school figures

[liz_on_ice]

Utterly awsome video of Midori Ito practicing figures. You see her laying them out with the scribe and there is a blade-cam shot, her skate is rock steady. I'm in awe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbGJlHfv5U0&feature=related

[sk8tmum]

Thanks for posting this. Figures are nearly unknown for some young skaters; we are fortunate in having a coach with a scribe and a passion for edges, meaning that figures are not exactly unknown. My kids enjoy it ... it's meditative and rigorous, and an intellectual AND physical challenge.

[katz in boots]

:bow:Awesome is right! :bow:

After watching this in Youtube, i got distracted by a couple of other Midori Ito videos. Wow !8O Now I remember why she is my favouritest ever lady skater !

[montanarose]

Just curious . . . does anyone know what figure she was doing in this video? I'm thinking it was 3s-to-center, perhaps? Personally, I never got past the FO, FI and waltz eights :frus: but I love to watch the higher figures done by those who can. Especially paragraph loops and serpentines :bow::bow::bow:

[daisies]

Just curious . . . does anyone know what figure she was doing in this video? I'm thinking it was 3s-to-center, perhaps?
The first figure in the video is a forward paragraph double-three, from the 8th (gold) test. The second figure is a backward paragraph bracket, also from the 8th test. I don't know what she was doing during the "skate-cam" part, but since they didn't show her turning, it might have just been a forward paragraph 8.

Threes-to-center is from the 1st test and isn't a paragraph figure. (Paragraph means both circles skated on one foot; threes-to-center is one foot-one circle, and it comes to center on a back inside edge and pushes off forward.)

[saras]

I keep a list of figures videos on YouTube - here are some of them:

the last figure competed internationally in 1990 when they eliminated them - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RakdkGUVrU4

Gillis Gafstrom 1928 Olympics - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhphUWTBi7w

1980 Olympics Mens Compulsories - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgowYVDlvP0

and my personal favorite - John Curry -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXJqsoFwUic

I had more but they have been removed from YouTube due to "terms of service" violations, including a piece on Todd Eldridge 1990 Worlds, 1990 Worlds Ladies Compulsories, a "Reflections on Ice" special, and 1988 Calgary Men's.

[sk8er1964]

Thanks for the John Curry link. Wow.

[Query]

Isn't it a shame to see a beautiful freestyle artist like Ito looking almost as graceless as a first time adult skater scared out of her wits?

Freestyle and pairs are a lot more fun to watch.

No wonder school figures were dropped.

[Clarice]

Isn't it a shame to see a beautiful freestyle artist like Ito looking almost as graceless as a first time adult skater scared out of her wits?

Freestyle and pairs are a lot more fun to watch.

No wonder school figures were dropped.

Are you kidding? I think she looks amazing! And the John Curry video was even more amazing.

[Skate@Delaware]

Amazing! I can't even do a 3-turn without hearing Edward's (Hackensack adult camp) voice in my head CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! YOUR EDGES ARE AWFUL!!!"

LOL!!!!!

[techskater]

Isn't it a shame to see a beautiful freestyle artist like Ito looking almost as graceless as a first time adult skater scared out of her wits?

Freestyle and pairs are a lot more fun to watch.

No wonder school figures were dropped.

You must be joking! Ito wasn't a master at figures (she was normally dumped pretty low during that segment), but she had very strong edge in this video and was rock solid through her core.

This is what is MISSING from today's skating - the strength of core and understanding of CONTROL of edge.

[icedancer2]

Beautiful figures!! Bring them back!!

[daisies]

Freestyle and pairs are a lot more fun to watch.
Figures are to skating what scales are to singing. Scales aren't all that exciting to listen to, but without them a singer has no foundation.

[coskater64]

I would tend to agree with diasies...

Figures were the backbone of skating and they are missed, the moves just don't teach the massive edge quality and control like figures.;)

[sk8tmum]

Figures also help teach focus and drill/repetition, and you're right, it's just like scales in music for that. Skating needs both of those traits, and having to pursue accuracy and excellent in figures helps cross over to learning accuracy and excellence in the other aspects of skating (and in other areas of life, too!).

There is still an "underground" of coaches with their scribes in their bags, finding spots to teach figures to young skaters, fortunately!

[katz in boots]

At the risk of ruffling feathers....:twisted:

The flip side of figures is the number of fine athletes lost to the sport because they weren't good at figures and couldn't stand the endless hours of repetition - especially younger skaters.

Of the people on this board who actually did the compulsory figures back when they were required, did you enjoy it back then? Or did you do it because you had to? As an older adult, I quite enjoy figures now, but that was not the case in my early 20's, and I don't recall anyone saying they liked doing figures when I skated back then.

Yes, compulsory figures taught good edge control etc, but that didn't necessarily translate to better free skaters. Look at the ladies' champion from 1980. Her free skating was nowhere near as good as some others, yet she won because she was excellent at figures.

[mdvask8r]

At the risk of ruffling feathers....:twisted:

Yes, compulsory figures taught good edge control etc, but that didn't necessarily translate to better free skaters. Look at the ladies' champion from 1980. Her free skating was nowhere near as good as some others, yet she won because she was excellent at figures.And imagine how much weaker her freeskating would have been w/o the control, discipline, and strength she gained by studying figures. I'm glad figures are no longer part of the elite competitions, but they certainly should have a place in every serious skater's training. At least the first few levels anyway.

[renatele]

Of the people on this board who actually did the compulsory figures back when they were required, did you enjoy it back then? Or did you do it because you had to? As an older adult, I quite enjoy figures now, but that was not the case in my early 20's, and I don't recall anyone saying they liked doing figures when I skated back then.


I was the 10-year old kid who liked to do figures.

[Isk8NYC]

I liked doing figures, but they weren't mandatory for me as an ISI skater.
I wasn't very good at them, but I saw the value in them.

[Mrs Redboots]

I find mine come out looking more like 69s, or like the new Circle Line on the London Underground, than they do looking like figure 8s! Which is why I like playing with them, to make them better.

[daisies]

I liked doing figures when I skated as a kid, which was between 1979-85. And I liked doing them despite the fact that a) I failed my ISI FS 1 the first time I took it because I couldn't do back-inside edges to save my life and b) I failed my USFS 4th figure test twice before I finally passed it. I quit skating in 1985 after I passed my 5th figure test, but I started skating again in 1994 and passed my 8th in 2004. Yep, it took me 10 full years to pass the 6th, 7th and 8th figure tests. I'm not sure I would have had that kind of patience as a kid, and I definitely have much more of an appreciation for figures as an adult. But that's true of pretty much everything, isn't? Youth is wasted on the young!

[techskater]

Here, here, daisies!

I didn't like them, wasn't good at them, but they DO force focus and core strength! I understood their value and struggled through them.

[dbny]

I was a roller skater as a kid, and figures weren't required. They were a separate discipline and everyone did them! The reason MIF are getting harder is that the PSA is disgusted with the lack of control in the kids zipping through Sr. MIF. Although figure elements have been added to MIF, they are not judged like figures at all, meaning the tracings are not subject to examination, so MIF is still a breeze compared to figures.

[sk8er1964]

Here, here, daisies!

I didn't like them, wasn't good at them, but they DO force focus and core strength! I understood their value and struggled through them.

Same here. When I was working on my Intermediate moves, I had a coach who didn't know me come up and ask if I did figures as a kid. She could tell.

[kayskate]

The Curry vid was incredible. What an inspiration.
As an adult, I learned some roller figures and really liked doing them, though my coach said I skated too fast through them. I guess I needed speed to get through the serpentines. It seems the goal was to have proper control so speed was not necessary.

Kay

[je]

One more link, in case anyone missed it: Debbie Minter doing a special figure from the figures competition in Colo. in 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmraBg72IBE

Johanna

[saras]

I was the 10-year old kid who liked to do figures.

I loved doing them as a kid - though I only skated from age 15-18 or so as a "kid"

[liz_on_ice]

One more link, in case anyone missed it: Debbie Minter doing a special figure from the figures competition in Colo. in 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmraBg72IBE

Johanna

I would really like to see a diagram of that figure she was drawing :o)

[manleywoman]

Nice. Wish I could get back to figures. Haven't done them since March 2008.

[teresa]

I would love to learn figures. I've grown to like moves very much and think this would be a fun challenge.

teresa

[je]

When I first watched it, I actually drew it out for myself, but I didn't save the paper.

I would really like to see a diagram of that figure she was drawing :o)

[RachelSk8er]

I HATED figures as a kid, and was among the many who rejoiced when they were no longer required. I was happy to throw out the scribe and fly through moves tests without truly learning proper edges, form, posture, how to use the knees/ankles/core/hips/shoulders all together properly. And now I feel like it's come back to bite me in the butt.

Now that I'm an adult skater, I feel that if I'd been forced to do them for more than a year as a kid, I'd be a much better skater today. My coach and I have been working to break A LOT of bad habits that I probably never would have developed if I had to do figures longer (or if my coach when I was a teenager had corrected them like she should have).

When I'm watching adults at the higher levels, I can usually immediately tell if that person did figures when they were younger or not. It just makes such a difference. You have to watch the skaters in their 30s+ in masters to really notice. I'm 29 in 2 weeks (eek) and other than the figure 8s and basics we did in learn to skate/junior club, I only had to do them in private lessons for a year when I was 10 yrs old before they were not required. I was 11 or maybe just turned 12 when I took my first moves test. So basically anyone younger than me who started skating as a kid probably never did them for very long either, and anyone younger than about 26 probably never did them at all.

I was actually on a freestyle session last week and a coach mentioned figures to one of her teenage skaters, and she had to explain to her what they even were! This girl had never seen or even heard of figures.

I think when I finish my moves tests, I'm going to go back and do figures for 15-20 min on the early morning sessions I skate on. At the most there are only 2 other skaters there at that time, so it's a good time to do it.

[PinkLaces]

When my DD competes in Dance at the ISI Worlds, they usually have the Figures competition right before it. I love watching it...especially the creative figures where they make the fancy patterns.