Salchow Class – Part 2 (Ryan Bradley)

US National Champion Ryan Bradley teaches a salchow class at the G2C Supercamp in the summer of 2013. This is the second and final part of this class. In Part 1, Ryan focused on controlling the preparation edges and turns. In this video, he focuses on the deepening of the take-off edge and the pivot to forward. Notice the slow speed and the focus on patience. Ryan wants slow and controlled movements and he wants the skaters to wait for the edge to deepen and pivot rather than forcing the edge or “pulling” on the edge.

You can even see in some of the demonstrations by the class the tendency to speed up and even come up out of the skating knee well before completing the pivot to forward. This “sideways” take-off jump is not ideal. Ryan says, “You can do it [that way] but it’s not going to be a lot of fun.” Notice how Ryan compares the salchow to the axel. And he continues, “It’s the right idea. I’m just seeing a lot of energy. This is just about being patient and letting the edge do the work.” Ryan demonstrates exactly what he wants.

When progressing to the single salchow, Ryan asks for a very specific pattern and he explains why. Again, notice the focus on the left arm as it’s so common for skaters to let that left are drift away during the take-off movement. Ryan also talks about the feeling of “freedom” on a jump. You don’t get to take too many lessons from a coach who can tell you what a quad feels like! Ryan admits he doesn’t like doing the salchow but as as many coaches know, this often translates into the ability to teach it really well. Ryan notes that as expected, all the work on fundamentals went out the window as soon as the skaters attempted doubles. That’s why good coaches focus on fundamentals constantly.