Figures!!!

[Figureskates]

One of my coach's greatest complaints is that I do not hold my edges long enough, which is really noticeable on the alternating 3s.

So today she decided that I should work on figures. We started with the figure 8, first the outside edge then the inside edge. It was a revelation. I could not hold the edge for the complete circle of each lobe and also I realized how anemic my push off is. After some correction to posture, knee, arms, hip placement etc., I was able to complete the circle. Now when we went back to alternating 3's the forward edges were greatly improved, the back insdies are still bad but next week we are going to do figures on the back inside and back outsides.

The bottom line is that I had a blast and want to do more figures.

The last 5 minutes we worked on my Sal.

I guess I am a throwback.

[NickiT]

I really enjoy doing figures. My coach runs a half hour class every week and there are now about 6-8 of us taking the class including Batikat who shares my set of circles. I find them really helpful and I love the challenge. I'm fine with the forward outsides and insides, and also the backward outsides, but the backward insides are so hard. I can just about make it round three quarters but I hope to do a full circle very soon. It's a shame more people don't still do figures because they must be so useful.

Nicki

[manleywoman]

On January 14th I passed my 2nd Figure test (I had passed Prelim and 1st as a kid, back in the early 1980s), and they had to hold a special test session just for me because there hadn't been a figure test in 5+ years! The judges are very excited to judge my 3rd test (which will be in about a year, I hope)

My freestyle coach is also considering teaching a figures class over the summer to inprove the edges of her kids.

I've learned so much from doing the 2nd Figure test. I've learned why I have so much difficulty checking one side over hte other, keeping my feet steady, smooth edge changes, using the blade well, and of course, improved control and balance to hold an edge perfectly.

I think figures are the best, and I enjoy them. I wish they'd bring them back for testing (not for competition!). Even if they only required 1st through 4th, which teach all of the essential turns. Once you get to 5th through 8th, it requires more time that anybody has these days to master them.

So you're not the only throwback...bring back figures!

[icedancer2]

I agree -- I am also doing figures -- and like you Manleywoman (is that it?) I passed my Prelim and 1st figure test as a kid in the '60's -- worked on my 2nd figure for years and could never get it.

Now I'm doing mostly outside and inside eights and serpentines -- nothing with turns for some reason) and learning more and more about my skating every time I skate!! At first my coach wasn't really into it (I think she had almost forgotten about figures) but in her day she was a very fine figures coach who got a lot of people through their Gold (8th) test. Now she's really getting into it and has a young student -- a Senior ladies competitor, who wants to take her 1st figure test!! We even had a quasi-"patch" session the other day.

Long live figures!!

Your post has given me hope for one day taking (and this time passing!) my 2nd figure test.

Good luck on your 3rd figure test!!

[Figureskates]

I have a scribe too.

The only time I bring it out on the ice is when I have the rink to myself. They frown on using it when there are other skaters out there.

It was just me and my coach this morning and she etched out the figure 8 and a couple of the people who work at the rink that it has been years since anyone had a scribe out on the ice.

Glad to see there are other figure people out there. When we retire to Lake Placid i will be at home since it is done up there extensively with regular testing.

[rinsk]

Hmmm... Must use figures as a reason to get myself to the rink for 8am on Sundays (the ice in generally empty or empty enough to claim myself a patch until maybe 9 - when I've lately been wandering in).

I worked on figures for awhile last year and found it incredible how much body awareness I needed to bring into play and how much I had to work my abs to get any sort of control. I also noticed how much I compulsively ground my teeth on figures.

[Mrs Redboots]

My coach has a scribe, but the ice is usually so awful at our rink that it's not easy to tell when he has used it!

I love figures, but am hopeless at them. But even the little I have done has absolutely transformed my skating - I can nearly always find the sweet spot on my blade now, and find where my weight needs to be when doing simple forwards stroking.

[plinko]

Is there anywhere online that describes what the figures are, or could someone just post what the figures are for the first few tests? Thanks.

[candace]

I miss doing figures. I was on my 6th figure when they stopped figures. I teach some of my students figures so that know when to turn the three's. I would love to go back and finish my figures. But I would need to get patch baldes and I don't think that they sell them anymore.

Long live figures....

[Moto Guzzi]

Originally posted by plinko
Is there anywhere online that describes what the figures are, or could someone just post what the figures are for the first few tests? Thanks. If I remember correctly, the preliminary test consists of forward and back consecutive edges, both inside and outside, a waltz 8, forward outside 8, and forward inside 8. This is considered an encouragement test and is judged as a pass or fail. One of my friends put her foot down on the waltz 8 and still passed. The 1st test includes the forward outside and inside 8's but a higher standard is expected, forward right and left serpentines, back outside 8, and 3's to center (hated those). The 2nd test has back serpentines, back inside 8, forward outside 3 to back inside 3, forward inside 3 to back outside 3. I don't know if there's anything available online that describes them.

Somewhere among my skating books, I have a book that has the diagrams and discusses errors and their deductions. You might want to check your local library to see if they have any older skating books that illustrate them. I have several of Maribel Vinson's books, along with a few other authors, that have pictures and explanations of how to do them.

Manleywoman, I'm impressed that you are working on figures and were able to pass your 2nd test. Congratulations!

[CanAmSk8ter]

Hey figureskates, next summer- you, me, patch session with the kids! I still have my scribe somewhere too.

I passed my Preliminary figure in 1994 and was almost ready to take my First when my club stopped offering patch. I was not disappointed ;)

At Adult Week a couple years ago, I went to one of the patch classes and the coach had me start working on the Third and Fourth figures. I wish I were disciplined enough to do them more often. But any of you Lake Placidites who want to do patch with me next summer, let me know!

[Figureskates]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
Hey figureskates, next summer- you, me, patch session with the kids! I still have my scribe somewhere too.

You're on, CanAmSk8ter!!

By then I should be more in control and not looking like a complete klutz.

If my memory serves me correctly, Ann and Karen usually patch at that time.

[blue111moon]

I loved figures and did them until 1999 as an adult passing Pre and First (first took me three tries!) and then the Adult Bronze and Silver before patch was phased out at my rink. A couple months ago I started doing them again (once a week for 50 minutes on a strip in the middle of club beginners Learn to skate) to prepare for Mountain Cup in May. I can't squeeze you feet into my old patch boots, though, it's been interesting doing edges on freestyle blades. I'm getting the patch boots stretched which should make things easier.

The first time I brought the scribe out onto the ice, I had a couple dozen kids lined up anog my patch watching me scribe the circles. Now I have parents pressed against the glass watching me instead of their kids!

The forward and back eights have come back pretty easily, and I've always been good at the forward serpentines, but the threes on freestyle blades are bad - scraped, flat, you name it, if it's a flaw, I do it. Last Friday I managed my first complete double three, which is new for me. It wasn't pretty and it was poorly traced but I did it.

My goal for Mountain Cup is to do the figures without falling. I just don't know if it's worth the hassle to try to get my scribe through the airport, as well as two pairs of skates and my bulky Interpretive costume.

[manleywoman]

icedancer: I had failed my 2nd figure test three times in 1984, so this last time when I took it was my 4th try! It's the "hump" test, the hardest one to pass because the learning curve is bigger. I'm sure you can pass it too with practice.

candace: actually, a lot of the sports shops still have a lot of inventory of scribes and patch blades that they never got rid of! I bought a scribe from Lake Placid, and got Silver Test blades for $20 from Cyclone Taylor (they were so happy to get rid of them!)! But I know of other places that have them.

I have had a lot of parents/skaters/coaches give me a lot of positive comments that I'm still doing them. Don't know if I'll influnce any one to join me, but it's still fun.

I'm the only one I know of in Chicago doing them. I know the PSC&HS in Ardmore PA still has a bunch of patchers, and Lake Placid too, but don't know of anywhere else.

[skateflo]

This thread brought back my own thoughts when my coach started me on figures. We started in my freestyle blades and I so loved the concept I got another pair of boots and patch blades. Oh, my gosh, I darn near killed myself and got so fearful that first time as I felt like I had absolutely no control on those blades. Sadly, patch time was taken away entirely. But I still have the book "Figure it out!" by Nina Stak-Slapnik that has drawing exercises to help you 'think' about how to skate figures. Just the first 2 lessons made that mind-body connection (mind, hand, then onto the ice)so impressive and transferable. For those of you still able to get time/space to do figures, I highly recommend this book.

Sadly, as older coaches and judges retire, the pool of instructors who know how to teach figures will fade out entirely. So catch them now if you can!

It is still thought by many, and some of you have already found it out for yourself, how much figures teach you about body awareness and blade/edge placement. No wonder we are not seeing our elite skaters (as a whole group) skating quietly (no sounds at all) and having trouble with jumps - not understanding about edge, weight placement, awareness of the body and its parts.

I envy you all! Go for it! As for a scribe - well you don't have to have one to mark your own circle. All the good coaches can just push and set their heel in the ice and make a circle. Think about how you use the old pencil compass in grade school....set the edge and just keep the same pressure on it as you go around. It doesn't have to be perfectly round or an exact size, you can still practice the concepts. The best advice, that I still use today, from my coach is to just look with your eyes (never bend your head) to the next 1/4 of the circle at all times....so many things from figures are transferable. I wish the first 2 figures were kept as a mandatory beginners test.....ah well.

[Mrs Redboots]

Remembering this thread, and because another skater was doing so too, this morning, I had a go at my FO and FI8s. My main problem is that I simply can't get them big enough - if I make them the size they should be, I don't have the "oomph" to get round the circle without spiralling in. If I do a good circle, it's tiny!

I don't, somehow, think I'll be entering for this class at the Mountain Cup this year, no matter how much Barbara nags me!

[skateflo]

Keep working on it Annabel!! The 'oomph' comes from the push and then finding that perfect spot on the blade (toward the back) and being on a clean perfect edge - no flats. I used to be crawling literally the last 1/4 of the circle and always thought for sure I was going to fall over! But when the edge and lean and sweet spot all came together, I felt like I could go forever! But then I wasn't breathing either!

Doris

[kar5162]

Chelsea Piers (in NY) offers a split patch/free session at least once a week(9:30 am or so), splitting off patches for those who wish to do figures. The SCNY will try arrange test sessions, if there's demand. We've had at least a few people test in the last few years.

Kim...who has been super busy lately, so not posting, but who did pass Intermediate moves and Silver free back in November!

[Mrs Redboots]

Originally posted by kar5162
Kim...who has been super busy lately, so not posting, but who did pass Intermediate moves and Silver free back in November! Congratulations! Do remind your cohorts about the figures class at the Mountain Cup, if they don't already know - I know you often send lots of skaters to the event (although we missed you all last year), and Barbara wants lots of entries for the figures. Like I said, she won't get me this year!

[techskater]

Manleywoman:
You aren't the only one in Chicago doing figures. We have an adult figures class on Saturday mornings in the north suburbs. It's a little unstructured but a lot of fun. By unstructured, I mean we work on figures that aren't necessarily the one you were doing as a kid.

[skateflo]

If these figures are not from long ago, might they be the "New Era Figures" designed and compiled by Robert Ogilvie, 1993, that was approved by the PSA? I gather it never really took hold although the concept was excellant. The book is a delight, the whole concept, tracings, etc. and includes a chapter of historical interest. I think I will re-read sections of it myself tonight!

[Cinderella]

Originally posted by techskater
Manleywoman:
You aren't the only one in Chicago doing figures. We have an adult figures class on Saturday mornings in the north suburbs. It's a little unstructured but a lot of fun. By unstructured, I mean we work on figures that aren't necessarily the one you were doing as a kid.

Like tracing out "Help me, I'm being held hostage by a lunatic coach" on the surface of the ice? :lol:

Sorry, you know I'm just jealous that I don't live closer and can't join you. Figures are just what this gal needs to improve posture and line.

[manleywoman]

techskater:
is that the class taught by Henk Green? He had mentioned to me that he taught a figures class. I skate in the north Chicago burbs, so I'd be interested in checking it out. Please PM me with info.

[unafaluna]

I wish figures were included in the training of skaters. With all the problems high performance athelets have been having, it got me to thinking of how constricting boots are and how under-developed the ankles are. Maybe if figures or patch were included on a regular basis (even once or twice a week) at an early age, some of these injuries could be avoided when skaters start doing triples etc. This, along with off ice strengthening would increase ankle stability. I know there should be some support to accomodate the constant jumping but look at ballet dancers. They have absolutely great ankle strength and are jumping, maybe not as much, (when a skater does a triple it is 15 times their body weight)but none the less better stability. Any thoughts?

[icedancer2]

Originally posted by unafaluna
I wish figures were included in the training of skaters. With all the problems high performance athelets have been having, it got me to thinking of how constricting boots are and how under-developed the ankles are. Maybe if figures or patch were included on a regular basis (even once or twice a week) at an early age, some of these injuries could be avoided when skaters start doing triples etc. This, along with off ice strengthening would increase ankle stability. I know there should be some support to accomodate the constant jumping but look at ballet dancers. They have absolutely great ankle strength and are jumping, maybe not as much, (when a skater does a triple it is 15 times their body weight)but none the less better stability. Any thoughts?

I totally agree with this statement. I really think that if figures were brought back into the test structure -- maybe even just to 4th figure test level, we would see better overall skaters and less injuries.

I am secretly (and not so secretly) hoping that the ISU/USFS will see the errors of their ways re: the demise of figures and bring them back, at least on some level.

Oh, and thanks, manleywoman, for your encouragement. I am seriously considering investing in some figure blades to put on my old boots and getting new boots for my dance blades and working on my 2nd figure test again. After all, I only failed it once so far!!

[unafaluna]

Oops! Something I forgot to mention. Maybe skaters should unlace all the hooks on their skates and do some basic edges to start in the strengthening and stabilization of the ankle area. Do this under the direction of a stroking coach. Perhaps one to three l5min. lessons a week would start them down the right path. I bet most skaters cannot bend their knees in their skates enough so knees are over the toes. Also, I hear parents say their kids' skates are broken down so quickly. If there's not a crease in that skate after a two week period, most likely those boots are too stiff. Another thing to do is to skate with the top two hooks undone to allow more flexibility when skating. Any one agree?

[mikawendy]

Originally posted by unafaluna
If there's not a crease in that skate after a two week period, most likely those boots are too stiff. Another thing to do is to skate with the top two hooks undone to allow more flexibility when skating. Any one agree?

I do skate with the top hook undone to allow more knee and ankle bend, but I have to disagree with you that boots that aren't creased after 2 weeks are too stiff. I've had mine since August, they've felt broken in since November (allowing me enough knee bend to get the knee over the toe), but there are no signs of any creasing. I have eensy weensy creases by the eyelets just below the flex notch in my boots, but not in the rest of the boots.

[unafaluna]

Mikawendy,The reason you are not seeing a crease is because you are skating with the top two hooks undone. Thus allowing a deeper bent knee. Smart girl!

[techskater]

Also, if you have the flex notches, you won't crease or crease as fast.