Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a skater on her footwork sequence. This is not an advanced skater, but she is also not a beginner. Skaters at this skill level usually struggle with power generation, knee and ankle bend depth and timing, overall edge quality, as well as slowing the tempo of movements to properly execute each element of the footwork sequence. In this video, we see how an expert like Doug addresses this, ultimately improving the overall execution of the sequence and offering the skater a stronger foundation for further development.
At the beginning, the focus is on power generation. Watch how Doug bends strongly on the exit of the counter, allowing him to push without switching feet or edge direction (power pull). To do this he not only bends but allows his hips to settle back after the turn to help with the push.
The next section of the sequence is a series of power mohawks. Doug focuses both on bending for power generation and head position and eye focus for alignment and presentation. As he notes, a power mohawk requires a strong edge (not a flat) with a strong knee and ankle bend.
Next, Doug and the skater tackle the exit of a twizzle. Doug wants to create more edge quality and power on the twizzle exit, and again he explains how and when to bend. He notes that the skater should exit on an edge or on the circle rather than a flat. There’s also some discussion of the Ina Bauer.
Finally, the skater re-skates the entire footwork sequence and shows some improvement. Imagine the speed of progress this skater would experience with this if she had a lesson with Doug every day for a few weeks. Great information.
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