Getting over fear on the ice

[WaltzJump413]

I actually came up with a solution for this today, one of which I am quite proud of.

Do squats on ice! lol I am serious! If you fall down, you get over the fear of falling, if you don't fall, then you're doing your squats and building muscle for other things! It is a win-win situation.

I saw a man today fall on his back and hit his head....he turned out to be okay but it is very important to learn how to fall the right way, there is always a risk of injury for an unstable fall. SO from now on, I am practicing my squat-falls. Similar to shoot-the-duck except I have absolutely no leg strength to keep the free leg up, i pull a muscle... 

Good idea, Mint27! Another bonus...when you're ready to try a shoot-the-duck, you'll have a strong "standing" leg!

[amkw]

The more you fall, the more you realize it doesn't usually hurt so much.  Falls come when you are least expecting it.  Usually, when you are doing something "easy" is when the worst falls happen.  99.999999999999% of skating falls do not leave any serious  injury, but 20% of the falls will make you a little sore for a day or two. That means that 79.999999% of the falls don't hurt for long.  Usually, it's a "smart" type of pain.

Speed develops slowly, especially for adults who never skated as children.  It may take you 8 years.  It's not about doing things fast, it's about doing things technically correct and with a smile on your face.

This. Completely. I usually fall when I'm not trying to do anything in particular. For example, the other day I went to place my arm on the railing to lean against it for a second...completely missed the railing, which resulted in me slamming my arm into the wall and falling over.  It's always the situations like that which get me. I agree that it takes a lot of time to get comfortable with, and also as others have mentioned trying to fall properly when you feel it coming. Others suggested not fighting it which I completely agree with! That makes it so much WORSE.