Skating technique: edges - Backward Edge Presses

While writing the previous post about hopes and goals and progress, I've went back and I've red some of my old posts and I realized that I haven't wrote in a while a post about technique. I remembered I was planning to write about backward edge presses, and I've filmed them, in January!

I described the forward edge presses here.  To me, it is the exercise that helps the transition from the basic beginner forward edges, to all the beginner-intermediate forward dance steps: chasses, progressives, swing rolls and the more advanced skill, the deep forward edges. I see I wrote these posts very soon after I started the blog.

I described the beginner basic backward edges here, where I mentioned the backward push and backward posture. Then I covered the backward push, posture and balance here in more detailed, as it is important and difficult, at least for me. Then I described the backward chasses, swing rolls,  but not the backward progressives and edge presses. It's not because I forgot about them, but because I described everything technique related in the succession I've learned them. And I haven't felt I've understood them well enough to describe them properly.

So back to the backward edge presses... They are done on alternating lobes, on an axis (same principle for both outside and inside).
- You start with the upper body almost square with the lower body over the axis, turned towards the inside of the circle just a little bit (for both outside and inside edges) both feet on the axis.
- You push away from the axis, straight back, maintaining the upper body square with the hips.
- Then you bend your knees and  "sit"... you bend the knees and ankles, you push the ankles towards your back (that helps the balance) and keep the shoulders back too and you PRESS with your ankles into the ice
- you create the edge by leaning into the circle, with the whole body and the ankle, being careful to not drop out the free hip or stick out the skating hip into the circle
- and you repeat on the other side...

Here is me practicing them I start on the right side of the screen with the outside ones, then I come back with the insides but somebody cut my way. I'll try to film them again when I'll get the chance for a more close up view and update on the progress.

 I was saying that I waited to be sure I understood them before writing about them... And that was smart. I was one day telling my coach of how much working on them help me with balance and alignment for the backward 3-turns. And he said "let me see them", because he hasn't seen them in a while. And he said... you are doing them all wrong! I was twisting my upper body immediately after the push... The coach said to keep doing them as an exercise for the 3-turns, as you need the body twisted like that before the turn. And here are a version of the backward edge presses, with the upper body twisting after the push.

 But the correct edge presses, that my coach thought me, with the body square, train something else...The meaning of this exercise is to help find the lean for getting an edge going backwards (along with finding the alignment, balance, posture and the finding the feeling of "gripping" the ice).