Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau shares a helpful exercise to develop stopping skills (on both feet), knee action and rhythm, and upper body control. As Kate notes, this exercise is fun and skaters will enjoy learning it and performing it regularly. The forward exercise is slightly different than the backward exercise, so there’s really two exercises in this video.
All videos in the series:
Part 1 – intro, initial exercises emphasizing slow stretching movements and strong edges and full extension
Part 2 – increasing heart rate, edge control and body lean, add movements for quickness
Part 3 – improve stopping skills, knee action, balance
Part 4 – focus on flow and power and extension (jump landing positions)
Part 5 – spirals and Ina Bauers
Part 6 – transitions and turns
Part 7 – wrap up and summary
In the forward version, there’s a forward crossover followed by an inside edge stop (using the “outside” foot of the crossover and turning the shoulders outside the circle) into a bunny hop and forward crossover in the other direction. This sequence then repeats, so there’s 2 crossovers in a row throughout. After skaters have learned the steps and basic movements, Kate adds arms to match the music or to work on specific movements for choreography. As an example Kate makes small circles with her arms which is classic styling for latin dance music. She makes a point of encouraging skaters to develop their own style and movements.
In the backward version, there are two backward crossovers followed by an inside stop (using the “outside” foot of the crossover and turning the shoulders outside the circle) and then a hop to the other foot, remaining on the toe pick with an extension of the free leg in front, and then immediately repeating in the other direction. Once a skaters master the basics, they should expand the pattern and add arms. Kate offers insights and details regarding posture and alignment for this exercise. If done incorrectly, the skater will struggle both with balance and with power generation.
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