the outside mohawk irrelevant for the time being.    Maybe by the time I get back to "needing" to work on it, I won't be as afraid of it.