Subject: recreational {ice} figure skating FAQ part 4
Supersedes: <rec-skate-faq/recreational-figure-skating/part4_794870416@rtfm.mit.edu>
Date: 9 Apr 1995 18:34:11 GMT
References: <rec-skate-faq/recreational-figure-skating/part0_797452370@rtfm.mit.edu>
Summary: Part 4 of this 6 part posting describes more advanced
        skating skills relevant to dancing and freestyle, as well as a
        description of precision team skating.
X-Last-Updated: 1995/02/09

Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 14 Jan 1995
Version: 199501


PART 4.  Beyond the Basics

6. Preliminary skating skills

Ice skating is probably one of the healthiest forms of exercise.  
Before you go on the ice to skate, warm up your muscles and stretch 
them.  This can go a long way to prevention of sore muscles and 
injury (see section 8 on off-ice training).

    6.1 Skating backwards

When you first start skating backwards it is very difficult to watch 
where you are going.  Get a friend to skate beside you and watch for 
you.  Later on, when you don't have that escort, ALWAYS watch 
where you are going!

1) Start by pushing off the boards.  Just a gentle shove, then coast 
until you feel secure with the general idea.  A helmet isn't a bad idea, 
by the way!

2) Get your posture/balance right - your body should be upright, 
chin up, with your knees bent - if you normally lean forward while 
skating, this will seem like leaning backwards.  If you do lean 
forward or let your head/eyes drop you'll find yourself scraping 
your toe picks.

3) Get your feet at a normal track width - not necessarily clicking 
heels, but less than shoulder width.  Many skaters let their legs 
spread out when they feel insecure, but you can't "stroke" from that 
position.

4) At this point try to keep yourself moving with a "sculling" motion 
-- moving both feet out-in-out-in as if tracing coke-bottle curves.

5) Next, you need to get comfortable with gliding on one foot, so that 
you can be pushing with the other.  Just pick up one foot - half an 
inch is fine - and glide on the other.  This will require that you get 
the gliding foot centered under your weight! (see 2 above).

6) Finally, you are ready to stroke - just push one leg out and to the 
side while you glide on the other, then at the end of the stroke, pick 
up that skate and set it back alongside the other.  Alternate feet, and 
as you get the hang of it, you'll find that you can maintain and build 
speed.

7) Expect it to take a while for you to get comfortable, just try a little 
backwards action each time you go out to skate.  You also want to get 
in the habit of looking over your shoulder to see where you're going.  
Looking only at where you've been leads to surprises.

    6.2 forwards and backwards cross-overs

Cross-overs are exactly like walking up a set of stairs sideways.  
They are done on a circle and since you are moving, you will be 
leaning into the circle and will be stepping up.  For both forward and 
backward crossovers, the skate on the outside of the circle crosses in 
front of you.

Suggestions for cross-overs are:

1) DO lean into the circle

2) shoulders are NOT square to the trace or arc, they are turned 
INWARD towards the center of the circle and the arms should extend 
along the line of the shoulders.

3) knees should be well bent the entire time

4) don't raise up between strokes, stay down

5) for freestyle, a good crossover is deep with legs crossing above the 
knees; for dance, crossovers should be more shallow.

6) strokes on both feet  are power strokes, done with a clean edge 
leaving the ice.  On forward cross-overs push with the HEEL of the 
inside foot or you'll scrape your toe pick.

7) definitely all strokes are with edges.

    6.3 3-turns and mohawks

A 3-turn is a change of direction (eg. forward to backward) *while 
skating on an arc of a circle*.  It is done without a change of skating 
foot and always involves a change of edge (eg: forward outside to 
backward inside edge).  As it changes direction, the skate traces the 
digit "3" in the ice; hence the term.  The center of the 3 always points 
to the center of the circle.  There are eight 3-turns, depending on 
which edge you enter with, which is your skating foot, and whether 
you enter the turn going forward or backward.  The turns are named 
according to their entry position, hence a LFO 3-turn is a turn done 
on the Left foot starting from a Forward direction on an Outside edge.

Turning a 3 requires that at first you rotate half the body (upper 
half) in the direction you want to turn, but RESIST rotating the 
second half (bottom half) momentarily.  Then you allow the bottom 
half to rotate to match the upper half.  What you are doing is 
winding up a spring, holding it a moment, and then letting it go.  The 
release of tension causes the turn (and rocking upward/forward on 
your blade through lifting the knee allows the blade to turn).

Posture is a key element in 3-turns.  Your body must be upright and 
centered over your skating foot.  The rotation can't possibly succeed 
if you are leaning forward or your free leg is dangling off to the side.

At the beginning of the turn, rotate the upper body so that your 
shoulders and chest are parallel to the arc of the circle, and your 
arms are extended along the arc of the circle itself.  Your head, as 
always, faces the direction of motion.  Your free foot is close to the 
skating foot and over the tracing.  Keep your legs in this position 
relative to each other throughout the turn (if they are touching as 
you start the turn, they should be touching in exactly the same way 
at the end).

During the turn, the rotation of the body is from the waist down.  The 
head, shoulders and arms stay still, effectively rotating counter to 
the hips.  This checks the turn at the end, stopping the rotation.  If 
you were to rotate the upper half of your body after the turn (or 
allow it to rotate -- i.e. not check), you would do another turn.

When you are skating forward your weight is on the back of the 
blade, but to do a three turn, it takes a *slight* shift of your weight 
to the front of the blade just before you turn, since you turn on the 
front of the blade at the ball of your foot.  Rise up slightly on your 
skating knee as you shift your weight, which will reduce the weight 
on the blade.  After the turn, sink down again which will press the 
new edge into the ice.

For backward to forward 3-turns, the weight is shifted instead to the 
back of the blade during the turn.  It doesn't take much.  Just 
consciously touch the top of your boot with your toes.

Don't fall into the bad habit of looking at your tracing after the turn!

How do ice dancers do those lightning fast three turns?  Actually, 
dancers' threes are supposed to be done with as little body motion as 
possible.  The shoulders are rotated into position and held still 
through the turn.  The hips rotate 180 degrees in a flash if the 
shoulders are rotated adequately.  The hard part isn't holding the 
edges or checking the turn, but ensuring that the body posture and 
foot location is perfect.  If they are, then all that moves is the hips 
and the skate, causing very little check to be needed and very little 
recovery at all.  If posture is not correct, the turn requires more 
energy.

The thing to keep in mind is that the skater moves their body, and as 
long as the skates are on an edge, the ice moves the skates -- 
therefore as you move faster on the ice, the skates just kind of follow 
along.  Turn your body and your skates will follow!

For mohawks:

There's a general position for entering Mohawks.  One skates on an 
edge with the shoulders and hips parallel to the tracing.  The free 
foot is at right angles or wider to the direction of the skating foot, 
and the heel of the free foot is either at the heel or the instep of the 
skating foot.  The turn is initiated by deepening the entrance edge 
which slightly rotates the skating side beyond the tracing.  Upon 
completing the turn, the (newly) free side is checked back onto the 
tracing.  The motion of the free side need not be large and it is very 
brief.  It should appear that the skater is always facing (with head, 
shoulders and hips) radially along the circle (inside for inside 
Mohawks; outside for outside.)

The problem people generally have with learning mohawks is to be 
sure to have their hips really far open and their left foot (for an RFI 
mohawk) completely turned backwards before putting it down.  Get 
your hips and upper body solidly around from the right hip back 
spiral position to the right hip forward position needed for a solid 
mohawk. Make sure that you really try to stay in the same circle 
when putting your right foot down, that your shoulders aren't 
lagging behind your hips, and that you don't put down your foot until 
your hip is there too.  Practice holding the entrance edge before 
doing the mohawk.

    6.4 spins

Learning to spin takes time and practice.

2 foot spins are typically (but not always) much slower than one-foot 
spins because there is more resistance with 2 blades. If the blades 
are not completely parallel, the resistance increases.

To increase your speed on a 2-foot spin you can only rely on entry 
speed to start and your arms to speed you up. On a 1-foot spin, both 
the arms and the free leg drawn in to the body will increase your 
speed.  The slower and more controlled you bring in the leg and arms 
the faster and more controlled the spin will be (and it will look 
better!). Don't forget to stand up straight and center yourself to 
minimize traveling.

The following definitive description of how to spin, covering the 
basics of one foot spins, is included (with minor modifications) with 
permission from Janet Hill-Swan.

** Spinning is a matter of celestial mechanics.  As you are doing your 
back crossovers getting ready, you are describing a circle (a planet  
orbiting the sun).  You want to spin in the exact center of that circle  
(where the sun is).  BUT, just as you can't aim straight at the sun and  
hit it, because you are moving backwards on a curve.  You have to 
set off  on a curve that will get you to the center eventually.  This 
means, that  when you step off for the spin, you step slightly forward 
(on a strong  outside edge), NOT backward, and not quite 
perpendicular to the skating foot. 

** The hard part is centering the spin on a regular basis (that is, 
avoiding "traveling" where there is linear motion across the ice 
during the spin).  Traveling is the result of not having your upper 
body above your center of gravity.  

** Don't hurry.  You will never center the spin if you step off and 
immediately release the free side.  You should describe a full half-
circle before you get to the "sun" and release the free side to let  
yourself spin.  Practice on a hockey line:  Stand with your feet 
crossed  as they would be before you step into the spin, with a strong 
check  (skating arm/shoulder well forward, free side well back).  
push off onto  a forward outside edge (left for most of us), and don't 
let the free side  release until you have finished a half circle and 
gotten back to the  line.  People who are already very accomplished 
at spinning will often not look as if they have "waited" to spin.  Don't 
copy them.  They  already have the kinesthetic memory of the spin 
completely ingrained, and  can telescope everything into less of an 
apparent sequence of events.   they can also compensate for an 
unorthodox or "off" approach.  Beginners  don't do very well at 
compensating. 

** When you step into the spin, keep your shoulders level.  Sweep 
the skating arm around from its strong check to a neutral position, 
imagining that you are sweeping across the top of a high table, trying 
to clear it off.  If you go in with your skating arm angled downward, 
your spin will travel badly.  And remember that your arm is not an 
isolated body part.   Think of the arms/shoulders/upper torso as a 
(hinged) unit.  As you sweep  the arm across, you are also moving 
the shoulders and upper torso, with  the aim of getting them into 
"neutral" position (faced forward, shoulders  and hips facing straight 
ahead, arms extended (at first) to the side, or  rather, slightly in front 
of the body, but equally in front) 

** When you are doing your backward crossovers getting ready to 
step into the spin, imagine that you have a tail.  Before you step into 
the spin, your left foot is underslung -- behind and outside the 
skating foot, and your hips are angled so that your "tail" is pointing 
outside the circle instead of backward 

** Spend some time practicing stepping into the spin without pushing 
with the toepick of the soon-to-be-free foot.  If you step off from a 
toe pick or a backward scrape, you will lose most of your momentum 
and "jar" your position, making it more difficult to keep balance. 

** Imagine that someone has inserted a broomstick so that it runs up 
your left leg and side and ending at your left shoulder.  Imagine 
yourself spinning forward around the broomstick.  Lift your free hip 
slightly.   This will move the center of gravity directly over the 
skating foot ...  and whatever spin you do, whatever position you 
eventually assume, you  will always need the center of gravity over 
the skating foot.  For  instance, in a layback, the hips are thrust 
forward to act as a counter  to the weight of the upper body.  The 
arms are also used to adjust the  location of the center of gravity. 

** When you release the free side and allow the free foot to come 
forward, bring the free leg as close to directly in front as you can.  
Ideally the thigh should be parallel to the ice with the foot turned 
out (work toward this as a goal ... it's a little scary).  Fast spins are 
caused by the momentum carried into the spin by the free leg 
swinging around.  The longer you spin with your free foot extended 
(especially if you have it extended to  the side) the more likely it will 
be to pull you off the center or  gravity and therefore the center of 
the spin.  BUT, DON'T bring the free  foot in quickly, and do anything 
jerkily, because it will disturb  your position, and pull you off a 
centered spin.   BUT NOTE: if you are  going to bend your free leg to 
cross it in front for a scratch spin, it  will need to be at least slightly 
to the side instead of directly in front. 

**  Don't forget the down-up-down.  This is critical, and beginners  
rarely remember it.  (Many aren't told):   As you are getting ready to 
step  into the spin, your skating leg should be deeply bent DOWN (the 
other leg is  slung under and outside the skating foot).  Rise UP on 
the skating knee,  then as you step into the pre-spin edge, sink 
DOWN on the new skating  knee.  As you reach the center, and 
release the free side, rise UP again,  but don't jerk.  Each time you 
rise up, you reduce weight on the blade,  which is why the UP as you 
center the spin is critical.  But in order to  have an UP, you have to 
have had a DOWN.  Another advantage to this  little litany is that it 
puts a cadence to the spin entry. 

** Problems with centering spins can be caused by lots of things, 
usually during the spin entry.  Don't step too wide.  When you are 
going into a spin, you will be  transferring your weight from the right 
foot (for counterclockwise  spinners) to directly over the spinning 
(left) foot.  If your step into the spin (which is a choctaw, by the 
way) is too wide, your body weight  has to bridge the distance 
between your feet and end up directly over the  left foot ... and it 
usually won't make it.  Instead, your center of  gravity will be 
somewhere to the right of the skating foot, which will  make it 
impossible to center the spin ... if you don't fall out of the  spin 
completely. 

** Don't look down.  Keep your eyes level and don't focus on 
anything.  When you are "winding up", look out ahead at the hand 
that is in front. This does two things:  It makes you keep the check, 
and it keeps you from looking to the side or down.  It also tends to 
keep the "sweep" of the left arm horizontal, even though by the time 
you "sweep", you aren't looking at that hand any more. 

** Whatever you do, FINISH THE SPIN, complete with a graceful exit.  
It gives you practice at recovering a spin-gone-wrong, and it gives 
the illusion of a better spin ... If you're lucky, the judges will have 
been writing something on their score sheet when you made the 
early mistake, and will think from your gorgeous exit that the whole 
spin was nice. 

** If you are spinning on your pick, THINK about the part of your 
foot  just behind the ball of your foot.  Just thinking about it is 
usually  enough to make you unconsciously adjust where your 
weight is.  It you  actually try to shift your weight, you will more 
than likely overdo it  and find yourself on the back of your blade 
(which is dangerous).  Spinning  with your toepick grazing the ice is 
OK -- that's essentially the  definition of a scratch spin -- but you 
don't want to be too much on the  pick, because it slows you down, 
and it is inherently precariously  balanced.  It also digs a hole in the 
ice. 

** Remember, a spin is just a 3-turn that you set free.   

        6.4.1 about dizziness

Dizziness is apparently the result of sensory disparity, where your 
vision and inner ears don't agree about what is happening.  Spinning 
is going to make you dizzy.  Do spins until you get dizzy.  Do one 
more.  Then do something else. Then once you aren't dizzy any more, 
come back to the spins.  Your tolerance will build up.  But no matter 
how great your tolerance, if your shoulders are not level, you're 
going to get dizzy, and the spin will travel. 

If you get really dizzy, stand still, relax, and place your right index 
finger between your eyebrows and press gently for about 10 
seconds.  Focus on something still.  Try not to throw up.  The Zamboni 
driver will hate you!

    6.5 jumps for beginners

So, your Waltz jump looks like a Mexican jumping bean.  It seems 
like most people don't get any height and flow until their full jumps 
because they are still lacking confidence until then.  Watch good 
skaters warming up on waltz jumps, and you'll see that they get a lot 
of height and flow.

For a Waltz jump, imagine that you're jumping over a six inch fence 
and pick your landing spot in advance so that you will make a good 
stride.  Definitely do jump from your toe pick and swing your free 
leg, which will carry you around the half rotation.  Do point your toe 
on the landing so you land on your toe pick and then rock back on 
the blade.

The Salchow is a jump where you do a forward outside 3-turn, sit on 
that back inside edge, bring the free leg around and jump into the 
air.  The free leg coming around forces a three turn on take off.  
After doing a salchow look at the marking left on the ice.  It should 
be a deep curve with a toe pick mark at the end (like a check mark) 
indicating that the skater was facing forward on take off.  In this 
respect, a Salchow is basically a Waltz jump with a backward entry.

Remember - you don't need a lot of height to land a full revolution 
jump.  You do need the height to make the jump look good.  
Rotational jumps don't require a whole lot of height or linear speed 
for completion.  It's more technique and body position than anything 
else.


7. Precision skating

Precision skating, when done well, can be intensely exciting to watch.  
Once having been to a major precision competition, you can find that 
singles may pall.  As a participant, it's an excellent way of honing 
your skating skills.  

Precision skating is a choreographed routine of complex footwork 
and formations, a lot like synchronized swimming (except that you 
are on top of the ice and it's frozen), or like a Busbie Berkelely 
musical with knives on your feet.  Precision is an intensely 
cooperative sport, with each skater skating an assigned spot, and no 
substitutions allowed during the course of the routine.  In the best 
routines, no one skater "draws the eye".  The aim is for exact 
synchronization, and perfect formations performed at speed.  The 
greater the complexity, the greater the difficulty, and the greater the 
number of skaters, the higher the score.

Examples of greater difficulty would include clockwise rotation and 
footwork (against the natural rotation and using the "weak" side of 
90% of skaters); backwards work, especially involving blind or semi-
blind intersections; formations that rotate while also having the 
center of rotation travel from one point to another on the rink; 
changes in direction; especially complex footwork; changes in holds 
and orientation; effective and "invisible" transititions from one 
formation to another (such that cause the spectator to say "How did 
they get there?")

The number of skaters depends on the division in which they skate 
(Junior, Senior, Masters etc.) and is usually from 12 to about 24.  The 
divisions are based on age and range from maximum12 years for 
Juvenile to minimum 25  years for Masters.

Routines have a specified duration, depending on the division, and 
must (except for technical programs) have at least two changes of 
music, with one piece being in a distinctly different rhythm or style.  
Junior and Senior divisions perform both a technical program, with a 
prescribed list of moves, and a freeskating program.

There is no featured or solo work permitted.  Jumps of more than 
one revolution are forbidden, and must be performed in formation.  
Spins of more than two revolutions are forbidden and must be 
performed in formation.  Lifts and carries of all sorts are prohibited.

Precision is a sport that can be pursued by (1) people who don't 
particularly enjoy skating alone, (2) people who may never get a 
double jump, (3) people who can't find a pair or dance partner. (4) 
people who started skating late, (5) people returning to skating, (6) 
gold medalists who never stopped skating, (7) people who can't get 
enough of various types of skating, (8) people who are too nervous to 
compete alone, (9) anyone with appropriate skating skills, and a 
willingness to work as part of a team.

Precision is a great spectator sport and a wonderful participant sport 
for men and women of all ages.  There are a few teams with waiting 
lists and 50 people trying out for a single spot, but there are many 
more teams that have room for qualified skaters ... if not 
immediately on the line, then as alternates.  Most will let you "try 
them out" to see if precision suits your style and talents.  Most are 
eager to see the sport grow, and will welcome prospective skaters.   

Precision is a great sport for kids!  All precision skaters have to learn 
a lot about the obligations that an individual has to the group, and of 
the consequences of not holding up your end of a bargain.  They 
learn that in order for the group to succeed, they must work for the 
success of every individual in the group. And do they EVER learn 
about dealing with people!

Precision Figure Skating is a competitive discipline, recognized the 
the USFSA, CFSA, ISIA, and ISU.  In 1994 the ISU formed a Precision 
Technical Committee,which is an important step toward development 
of an official world championships.  National championships have 
been held for the last 11 years.

        
