Choosing, Lacing and Caring For Your Ice Skates

Ice skating is a great exercise for all ages. Children as young as two years old can learn how to ice skate and once learned ... it is a lifetime exercise.

Three common questions about ice skates are how do you choose a pair of skates, how do you fit them to size and how do you care for them?

How do you choose a pair of ice skates? Choose a good leather boot. Vinyl boots do not breathe and do not offer the support needed for such a vigorous sport. Remember.... the complete body weight is being placed on two blades of steel. The boot on those blades needs to be strong and supportive. It is better to pay a better price for a better skate that will not buckle or fold at the ankle than to look for a bargain .. with the result being that "fold over" boot.

How do you size a pair of skates? You size them no differently than if you were buying a pair of shoes. You need them to fit properly. Do not buy a pair that pinches in any way. When trying skates on for size, kick the heel of your foot back so it fits comfortably at the back of the skate. Your toes should have plenty of room to wiggle around. Lace the boot up. If it pinches anywhere ... it is the wrong size. Skates will not "loosen up" after using them ... do not buy with that in mind. Never buy "by shoe size" as ice skate sizes differ from shoe sizes.

What is the proper way to lace ice skates? "Loose, tight , loose" is the sequence to remember. Tie the bottom third of the boot rather loosely .. snug but not tight. The middle is then tied tightly.. but not tight enough to cut off circulation. The top third is tied as the bottom... loosely.. snug but not tight. This sequence allows for good circulation in the boot and will not cause "pins and needles" from a cut off of circulation in the foot from over tightening the skate.

How do you care for ice skates? Care for them as you would a good pair of leather shoes or boots. Oil them regularly with a good boot oil to keep the leather supple. Should the inside become wet from sweaty feet.... air dry them by hanging upside down with skate open as widely as possible. Keep a soft cloth in with your ice skates so when you are finished ice skating, you can wipe the blades dry. It will keep the blades from rusting. Invest in a good blade cover to snap on the blades only after they are thoroughly dried. Never ever walk on your ice skates on anything other than ice without the blade protectors in place. Should a lace break.. make sure you replace it .. not just tie it back together.

When not in use, tying the laces together of both skates and hanging the ice skates is a good way to store them. Hang them in a dry place when not in use for any length of time.

Choose your skates wisely when buying .... fit them carefully for size ...... care for them with tlc.. and they will last you for years.

Enjoy!

Teaching The Fencing Tactical Plan - Part I

Many fencers step up on the strip with only a rudimentary idea of how they intend to beat their opponent. As a result, the fencer is constantly trying to find a way to hit, shifting from technique to technique without a clear plan of how best to deal with the opponent. The cliches that "failing to plan is planning to fail" and "if you have no plan, any outcome is successful" actually do capture the challenge for the fencer. So how do we train fencers to develop a tactical plan for a bout?

First, a caveat. Most fencers at the beginning and intermediate levels will never attempt to plan their bout at any useful level. They either lack the necessary desire or intellectual capacity to be successful. As a coach you have to accept that. The ones who want to learn how to plan the bout, who do plan, and who carry out their plans are the fencers who are worth your efforts to develop them as serious competitors.

The initial step in developing the fencer's ability to plan is developing the ability to see what is happening on the strip. This is a two part process. First, every fencer should spend as much time as possible watching fencing. Video from major competitions, video online, and just sitting watching bouts in the club when not fencing, all contribute to the fencer's ability to see the action.

Second, every fencer should learn the process of refereeing a bout. This is a step-by-step progression: (1) recognizing which fencer originates the attack, (2) identifying whether the opponent's actions deceive, stop, or block the attack, (3) recognizing the opponent's riposte, etc. The fencer must be able to recognize the flow of the bout, and then recognize which specific techniques are in use. In refereeing practice bouts, the fencer's ability to recognize actions is improved when he or she is required to identify how the hit was made, not just make the correct hand signals.

Seeing what is happening is one tool for the critical first step in planning, developing intelligence about the opponent's physical, technical, and tactical capabilities. Other information is equally important. If the fencer, or members of the fencer's club, have met the opponent before in competition, they should have made and shared notes as part of a regular debriefing process after tournaments. The debriefing process is a critical part of every competition. The availability of competition results on FRED provides current information on classification, competitive record, who the opponent has fenced before from your club, what the scores were, etc. Gathering and sharing this data is a significant effort, but even a rough idea of opponent strength can be valuable in planning.

All of this can be modeled and practiced in club competitions. Like all fencing skills, the various steps of making a plan must be practiced until they are automatic. In the next article in this series we will examine how to teach the fencer how to inventory and compare their skills against the opponent's as part of the plan.