Joan Orvis – Backward Outside and Inside Edges

Joan Orvis discusses back outside and inside edges.  At the beginning she stresses the importance of the back outside edge as it has implications for many jumps.  In other words, every skater needs good back outside edges to perform good lutzes, loops, axels and even toe loops.  Joan makes the comment that too many skaters are allowed to learn back outside edges without pressing their free hip forward.  This “open hip” position makes controlling the edge much more challenging than it should be.  By learning proper back outside edges from the beginning with a “closed hip,” many skaters never have a hip placement problems in the jumps.

After the push, the free hip is pressed forward and the free foot is also forward.  The skater needs to feel “over” their skating side.  The skater then moves their foot, arms and head without moving the hip.  She suggests an exercise where you get the skater in the initial position, then have them move only the foot so they can feel the hip (and everything else) stay still.

Joan also talks about the back inside edge in detail.  Pushing into a back inside edge is one of the biggest challenges for young skaters but Joan breaks it down into simple steps that any skater can accomplish.  It’s just a matter of picking up the foot, shifting the weight, then letting it shift back and stepping onto the foot.  She also covers body and arm positions for an efficient push.
 

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