International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna explains and demonstrates a drill he teaches fairly early on to all of his skaters. He notes that adult skaters often find this drill challenging because they are particularly uncomfortable being on their toe picks. The drill starts by gliding backwards on two feet then stopping by “going up on your toes” to create a two foot toe drag stop. When done correctly, the skater leans the entire body forward, including the legs and this engages the toe picks on the ice. Notice that the legs remains straight. The heels should not lift significantly (no toe pointing), but rather the leg lean angle helps create the necessary pressure on the bottom toe picks. Nick also demonstrates the drill done incorrectly (bent legs, toe point, etc).
Next Nick discusses why this drill is useful. He begins with the example of a spin, where the balance point on the blade needs to be just behind the toe pick. This balance point is difficult to attain if the skater is not willing to have forward pressure (lean). A good foot position for spinning is engaging the “spin spot” or “sweet spot” on the blade without raising the heel. He also shows the value on a salchow and loop jump where the skater needs to create edge pressure by moving the take-off foot behind the skater’s center of mass while keeping the heel down.
Finally Nick explains how he helps skaters learn this position and movement by holding on to the wall pressing the feet backward to engage the toe picks. He then does the drill moving holding the skaters’ hands, reminding them to keep the heels down.
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