Left forward outside edge

LFO: the left foot travelling forwards on an outside edge, tracing an anticlockwise lobe.

Not checked yet. The mechanics 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.

Everything else is built on this one. You glide forwards with the skate rolling towards the little-toe side of the foot and the whole body leaning into the circle it is tracing. The lean is the edge: there is no separate act of steering. You commit over the blade and the ice does the rest.

The usual fault is leaning from the shoulders alone. Drop a shoulder while the hip stays outside the circle and the blade flattens, the lobe opens out, and what should be a curve becomes a long shallow drift. A good forward outside edge can hold its curve indefinitely and bring you back to where you started, which is a more demanding test than it sounds.

Derived

Build on

• Forward strokingAn edge is a stroke held on one foot round a curve. Ice Skating Australia already asks for each stroke to be held for the skater's height.
• One-foot glideThe one-foot glide runs on a flat. New Zealand teaches it straight and then on a curve, which is the blade on an edge.

Off the ice

• Balance on one legStanding on one leg with the ankle correcting all the time, as every edge asks.

Leads to

14 elements in the guide are built on this one, and the 8 nearest are listed here.

• Swing rollA roll held for several beats while the free leg swings past the skating foot and back, on a new lobe.
• Left forward outside change of edgeLFO to LFI: the blade rolls across without turning, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
• Left forward outside chasséLFO to RFI: the free foot comes down beside the skating foot, nothing crossing, still travelling forwards on the same lobe.
• Left forward outside cross rollLFO to RFO: a step onto the other foot, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
• Left forward outside crossed step behindLFO to RFO: a step behind, with the legs crossed below the knee, still travelling forwards, and the lobe reverses.
• 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 loopLFO to LFO: a small circle traced on the same edge, still travelling forwards, and the lobe continues.
• Left forward outside slip chasséLFO to RFI: a step in which the free foot slides away along the ice, still travelling forwards, and the lobe continues.

From LFO

• Left forward outside chasséexits RFI · changes foot, the edge changes, the direction holds, the lobe continues
• Left forward outside crossoverexits RFI · changes foot, the edge changes, the direction holds, the lobe continues
• Left forward outside change of edgeexits LFI · same foot, the edge changes, the direction holds, the lobe reverses
• Left forward outside cross rollexits RFO · changes foot, the edge holds, the direction holds, the lobe reverses
• Left forward outside three turnexits LBI · same foot, the edge changes, the direction reverses, the lobe continues
• Left forward outside mohawkexits RBO · changes foot, the edge holds, the direction reverses, the lobe continues
• Left forward outside rockerexits LBO · same foot, the edge holds, the direction reverses, the lobe reverses
• Left forward outside slip chasséexits RFI · changes foot, the edge changes, the direction holds, the lobe continues
• Left forward outside bracketexits LBI · same foot, the edge changes, the direction reverses, the lobe continues
• Left forward outside choctawexits RBI · changes foot, the edge changes, the direction reverses, the lobe reverses
• Left forward outside counterexits LBO · same foot, the edge holds, the direction reverses, the lobe reverses
• Left forward outside crossed step behindexits RFO · changes foot, the edge holds, the direction holds, the lobe reverses
• Left forward outside loopexits LFO · same foot, the edge holds, the direction holds, the lobe continues

Clusters from LFO

• Left forward outside double threeLFO → LBI → LFO
• Left forward outside triple threeLFO → LBI → LFO → LBI
• Left forward outside rocker-counterLFO → LBO → LFO
• Left forward outside choctaw-three-rockerLFO → RBI → RFO → RBO
• Left forward outside bracket-counterLFO → LBI → LFI
• Left forward outside counter-mohawkLFO → LBO → RFO
• Left forward outside counter-threeLFO → LBO → LFI
• Left forward outside counter-2½ twizzleLFO → LBO → LFI
• Left forward outside rocker-choctawLFO → LBO → RFI
• Left forward outside rocker-mohawkLFO → LBO → RFO
• Left forward outside three-mohawkLFO → LBI → RFI
• Left forward outside double three-mohawkLFO → LBI → LFO → RBO
• Left forward outside rocker-counter-double twizzleLFO → LBO → LFO → LFO
• Left forward outside 3-turn-change of edge-double twizzleLFO → LBI → LBO → LBO

Appears in

• BIS Skills 1BIS · level 1
• BIS Skills 2BIS · level 2
• BIS Skills 3BIS · level 3
• BIS Skills 7BIS · level 7
• BIS Skills 8BIS · level 8

• BIS Skills 1, exercise 1: Forward edgesThe four forward edges, joined by chassés on one side and crossovers on the other.
• BIS Skills 1, exercise 3: Forward & backward crossoversCrossovers in both directions and both rotations, joined by an optional turn to backwards and a step back to forwards.
• BIS Skills 2, exercise 5: Skating exerciseA full circuit of the rink built from an open mohawk into backward edges, a step wide and a crossover, on both sides.
• BIS Skills 3, exercise 5: Forward spiralsA serpentine of closed mohawks and crossovers into a forward outside spiral on each foot, held for three seconds.
• BIS Skills 7, exercise 1: Forward inside choctaws & backward outside countersClosed choctaws from a forward inside edge, and backward outside counters run into 3-turns, down both lengths of the rink.
• BIS Skills 8, exercise 2: Section 2The technical middle: a double 3-turn, a bracket, steps crossed behind, and a double twizzle reached through a change of edge.