HP #6 - Backwards fever gripping the nation
Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See my first HP post for the full notes on these.
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Now and then, my family brave the ice rink with me. Their preferred physical activity is horse riding (predominantly dressage) and they've been doing that since 2008, so, relative to my ice skating ability, within their own sport, they're advanced riders and thus no strangers to a strong core, good balance and well-directed leg and arm movements.
Every time we go skating, it's always the same story: "... how do we go backwards?"
I took some friends from one of my board game clubs: "... how do we go backwards?"
Strangers I overhear on public sessions: "... how do we go backwards?"
What is it with the backwards skating, you crazies? Backwards skating is, charitably, a bit more dangerous than forwards (at least while you're learning it), and, uncharitably, WAY more dangerous. Particularly when your coach politely tells you that you actually have to lean slightly BACK into the backwards motion in order to get the correct balancing. However, it certainly looks cool, and, in a way, it's definitely a logical progression in the sense of "we've got the hang of this forwards malarky, now let's put that in reverse!" No, wait, that's absolutely not logical at all! We can walk forwards so now let's walk backwards?! Then again, if we're going to question that then we might as well question why we strap blades to our feet and ice skate at all!
The funny thing is, I didn't really do any backwards skating in lessons for AGES. Sure, backward lemons here and there but true backward stroking? I can't even remember how long it took to get to that in lessons. But everyone else is obsessed with getting to it!
I do remember how I got started with it though. One day, much like everyone else, I thought to myself: "... how do I go backwards?"
The fever had gripped me too.
So it began. After one lesson, I set myself up in the corner of the rink, took a small push backwards and promptly fell straight over on my bum. I got up. Did it again. Fell over. Got up. Again. Again. Again. Like all things skating, it was just another thing that would take practice.
After a while, I got better at using the toe pick to help catch me if I started to fall (not correct use of the toe pick, but I also didn't want to fall all the time). What was weird was I'd been going to the rink once a week for the group lesson and I'd practise for about five to ten minutes of the session each visit. Not much, just a bit, and every week I got a little better. The glides got a little longer, the strokes became more stable. I wasn't doing anything else in between each practice, just five to ten minutes and a week's break. A month later I could comfortably skate backwards all the way round the rink and was picking up speed while doing it.
The irony was, the week after I got the hang all this backward stroking nonsense, we started doing it in lessons.
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Now and then, my family brave the ice rink with me. Their preferred physical activity is horse riding (predominantly dressage) and they've been doing that since 2008, so, relative to my ice skating ability, within their own sport, they're advanced riders and thus no strangers to a strong core, good balance and well-directed leg and arm movements.
Every time we go skating, it's always the same story: "... how do we go backwards?"
I took some friends from one of my board game clubs: "... how do we go backwards?"
Strangers I overhear on public sessions: "... how do we go backwards?"
What is it with the backwards skating, you crazies? Backwards skating is, charitably, a bit more dangerous than forwards (at least while you're learning it), and, uncharitably, WAY more dangerous. Particularly when your coach politely tells you that you actually have to lean slightly BACK into the backwards motion in order to get the correct balancing. However, it certainly looks cool, and, in a way, it's definitely a logical progression in the sense of "we've got the hang of this forwards malarky, now let's put that in reverse!" No, wait, that's absolutely not logical at all! We can walk forwards so now let's walk backwards?! Then again, if we're going to question that then we might as well question why we strap blades to our feet and ice skate at all!
The funny thing is, I didn't really do any backwards skating in lessons for AGES. Sure, backward lemons here and there but true backward stroking? I can't even remember how long it took to get to that in lessons. But everyone else is obsessed with getting to it!
I do remember how I got started with it though. One day, much like everyone else, I thought to myself: "... how do I go backwards?"
The fever had gripped me too.
So it began. After one lesson, I set myself up in the corner of the rink, took a small push backwards and promptly fell straight over on my bum. I got up. Did it again. Fell over. Got up. Again. Again. Again. Like all things skating, it was just another thing that would take practice.
After a while, I got better at using the toe pick to help catch me if I started to fall (not correct use of the toe pick, but I also didn't want to fall all the time). What was weird was I'd been going to the rink once a week for the group lesson and I'd practise for about five to ten minutes of the session each visit. Not much, just a bit, and every week I got a little better. The glides got a little longer, the strokes became more stable. I wasn't doing anything else in between each practice, just five to ten minutes and a week's break. A month later I could comfortably skate backwards all the way round the rink and was picking up speed while doing it.
The irony was, the week after I got the hang all this backward stroking nonsense, we started doing it in lessons.
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