One foot slalom

Power changes of edge on one foot, forwards and backwards, on both feet and in both directions.

BIS Skills 2exercise 2In the syllabus both before and after 01/10/2026

Not checked yet. The requirements 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 second foot is gone. Skills 1’s slalom allowed the change to be shared between two blades for most of its length, and this exercise removes that everywhere: forwards on each foot, backwards on each foot, a minimum of two repetitions on each.

Each foot runs inside to outside and back, so the change happens twice on every repetition and in both directions. Those two are not the same thing to skate. Rolling from an inside edge to an outside one puts the body over the top of the blade and it will get there on its own if the knee allows it; coming back is a move you have to make, and it is the one that arrives late.

Backwards on one foot is the hard end of Skills 2 and possibly of the first three tests. The knee has to keep its rhythm while the hip is behind the skater, and the usual failure is a slalom that quietly stops travelling while the edges stay correct. The curves get shallower, the knee stops working, and the exercise turns into a straight line with a wobble in it.

Elements

Right forward inside change of edgeRFI to RFO: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
Right forward outside change of edgeRFO to RFI: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
Left forward inside change of edgeLFI to LFO: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
Left forward outside change of edgeLFO to LFI: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
Right backward inside change of edgeRBI to RBO: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Right backward outside change of edgeRBO to RBI: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Left backward inside change of edgeLBI to LBO: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.
Left backward outside change of edgeLBO to LBI: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling backwards, and the lobe reverses.

This page lists which elements the exercise calls for and what it is working on. It does not reproduce British Ice Skating's sequence, pattern or wording. For the exercise as published, go to their own document.