Help out a sort of New skater!

[hellotwizzles]

Hi all! I decided to try out a new sport this year and am interested in trying figure skating. I'm in Canada and have been "skating" on public sessions/for fun since I was little, but I'd like to take it more seriously!

The skates I have probably have a couple sharpening left in them? They are Risports (older model but the equivalent I can find online is probably RF4?) with MK Club 2000 blades that were missing the bottom/master pick when purchased- I didn't know that was something to look out for but at $20 I'd still say these were a steal, haha! I'm obviously in need of new skates, and would rather spend on something I can use for 2-3 or more years even if it is more expensive than department store skates. So, what are you guys' reccommendations? Figured it may be better to ask other skaters than Google!

I've also been wondering when the right time is to look into joining a club and looking for a private coach- there's a pretty good adult scene in my city and good prices, lots of coaches are taking students for 12-15$/15 mins, however I don't want to waste anyone's time if I am still too low-level for that and an upper-level Learn to skate Class might be a better fit!

Some details:
I'm 5'0, 125 lbs, athletic build/bottom heavy and thinner up top, train as a swimmer and runner right now
Skills I can do at a fast/decent speed: fwd/bwd skating, snowplow 1-foot and 2 foot and t-stop, fwd blade drag, l-push and glide half- circle, figure-8 and rink perimeter with fwd/bwd crosscuts, 1 food glide on inside/outside edge and fwd inside 3-turn right/left, two foot spin, two foot jumps and step out turn(I think this is called a Mohawk)?, forward-to-backwards turns at speed
Budget: I think 350-400 is the absolute most I would spend boots and blades together

So what do you guys say? Is it time to seek out a private coach or go to a LTS class first? What boot/blade combos are appropriate for this skill level and a little higher?

[tothepointe]

I would take with a private coach. Because if you end up in an LTS class they might just pass you through with your self-taught basics without anyone analysing your technique.

[nicklaszlo]

Get a local coach to refer you to an expert boot fitter.

[Query]

I'm not all that good a skater. But I will give you here what advice I can.

Boots and blades can be viewed as separately replaceable - though if they were attached to each other by rivets (rather than screws), some low end skate techs might not know how to replace one without the other. But you don't want a low end skate tech - you want the best you can find, based on the advice of coaches or good figure skaters. Don't be surprised if you must drive a few hours to get to them.

Based on what you say, with the back tooth gone, the blades are more or less shot. In particular, the toe pick won't work right, which will limit significantly the extent to which you can learn jumps and spins. And you might as well find something a little higher end than MK 2000. MK 2000 were not supposed to go beyond entry level freestyle, which you are close to reaching.

Whether the boots are adequate depends on several factors. How well do they fit? Ideally, you should have virtually no movement inside skate boots, when tied tight. They should not be breaking down - e.g., how much, if any, crease exists where the boots flexe below the ankle bones. Does they feel like they supports you adequately? If no, dump them. Do your feet move around inside the boot? If no dump them. In either case, you could be seriously injured if you continue skating in ill fitting or inadequate skates. Also, are they comfortable?

If these are like the low level Risports I had, they will break down fairly quickly, once you start using deep edges, or anything much beyond a waltz jump - but maybe they haven't yet, and you can get some more life out of them.

It sounds like you are making fairly rapid progress. So if you can make do with your current boots, maybe you should - and buy something even better when you need to.

However there is one more factor you haven't specified, in part because we don't know your age. Are your feet still growing? If so, nothing you buy, in boots or blades, will last you long.

Whether you need private lessons depends a lot on what group lessons are available. IMHO, group LTS (Learn To Skate) lessons in the U.S. are of limited use. The way they are taught, covering many skills very quickly, a few minutes/skill, it is hard for the teacher to give you much individual attention, if there are more than about 3 people in the class. It's my perhaps incorrect impression that the U.S. and Canadian LTS programs are fairly similar. But some places there are available better group lessons, by very good teachers, that concentrate on the basics spending much more time / skill, in a way that gives each student adequate individual attention- but not in the LTS series. That's not to say that LTS isn't fun - but it can only take you so far, and it is easy to develop bad habbits. Private lessons are a much more effective use of your time, but they do cost a lot more.

Unfortunately, in the long run, figure skating beyond the basics can be very expensive - and the boots are a rather small part of that. Add in lessons, driving to and from the rink, lessons, and a good skate tech to sharpen your skates; clothing, injuries, athletic coaching, choreography and music arrangement, tests and competitions, and the cost of boots is minor.

Fortunately, you are probably already in good shape from your other sports. So you may not need additional athletic training.

Unlike swimming and running, in figure skating there are very arbitrary aesthetic standards of how things are to be done, that don't always reflect the most efficient way to move. Think of figure skating as more like Ballet or Ballroom Dancing than swimming or running. What is more, I don't know of any really good books on how to do it well. That makes coaches very necessary, and they cost a fair bit. Even at your level you will probably need an absolute minimum of about 30 minutes private lesson / week, and several hours/week of practice on the ice, to keep advancing at the rate you have been, and fix the techniques that can only be fixed with individual attention of the sort that is virtually impossible to get within a LTS class. You will also very likely need to shop around, and pay several coaches for a lesson to find one whose teaching style best matches your most efficient learning style. Don't be afraid to tell each potential coach what teaching style you want. E.g., whether you are a monkey-see-monkey-do type of person, whether you like detailed explanations and analysis, whether you want the coach to physically guide you through the motion, etc. The best coaches can adapt.

[singerskates]

Hi all! I decided to try out a new sport this year and am interested in trying figure skating. I'm in Canada and have been "skating" on public sessions/for fun since I was little, but I'd like to take it more seriously!

The skates I have probably have a couple sharpening left in them? They are Risports (older model but the equivalent I can find online is probably RF4?) with MK Club 2000 blades that were missing the bottom/master pick when purchased- I didn't know that was something to look out for but at $20 I'd still say these were a steal, haha! I'm obviously in need of new skates, and would rather spend on something I can use for 2-3 or more years even if it is more expensive than department store skates. So, what are you guys' reccommendations? Figured it may be better to ask other skaters than Google!

I've also been wondering when the right time is to look into joining a club and looking for a private coach- there's a pretty good adult scene in my city and good prices, lots of coaches are taking students for 12-15$/15 mins, however I don't want to waste anyone's time if I am still too low-level for that and an upper-level Learn to skate Class might be a better fit!

Some details:
I'm 5'0, 125 lbs, athletic build/bottom heavy and thinner up top, train as a swimmer and runner right now
Skills I can do at a fast/decent speed: fwd/bwd skating, snowplow 1-foot and 2 foot and t-stop, fwd blade drag, l-push and glide half- circle, figure-8 and rink perimeter with fwd/bwd crosscuts, 1 food glide on inside/outside edge and fwd inside 3-turn right/left, two foot spin, two foot jumps and step out turn(I think this is called a Mohawk)?, forward-to-backwards turns at speed
Budget: I think 350-400 is the absolute most I would spend boots and blades together

So what do you guys say? Is it time to seek out a private coach or go to a LTS class first? What boot/blade combos are appropriate for this skill level and a little higher?

Get yourself privately tested before joining an Adult CanSkate by a coach, who coaches CanSkate and teaches privates. Also, the CanSkate/Privates coach can also tell you what brand and level of skate boots to buy after testing you. Once you know the level and Brand of boot that is best for you, ask where the coach's students purchase their skate boot and blades. The coach will also recommend which blade for you to purchase with your skate boots. Make sure to tell the coach your weight too, because you don't want to be under booted for your weight/stiffness either. Not fun buying new boots after only 3 months. I had to do this once.

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[hellotwizzles]

Get yourself privately tested before joining an Adult CanSkate by a coach, who coaches CanSkate and teaches privates. Also, the CanSkate/Privates coach can also tell you what brand and level of skate boots to buy after testing you. Once you know the level and Brand of boot that is best for you, ask where the coach's students purchase their skate boot and blades. The coach will also recommend which blade for you to purchase with your skate boots. Make sure to tell the coach your weight too, because you don't want to be under booted for your weight/stiffness either. Not fun buying new boots after only 3 months. I had to do this once.

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Is it still possible to do this at this point in the year? Skate Canada's website says that the memberships run out in August, and my local clubs don't seem to have summer skating- the soonest I can skate on club ice would be like, June when they open for camps. the arenas are still open and I guess that a few towns over will be working all year- but will they allow you to take with their coaches without being a SC member? For insurance purposes and such like that?

[hellotwizzles]

I'm not all that good a skater. But I will give you here what advice I can.

Boots and blades can be viewed as separately replaceable - though if they were attached to each other by rivets (rather than screws), some low end skate techs might not know how to replace one without the other. But you don't want a low end skate tech - you want the best you can find, based on the advice of coaches or good figure skaters. Don't be surprised if you must drive a few hours to get to them.

Based on what you say, with the back tooth gone, the blades are more or less shot. In particular, the toe pick won't work right, which will limit significantly the extent to which you can learn jumps and spins. And you might as well find something a little higher end than MK 2000. MK 2000 were not supposed to go beyond entry level freestyle, which you are close to reaching.

Whether the boots are adequate depends on several factors. How well do they fit? Ideally, you should have virtually no movement inside skate boots, when tied tight. They should not be breaking down - e.g., how much, if any, crease exists where the boots flexe below the ankle bones. Does they feel like they supports you adequately? If no, dump them. Do your feet move around inside the boot? If no dump them. In either case, you could be seriously injured if you continue skating in ill fitting or inadequate skates. Also, are they comfortable?

If these are like the low level Risports I had, they will break down fairly quickly, once you start using deep edges, or anything much beyond a waltz jump - but maybe they haven't yet, and you can get some more life out of them.

It sounds like you are making fairly rapid progress. So if you can make do with your current boots, maybe you should - and buy something even better when you need to.

However there is one more factor you haven't specified, in part because we don't know your age. Are your feet still growing? If so, nothing you buy, in boots or blades, will last you long.

Whether you need private lessons depends a lot on what group lessons are available. IMHO, group LTS (Learn To Skate) lessons in the U.S. are of limited use. The way they are taught, covering many skills very quickly, a few minutes/skill, it is hard for the teacher to give you much individual attention, if there are more than about 3 people in the class. It's my perhaps incorrect impression that the U.S. and Canadian LTS programs are fairly similar. But some places there are available better group lessons, by very good teachers, that concentrate on the basics spending much more time / skill, in a way that gives each student adequate individual attention- but not in the LTS series. That's not to say that LTS isn't fun - but it can only take you so far, and it is easy to develop bad habbits. Private lessons are a much more effective use of your time, but they do cost a lot more.

Unfortunately, in the long run, figure skating beyond the basics can be very expensive - and the boots are a rather small part of that. Add in lessons, driving to and from the rink, lessons, and a good skate tech to sharpen your skates; clothing, injuries, athletic coaching, choreography and music arrangement, tests and competitions, and the cost of boots is minor.

Fortunately, you are probably already in good shape from your other sports. So you may not need additional athletic training.

Unlike swimming and running, in figure skating there are very arbitrary aesthetic standards of how things are to be done, that don't always reflect the most efficient way to move. Think of figure skating as more like Ballet or Ballroom Dancing than swimming or running. What is more, I don't know of any really good books on how to do it well. That makes coaches very necessary, and they cost a fair bit. Even at your level you will probably need an absolute minimum of about 30 minutes private lesson / week, and several hours/week of practice on the ice, to keep advancing at the rate you have been, and fix the techniques that can only be fixed with individual attention of the sort that is virtually impossible to get within a LTS class. You will also very likely need to shop around, and pay several coaches for a lesson to find one whose teaching style best matches your most efficient learning style. Don't be afraid to tell each potential coach what teaching style you want. E.g., whether you are a monkey-see-monkey-do type of person, whether you like detailed explanations and analysis, whether you want the coach to physically guide you through the motion, etc. The best coaches can adapt.

Thanks for all the detailed advice- particularly about the time commitment to training! I'm 22- so I would hope I'm done growing! I  think it's a decent age to start a new sport, and of course the expenses will come with any kind of hobby/activity. I don't think I'm interested in competitions, though- I will  probably try to get to the highest tests I can as a goal, I like checking stuff off of lists and working through them like that.  I'd like to try ice dance at some point, since I think that I'll probably be stronger with footwork than jumps. So I'll probably need a skills coach, dance coach, and start taking some off-ice dance classes to nail down that movement along with a few sessions a week...pretty sure we don't have dance-specific sessions here but there's a solid freestyle schedule with most of the clubs.

There's a bit of a bend in the ankles of my skates right now, like that little crease where the hooks begin? They are a bit soft, but fairly comfortable?

[singerskates]

Is it still possible to do this at this point in the year? Skate Canada's website says that the memberships run out in August, and my local clubs don't seem to have summer skating- the soonest I can skate on club ice would be like, June when they open for camps. the arenas are still open and I guess that a few towns over will be working all year- but will they allow you to take with their coaches without being a SC member? For insurance purposes and such like that?

In what town are you living?

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[hellotwizzles]

In what town are you living?

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Calgary, AB area!

[singerskates]

Calgary, AB area!

Can you contact me on FB Messenger,  my name Brigitte Laskowski and my handle is singerskates, because I can put you in touch with my Adult skater friend who also has a skate shop and shapens skates? He also knows where to skate in Calgary and which coach(es) coach CanSkate and privates.

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[hellotwizzles]

Can you contact me on FB Messenger,  my name Brigitte Laskowski and my handle is singerskates, because I can put you in touch with my Adult skater friend who also has a skate shop and shapens skates? He also knows where to skate in Calgary and which coach(es) coach CanSkate and privates.

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I'm not on Facebook- would it be all right to e-mail you?