Is there really a correct skating style?

[Tuffhockey]

That one pic on the left does look like he is a little on his outside edge, but I still think that he is skating with a predominantly wide stance, with short, choppy strides. Actually I thought that the speed skater was using even shorter and choppier strides.

Does anyone know any specific NHL players that Bracko works with?

 

[StLHokie]

If you play it in slow motion, after the first 2 or 3 steps of his running start, each of his strides starts with his foot pretty much under him, so he's not always on his inside edge. Maybe he's not the best example of the Bracko method. Or am I missing something?

In the first picture, Mackinnon hasn't transferred all his weight onto the inside skate yet. He still has most of his weight on the extended leg. That's why it may look like he's got weight on his outside edge. In theory, he doesn't shift his weight to the inside skate until the inside edge is planted in the ice, ready to be the foundation for another push off.

Having your foot start under your body is ideal skating technique, regardless of the followed method, because it provides for maximum power in the push.The difference is how he pushes with his skates. Mackinnon pushes outward towards his sides, rather than backwards. The arm movement he has also matches with the Bracko method, the motion is much more oriented side to side than it is back to front, which is what is taught in the Stamm method. .

 

[Tuffhockey]

Isn't the biggest difference between the Stamm method and the Bracko method, that the skate return is not back directly underneath the body? The idea being that the wider stance provides a more stable, powerful stance, and that using a higher volume of strides propels you forward faster. The Bracko method believes that more strides, done at a much faster pace, is more effective for acceleration.

The longer stride approach appears to be a better approach to maintain top end speed, but not the most efficient approach for acceleration. Bracko contends that the stride rate is more important for power than the length of the stride. His use of video for the fastest NHL players is pretty compelling support.

 

[bardown23]

I've been skating for about 6 years now and would consider myself an average skater. I've really been trying to breakdown my skating and stride recently in an effort to get more speed and power. The key to this is deep knee bend. For whatever reason when I try to get lower I feel extremely unbalanced and can't maintain it. Also on crossover c cuts and turns it feels I'm not getting the amount of power I want. Any tips?

 

[I am toxic]

I've been skating for about 6 years now and would consider myself an average skater. I've really been trying to breakdown my skating and stride recently in an effort to get more speed and power. The key to this is deep knee bend. For whatever reason when I try to get lower I feel extremely unbalanced and can't maintain it. Also on crossover c cuts and turns it feels I'm not getting the amount of power I want. Any tips?

Ankles have to flex (and extend). Otherwise deep knee bends will unbalance.

Lack of power on crossovers is often caused by reliance on inside edge (of the outside skate) for power. Need to engage the outside edge (of the inside skate). When coaching it, I no longer refer to them as "crossovers", rather as "crossunders", to hilite that it is the outside edge/inside leg that needs to generate power.

 

[puckpilot]

I've been skating for about 6 years now and would consider myself an average skater. I've really been trying to breakdown my skating and stride recently in an effort to get more speed and power. The key to this is deep knee bend. For whatever reason when I try to get lower I feel extremely unbalanced and can't maintain it. Also on crossover c cuts and turns it feels I'm not getting the amount of power I want. Any tips?

Sounds to me like you need to work on your crouch strength. One of my weaknesses was I didn't get down enough. One of the things I did to address this was go back to basics. Did the drill in the following video a lot to build the strength in my legs so I could hold a deep crouch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1SKLb48Gik

This will help with your crossovers and power. From your description, it sounds like you're keeping your legs kind of straight so you can hold the turn, because you don't have the strength to hold it with your legs bent.

That kills your power. No bend in knee, means you can't extend your leg to push off. If you can't push off, then you can't generate power, at least not much of it.

There are plenty of other drills you can find on youtube, but IMHO this is the one to start with to increase strength for your crouch.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

John Wild : The new Power Skating : Your key to better hockey is a great book about power skating .

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Feet should start off closer together to get maximal distance the leg travels IMO. Power = Force X Distance / time. The greater the distance your force acts upon, the power you generate.

Then theirs the stride recovery component. How effeicently and rapidly you can return your feet to start a new stride.

Force - Your leg strength; how much of a force you can create while pushing off the ice

Distance - Stride Length, how long you can sustain that force

time - how many times per unit time you can create that force over that distance, or speed

F x D / T = Your power

Pure foot speed guys - Kane, Douchene, Gaudreau

Power/Strength guys - Kreider, McDonagh, Hossa

All around - Crosby, MacKinnon, Ovechkin

 

[rh71]

John Wild : The new Power Skating : Your key to better hockey is a great book about power skating .

That book was published 29 years ago... ?

 

[Tuffhockey]

I like the Bracko method, and how he has shown that this is the type of skating method used by the fastest skaters in the NHL. He is different than most traditional figure skating based coaches, in that he doesn't believe in a complete foot return, and prefers a wider stance, with deep knee bend, a full extension, and a fast stride recovery rate. He further emphasizes a more side to side arm swing, one that follows the angle of your leg push, so that it propers the same momentum path. Stamm, and others insist on a front to back arm swing.

As other posters stated you need a deep squat, but also think about bending your ankles, not your knees. I picked this up from a power skating coach my son had. He said that you can bend your knees without bending your ankles, but you can't bend your ankles without bending your knees. It's a different coaching cue that worked wonders for my son.

The worst skaters stand up to straight, and often lack mobility in their hips and ankles. don't forget to stay mobile in these areas. Specifically for your ankles work on a slant board for calf and achilles flexibility. Also consider not lacing up your skates to the top. It may take some getting used to, and to get stronger in your ankles, but they will be more mobile, allowing you a deeper knee bend.

Here's a video of wide stance skating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ1vJ9nx6bw