Self-taught figure skater | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Self-taught figure skater

1111bm

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
For a fun skater, coaches are less of an opportunity and more of an irritation, as most casual skaters who dont want coaches want to be able to practice what they want when they want, and just have a blast.

True, that might be the case for some, but often this is also true for the coaches.

Most posters on here seem to live in some wonderful fantasy world that is filled with tons of wonderful, motivated and properly qualified coaches just eagerly waiting to teach adults or any recreational skater who's just in it for personal aspirations.
The reality of course is quite different, depending on where you live it's hard enough to find a somewhat skilled coach who knows their stuff, much less one who's interested in teaching lower level skaters above a certain age.

And I don't even blame them, it's totally understandable of course. My coach will tell you that he enjoys teaching adults because they're usually more passionate than the average petulant child or teenager and when they finally succeed at something, they appreciate it a lot more and it's a more rewarding feeling. But the moment a somewhat talented kid comes along, he'll immediately drop his adult students and will focus on them exclusively. :shrug:
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Also, I think there are three general categories of self-taught skaters:

*Someone who has had lessons in the past and a good understanding of skating technique, is not taking lessons now, and continues to work on refining technique and figuring out next-level skills on their own using the best of their existing knowledge, and maybe some older how-to books or even better newer how-to videos

Many people who are currently taking lessons do this too, playing ahead with skills they think they can learn even if the coach hasn't introduced them yet.

*Someone who has never had lessons with a coach but does understand the concepts of edges and checking, etc., wants to learn as correctly as possible, and turns to how-to instructional material by experts to learn methodically and carefully

Not ideal; it would be better for them to take real lessons in person with a knowledgeable coach. But if that is impossible for logistical reasons, as long as they respect the process of learning fundamental skills and the underlying techniques before attempting harder skills they'll probably make some progress safely.
A rare individual will be talented at figuring out on their own the biomechanics necessary to produce various effects in the body and blade, through trial and error and general knowledge and theory of kinesiology. That's how these skills got invented in the first place. Of course it's more efficient to learn what's already known about technique than to try to figure it out on one's own even if you are especially gifted in that area. And most of us aren't so gifted.

*People who have seen elite skating on TV/online and maybe on their local ice and want to learn how to jump and spin without understanding the process of getting there including the importance of basic skating skills.

That can be especially dangerous, to bystanders as well as the skater themselves, because they may try risky skills with no underlying technique to be able to control the blades and body.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Also, I think there are three general categories of self-taught skaters:

*Someone who has had lessons in the past and a good understanding of skating technique, is not taking lessons now, and continues to work on refining technique and figuring out next-level skills on their own using the best of their existing knowledge, and maybe some older how-to books or even better newer how-to videos

Many people who are currently taking lessons do this too, playing ahead with skills they think they can learn even if the coach hasn't introduced them yet.

*Someone who has never had lessons with a coach but does understand the concepts of edges and checking, etc., wants to learn as correctly as possible, and turns to how-to instructional material by experts to learn methodically and carefully

Not ideal; it would be better for them to take real lessons in person with a knowledgeable coach. But if that is impossible for logistical reasons, as long as they respect the process of learning fundamental skills and the underlying techniques before attempting harder skills.
A rare individual will be talented at figuring out on their own the biomechanics necessary to produce various effects in the body and blade, through trial and error and general knowledge and theory of kinesiology. That's how these skills got invented in the first place. Of course it's more efficient to learn what's already known about technique than to try to figure it out on one's own even if you are especially gifted in that area. And most of us aren't so gifted.

*People who have seen elite skating on TV/online and maybe on their local ice and want to learn how to jump and spin without understanding the process of getting there including the importance of basic skating skills.

That can be especially dangerous, to bystanders as well as the skater themselves, because they may try risky skills with no underlying technique to be able to control the blades and body.

Thank you, this is exactly what I've been trying to convey, you are spot on. :)
 

tstop4me

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Country
United-States
We have one at our rink and he's really insufferable--constantly telling everyone what they are doing wrong and claiming to be working on double axels when he can't get a single around since he was never taught to jump properly. Even if he had a coach, he wouldn't listen to them, so there is no point. I just stay far away and don't engage at all.
But that's not a fair comparison. In the OP's case, the self-taught skater is not telling other skaters what they should do ... he just wants the OP not to tell him what to do.
 

annajzdf

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
We have one at our rink and he's really insufferable--constantly telling everyone what they are doing wrong and claiming to be working on double axels when he can't get a single around since he was never taught to jump properly. Even if he had a coach, he wouldn't listen to them, so there is no point. I just stay far away and don't engage at all.

I know that type!
We have a few of those at my rink. It's really annoying because I always have to make sure not to make any accidental eye contact with them, because that'll just make them come over and '"teach me". So as long as the OP is not doing anything like that, everything's good. :laugh:

Actually, back when I was in search of a skating club, but didn't know how to go about finding and deciding on one, I was always secretly hoping for someone to approach me and volunteer some info on what's available in my hometown. Because I had a hard time approaching figure skaters that I saw on my own. So it really depends on the kind of person that you are.
 

tstop4me

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Country
United-States
I know that type!
We have a few of those at my rink. It's really annoying because I always have to make sure not to make any accidental eye contact with them, because that'll just make them come over and '"teach me". So as long as the OP is not doing anything like that, everything's good. :laugh:

Actually, back when I was in search of a skating club, but didn't know how to go about finding and deciding on one, I was always secretly hoping for someone to approach me and volunteer some info on what's available in my hometown. Because I had a hard time approaching figure skaters that I saw on my own. So it really depends on the kind of person that you are.
Ah, that's the crux of this thread, isn't it? If Person A approaches Person B, is Person A welcome or unwelcome by Person B? If Person B indicates that Person A is welcome, then that could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But if Person B indicates that Person A is unwelcome, then Person A should back off.
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2018
I'm still just in Adult 6 so I go to a lot of public skates... back when I was just starting out I had random people approach me to give me tips, which was irritating. More irritating though was the couple of times I had people approach me to tell me, matter-of-fact, that I was spinning "the wrong way". :noshake: They were apparently unaware of the existence of clockwise skaters. I dunno if they thought I was self taught but I was (and am) in both group and private classes. Advice that comes without solicitation always feels intrusive to me.

Having said that, because I'm at a lot of public sessions and I always am looking for more adult-learner friends, I've approached quite a few people who look like they're actually working on skills. I don't offer suggestions though (I mean. Adult 6. I have no business giving any kind of advice haha). I think that's for the best though, regardless of your skill level. A friendly "hi, I'm so-and-so, I've seen you around before, are you in lessons here too?" suffices. I've recommended the classes at the rink to a couple of people who looked more into it than your average public skater, but never as a judgement of what they're doing... more of a "I'd like more people in this community" approach. I've never gotten a negative response from that, and I've talked an adult or two into joining the LTS program. But again that's coming from me wanting to help build this little community I've joined and help make it a friendly and welcoming place... and we have a good little adult group now that regularly shows up to evening weekend public sessions.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
Why am I being criticized here? I thought we're unanimously against self teaching. I don't really want to go into details since this is a public forum. Whilst he's not disturbing others or a danger to others, you can see that his technique is going to lead to injuries. It's just that also because he was quite dismissive of private coaching but he looks at and copies others. It's a bit creepy. I feel like it's my duty to the sport to not confront this. It's not like it's someone who randomly turns up to public sessions and tries some spirals and spins.

I was also told to mind my own business when I observed skate mum that was berating her daughter who was in tears. But she herself was in hockey skates, you think she knows anything about figure skating? I haven't seen them since. It felt wrong then and it feels wrong now.

You're not being criticized. You asked for peoples' opinions and they gave them to you. My opinion is that the person is an adult. He can decide for himself. Unsolicited advice is rarely effective (and sometimes not even solicited advice!).
 
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