Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,

He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast.

Shakespeare-A Midsummer Night’s Dream

I’ve had an almost-new set of MK Dance blades sitting in my closet for well over a year. (I found them for a really good price on eBay.) With 2016 firmly welcomed in, I finally decided that it was time to get them mounted and get out there.

Whoa, Nellie! Since my old blades (also MK Dance) had been well-worn and not sharpened for a while, these new blades felt really strange at first.

I could immediately feel all my edges (which usually is the case with just-sharpened blades). But the biggest difference today was in the rocker: the curved part of the blade where one-foot turns and spins happen. I really felt the rockers on the new blades, whereas my old blades felt “flat.” This made turning almost effortless. I could also feel quite a difference on power pulls; these new blades not only ran very quickly over the ice, but also responded more readily to minute changes of body position and pressure.

I skated at a very crowded public session, but since my blades and I needed some time to get acquainted, it was just fine to cruise at fairly mellow tempos: andante or even lento. I spent some time contemplating the teenage mutant ninja turtle safety helmets on some of the skating toddlers. I gave some silent telepathic sympathy to the lone teenage figure skater who was valiantly trying to do some moves without getting mowed down by the flailing arms of beginners.

But mostly I spent my time checking out how the new blades affected my different alignment issues. Everything felt different, so I focused on making sure that my knees, ankles, and feet were all tracking correctly.

Can’t wait to see how it goes this coming week, but I think we are going to get along just fine. Will report back!

Author: Joskates

Don't see me on the ice? I may be in the classroom or at the theater, or hanging out with my family and friends.