Russian stroking
Also called Russian steps, Champion stroking
A warm-up lap of strokes, crossovers, three turns and mohawks that gets harder each time round.
Not checked yet. The drill details on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.
The run No fixed chart: strokes, crossovers, threes, double threes and mohawks, built up lap by lap
Not drawn in the body frame yet: it has no fixed chart to draw: each coach builds their own.
A lap of the rink built from the pieces a skater already has: strokes, crossovers, three turns, double threes and mohawks, joined without stopping. Each lap adds something, so by the end the skater is turning and changing direction continuously at speed.
It is a warm-up, and it is also a test of how well the pieces join. A skater who can do each turn alone often stops between them; the drill finds those stops and asks for them to go.
Because every coach writes their own version, this page does not give a chart. Take the idea from here and the sequence from whoever sets it.
No two sources give the same sequence. It is a family of warm-ups rather than one pattern.
This drill trains
- Left forward outside crossoverLFO to RFI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling forwards.
- Left forward outside three turnLFO to LBI: half a turn into the circle, changing edge and staying on the same lobe.
- Left forward inside mohawkLFI to RBI: a step onto the other foot, holding the edge and staying on the same lobe. No cusp.
Built from
- Forward strokingThe push itself: one blade drives against its inside edge while the other glides away, first out to the side, then from a T.
Found in 3 independent sources: coaches' public teaching and published skating-skills tests, taken as base guidance and written for the guide.