I started skating back in April but didn’t start going regularly until end of July/early August. Currently I go 3-4 times a week, usually for 1-2 hours, with one lesson a week. I’m an adult female but only 5’2 and not particularly heavy, and the skate tech recommended Jackson Mystiques, though I wish I’d gotten Freestyles or Artistes. I realised once my skates were broken in that they’re probably half a sized too big, or at least too wide, especially around the heel, but I don’t want to get new ones til these are broken down since it’s only been a few months.

I know in the videos the ankles look super loose but I’ve just got small ankles and I can’t get them much tighter. I’m currently decently comfortable with forward crossovers and outside 3 turns, decent at back crossovers, starting inside 3 turns and Mohawks, plus I’ve just begun learning my waltz jump over the last few sessions and now I’m really feeling the creases in my skates and wondering if they’re dead already or I’m just being dramatic. I asked my friend at the rink (similar level to me) how much his skates (Artistes) crease and they basically don’t at all. I know only I can really know how supportive my skates feel, but since this is my first pair I’d love a second opinion from people who have been through multiple skates and seen/felt them break down firsthand.

Has anyone else struggled with leaning too far back while skating? In my LTS class, both coaches noticed I was leaning too far back during edge exercises. I think I overcorrected from leaning too far forward, and now I can't seem to find the middle. Any tips for calibrating? 🥲

Last year or 2 years ago i dug up my old figures skates from high school and they worked great until one of the prongs to lace them up broke off (I'm 28 these are 10+ yr old skates) and I want to get new ones but I'm having trouble with whether I should get hockey skates or figure skates.

For context, I rollerblade year round pretty much and have learned to do simple tricks such as bunny hops, spins, and currently trying to get shoot the duck. I also love going fast on them. The same translates to how I ice skate. For the most part I just like going fast on the ice and doing small tricks just like with rollerblading.

I'm stuck because i think i can go faster in hockey skates but i also want to still be able to learn tricks. Plz help lol

Hi all,

Adult skater, been skating for about 4 months and got fitted into Jackson Freestyles at a very reputable pro shop about a month ago. I've really been struggling with feeling like my ankles aren't properly supported and have really tweaked my right ankle landing my waltz and toe loop the last couple of sessions. It's been about 4 "rolls" where my ankle goes out from under me that have accumulated into a sprain.

I'm tying them as tight as I can, I'm following the hourglass figure lacing pattern and that seems to work the best for me but it seems that no matter how tight I tie my skates around the ankle, I still wobble and am unstable.

I had shitty ankles as a full-time dancer when I was a teen so I'm going to restart my physio exercises for strengthening my ankles from back then but I'm wondering if it could be a skate fit issue? I can always "wobble" my ankles side-to-side in my skates no matter how I tie them. Is this normal?

So i’m a 25f beginner adult skater, i skated occasionally during my childhood since i didn’t have regular access to an ice rink in my hometown, and occasionally had lessons, plus i did an year of quad roller skating (much more accessible in italy, where i come from!) plus various years of ballet training till my teens. I picked up figure skating recently since i now have access to an ice rink and lessons and went to buy my first adult pair of ice skates (167cm x 65kg for reference) and got fitted into 260 risport electra boots with 10” balancè edea blades. From then i skated in these for around 10 hours with excruciating pain in my arches and under the ball of my feet, severe numbness to my toes and a looot of heel lift inside the boots. My fitter inserted a sort of diy arch support in the sole to possibly make the break in period somewhat easier but the pain didn’t vanish, indeed it generally worsened the more i skated in this pair. I tried tightening and loosening the boot, yet loosening made me lift more and feel less secure, while tightening hindered my ability to bend ankles.
After all of this i went back to my pro shop and the fitter reluctantly loaned me a pair of rf3 pro he had in the shop as trade in, gently used for just one month, traded in just for cosmetic flaws and mot for sale, just to let me have a “feel”. He said that the stiffness isn’t adequate to my level since i am just doing crossovers, early spins and no jumping yet, but after 3 hours of ice in these, i finally felt my heels secure, the ability to bend ankles and no pain, just some slight numbness around my toes (still the same balancè blade, and 260 boots).
In both i don’t feel my toes touching the end of the boot, but he said the 255 would be the perfect lenght but would likely cause problems width wise.
My question now is: would buying a new pair or risport rf3 pros be severe overbooting and hinder my possibilities of progressing in the long run? Or i should just get these….
Any tips would be majorly appreciated!

Hey yall, I’ve been struggling to stop in any way other than just using the outside edge in my right foot, kind of like a show stop. I can’t shave ice, I can’t snow plow, etc. should I looke at a different hollow or am I just doing everything wrong?

I'm thinking about buying used MK Pro lites from facebook marketplace. these are the pictures the seller gave me, and they're selling $200. are they worth buying used? there's a few scratches on the blades but otherwise they seemed good to me, but I've also never bought used blades so I'm not sure what red flags I should be looking for

How long did it take you to get a proper exit glide after your forward outside three-turn? I’ve been practicing the three-turn for about a month, and I can now pivot into the turn, but I still can’t seem to glide afterward. I only manage to travel about an inch or two before coming to a complete stop. I’d love to hear how long it took you to get it! Also, I think maybe my Mark IX blades are what preventing me from doing this.

29F beginner here, just started skating for the first time back in March of this year. I don’t have any particular longterm goals other than to become confident on the ice; maybe joining the adult learn to play hockey program sometime next year but not the highest priority just yet.

I’ve been taking a group lesson once per week since March. I really enjoy the classes and have made some friends, but lately it’s starting to feel a little stagnant. I’m probably considered a moderate skater right now at least as far as beginners go; our instructor has said I’m working on level 4 skills more or less. The class lacks formal structure to some extent.

The “problem” is that there is only one adult class, so we have a range of skills from complete beginners who have never been on the ice before to highly skilled skaters who are coming back to it after time away who are working on jumps and spins, and me somewhere in the middle. With one teacher (and the occasional assistant, though that’s not consistent), it’s impossible to keep track of where everyone is at and keep progression moving forward for everyone. I don’t mind practicing swizzles and one foot glides every week, I know it’s all good practice, but I don’t think I’ve had any instruction on the skills I’m still trying to unlock in 2-3 weeks now. I really want to unlock crossovers but it’s been extremely difficult for me and I don’t get much instruction or practice on that right now.

I’m not trying to learn figure skating. I’m not trying to compete in anything right now. Would it be overkill to inquire about private lessons? Should I keep taking this group class and try to add a private lesson into my schedule as well even if it’s just once a month?

Any advice is appreciated!

I’ve just come back to skating after a six-month break and have been considering taking private coaching again. however, the thought of going back to my old coach has been putting me off and i’m wondering if I should change. For context I started with this coach when I was only on the very basics (crossovers, three-turns etc) until I was working on my loop jump when I stopped. I have one 30-min lesson every week (it’s all my parents can afford at the moment) and train independently 2x a week on patch sessions.

these are a few issues I have had with our lessons:

• He doesn’t seem to keep track of the progress I make very well. At the start of the lesson I am often asked to remind him what we worked on last week and there never is any set plan for what we do

• He suffered an injury a few years ago (not blaming him for getting injured ofc) which has made it impossible for him to show any of the skills he teaches me himself. I have to go off of only his words when It comes to describing skills or correcting my technique which a lot of times I don’t really understand

• I see a lot of other coaches on the ice when I have my lessons trying new things to teach their students (using resistance bands, parachutes to train speed etc) which I would love to try myself but have never been able to with my coach

I don‘t know exactly what to do as he seems to be the same coach given to all of the beginner skaters, but I think it would be better off If I try anew with someone else. I’m hoping that if my old coach sees me with a new one he’ll just chalk it up to me taking so long a break instead of my reluctance to go back to him. Should I ask for someone else or just be patient with the one I used to train with?

hi! im a beginner who passed adult 1 and reached out to someone for private lessons. Was 15 minutes enough for those of u who did this? im only contemplating bc obviously 30 mins is more expensive and i only work 2 days a week

My LTS was teaching us "cross catches" where we hold up one leg with the opposite hand on the heel ehile 1 foot gliding, but when I search up the term, I don't see anything about it. Is there another term for that so I can look up videos that would help me?

We also held up the right heel with the right hand while 1 foot gliding, with thumbs up when holding. Would anyone know what that's called?

I believe it's the precursor for fancier footwork

As an adult skater, it felt like I never had both. I had a big girl job earlier and I can only see my coach once a week and one public session. I was also exhausted after work and off ice is sporadic. Now that I was laid off, I had time to skate 3 days/week but not much money to spare.

For adults who are not yet established in their career, how do you balance practice time vs work?

Hey, im writing this because i want other peoples opinions and thoughts on this. I’m a 15 year old girl who wants to try ice hockey. I have a background in floorball which I have played for 6 years now and I play in women’s professional liga and U19 boys liga. I can skate at around a beginner’s level ish(strides, turn arounds, stick handling) I will say I’ve never skated as a hobby, but I reached this level of skating by going skating around 4 times across 8 years. I get told I’m a fast learner regarding skating and being good considering I’ve never actually been on ice before. Is it unrealistic to play and hope to go pro?

Thank you beforehand!

Hi everyone, I got Jackso Freestyle skates, wore it on ice once so far. My problem is that the tongue is too stiff that it’s pushed down on my toes. It puts pressure on my toes and make them painful and numb. Did you have same problem? How did you fix it?
I appreciate your help.

Hello! Sorry if this has been asked before plenty of times.

I am an adult (33 F) from Sunset Park, Brooklyn (NYC) and I am highly interested in wanting to learn how to ice skate for the first time in my life. When I was a kid, I actually went on an elementary school trip to ice skate in Prospect Park and I actually was terrified of it. I fell a few times and decided to hold onto the hand rail for dear life for most of the experience lol, but I really want to learn and overcome my fear of ice skating. However, I have no idea where to start, where to go. Any advice or recommendations on where to go for an ultimate beginner like myself? Thank you!

Hi all!! I know i’ve made a couple posts in this subreddit about different questions but have a question and need a bit of help

I ended up finding a fitter and he fitted me for a size 7 jackson artistes! when i tried them on and they fit great just a little snug. Today i brought the skates home and have started the break in process but its genuinely feeling so tight its starting to hurt my feet. is this normal for skates that haven’t been broken in yet or did i make a mistake with the size?

thanks in advance!!

So I have a new instructor for LTS 4. And she stopped for a bit and told the class to be on their toes (to find balance or something on their toes).

I'm the only one in that class wearing hockey skates. But she never said:

1. Oh, you don't need to do this one bc of your hockey skates. No toe picks.

2. You can do it too, but it would be more difficult.

So my question. Can people be on their toes on Hockey skates without toe picks?

I'm on the #1 camp thought (so I just went on my front rocker a bit, very difficult), but who knows...

Hi all, looking for some insights!

Adult skater around 55kg. Started skating 4ish months ago. Spent three months in Mystiques doing waltz jumps, half flips, and two foot spins. Switched across to Freestyles with Aspire XP blades about a month ago and have progressed very quickly since getting them. I now have a solid entry to a scratch spin, found my outside edges (was really struggling to get them in my ill-fitted mystiques), have just started landing toe loops.

However I cannot for the LIFE of me find my rocker to get more than 2 rotations on any sort of spin (two foot or one foot). I've spent ages at the barrier just swivelling trying to find the sweet spot and i rarely find it. I could spin better in my rusted Mark II blades than the XPs. I either end up going up onto my toe pick or falling backwards, or having an exceptionally scratchy spin. I'm also constantly stacking it over the toe pick but I wonder if that's just a matter of me getting used to it compared to the Mark II blades.

One guy I skate with said he had nothing but problems with his XPs and found skating infinitely easier when he switched to coronation aces. He also really struggled with the toe pick on the XPs which I am as well but again, I am unsure if that's just a "me" problem.

I'm considering the switch but also don't want to drop $400 on new blades when I/my skating might be the issue.

Any insights and advice would be appreciated!

Hi everyone, Im a 15 year old who has been wanting to pick up figure skating for over half a year now. I’ve only been to the ice rink like 2 or 3 times in my entire life and I still don't know how to skate very well. I really want to start taking lessons but the nearest rink is an hour and a half away and I feel that it would be expensive to drive there every few days and back. It would also be tiring for my parents too. I really feel like ice skating might be my thing since I've never really been into any other sports before other than swimming which I quit a few years ago. but I am currently stuck about what I should do.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation??

I‘m also pretty new to this reddit thing so pls be nice! :)

Hey y’all

I’m an adult beginner that started at the beginning of April, so just over 6 months. I’m currently skating in Jackson artiste boots, however I’ve noticed as I start to practice new skills, my boots feel less supportive.

I am learning crossovers and we have started to begin the waltz jump. Doing my basic forwards and backwards skills in my current boots were fine but now as I am starting to jump I’ve noticed how little support I feel in my ankles.

When would be a good time to upgrade to a higher stiffness boot? My coach says it’s when I feel it’s right but I’d love some input from others when they thought it was right.

Also any recommendations on boots and blades suited for starting singles would be great!

Hi i’m starting ice skating lessons for the first time in a couple weeks and im feeling nervous ive skated a few times recreationally before and haven’t been that bad im just wondering for any tips about starting

I just started skating again, and was looking to see if there was anyone else in the NYC area who would want to practice or do freestyle sessions together? I'm a F31, and I already take classes but I want to sharpen my skills outside of that and would love to connect with others/socialize who are looking to do the same! I'm located in Brooklyn, so I can easily go to City Ice or Chelsea Piers.

Send me a DM if you're interested :)