Step-By-Step Guide to Learning Forward Crossovers | Figure Skating

Hey, it's Stace here from Next Edge Tutorials and this lesson today I'm going to be showing you how to do a forward crossover. So if you don't know what a forward crossover is, it's a forward movement that we use to go around curves in skating. We use it all the time. So if I'm taking some forward pushes in order to go around a curve, I'm going to use a forward crossover. It's an outside edge and an inside edge moving forward. So let's break it down even more at the barrier. All right, so let's start with this forward crossover. Now I want you facing the barrier when you do this exercise, but I'm going to face you just so that you can see everything that's going on. So we're going to be going, crossing the right foot over the left. So we're going to go pick it up, put it down, then step out, cross, lift, hold. Now we're going to start pressing the edges a bit more. So we're going to go outside, inside, outside, inside. Now we're going to go back the other way because we have clockwise and counterclockwise of crossovers. So I'm going to press the outside edge, then the inside edge, outside, inside. And what we're doing is we're learning how to transfer our weight from one leg to the other leg and then figuring out these edges. Outside edge, inside edge, outside, inside. So this is what you're going to do. Hold on to the barrier and the same thing. Press, press, and then the other way. This is step number one to starting out with forward crossovers. All right, now that we're really comfortable at the barrier, crossing the feet over, we're going to do the exact same thing off the barrier. So when I'm crossing my right leg over, I want that right arm to be in front, left arm back. So we're going to go outside, inside, outside, inside, outside, inside. And then we're going to go the other way. So when I cross my left foot over, that left arm is going to be out in front and the right arm is going to be back. So we're going to go left, pulling over, left, right. And I like to get this nice knee action going when doing this exercise. Just focusing on the ankles and knees working. Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce. And then you can go back the other way. Outside, inside, outside, inside, pull. So that is our second thing that we're going to be doing when we come off the barrier. So before we move on, I want you to click on the link below in the description for your free PDF guide on the four turns that we have in figure skating. This is something that you want to know as a figure skater. You want to know the difference between all your three turns, your brackets, your counters, your rockers, inside, outside, forward and backwards. The more knowledge that you have and you're able to identify what your turns are, the better skater you will become. So when you're ready, give it a click. Now we are ready to move our forward crossover. And this might seem like the scariest part, but I'm going to show you a couple of steps so it's not as scary. So we're going to go forwards here. I'm going to put my right arm in front, left arm back, and we're going to keep that same tempo of cross, together, push, cross, together, cross, together. And what I want you to focus on is not dropping your weight. Because when you drop your weight, your blades get really loud so you'll hear it against the ice. So I want you to think about placing the foot down, bending, and then stepping. And another helpful tip is like being able to hold in that cross position. So after you take that right leg up and over, can you balance there for a split second, then pick the foot up and hold. And then push, balance, and then hold. Because it's going to really emphasize this outside edge. And that's probably another scary part to the forward crossover is going, wait, you want me to press on that outside edge and lean into the circle? Yes, I want you to do that. But it takes a bit of time to get used to that. So this is why I love that pause and then pick the foot up because it's going to allow for this outside edge to hit right here. Because that's what we're doing. We're initially going outside, inside, outside, inside with those blades for the forward crossovers. So if you can do the last step that I showed you, congratulations, you can do forward crossovers. Now, I know what you're probably thinking. Wait, my crossovers don't look like Suzy Liu, who's been skating for five years. Well, this is where I'm going to break your heart a bit. They do take a bit of time to where we're not slapping the foot over and then crossing. It's more of a smooth transition. And let's take a look at the difference between the crossover that I showed you and the crossover that you desperately want. So I showed you this push, lift up and over, push, lift up and over. Well, this is what Suzy Liu's crossovers look like. Push and it's a push and glide. So we're getting rid of that step over. It comes on the ice and then pushes under. And that's how we get that beautiful art of the crossover, that smooth transition. And I'm going to show you a quick little exercise that will absolutely help. So we're going to begin here. We're going to go pump, push under, pump, push under. And when this exercise feels comfortable, I want you to start lifting, then putting the foot down and pushing under. Push, lift, then foot down and push under. And this is where you get that smooth, beautiful crossover. It's not that lift and slap down. Lift and slap down. It's that stretch foot on the ice. And then you have that beautiful push under and it just flows across the ice. And that's why you see that like crossovers. When I see big, beautiful crossovers, it just looks amazing on the ice. And it's just something that I immediately pick up on skaters. I'm like, I love their skating skills. I love their crossovers. Like, I don't care that they can do a quad axle. Just that crossover itself is so beautiful to watch. So there you have it. That is your quick guide to a forward crossover. Now, comment below if you want more in depth on, hey, Stacey, I struggle with that outside edge. I struggle with the inside edge. I struggle with bending my knees. I struggle with my upper body leaning into the circle. These are things that I want to know so that we can help you out even more with your forward crossovers. Thanks for watching Next Edge Tutorials and happy skating.