If kids can ice-skate like pros, how hard can it be for a grownup with good balance? Alan Grant finds that pride comes before a fall – or several 

When going over story options for February with my editor, I mentioned the Fuji Ice Palace Singapore National Figure Skating Championships, which take place at Jurong’s Fuji Ice Palace on 2 and 3 February. It was meant more as an ironic joke (winter sport? On this island?), and in all likelihood smacked of desperation – February is a dry month for sports. Unfortunately, those words backfired on me when she challenged me to learn how to ice-skate. I accepted, of course. I mean, how hard could it be? I race bicycles for fun, and so my balance – surely the key to ice-skating – is pretty good. And when I arrived at the Ice Palace for my first lesson with one of the in-house instructors from the Fuji Ice Skating School, Sunny Man (real name), my initial assumptions about the sport’s simplicity were confirmed by the sight of a rink full of kids, most of whom were gliding gracefully around the polished ice. 

Here’s the lowdown on skating at Fuji Ice Palace, which opened in 1994. Depending on the seniority of your coach, a private, introductory 30-minute lesson costs between $44.10 and $50.40. If after that you’re hooked and want to proceed, a pack of five private lessons go for $220.50 and up. Semi-private and group options are also available. If you don’t need lessons – probably like those kids gliding effortlessly all over the rink – it’s $13.70 ($11.60 for concessions) to skate for two hours, and skates can be rented for $3.20. 

But for me, a total novice, lessons were compulsory. And so, dressed comfortably in long trousers, thick socks, and a T-shirt (figured the Lycra number with frills à la Blades of Glory will come after I’ve mastered the push-off), I took my first intrepid steps onto the ice. Thud. That was the sound of my backside hitting the ice, which happened immediately. It turns out the ‘simple’ act of keeping my balance while perched on two steel blades wasn’t as easy as expected. As I picked myself up, or rather, tried to pick myself up, Man helped me to my feet and explained that the best way to get up is by turning around onto your knees and using your hands to push yourself up, one leg at a time: the first of many invaluable tips. 

Vertical again, the lesson started in earnest. While it’s not that difficult to get moving on the ice in one 30-minute lesson, most of that short period is spent learning the basics required to stay on your feet and skate forward. Man said that the first step was to keep your feet in a pigeon-toed V-shape while you learn to ‘walk’. Then, he advised me to ‘keep your knees bent and always lean forward and not back’. Why? He explained that when you fall (and you will fall), gravity will send you forward onto the ice, and your hands will be there to save your precious face (although falling in front of a bunch of kids won’t save face, figuratively speaking). On the other hand, if you’re leaning back when you take a tumble, you risk hitting the cold, hard ice headfirst (ouch); at best, you’ll land on your bum, which still hurts, even considering the built-in padding. Not that using your hands to break your fall is a pain-free option – near the end of the lesson, when I failed to land a triple salchow (in my dreams), I got up to find a small cut on my left hand courtesy of some icy shrapnel. 

It’s advisable not to expect too much from your first lesson. When our photographer asked Man if he could get me to do a twirl halfway through the 30 minutes, it sounded so absurd that it took a few seconds for him to realise that the question was serious. ‘I can at least get him to do a jump,’ said Man, who promptly demonstrated that all I had to do was bend my knees deeper and then leap in the air. And I did perform a jump or two, if you call reaching two inches off the ground with my eyes closed a jump. 

By staying on the ice for 30 minutes or so after the lesson (you are allowed to skate for as long as you want at the end of class; Fuji Ice Palace recommends weekday mornings for a quieter rink), my ‘skills’ and confidence improved, and so I was quite looking forward to my next lesson four days later, as I knew I’d be better. 

And so it was. By the end of that second half-hour lesson with Man, I’d learnt how to brake by pushing the inside of my right blade out rather than by just letting my momentum peter out, and I could push off with either foot, which allowed me to build up a bit of speed and at last glide…just like the little kids. 

Man also taught me the very advanced-sounding ‘swizzle’. The idea is to make the shape of a fish with your blades, moving the feet in a parallel movement outward and then inward, outward and inward, and so on. Think of each foot making half a figure eight. The first time I tried it, I couldn’t bring my feet back in, and for one awful moment, the only outcome I could foresee was an awkward split. But then it clicked somehow, and before I knew it, Man had also taught me how to perform a backwards swizzle. 

These few steps ‘mastered’, I stayed on the ice for an additional 90 minutes, and while to onlookers I probably looked like the rookie I most certainly still am, I felt graceful as I sped round and round the rink honing the skills I’d learnt. And although I’m not quite up to partnering Michelle Kwan just yet, with practice – and maybe one of those frilly, sequinned get-ups – I might yet make the grade. 

Click here for more details on the Fuji Ice Palace.

Snow patrol 
Ice-skating isn’t the only wintery sport on offer in town. Try your hand (and feet) at snowboarding, skiing and ice hockey 

SNOWBOARDING 
Where: Snow City 
The game: This beginner-friendly venue in Jurong boasts skiing and snowboarding facilities, which centre around a 60-metre slope of man-made snow that stands some three storeys high. As a beginner, you’ll fall immediately. However, on my third descent, pre-lesson, I made it all the way to the bottom without falling. There were plenty more falls in the next two hours. But snowboarding is easier than skating (see ‘Go figure’) in terms of picking up basics, such as learning to walk up the slope with one foot out of the bindings and digging the edge of the board into the snow behind you to push off. The most memorable term was ‘standing tall like a cowboy’, where the idea is to keep your weight on the back of the board with your knees bent and arms at your side as if about to draw twin six-shooters; this pose is essential to keep your balance. 
The details: Lessons from Snowline start at $55 for a one-hour group session or $120 for private ones (equipment rental inclusive). 

SKIING 
Where: Snow City
The game: The skiing sessions run in tandem with the snowboarding; yes, it can get a little crowded in there. Don’t go in there expecting to strap on your skis straight away, as the first thing you’ll learn is how to walk up the slope in your ski boots. Eventually, the Snowline coaches will let you clip in, but even then it’s slow going as you learn how to use your weight, the edges of the skis and, of course, to get up after falling. 
The details: Lessons at Snowline start at $55 for a one-hour group session or $120 for private tuition (equipment rental inclusive). 

ICE HOCKEY 
Where: Fuji Ice Palace 
The game: There’s a thriving community of about 170 adults and 160 kids playing the sport, made up mostly of North American and European expats but with a healthy smattering of Singaporeans. According to James ‘Kodi’ Kodrowski, secretary of the Amateur Ice Hockey Association Singapore (AIHA), you don’t have to be a strong skater to play hockey; having a hockey stick in your hands helps with balance and so skating is easier. 
If you want to check out the action, games in the Singapore National Ice Hockey League (run by the AIHA) are played from 9pm on most Mondays, Thursday and Sundays at Fuji Ice Palace. Entry is free. If you like what you see, call AIHA at 6276 0364 or email enquiries@singaporeicehockey.com. Previous roller hockey or inlineskating experience is a plus. AG See Listings for venue information.