What is the Proper Arm Swing?
For many years
there has been a great deal of discussion, debate and confusion over arm swing
has it relates to forward striding. What are the correct bio mechanics for
forward skating especially when it relates to correct arm swing?
Traditional North
America hockey school instructors have emphasized a North to South movement of
the arms whereas the scientific research community has shown support for a
sideways – East to West motion of the arms. The sideways motion is similar to
speed skaters which has been the European hockey teaching philosophy for many
years as well. Who is right? After teaching power skating for over 15 years and
dedicating more than 5,000 hours to the craft, here’s an overview of my observations
of the forward stride including the arm swing component. This article examines
the Bio mechanics of the forward stride without getting too technical in nature.
Note: There’s no scientific research data included in this article:
Core Components:
The hockey player who
performs best the following 3 components will win any skating race.
1) Length
of the Stride
· Head Up
· Requires a deep knee bend / flex-ion at 90
degrees
· Long full leg extension from the hip, knee,
ankle to the skate blade
2) Force
or Strong Push off of the Drive Leg
· Forward lean of the body
· Greater angle of the skate to ideally 90
degrees
· Strength of the push from the gluts and
thigh – larger muscles
Most hockey
players can use their gluts and thigh muscles and push harder than they do. The
best skaters take advantage of this skill in their skating stride. For example,
I remember a former NHL defenseman discussing the deceptive speed of Anaheim
Ducks forward Teemu Selanne. Selanne keep the same skating stride and frequency
of the stride but could shift into another gear. How? The force or strong push
off the skate allowed him to go faster without changing his skating style. The
great Bobby Orr was very deceptive in this way as well – probably the best in being
able to shift suddenly into a higher skating gear.
3) Frequency of the Strides
· Stride rate – speed which players move
their legs
· Quicker return of the skates to the ice for
the next pushing phase
· Skate recovery is low and quick - circle,
circle back and recoil the skate under the body and drive the knee – straight
forward to become the drive leg again. The degree of recovery is determined by
whether a player is skating in a cruising mode or full speed mode (game
situation where there is very little glide but constant pushing phase). In
cruise mode the skate is ideally toe – knee – nose alignment under the body but
under pressure going full out the skate is more the case of toe – knee – hip –
shoulder alignment under the body.
For many years
prior to his retirement Scott Niedermayer was recognized and admired has one of
the best skaters in the NHL if not the best. Then came along Sidney Crosby with
a different skating style but just has effective. The Niedermayer stride
consists of a deep knee bend and a very long smooth rhythmic stride consisting
of an exceptional recovery (toe – knee – nose alignment) under the body from
the drive skate. Whereas Sidney Crosby’s stride involves a more power push on the drive
skate and a quicker lower recovery with more of wider track – skates further
apart (toe – knee – hip – shoulder alignment) than the Niedermayer stride. Both
are very effective and both have been world class skaters!
Secondary Components:
One of the
secondary components of the forward stride is arm swing. As a power skating
instructor, I do not look at effective arm swing has north – south or east –
west but rather “quadrant” based. See illustration below:
Whether a player
is skating in a cruising mode or full speed (game situation where there is very
little glide but constant pushing phase) will determine the degree and
direction of arm swing motion. In cruise mode a skater’s arm swing is more
north – south motion but under pressure going full out the skater’s arm swing
is right elbow in the south - east quadrant (SE) and right hand in the north -
west quadrant (NW) and left elbow in the
south - west (SW) quadrant and left hand in the north - east (NE) quadrant .
Yes, arms do cross the imaginary line or mid – point of the upper body but not
in an east – west direction.
When you watch the
forward striding of elite hockey players today most of the time players skate
with two hands on the stick. It is not possible to move the arms in a forward
backward direction when there are two hands on the stick. Sometimes skating
without the puck they will have one hand on the stick often in the neutral zone,
when fore-checking in the offensive zone or killing a penalty in the defensive
zone. The majority of skating is done from the hips down – so the extension
from the hip to knee to ankle flex to the skate blade is more important than
arm swing.
So if the basic skating
components are the same for every player, why can’t everyone skate like Scott
Niedermayer or Sidney Crosby? The problem is learning and properly applying the
above mentioned components of forward skating. The major joints and muscles
determine the proficiency of the skater. Good power skating exercises (i.e.
reps) develop skating skills along with good progressions to practice are the
keys to developing a good forward stride. However, arm swing is only a
secondary component. There are other more important components of the forward
stride.
