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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1915)
The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page IRIgat IiuhU Forward The Eight Fundamental Strokes of Figure Skating, Showing How the Four Edges of the Skates Are Employed ty Right UuUide Forward Right Inside Backward Right Out.ido Backward Left Int'ido Forward 6 Left Outside Forward 7 Left latldo Backward 8 Left Out (do Backward k -5- A V - - - : 1 1 . (A 1 J fA "-A :' A . ' V ' ...... .. y ' A-' -V: . j ...... ;, . v ' .' ,. , ... .,Li" '. Instructive Series of Lessons by Mr. Irving Brokaw, the Foremost Figure Skater of America Mr. Irving Erokaw Approaching a Turn on the Right Outside Edge Forward.. QJo2i ment. the Rules of Form and the Funda mental Principles of Figure Skating.; By Mr. Irving BroJtauf Champion Flo,ure 8katr of America, Author of "The Art of Skating., aro thousands of peopls who regard themselves as pretty good skaters, who hay been akatlng all their lives, who don't even know that each akate has two edgea! They dont aeem to reallxe the full possibilities of the sport or, at any rate, they make no effort to attain them. That ia unfortunate. It la my Intention In these articles to explain the fundamental principles of figure skating and to demonstrate how anybody may, by following the correct methods patiently and persistently, be come a proficient Ice dancer. Every woman cannot expect to become a Char lotte, but there la no reason why erery woman who skates may not be able to execute all the regular tee dances grace fully and becomingly. If these articles help to make the path a little easier, they will have served their purpose. It la necessary before taking up figure akatlng and dancing to consider some of the fundamental principles of skating. Correct skating Is out of the question without the proper equipment. Expert skaters have their Individual preferencea regarding the atyle of akates and shoes which Is best adapted to their work. With regard to the best akatlng boot for the average Individual who Intends to Uke up figure skating, I should say that well fitting laced walking boots might even be better than the skating boot which laces right down to the tip and which Is the style heretofore widely sold, but a new model that 1 know of Is about per fection. Such shoes are well adapted to speed skating, but they are not the most desirable for figure skating. A boot which cannot possibly cramp the toes Is necessary. The foot should rest natural ly and comfortably in the boot, which should fit snugly around the heel, because St is the Achilles tendon In the heel which is called upon to give considerable support to the whole body in skating. In choosing a pair of skates, thes points should be remembered. A perfectly flat blade such aa Is used In a hocky skat Iwlll bo a great thing for the art of okatlng If it Increases the number of those who skate correctly. It will be a very bad thing If It produces aa army of awkward, ungainly skaters. There la no more graceful or healthful aport than figure-skating, but there la . no mora awkward sight than an ungain ly man or woman on akates. Ice-ekatlng la such a beautiful and beneficial sport that It has. always been a surprise to roe that ao few have taken It up. It is the king of winter sports, available alike for men, women and children, and yet a single rink In New York City has for years been sufficient to accommodate all those Interested In it In the metropolis! Why Is it? The fact that the New York climate Is ao moderate that there is seldom more than a couple of weeks a year of "open" skating does not answer the question. Indoor skating la practically aa good and does not depend upon the climate at all. Indoor rinks are available from the be ginning of November until the end of April and afford a full aeason of splen did physical exercise and - recreation. Why has the sport been ao long neg lected? Whatever the reason, the fact remains that a big change Is now taking place. The Ice dancing fad which la now assum ing such extensive proportions, promises to bring ice skating Into its own. In door rinks are going to take the place of ballrooms and dancehalls. and dansants a glace will supplant the dansants. Everyone who takes up Ice skating la bound to be clumsy and awkward at tret. No one who tti familiar with the amount of patience, persistence and native grace required to lukke an expert skater will expect a bovke to put on skates end be come a Charlotte in a day. Bat leaving beginners out of the ques tzV& aiUiteucr for the moment, thera y , v :-, .. ..... - . X . V'- hU - r i ' - "' "'' V' ' VT'I'-.- ? rr i !r . ''v . $ v.v oil ft . , '- 1 ' ' .V y ' .y - -'T i n u it - V;' -vL ' . r -J " ' - . : ;. . ' . Av:V W . ' - .v-?'. ry Mr. and Mrs. Irving Brokaw Executing a Very Effective Pivot Figure, the Gentleman's Right Foot Acting as the Pivot Upon Which His Partner Swings Around Him, v . Charlotte, the Famous Woman Skater, Executing a Righ Outside Edge Forward. makes ar title curves Impossible and Is not suitable for figure skating. Figure skating and speed skating are two en tirely different things and require differ ent equipment. It is desirable to have a groove runn ing along the flat edge of the blade, but that is not absolutely essential for the ttr Inner. Without going into the ideal dimen sions of a skate, it may suffice to give the general principle that the nearer the akate brings the soIa of the foot to the surface of the Ice tbe better It is. The skate should be Just high enough to allow the skater to execute curves and to make turns without scraping the side of the sole against the Ice. Then again, the tip of the skate should ,not be attached to the sole plate as la at 4& 1f i it ? ii the usual style of hookey akates. Having ac quired a auttable pair of boots and skatea, the next thing Is to learn plain akat lng In correct form. Whet cor rect form Is. Is no longer a matter of Individual taste. It has been definitely settled by the of ficials who make the rules for the con tens conducted by follows of the Inter national School of Skating the kind which tho American, Jackson Haines, In troduced into Europe fifty years ago and i 1. v i 1 1 IS 5 ! 11 MLL H Diagram Showing the Correct Slope of Body While Making the Right Outside Forward Curve. nental skaters, Is now generally followed In this country. These rules of form and the aeries of figures prescribed by the Inter national School of Skat ing are the very best, In my opinion, for begin ners in flfcure akatlng to follow. They com p r 1 a e a progressive course which is best adapted to develop a figure skater. The rules of form are as follows: lv Head erect, with eyes utoa tho tee no more than is absolutely; necessary.' Z. Body upright, not bent forward or aidewlse v from tho tips, shoulders thrown back and chest expanded. Sz Arms, whether ac tive or passive, should have tree play from the shoulders, el bows slightly bent, hands with the palms down ward or in ward. 4. Skating leg always bent at the knee to Insure a springy rise and dip of the body. E. Free leg poised or swung entirely from the hip, in the socket of which it should be turned out ward and back ward as much as possible f "al ways separ ated from the skating 1 e g, knee slightly bent, toe point ing down and out From these rules it will be seen at once that fl gure akatlng la not a matter of the feet alone, but f tbe whole fcody. That Is why it provides such a splen did form of general exercise. which, after being developed by Conti- Copyright. 1I1S, by ths Star Company, Oreat Britain Rights Reserved. Having mastered the art of ordinary akatlng, which It is unnecessary to take up at length here, the skater will be ready to commence on what are known as school figures. These school figures, of which there are eight elementary and nine ad vanced, comprise practically every strolse necessary for the dances. 1 Once these fundamental school figures have been mastered, it will not be a Tory difficult matter to acquire the waits, the ten-step, the fourteen-etep, the Jackson Haines, the Rocker Valse, the Mohawk and the various other Ice danoea which will soon be as familiar In name to tho general publlo, perhaps,' aa the turkey trot, the fox-trot, the tango and the one step have become. Before describing the various figures, it Is necessary to explain what is meant by the four edges the right inside, the right outside, the left inside and tho Jeft outside. As all curves must be made on either one of those four edges, it is es sential to master them. Consider first the right foot The out side edge, known as the "right outside." is, naturally enough, the edge to the right, the inside edge, known as the "right In side" being the edge to the left In the case of the left foot the outside edge, known as the "left outside" is the edge to the left and the Inside edge, known as the "left inside" Is the edge to the right Hero then we have the four edges. Upon these edges it is possible to skate either forward or backward, thua making eight different possible strokes, aa follows: Right outside forward, right outside back ward, right inside forward, right inside backward, left outside forward, left out side backward, left inside forward and left Inside backward. Each one of these edges will take tho skater in a different direction. The right outside forward, for instance, will take htm on a forward curve to the right; the right inside forward will take him on a forward curve to ths left and so on. Each one of these edges must be prac tised until it has been mastered and can be skated with perfect control. The be ginner will almost Invariably find that one foot is weaker than the other. In that event the weaker foot must be practised on all the more. Do not favor the leg which you can control best Work tbe less apt leg tbe most In practising the various edges, It is Just as well for a beginner not to have the blade of the skate too sharp. A sharp skate la less easy for a beginner to control then one In which the keen edge la off. If a new pair of skates Is to be used, therefore. It is wise to do some straight ahead akatlng on them first so as to become accustomed to them. Having attained the varloua edgea, both forward and backward, so that a fairly long curvet may be executed on the ini tial momentum, the skater will be in a position to attempt the elementary or fun damental school figures. These aro aa follows: 1. The Circle Eight 2. The Change of Edge. S. The Three. 4. The Double Three. 5. The Lroop. t. The Bracket , 7. The Rocker. S. The Counter. In the articles which are to follow we will take up each one or these figures and those which comprise the group of advanced school figures, and then we shall be In a position to take up the vari oua dancea which are going to attrao Co much attention this season. i