Re: hips forward position in skating (Followup to Forward Step move in skating thread)

Wow Zachary -- thanks for such an insightful response.  I know you _have_
that depth of analysis on almost any skiing topic, but taking the time to
write it down for us is great.

Zachary Caldwell wrote:
> In order to effectively utilize a forward position you've
> got to be able to do a couple of things. You've got to be able
> to load the ski along its axis - in the direction of travel.

Sounds intriguing and important -- what does it mean?  How do I try to start
doing it?

> And you've got to be able to stabilize your core position.

Yes I've been thinking a lot about that -- deserves a separate post.

> Step 3 - if you're going to use roller skis, use skis with narrow,
> tall wheels. The Marwe 610s, the Aeros, those big-wheels Elpex or
> Pro-Skis are all fine. The important thing is that those
> large-diameter wheels don't give much back to you if you try to
> hockey-skate.

Seems to me that racing inline skates could be an even better choice:  (a)
the wheels are just as narrow, (b) the effective height off the pavement is
even larger so they require more precise balance and centered pushing, (c) a
racing inline boot is even less supportive than a cross-country ski boot -- 
totally unlike hockey skates.

Just compare the extensive series of balance and edge-sensitivity exercises
on inline race skates in Barry Publow's book Speed on Skates with the
dryland balance exercises in The New Steady Ski by Doug Garfield.  It's a
no-brainer which approach is better for serious balance training for ski
skating.

I tried a pair of Marwe 610 rollerskis back in October -- after two months
of playing with inline skates.  The guy who lent them to me warned that
there's a learning curve with those big narrow wheels on the 610s.  Yeah
sure -- with all my inline skating the "learning curve" was about 5 minutes.

Ken