As a skater for 40 years and a coach for the last 15 years, the only critical factor in skating is correct posture. It’s something my coaches instilled in me for years. If I had a dime for every time a coach told me, “Put your chest out!” or “Shoulders back!” or “Stand up!” she would be a really rich woman! The good news in all of this is that they were right. Standing tall is a must in ice skating.
For newer skaters, if there’s one thing I recommend on every move, it’s skating tall (aka: “Stand tall!”). Skating upright means:
1. Maintain gentle knee bending at all times,
2. Keep an arch in the lower back,
3. Keep your shoulders back and
4. Keep your chest up.
Did you get all that? And you have to do all of that, at the same time, all the time! Not just sometimes, really, I’m not kidding, all the time. I know, I know and I hear you. It’s a lot to remember when you’re learning to do your crosses, or learning a turn, or running your new program, but it makes all the difference in the world! That is how…
Simply dropping the chest (a big no-no) changes the weight of the blade. When you drop your chest, you put your weight more to the front of the blade, causing your fingers to scratch your toes, which is not an appealing sound when delivering a beautiful program. Straight knees (another big no-no) have the same result.
Did you know that, on average, about 50-60 percent of a new skater’s program consists of arm wrestling and footwork in preparation for jumps and spins? It is true. Of course, this percentage changes as you become a better skater when you can take bigger jumps and longer turns, but a good percentage of time for new skaters is strokes and footwork. If you’re inclined, that means 50-60 percent of the time your performance looks, well, how should I say this nicely? Yes, that’s an official training term (just kidding). But seriously, there’s nothing worse than watching a skater do flips and smooth spins in a program and make the rest look “gross” because he couldn’t get his chest up. And remember this: there is nothing that drives your trainer crazy! Just say…
In contrast, when a skater stands up, viewers see a confident and competent individual. A skater with solid strokes and footwork and maybe just decent jumps and spins is much more enjoyable to watch, both from the spectator seat and from the coach’s seat. In general, the program looks more polished because it flows. And yes, the judges may even rate you higher in the competition and in your free skate tests! I’ve seen it happen over and over again!
One last thing, to all skaters: please, for God’s sake, get up! And for all the trainers out there, you owe me a dime (or twenty)!