Somersault
I fell hard on the Sunday session after my 4th group lesson. I was getting a bit tired (I had been skating for 2 and a half hours) and lazily lifted my right leg for my next stroke, but I caught the toe pick and went down hard on my left knee and somersaulted right over. It hurt a great deal, but was really embarrassing too as I did it right in front of my friends. Oh well -- it's part of skating to accept that even the professionals fall over, and quite often too. You can't learn to do anything cool if you don't push yourself, so a fall is basically inevitable.
I saw one girl have a spectacular stack once, and she got up again straight away laughing. I said "are you okay?" and she gave me the big thumbs up and kept skating. I said "that's the spirit!" and she said "I'm always pushing my limits!". That pretty much sums up skating. Don't fear the ice. Don't fear the pain of the fall. Get out there and push hard. That's how you get better. I think everyone is guilty of letting fear stop them from trying something, and I'm no exception.
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