CORRECT FORM IN SKATING.
The tracing of certain set figures on the ice is by no means all there
is to figure skating. The correct carriage of the head and body, the
arms and the balance leg are not merely an important part of the sport;
they are even the very basis on which good marks are given in all
serious competitions. No skater wishes to look like a freak on the ice.
To avoid it one must cultivate the right carriage and balance from the
start. Certain accepted rules are in vogue among the European skaters
which tend to make skating graceful. They should be memorized carefully
and followed every time the skater goes on the ice.
The head should be carried erect. Momentary looking down at the ice to
see where to place a figure is permitted but the habit of a drooping
carriage of the head should be carefully avoided. It is as unnecessary
as it is ungraceful.
The arms should not be held close to the body nor should they be flung
violently about. If the former position is taken the skater looks stiff
and awkward. If too wide reaching out of the arms is permitted the
skater appears to be grasping at imaginary straws like a drowning man.
Both extremes are bad but of the two it is better to allow the arms
freedom of poise and carry them gracefully extended than stiffly hung to
the sides of the body. Fencing and interpretive or folk dancing furnish
interesting examples of the right use of the arms during vigorous
action. The individuality of the skater is often revealed by the
carriage of the arms as much as by the tracing of the figures.
Bending of the body from the hips, sidewise, is neither necessary nor
permissible. It is a fault which beginners adopt from fear of falling.
But the sharp edge of the skate sustains the body in its temporary
violation of the law of gravitation. Take a firm edge and let the body
lean as much as is necessary or desired. Some skaters take a much
stronger edge than others and therefore lean more than others.
The men ought to be told that there is nothing more ungraceful or
unsuitable for skating than long trousers. Knickerbockers and tight
fitting coats with just a bit of military cut are the right costume for
the men who would skate well and look well. The best European skaters
among the men all skate in woolen tights, but they are a little
theatrical and do not always serve to increase one’s admiration for the
wearer.
Bending the body forward or backward from the waist is generally only
temporary and for the purpose of obtaining strong impetus for an initial
stroke or adding power to a stroke already started. In general the
carriage of the body should be upright, with the chest expanded and the
shoulders held back.
The skating leg should be bent at the knee. This bending may be
increased occasionally to gain power but the straightening up of the
body should almost immediately follow. Too much bending of the skating
knee makes an ungraceful appearance. The balance leg should be carried
somewhat away from the skating leg, with the knee well bent and the foot
turned outward and downward. The knees should seldom touch in skating
and should never be held close together for any considerable length of
time. In some figures there are temporary and necessary violations of
both of these rules.
The position and carriage of the hands have very much to do with the
effect created by the skater. They should be extended gracefully, with
the fingers neither stretched out nor clenched and with the palms turned
down or toward the body.
[Illustration:
CIRCLE. Right outside edge, forward. (ROF)
]