Power Pulls

[MissIndigo]

In anticipation of the power pulls possibly becoming a part of the adult Silver MITF test (correct me if I've heard misinformation...), and for my own benefit too, my coach and I are now starting to train this move. I don't find it particularly hard intuitively, even if my hips say otherwise after I get off the ice :lol:, but I'm finding it difficult to keep my upper body still while doing these and I think I'm getting too much rotation, aka help, from my shoulders to pull the edge around and "rip" it. What can help this? I was thinking of purchasing one of those small pool noodle toys and holding it out in front of me with both hands, hoping to help keep the shoulders and arms more still, but would this be a bad idea? My knees and my hips understand where the source of power should come from, so it's a matter of keeping my upper body more still and adding some more speed once I become more confident with this move.

[phoenix]

The best exercise I've seen that steadies you & strengthens your core for doing these is to practice them with your hands behind your back--can't use your arms to pull you around if you don't *have* any arms! :mrgreen:

It's really hard at first & feels pretty hopeless, but don't give up--it gets better & you'll start to feel how it's your center & hips & knees that make these good.

Then when you finally get your arms back, you'll be amazed at how easy they've become--& how much speed you have!

[dbny]

The best exercise I've seen that steadies you & strengthens your core for doing these is to practice them with your hands behind your back--can't use your arms to pull you around if you don't *have* any arms! :mrgreen:


I think that's a recipe for serious injury. The biggest problem on F power pulls is the possibility of shooting off the back of the blade. Hands in back amplifies that.

There is nothing in the rule book about not using your shoulders to help. I agree that they look better with a still upper body, and do strive for that myself also. Try going back to the two-footed slalom to tame your arms and shoulders.

[phoenix]

I think that's a recipe for serious injury. The biggest problem on F power pulls is the possibility of shooting off the back of the blade. Hands in back amplifies that.


When my coach had me work on these he had me put the free foot in back instead of in front. If it was a day I was really not getting it he let me have the free foot in front because it's easier--it would be safer in back I guess, but it's also MUCH harder to do the pulls. I never once felt like I would go over backwards (with it in front), & I'm in dance blades (short tail).

[Chico]

I wouldn't do the no arm thing either. We use poles, kinda like your noodle idea, to help us learn to keep our upper body still when working on moves. I find this tool helpful. I'm not sure if a noodle would be stiff enough, aren't these things wiggly? When I first learned power pulls I had a friend teach me how to do one power pull on each side of the blue line. It helped me to stay even on both edges and gave me something to focus on. I also found it helpful to do power pulls BEHIND my friend. She was/is a power pull champ and imitating her rhythm and pull aided me in learning quicker.Ask your coach or a skating pal to do this for you. Good luck!

[jazzpants]

I've seen one young students used skinny wooden stick to keep the shoulders and arms balance while doing power pulls! Don't know if it works but for me, pretending I was holding one DID help with the forward power pulls.

My problem with power pulls is that I don't get enough of a deep edge... no beautiful blade growling sounds! :(

[icedancer2]

A hockey stick would work great for this, I would think -- my coach gave me one with the "blade" cut off to use for this very thing -- keeping my shoulders level (also will keep your hands from flying around.

And where I skate, there are plenty of broken hockey sticks lying around!!

[AshBugg44]

Ugh I hate power pulls. They're in my moves (pre-juv) and I can't wait until I'm done with them!

[Mrs Redboots]

I haven't worked on these very much because when I was heavier, they made my knees hurt quicker than just about anything else I did on ice, and although I'm lighter now and my knees are a lot stronger, I still don't practice them often! I can do them better on one foot than the other, and if I actually change edge (rather than just wriggle), I'm usually so surprised I grind to a halt.

Because of this, my coach has only ever said a couple of things to me about them, the main one of which is: "Forget you have two legs. Lift your free leg up out of the way and forget about it."

[russiet]

While gong forward, I can do well over a lap of power pulls on either foot.

Going backwards is another story. I only have my right foot semi-working, I I can barely go 1/2 the length of the rink.

I'm determined to get it eventually, so I take 5 minutes every time I skate to work on the backwards power pulls. That's how I got better at the forwards ones. I couldn't go backwards at all 2 months ago.

As far as leg position, going forwards I use the free leg to lead me around. Going backwards the free leg is behind me, but in a directional movement sense, also leading.

I have yet to get any significant edge noises going backwards. That's my yard stick for whether I'm doing it right or not. Going forwards my edges make wonderful ripping sounds. I love that noise.

[sue123]

While gong forward, I can do well over a lap of power pulls on either foot.

Going backwards is another story. I only have my right foot semi-working, I I can barely go 1/2 the length of the rink.

I'm determined to get it eventually, so I take 5 minutes every time I skate to work on the backwards power pulls. That's how I got better at the forwards ones. I couldn't go backwards at all 2 months ago.



that's funny because i can do them backwards but not fowards. but then again, i'm also the oddball who finds back spins easier than foward spins, and i can do a full flip, but still can't do a waltz jump. i also tend to be more "right handed" when doing foward crossovers, and more "left handed" when doing back crossovers and stroking. so maybe i'm the strange one. when i do foward powepulls, i tend to keep triping on the toepick, even if i really lift my toes to the top of the boot, i still trip myself up. backwards, i don't have that problem.

[nerd_on_ice]

When I asked my coach how to improve my power pulls or what to concentrate on when I worked on them, she said just to DO a lot of them and my body would sort itself out. They are still dinky and slow but I have been able to get my upper body more "quiet" and the edges deeper just by lots of practice and repetition.

At risk of reviving the stick/table/mirror debate I will mention that imagining I'm holding Melzorina's invisible stick seems to help!

[Ellyn]

I find the backward ones much easier than forward as well. And my coach also has me do the forward ones with the free foot in back.

She also insists that the change of foot should be made from outside edge to outside edge. Anyone else have strong feelings on that?

[dbny]

Sue123, you are not the "oddball", it's Russiet :lol:. F pulls are notorious for being more difficult that B pulls!

Here are some of the things my coach has told me about working on F pulls:


Stand straight, do not look down or bend at the waist as it puts your weight forward
Keep your thighs pressed together and free leg low
Point free foot OUT on the Inside edges, and IN on the Outside edges (the free toe points the way)
Get the rythm and knee bend with two foot slaloms, and lift the free leg on an Inside edge
Practice on a line so you can judge the depth of edge better

[russiet]

Sue123, you are not the "oddball", it's Russiet :lol:. F pulls are notorious for being more difficult that B pulls!

Here are some of the things my coach has told me about working on F pulls:

Stand straight, do not look down or bend at the waist as it puts your weight forward
Keep your thighs pressed together and free leg low
Point free foot OUT on the Inside edges, and IN on the Outside edges (the free toe points the way)
Get the rythm and knee bend with two foot slaloms, and lift the free leg on an Inside edge
Practice on a line so you can judge the depth of edge better


Everything you say is right.

As an intermediary step, you could swing your free leg from the hip. This isn't what you ultimately want to do, but that's how I learned at first, and now I'm a happy oddball ;) !

[MissIndigo]

Everything you say is right.

As an intermediary step, you could swing your free leg from the hip. This isn't what you ultimately want to do, but that's how I learned at first, and now I'm a happy oddball ;) !

I started doing that too, and now I'm finding it's a notoriously hard habit to break! Eeeeek!

[russiet]

I started doing that too, and now I'm finding it's a notoriously hard habit to break! Eeeeek!

Can you do swing rolls? I found practicing them helped to get a better feel of the FO edge. Hold the free leg in front.

[MissIndigo]

Can you do swing rolls? I found practicing them helped to get a better feel of the FO edge. Hold the free leg in front.

I do swing rolls, forward and backward. I love edgework.

Something else I find odd about this move and me...on the backward power pulls I tend to go up on the toe too easily on the right foot, but stay perfectly balanced on my left foot! Just need to get the edge deeper! I spin on my left foot, and I have very good balance and centering in my spins, so I wonder if this has anything to do with finding that sweet spot for the power pulls? (With the backspin on right foot I tend to go up on my toe after two revs or so.) Could be a connection! :idea:

[Mrs Redboots]

F pulls are notorious for being more difficult that B pulls!
Some of us find forward everything easier than backward anything! I know I do - or did! Gradually, over the last 2-3 months, I'm beginning to understand what people are on about when they tell me "Oh, but backwards is so much easier!" I still don't find it so, but I'm beginning to see why people do!