FIRST LESSON BOOKED!

Ok, so this is going to be a little bit backdated as I've just created the blog.  I booked my first Ice Skating lesson a couple of weeks ago at Altrincham Silver blades Ice Rink with coach Jane Dawson.  I was a little apprehensive because as skating looks really easy when anyone else does it I wasn't sure how I would go on.  I have skated about 4 times in my life and they were spaced really far apart.


We (me and my mate Matt) got on the ice half an hour before the lesson, wearing the loan skates, we could already feel the blisters forming :S  We skated around holding on to the side for a few times, getting a little too over excited and giggling like children.  Suffice to say that we lost a lot of energy in this first half hour and ended up having a rest before the lesson.


When we finally met Jane we were a bit nervous but she was brilliant and checked our skates so they were fastened properly and then we went onto the ice.  Firstly she watched us skate to see what our "basic skills" were like.  I was soon to find out that we were doing it ALL wrong hehe.  She instructed us that we had to turn our feet out in a ballet 'first position' and that we had to bend our knees and put the weight on the back foot to push forward with our arms out for balance.  It's a lot more difficult that it sounds believe me!  When we almost got it, we moved on to doing a few other things, which I can remember the names of.  What I can remember is that stopping is really difficult!  Who would have thought!


Next we learned how to do a tight turn by bending one knee and then (my favourite cuz I could do it) we learned how to skate and then change direction by twisting your ankles around and lifting the heel slightly.  Jane put in a few different things into our first lesson so that we could have a taster of various basics.   One of them was going backwards by doing little steps.  It's so totally unnatural for your feet, I don't know if this is because of the huge size of the rental skates but my feet just wouldn't stay together to do small steps.


Best thing of all, neither of us fell over!!! wooop!  Here are a few vids, they aren't long enough but we/I, depending on how we get on will put better ones up!  There is more of Matt than of me!


Enjoy!