Forward drag, Forward crossovers, Turning backwards to forwards and vice versa

[abbi_1990]

Hi,

Does anyone have any tips on how to do the following:


Forward drag


Forward crossovers


Turning backwards to forwards and vice versa


Three turns


Abbi xxxx

[sweeneytodd]

Ooh right bit of selection here.

Forward drag,   try it off ice  (the more flexible and supple you are the easier the position is to get into,)   also when trying on ice make sure shoulders are level and drag leg is behind you not to one side.

Froward crossovers.   Also try this off ice by stepping one foot over the other,then remove  rear foot place by side  and cross again.   When on ice you need to look and lean into the circle.  It's like riding a bike  round a corner, the rider and bike lean inwards slightly. 

Turning forwards to backwards main thing is to try to keep the body moving as one  not to twist your feet first. also to keep it straight not bend over as this throws you out of control. I find this easier if i put the arm out straight in front of me  (the one thats leading me into turn). 
Vise versa is the same  try not to twist, but to keep straight.  You can always step it  with hands on barrier to start with.
Once you get the turning from forwards to backwards you are halfway to the threeturn which is a curly turn on one foot.  So  then attempt to turn  round on each foot in each direction.  Once you have that you can look towards adding the correct edges to them.

[abbi_1990]

Sweenytodd, Thanks for your reply it was helpfull, especially the bit about turning forwards to backwards I have some more questions, sorry!!

Forward drag - should the inside egde of the blade of the leg that is behind you scrape along the ice? or does the leg that is behind you need to be lifted up off the ice?

Forward crossovers - does it matter how big the circle is? would having blunt blades make it harder? i struggled to keep control of these i could do about 5 crossovers and then lost control.

Three turn - i can do these holding onto the barrier but not when i let go lol!

Abbi xxxx

[sweeneytodd]

OK forward drag, it is the inside of the boot that touches the ice,  the edge of sole and just above.  if you get a  light cover of snow on boot then its done well but takes practise. 

Crossovers,  having blunt blades does make them harder as you tend to slide especially at speed.  It doesn't really matter how big the circle is but if you skate fast bigger circles are easier. If you can do five that sounds like you've got the hang  of them just need to keep them going.  Good going on the 3 turns at barrier too. At least you are training body in what to do, so just need to  build confidence with them off the barrier. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Derek]

Forward drag - the trailing boot touches the ice, not the blade. Your boot will acquire a small 'scuff mark' from doing this, it doesnt really damage the boot, but you can tell that the drag has been practised. If you touch your blade, it tends to act as a brake ...

On crossovers, a large circle is easier, as it requires less effort. I liken the stepping action for crossovers to walking up stairs sideways.

[Airyfairy76]

Hi - first post!  Thought this would be a good first thread to contribute to!

Forward drag - as to whether the blade should be on the ice, that depends on how deep your other knee is bent.  The lower you go, the more you come off the blade and more onto the side of the boot (great for that scuffed look!).  The leg should not be lifted off the ice, but most of your weight should be on your front leg.  

Forward crossovers - it doesn't matter at this stage how big the circle is.   If you are doing Skate UK, chances are you are using a hockey circle as a guide which is a good place to start.  If you are skidding about on your edges then it might be cos your blades are too blunt.  However, it is quite easy at first to lose control - I suggest breaking it up into steps in your head, ie.  "push, crossover, uncross" and keep it at a nice even rhythm.  It is all too easy to start rushing it.  Keep your knees bent!

3-turns (outside 3turns?) is a lot about upper body control.  You start off on your forward outside edge and in a controlled way, twist your upper body (keeping your arms, shoulders and head as a unit) in the direction you want to turn. When you want to turn, unbend your knee slightly (of course, you will have had a nicely bent knee up to this point  ) to take the weight slightly towards the ball of your foot, and just let your hips catch up with your rotated top half.  You shouldn't need to force the turn.

Okay - think I've ranted on enough for now!

[abbi_1990]

thanks for the tips on the forward drag everyone! now i know what i was doing wrong so should be able to correct it.

ill try the crossovers again on friday since my blades are at the rink waiting to be sharpened and should be done by friday. ill let you know how i get on.

Airyfairy76 - Welcome to the forum thanks for the info on the 3 turn, it sounds good ill try it out on friday........ one question though - who often do you push? do you do 'push, crossover, uncross, push, crossover, uncross, push............. or do you just push when you are slowing down?

[Airyfairy76]

Generally when people start crossovers, they will do the first push forward, but then won't have any power on the crossover or the "uncross". 

However, the crossover eventually becomes more of a crossunder - you crossover the top foot, as you push into the outside edge of the skating foot (that is now underneath) pushing the leg further underneath you, which will generate quite a lot of power. 

And as you get the hang of them, they will also become more flowing, so the "uncross" will go straight into the next "push" for the next crossover.

[abbi_1990]

Airy Fairy - i just realised that i stumbled on your blog yesterday when i was looking for tips on the forward drag!

i think i understand what you are saying about the 'cross under' i think thats what i was doing because i ended up going quite fast which is probably wht i was loosing control specially cus my skates were so blunt

[SkateGirl]

Forward drag: Not sure what you mean by this..(sorry, i only know the terms in norwegian..)

Forward crossover: Start with your legs closed and bend the knees a little, start pushing outer leg(depending on going left or right) from you to get moving and to add speed, put foot back in start position and repeat this till you got enough speed and feel confortable crossing the outer leg over the inner leg..after crossing, push the inner leg under the outer leg to add more speed and repeat the whole sequence again
You can go staright to crossing over as soon as you feeel comfortable about what you are doing.

Turning backwards to forwards....:If going backwards, lean a little to one side (let's say right) so you have the majority of weight on the outer part of the blade(s) and at the centre, continue leaning and turning till you go round outwards by yourself, it will take a few attempts but once you got the hang of it it is easy..It is the same idea for forwards to backwards, lean to left or right and turn when enough weight on the blade and centre.

Hope this helps and good luck

[abbi_1990]

Thankyou skate Girl