Skating Beginner Lesson Ideas

[LiquidFeet]

Remind me why?

1. Why not?
2. You'll win in a wedge drag race to the bottom.
3. Your student will win in a wedge drag race.

 

[Fuller]

This is similar to what our class was doing a few weeks ago but we were on a very shallow pitch, in a 90 degree wedge with both skis edged into the snow. One ski would then flatten to a skidding position and the other ski would leave a clean crease in the snow. Alternate edging and the skier would switch direction. AKA The Crabwalk Drill. The goal is to leave a clean line in the snow and to change direction instantly. It looks pretty funny.

We were aided by gravity a bit and it's hard to do it well. I'm not sure how much velocity you could generate if you were trying to go uphill in that posture.

 

[Dwight]

hmm, tried it yesterday for fun. A little weird but highly doable.

 

[dbostedo]

...AKA The Crabwalk Drill...

Coincidence... I'd never heard of that drill until @JohnL described it to me at the Mid-A Gathering, having done it at Taos. I tried it a bit.... it's interesting having one ski flat and one edged.... really emphasizes flat vs. edged.

 

[LiquidFeet]

This is similar to what our class was doing a few weeks ago but we were on a very shallow pitch, in a 90 degree wedge with both skis edged into the snow. One ski would then flatten to a skidding position and the other ski would leave a clean crease in the snow. Alternate edging and the skier would switch direction. AKA The Crabwalk Drill. The goal is to leave a clean line in the snow and to change direction instantly. It looks pretty funny.

We were aided by gravity a bit and it's hard to do it well. I'm not sure how much velocity you could generate if you were trying to go uphill in that posture.

Skating downhill in a wedge was always what I was describing, which does have help from gravity. Maybe I didn't explain it was downhill. I don't think it would work uphill and haven't tried that. But hey, it doesn't seem it will work downhill either but it does.

To call it a skate, one needs to propel self forward off that edged ski, not just rely on gravity to pull one down the hill. That makes it feel like a skating movement.

 

[cantunamunch]

1. Why not?
2. You'll win in a wedge drag race to the bottom.
3. Your student will win in a wedge drag race.

1. Because very many students simply don't have the hip lateral extension, let alone the self confidence to extend that far laterally. Not to mention their cuff alignment may be blocking them, especially if their cuffs are set up to be neutral in a very wide stance.

2. Why why why don't you people inline skate in the summer? Every been-to-one-speed-clinic-working-up-to-mediocre inliner knows this move as 'underpush', the better ones use it to skate in the rain, the even better ones use half of it in the support leg during crossovers. And they all know it's perfectly doable even uphill, given a sufficient starting speed (i.e. it is not geared for action at 0-5mph).

 

[LiquidFeet]

....Why why why don't you people inline skate in the summer?....

You people?

 

[LiquidFeet]

@cantunamunch, like this?

 

[cantunamunch]

Yes, that video shows it, it's not the cleanest demo and he's not doing it with both feet, but it does show it.

His wheels are rounded and not pointy in the centers, so we can tell he actually uses the move a lot - but also -going back to my first point - notice how LTE biased his skate setup is. Know any students who would want their ski boots set up like that? I don't.

 

[Fuller]

I don't do a lot of inline skating because I'm afraid of injuring myself on an unforgiving surface. Not to mention I managed to purchase two pairs of skates that are too big for me, just like I did with ski boots!

 

[cantunamunch]

Not to mention I managed to purchase two pairs of skates that are too big for me, just like I did with ski boots!

It happens to all of us. If we don't get new ones 'coz the old ones are too big we get new ones 'coz shiny and un-stinky. And the proof is I went through 5 pairs of Lightnings by '96.