Hello, everybody! I'm new to this forum, but I have a question that has been bugging me for a while, so I think I'll gather my courage and start a new thread. I hope somebody out there has some ideas on this.

As a beginning/intermediate skater I have been frustrated at how long it takes to transfer a skill learned in one direction to the other foot, even the simplest move. It doesn't take QUITE as long to learn the skill on the second foot as it did to learn it in the initial direction, but there seems to be very little transfer of learning from one side to another.

I know there's no magic bullet and it will always take lots of practice to train the muscles, but I can't believe that there are no techniques to facilitate mirroring a skill from one side of the brain to the other. I searched on the Internet and discovered that there was some scientific research in this area back in the 20's and 30's, but I could find little or nothing in recent years. This seems odd to me, since we now have tools to actually STUDY the way areas of the brain light up. I like to think somebody somewhere is working on this, but just hasn't published yet.

In the meantime, have any of you hit on any techniques or tips for mirroring a skill from one side to the other? Does it work better for you to start a practice session with the weak side or with the strong side? How long do you work in one direction before switching to the other?

I'm particularly interested in comments from coaches who are working with skaters at various different levels, but certainly anybody who has been training for a while must have some observations on this. Let me know what you think!

Unless you know exactly what every part of your body is actually doing on the strong side, there's no way of transferring the same technique to the weak side. I first do it several times on my strong side, taking conscious note of my timing, pattern, free leg position and torso position at every point. Then I break it down the exact same way to guide my body through it in my weak direction. And sometimes our bodies aren't actually doing what we think they're doing, so it helps to have a coach looking at both sides and actually telling you what each body part is doing differently.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Always start your practice with your weaker side.

Do twice as many on the weak side as you do on the strong side. (For example, I practice the PM spiral patterns with a starting half-lap of inside spirals, followed by the required outside half-lap, inside half-lap)

When you get stumped, do a strong-side version and note what has to be mirrored. It's usually a shoulder or hip out of place.

A lot of the struggles on turns come because we honestly don't turn around fast or walk around spinning on a regular basis, although I was a human top as a child. A good off-ice practice is to simply spin around in one direction ten times, stop, then go the other way ten times. Do it in an open area where you won't trip or bump into anything.

(That "against the norm" also holds true for backwards skating: when was the last time a non-figure skater practiced walking backwards?)

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I second Isk8's response - I ALWAYS start learning a skill on what should be my "bad" or weaker side. Once I can feel what needs to be done after super amounts of correction, I can transfer to my "good" or strong side.

Good point, Isk8NYC! I just got up from my desk and tried walking backwards around the office (it's 7pm and everybody else has gone home, in case you're wondering).

I vote for learning on your weaker side first, especially footwork stuff.
I also vote for practising twice on your weaker side for every once on your stronger side.

The best bit is when you forget which is your weaker side !

Interestingly, things I've learned first on my stronger side and had to struggle with on my weaker side end up being better technically on the weaker side. Because I have to work harder to get it, it seems I get better technique.

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
I was over it, now I'm into it again !

Always do weaker side ahead of good side. Especially if you're with a coach doing an exercise as then they always end with a positive note (and also good for testing!).

I did find this morning that I was practicing something and the weak side was behaving oddly and I didn't know what it was. The coach told me what I needed to correct, but until I did it on the good side to check that what she was saying was what I was doing that way, I couldn't make the correction (brain processing the information needed to have a feel for it and not just words).
So sometimes it is worth doing things on the good side if you're just focussing on one aspect of something.

I do and teach the opposite. I have my skaters start on the better side. Then I have them try the other side. When I see what the problems are on that side, I switch them back to the "good" side and have them pay attention to the problem area. Then go back to the bad side for the correction.

When something is just not working on the "bad" side at all, I do go back to the good side to end on that positive note.

Something else that helps is to model a position in a mirror. Do the good side first so you can see what it looks like when it feels right. Then do the bad side and you should be able to both see and feel the right way to do it.

In transferring a skill to the other side, it helps to break it down into small elements, just as was done when learning the skill on the good side. You can do that by doing each element on the good side, followed immediately on the bad side. For example, in learning F crossovers, you should be able to glide on each foot around the circle. So do the FO edge glide in the good direction, then do the same glide in the bad direction. Then do the FI glides in each direction.

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Coming back from an injury, where I have had one side significantly weaker than the other, I have noticed better results when I start with the stronger side. I did start with the weaker side, only to get discouraged (especially at the beginning, I'd fall numerous times and leave the ice in tears, hurt and afraid I'd hurt myself further).

Start stronger, then progress to the weaker, slowly, building up my pace and control until I was satisfied with progress for that day (every day for me is different). Some days I struggle to hold an edge on the weaker side, other days I have no trouble. If I'm having trouble, I evaluate what is going on (body position is usually at fault).

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Hi

For me, I usually practise on both strong and weak sides, though I tend to end up practising more on the weak side.

For my lesson(s), for example: for F and Backward crossovers, my coach has me started on the good side, then the bad side.

Good luck.

londonicechamp