ln this video, Jackie begins with a discussion about alignment in her group class. She describes the blade like a rocking horse and explains how a skater can utilize this curve to generate power and ‘unweight’ the blade. Weight distribution and pulsing can alleviate the need to switch feet to gain run down the ice.
She quickly reviews the ideal athletic stance showing alignment between shoulders, hips and knees. Many skaters as they grow, tend to bend and curve their shoulders down, and Jackie has a demonstrator show the ideal position she’s looking for. The shoulder blades and core need to be engaged.
The second half of the video has the students doing a back outside edge pulse drill, which Jackie says is the most neglected edge. The skaters walk on their outside edge while she explains that they need to spread their toes “like a duck” and feel like they are connecting to the ice with all five toes.
The pulse exercise has the athletes skating S-shapes down the ice with two pulses after a push. The goal is to feel like the pulses increase the intensity and “growls”. As she gives individual feedback, she reminds the students to be “heavy in their knee” and make sure both feet are working.
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