Hockey stop back leg problem

[skate4good]

I am having difficulties with performing a hockey stop. My back foot (outside edge) always vibrates while the front foot (inside edge) is smooth and does the stopping. I've been trying to correct my back foot but it always seems to vibrate. I can perform a one legged outside edge stop with ease but when I try to do a hockey stop (both legs), my back foot gives me problems.

Any advice? Thanks.

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[Mr Jiggyfly]

I am having difficulties with performing a hockey stop. My back foot (outside edge) always vibrates while the front foot (inside edge) is smooth and does the stopping. I've been trying to correct my back foot but it always seems to vibrate. I can perform a one legged outside edge stop with ease but when I try to do a hockey stop (both legs), my back foot gives me problems.

Any advice? Thanks.

Can you do a one foot stop on all four edges?

Generally most people have a “power foot” or dominant side, whichever term you prefer.

Ie, my dominant foot is my left, and I had to work harder to be able to do one foot stops on my right outside and inside edges when I was younger.

So when I was younger and did two foot stops, no matter which side I stopped, it was always my right foot that caused problems.

Ie, if I tried to do a two foot stop on my left side, my left outside edge was perfect, but my right inside edge was the issue. If I stopped on my right side, my left inside edge was perfect, but my right outside edge kept messing me up.

So basically back then I could skate and quickly do a one foot stop on both my left edges. If I tried to do that on my right edges, I always had to use my left skate for balance.

Once I learned how to do a one foot stop on both of my right edges, my two foot stops were perfect.

Understand what I’m saying?

 

[puckpilot]

When you do your one-foot stop, is your knee more or less locked for the complete stop? If it is, try practising the one foot stop so that when you turn onto the edge, you bend your knee and sink into the stop. I mean really sink into it.

This is one of the issues I'm dealing with, and I found that part of the reason is during the two foot stop, I'm not naturally inclined to distribute a lot of weight onto the trailing foot, so I overcompensate and dig in too much with the trailing foot and get the chatter.

Doing that drill I found helped me develop a better feel for the stop with my trailing foot and thus less chatter. But still a work in progress.

 

[JMCx4]

For me, this topic falls in the category: "The more I read it, the less I understand it." It begs for illustrations and/or videos. With a quick Google search, I found a handful of how-to video clips that the OP may find helpful. This illustrated version seems worth studying as a starting point. Good luck - my hockey stops suck - one reason I played in goal as a kid.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

What kind of hollow are you guys/girls skating on?

You may want to get a hollow with less bite so you can glide better. Try a 5/8 and work your way from there, and don’t be afraid to speak with someone at your local hockey shop about hollows.

Again, learning how to stop on one foot on all four edges will make a huge difference in your two foot stops, because you will have supreme confidence in all of your edges.

Here are a couple videos for drills you can do to improve your inside edges doing one foot stops:





Here is one for outside edges:



Go find a corner in public skate and just practice these drills until you are comfortable balancing on one foot and stopping on all four edges.

I can almost guarantee it will make a massive difference in your two foot stops.

 

[puckpilot]

I'm already using a 5/8ths hollow. For me, that wasn't an issue. I can do one foot stops on all edges even with a 3/8ths hollow.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I'm already using a 5/8ths hollow. For me, that wasn't an issue. I can do one foot stops on all edges even with a 3/8ths hollow.

If you are comfortable stopping on one foot on all edges, but are struggling to do a two foot stop, it’s likely you are making a simple mistake that can be easily corrected. However, I’d have to actually see what you are doing to offer any real advice to correct it.

Often times, people don’t stagger their feet properly, and shift their weight improperly...this causes people to topple over or the annoying shaking edge.

For a proper two foot stop the basics are:

- Inside edge glides along ice for your outside foot, and outside edge for your inside foot. You should be able to see ice spraying from the middle of both blades when doing it properly... this is a little tough to observe if you are a beginner since your head should be up, keeping your back straight.

- Your feet should be at least a skate length apart, heel to toe. This is where people make the biggest mistake and try to keep their feet too close together.

- Focus on shifting most of your weight to the inside edge (outside foot)... if you put a majority of your weight on the back foot, it’s going to cause the vibrating, or a slip out. I think we were always told 60/40 (60% inside edge) for weight distribution, but it’s more or less understanding that more of your weight needs to shift to the inside edge (outside foot).

 

[skate4good]

I took some of the advice today. I think the problem is the weight distribution. I am putting too much weight on my back foot (outside edge). I'm slowly getting better but it's going to take some practice. I want to get comfortable to the point I don't have to think about my stopping and can stop on a dime at full speed.

I've been skating for a year btw.

 

[Crosbyfan]

I took some of the advice today. I think the problem is the weight distribution. I am putting too much weight on my back foot (outside edge). I'm slowly getting better but it's going to take some practice. I want to get comfortable to the point I don't have to think about my stopping and can stop on a dime at full speed.

I've been skating for a year btw.

One of the keys is not to do that. Give yourself distance to stop and you can learn to reduce the distance...but even the best skaters need distance to stop from full speed.