who is the creator of stupid circles and loops?

[ynot]

So hard for inside edge!
My problem for figure 112B is that I can't keep the the speed to run a full circle. It is very hard to keep the weight on outside leg and with upright posture but use inside edge. Do you suppose to use ankle? Anyone has a tip to share? Thank you. :thanks:

[Sarah]

112 was a very frustrating figure for me when I started skating. The trick to it is to be very strong and tight in your center and upper body and have your weight centered over your skate. I press my edges from the shoulder of the employed side of my body down through my core, hip, knee, ankle and foot. You can imagine a pole running straight down through you to your skate and that is your body posture baseline. When you have it right, keeping that edge will feel effortless. When it's wrong, and often it will be from leaning forward or to the side, you will loose momentum and have a hard time making it around the circle.

Practicing that posture off skates will help. See how long you can hold it. I used to have contests with my kids to see how long we could hold it. Plank pose from yoga will also help make your core stronger. One of the most interesting thing about figures is how little your feet really have to do and how much work the stabilizing muscles of your body have to do. Working on dance has greatly improved my ability to have a strong push on my figures.


Also, don't give up! When I started, I could hardly stay stable enough to make it around a half circle and now I can make it easily around a circle and a half with one push.

You can do it.

S

[ynot]

Thank you, Sarah. Your technical tips and encouragement are really helpful. I was so frustrated when I couldn't do it. I almost thought that my legs or feet are not normal. I will try your tips and let you know.

[Sarah]

You are very welcome.

I will tell you a secret. When I started on my figure skates last year, I had such an incredibly difficult time holding inside edges that I almost gave up skating completely. Moving to a much stiffer boot was very hard for me. But I stuck it out and just kept working at it until it started to improve. One other thing I remembered was that my coach had me loosen my trucks for a while until I was able to get used to holding that inside edge.

Good luck!

S