Power Choctaws – The Choctaw Part 5 (Amy Brolsma)

In this video, Amy Brolsma discusses several ways to help a skater add speed and flow to choctaws. Generating power within the choctaw itself often referred to as a power choctaw but all good choctaws have this power and flow. Footwork, transitions and the USFS Junior Moves in the Field pattern are all places in figure skating where power choctaws are needed.

Amy recommends working on the power within the choctaws only after mastering the edges and timing and knee rhythm discussed in the earlier videos. She recommends doing the choctaw exercise at the wall and rather than just stepping from one foot to the other the skater should “push.” The skater needs to feel a push into the weight transfer rather than just a step.

Amy notes that this push “feels” different or is described differently from skater to skater. Some skaters have a “power pull” feeling while others feel a “pump.” In both cases the skater is talking about the feeling of pressure in the edge just prior to the step. Amy has a skater demonstrate the power choctaws down the blue line. If a skater can do repeating choctaws smoothly across the rink (the short way), she then has them do repeating choctaws all the way down the rink (the long way). If the skater can do this while using their edges correctly, they most likely have mastered the choctaw.