Falls

Falling is an inevitable part of skating.

If you don't fall you're not pushing yourself.
I believe in this. I see the kids falling on jumps all the time, and actually wish I could throw myself into my jumps enough to do that. I've been learning loop on and off since August, and fell on it for the first time last week. BUT I know that adult skaters in particular are very wary of falling. The fear of injury is very real, and the consequences of an injury are worse for adults than for kids.

The worst falls are the ones you don't expect.
If you've ever seen a kid fall twenty times on a double jump and pick themselves up and go again, then that same kid falls on field moves and gets off the ice crying, you know what I mean. If you are (or have been) that kid, then way to go! I think on hard jumps, you half expect to fall, and even if you don't, your body is preparing to land. You have momentum as well, so you tend to slide across the ice, rather than falling straight down. It's the straight down falls that hurt the most.

Get right back on the horse.
After a fall take a second. Are you hurt? Are you shocked? If yes, then get off the ice for a minute and have a drink and a breather and reassess. If not, then do whatever you fell on straight away. And keep doing it until you do it as well as you normally can. The longer you wait, the more fear has a chance to build up.

Getting over fear.
I've posted before about how scared I used to be. A bad fall can really shake you, no matter how old or young you are. The more you fall, the less likely it is that it will really throw you, but your first bad fall can be awful. Get used to falling. Do it from drags or teapots so it doesn't hurt. Play musical bumps (which did hurt after twenty bumps...)! The more scared you are, the more tense you'll be and the more likely you are to actually hurt yourself if you do fall. When you can't remember every fall anymore, it's a good sign.