Forward crossovers

[laalaa1704]

I'm getting trouble with my forward crossovers in both directions (ccw and cw)
I can do the ccw easier coz i'm a ccw skater.
whenever i'm practising my crossovers, i seem so afraid to pick up my free leg and cross it over the skating leg. I don't even know if i'm doing it correctly, whether i transfer my body weight or not.
I've been taught to do backward crossovers as well, and i could do it very well. it seems so easy fo me :)
hmm.....maybe i should have asked my coach about it, but anyway, i'm in a group lesson, and there are at least 10 people in my class, so my coach has no time to look us one by one.
anyhow, i remember, when i first started my forward crossovers, i fell down most of the time and got bruises, that gave me a bad memory, no wonder i seem so afraid to do it now, coz I don't want to fall down anymore, like i did before!!!
gee, you don't know how scared i am if i fall down.
Really, really scared!!!!!!!
any tips how to do forward crossovers easier?

oh, by the way, i always practice my crossovers on a circle, but i always step out of the circle, and sometimes don't know where i'm going.
how am i supposed to do crossovers correctly???

[candygirl559]

When I do forward crossovers (CCW), I push my right leg back and make sure I get good stretch and a good push on my right leg, I also make sure my right knee is straight, then I kick my right foot in the air with my right knee straight and keep my right foot pointed and facing left, then I put my right foot to the left of my left foot, but I bend my knees, always keep your left knee bent, keep your head up, don't look down at your feet, and when trying to keep on the circle, put your right arm facing forward and your left arm out to the side, otherwise known as the 9 o'clock position.
Then do the same thing except change directions when you do crossovers clockwise. When doing crossovers clockwise, have your arms in the 3 o'clock position. If you go faster when you skate and if you fall down, the fall won't hurt as badly. I hope that I've helped you out and let me know if you need anymore help with forward crossovers.

[Anita18]

That was really detailed, candygirl559! I'm okay with crossovers going both ways now, though I know I have different technique with both legs..it's weird...just gotta keep practicing them!

Don't worry about falling, laalaa. I used to be really afraid of falling too, but it's part of the learning process, you just have to live with it sometimes! It doesn't hurt when the ice is smooth (i.e. no hockey guys, LOL..), because you just slide over it. When it's all rough and snowy, you go <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> BANG<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> right into it instead of sliding across. It helps if you have a little speed so you slide more, LOL. It's funny; whenever I fall when the ice is nice and smooth, it doesn't hurt at all but when the hockey guys have been on it for a while, it hurts a lot! Needless to say I practice really easy stuff in the public sessions, LOL...

[luenatic]

The longer you can hold the RFO, the easier for you to crossover (CW). It takes time to develop the muscle in your right leg to hold the RFO securely. So don't blame yourself too much. Once your left leg crossed over, hold your LFI. Candygirl is right. Bend your knee. It's easier said than done. But it's true. Again, you need to have strong right leg muscle to bend your knee and hold your body weight on one foot while gliding forward and shift your body weight from left to right! Try it on the floor and see how long can you hold it. Have fun.

[candygirl559]

It's also difficult for me to bend my knees since I'm 5'8 1/2" tall. One of my instructors nagged me about that in a nice way, but I'm glad she did. Bending your knees allows for deeper edges. My stronger direction is doing forward crossovers clockwise, but that's because I'm a clockwise skater.

[Anita18]

It's taken a while (and <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> practice<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> is still the key!) but now crossovers have really started to feel good both ways! (I can't tell you how cool it feels to really "have" that outside edge! :D ) I saw this recently on FSW about backwards crossovers, but it works too with forward ones I think...cross "under" instead of over. Before, I picked up the free foot and put it directly over the skating foot. But I found it more helpful to slide the skating foot almost under the free foot and just kinda sweep the free foot over.

Hope this helps! I'm so happy! Whee! :rollin

[candygirl559]

Anita18, keep up the good work. :)

[Skateberry]

cw are a lot harder for me than ccw, so i've been trying to ask myself, what am i doing differently? so what i do is when im crossing over ccw, i dont really "cross." it sounds like im not doing it right, but i am... you sorta just put it in front of you instead of trying to cross so hard that your inside hip falls down and throws you off balance. it's sort of hard to describe in words, but if you don't swing the outside leg, and instead just place it where you need it to be, you have a lot more control. you have to feel where youw ant it to be though. :)