Figure Skating Edges And Turns – Part 2 (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 2 of an edges and turns class in Korea. This is the second of a multi-part series. You can see the first part of this series here (Part 1). We did not have wireless microphones for this class so at times the audio may be hard to hear. Throughout these videos, Korean coach “Grace” Eun He Lee is translating Chris’s comments for her skaters and this sometimes makes understanding Chris even more challenging on the video. However, the overall value of this information is so high that we decided to publish it anyway. We ask for your understanding regarding the audio and please leave a comment below if something is unclear.

In this video, Chris builds on the drills in the last video by having the skaters try the full blade rocking drill on one foot. This drill is HARD! Chris offers a helpful tip. He says, “I find it’s easier with the free leg open.” He also says, “We don’t teach this in basic skating, but it is a basic concept.”

Next Chris teaches the class to walk on the ice. Chris wants the skaters to use the whole blade so he wants them to step initially on the heel while walking forward. He says you don’t even have to worry about rocking all the way to the toe as the body will do that naturally. Chris makes a correction as many of the skaters were walking too stiffly. Chris notes that the only time the leg is straight is the moment the heel touches the ice.

Next, Chris adds jogging. Then running. He demonstrates a walk-jog-run drill using the blue lines on the rink. He makes a big deal of the stop at the end of the drill because many of the Korean skaters had trouble with basic stops. He laughs and smiles after asking for a tango stop mainly because so few of the skaters in the class could do one. Chris recommends practicing this walk-jog-run drill once a day as a way to develop full blade awareness and control. He has the skaters start out with half a lap and eventually build to a full lap of the rink. Chris has his own skaters do the drill either as part of their initial on-ice warm-up or at the end of a session.

This is more great information from Chris. Please leave a comment below.