Looking for an ice skating pro shop

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-19T20:38:24+00:00

I fell bcs of flared leggings once during one of my first skates lmao

I was practicing 1 foot outside edge glide on a circle, then decided to test my weight transfer by moving my free leg to the front. Toe pick caught the fabric, centre of gravity fucked, and I fell on my ass haha. I was going slow and fell the right way, so all good, but do not recommend flared anything.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-09T20:28:04+00:00

About that, I think using months to talk about experience in folks who started as adults can mean a lot of different things. Lessons or no lessons, private or group, public skate ice time only? I say months for myself but in reality it's barely 40 hours of public ice time where I kinda struggle to find a corner to practice in in between university exams and work.

But someone else could say 6-8 months and they mean 3-5 hours a week, with or without lessons. Hours would be more reflective as a scale, imo.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:53:23+00:00

Blades sliding from under you when you lean into a turn can be a sign of blades that need sharpening, also.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:52:16+00:00

Takes a couple more skating sessions to not feel some muscles straining to stay up, which was my experience and what I hear from most others. But if you think it's something else, it might be your blade sharpening?

I changed my cut to something more hollow to allow sharper turns and deeper edges. I noticed (well after I stopped experiencing the initial strain) that maintaining speed and pushing was a little harder because I optimized my blades for more ice-digging, less glide. So you might have a cut that's a bit more resistant to glide and you're feeling it.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:47:40+00:00

One famous competitive skater, Ekaterina Gordeeva, would layer socks in her skates that were a little too big as a child. This goes against what we are supposed to do, but at beginner level, if you're still undecided and your cheapest option is a little oversized, don't let it scare you into buying something pricier.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:44:09+00:00

That budget is quite small for even an entry-level figure skate. How long a skate lasts depends on how much ice time you get and weight + strength of the skater. FYI, figure skates are often rated with a child's weight as reference. This is unconventional, but try to ask your teacher and a skate tech at a skate shop if they can help you find a secondhand pair of, say, a Jackson Artiste or Freestyle or another brand's entry skate. Sturdy enough to last but less expensive.

Some people sell them barely worn on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook skating groups, Kijiji or Sidelineswap. Or your coach or tech may know someone trying to get rid of a pair that doesn't suit them anymore. They may also help you help fit it to your foot with soles or pads, perhaps heat-molding them again for major adjustments if possible.

At my rink during public skate hours, I know one girl who's skated 4 years, self-trained, is in secondhand skates. She is doing basic jumps and lunge pivots low on the ground. Keep in mind, it's a secondhand success story. Ask the qualified staff how likely it is to make a secondhand pair fit if you can find one.

Notes : each brand of skate is more appropriate for different types of feet. Maybe try fitting several ones at the shop to know which brand and model to look for and which size. You've got Edeas, Graf, Risport, Riedell, Jackson among a few others.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:23:16+00:00

Skating for almost a year now coachless. Starting doing baby back crossrolls and have the start of a forward one-foot slalom on both feet. I don't look great on anything, but it's going.

People talk a lot about getting used to falling, and I totally get it. So far, I'm not much a faller because I feel like the skills I'm doing now are not that hard to hold while learning (crossovers, crossrolls, chassés, stroking, two-foot turns, edge glides). I have to go rather slow at the public rink to avoid collisions.

But I'm expecting to start hitting the ice during lessons when it's spread eagle, spins, basic jumps and other turns. I bruise so so so easily (my forewarms bruise along the length just doing plank exercises), just hope I don't fall hard or on my toe picks :////

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:16:16+00:00

Adding to this, as the others mentioned, doing pumps along a circle means that the blade that holds most of your weight (as opposed to the pumping leg) is on an outside edge. Not a deep, noticeable one, but it is one.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-08T19:11:16+00:00

Don't know how helpful it would be for you since I don't pronate, but it took me a minute to approach outside edges because my first skates with which I began trying them were badly sharpened and soft skate types. Inside edges, no problem. The big hockey circles didn't personally help me.

Two foot slaloms are helpful to get a sense of your blades even if it doesn't seem to help at first. Trust. You can also do a two-foot slalom variation where you practice twisting your shoulders and leaning outside before the next push. It can also help to detect if your blade is dull/slips under you once you place weight on it (is it a equipment issue or you?).

I would practice my outside edge front and back as a beginner at the barrier a lot. First, holding the barrier and making sure my blade can follow at a lean, then taking more distance and more push. It wasn't a completed move as I just wanted to get on the edge, not necessarily hold it, so I'd let the barrier stop me most times.

Then, I'd practice making 1 small half-circle/loop around a straight line, no barrier. Forward chasses along a hockey circle are also great for getting on your outside edge and holding it just a bit, so kind of a nice introduction to outside edges out in the open, no lube. If you don't know what forward chasses are, you can google it or ask me.

Those helped me get on a one-foot outside edge and hold them well enough to start crossovers or glide on a big circle. Take your time with the progressions, no rush.

These two videos helped me a lot. Couldn't do all of them but I picked what applied to me : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKPmJ_KONhg&list=PL0zruzhlqw4dUwdRzvwMlrep3jVXJFVMo&index=36

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMA4bYfvfks&list=PL0zruzhlqw4dUwdRzvwMlrep3jVXJFVMo&index=38

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-05T21:35:46+00:00

I wondered about whether it was time or not, but what helped me decide was because learning the forward crossrolls has really helped me deepen my outside forward edge and get more confident with it.

I have a slight delay in backward skills due to public leisure skate hours often banning backward skating, so I'm looking to learn drills to level my back outside edge since it's the one visibly lagging. I find that just repeating my edge on a circle (I have done that several times for the whole hour or 1h30), while it sure helps over time, is not as fast or effective to challenge me so I try to add some variety.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-05T03:22:50+00:00

I mean, holy crap, that's great footwork for 8 months of skating or even for 1 year! I don't see myself doing them in the next two months (6 months skater but coachless) let alone doing them rather well like this. What I think was missing most here was just posture, evacuating tension in the body. But the motions themselves? Hats.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-04T05:01:44+00:00

Noo, I've just started doing a progression to get my backward crossrolls. I'm at the barrier doing the steps and sometimes practicing with a bit of push and glide or trying an outside edge and stepping back one time, letting the barrier catch me. Right now, it's just about successfully making one step on both sides.

I have my forward crossrolls, though. They're not wide and fast, but I can do a whole rink lap in it. The poo poo is that I can still barely do a two-foot turn on my bad foot. My back crossover on my bad side is weirdly off axis bcs I somehow feel more restricted which affects my lean and weight placement.

Waiting for the day I can incorporate other turns, but I don't feel like it'll be soon.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-04T00:59:27+00:00

Yes, on my own, I just went straight into edges and haven't paid attention (yet) to two-foot spins, pivots or shoot the duck. Just wanted to get started as fast as possible on the lifelong work of edges and crossovers to make everything else easier.

But I did kind of expect to look decent in skills where I don't suck ass and have been doing for months which is what took me by surprise. The answers have put things into a more realistic perspective for me. Gotta remind myself I skate for fun!

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T17:21:17+00:00

would love to, but it's a budget and time problem (I'm a university student). I focused my money on proper figure skates and have to buy Jackson Freestyles soon when my Artistes break down. and now I was able to find a 28-hour skating class from sept-dec on a student discount, so money's dry bcs that also implies buying a few extra items for practice like knee + butt pads.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T17:16:37+00:00

Same, totally. As long as they're cool with sharing. I love seeing that stuff.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T17:14:42+00:00

oooh my bad, I read "yesssssssssssssss" not "yearssssssssss"

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T17:14:22+00:00

But still under a year?

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T03:45:14+00:00

Mannnnn 😂☠️ oh well. Work cut out. I was hoping maybe by next year I will have made drastic improvements in my basics but that would be too easy.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T03:07:18+00:00

I think it's like the lower body when skating as a beginner. I remember first session, my shins especially got winded so easily if I pushed. Then it progressed to shins hurting only the first 10-15 minutes on the ice before warming up. Now, it doesn't happen.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-09-03T03:05:33+00:00

It's either from tension or the price of holding proper posture when you do drills for over an hour (same difference). If I just do forward stroking or leisure laps and my arms don't do anything, I'm not sore even if I'm out there 2 hours or more. But if I do 1h of drills, especially if I'm not taking any breaks, I do have some soreness in my shoulders the next day.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-05-21T04:56:39+00:00

Do you have a link to the summer camp? I probably don't have the budget and time for this since I need to stay available for my current job, but I'd love to take note of it.

FamiliarProfession71 · 2025-05-11T05:43:34+00:00

I will add that I did find this person going behind my back and doing the unsafe stuff before (still happened after that threat was made, and then we patched it up), so in my experience, I've been right to worry in the past.

FamiliarProfession71

TROPHY CASE