The Complete Book of Figure Skating (Paperback)

by Carole Shulman (Author) "Figure skating is a wonderful and gratifying sport..." (more)
Key Phrases: back scratch spin, forward scratch spin, rink barrier, Carole Shulman, Scott Hamilton, The Lutz (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Providing detailed explanations and helpful hints, The Complete Book of Figure Skating is the only book of its kind available and a valuable asset to any skater's library."
Robin Cousins
1980 Olympic gold medalist
"This book is a true outlook on our wonderful sport of figure skating. It's an instructor's guide to every detail and an even better guide for those wanting to understand the technique behind the difficult moves of our sport. A thumbs-up to this great book!"
Elizabeth Manley
1988 Olympic and world silver medalist
U.S. Open Professional champion
Three-time Canadian champion
"Carole Shulman's knowledge is all-inclusive. As the PSA executive director, she has supervised all the aspects of coaching figure skating. I cannot think of a finer or more qualified person to write this book."
Frank Carroll
Coach of 4-time world champion Michelle Kwan
United States Olympic Committee 1997 National Coach of the Year
"Carole Shulman has filled a void with a very comprehensive book on all aspects of figure skating. Now we have a textbook for the 21st century"
Ron E. Ludington
Director of Ice Skating Science Development Center
World and Olympic figure skating coach


Product Description
The finest figure skaters in the world make their sport look so graceful and simple. Those who have tried to learn and coach figure skating know that it is not easy. In The Complete Book of Figure Skating, author Carole Shulman combines her vast experience as a former competitive skater, a Master PSA instructor, a professional figure skating judge, and the current Director of the Professional Skaters Association to cover every aspect of the sport with clarity and expertise.

Shulman describes the proper techniques for more than 100 skills, from stops, stroking skills, and freestyle moves to turns and footwork—including ice-dancing techniques, spins, jumps, and pairs skating techniques. Also included are advice and guidelines on choosing equipment, conditioning your body, and creating competition programs that will score high marks with the judges.

This book is an essential guide to participating and excelling in the sport. Whether you’re a skater looking to develop your technique or an instructor seeking for innovative coaching methods, you’ll find it in The Complete Book of Figure Skating.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736035486
• ISBN-13: 978-0736035484
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,296 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Need this Book!, May 23, 2003

By	StarGymnast (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the best books about figure skating available. It is an excellent guide for figure skaters who want to improve their skills and a good coaching reference. Many photos and step-by-step instructions provide information for learning turns and footwork, spins, jumps, freestyle moves, basic moves, and pairs. Also included in this book are information on choosing skates, warming up, types of figure skating, fitness and strength, and more. Plus, there is helpful information on choosing music and costumes for programs. This book is a wonderful, helpful reference for all figure skaters and coaches.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Skaters, July 5, 2003

A Kid's Review

This is a great book for any figure skater! It gives you tips on moves and tells you step by step how to do them. It gives instruction on the basics, freestyle moves, spins, jumps, footwork, and pairs skating. It also gives you tips for just starting out. It highlights popular figure skaters for their specific moves (example: Lucinda Rue for her spins, Scott Hamilton for his footwork, ect.). It is a great book for any skater of any level or age.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough detail, some crucial typos, October 3, 2006

By	sunjoy "sunjoy" (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This is a much more visual book than Petkevich's, which has detailed verbal explanations that take a bit of effort to visualize. Unfortunately, some of the pictures in Shulman's book leave large gaps between frames, and it's hard to tell how to get from one position to the next.

There are some editorial or proofing mistakes that really hurt the book. Figure skating spins and jumps are done in one direction (counterclockwise for most, clockwise for some) that the skater chooses early-on in their training. Shulman explains this, and the fact that her directions are for counterclockwise spinners and need to be reversed by clockwise spinners. Unfortunately the picture and directions for the one-footed spin are backwards, and describe a *clockwise* entry and spin when all the other spins are written for counter-clockwise skaters. This will be very confusing for a begining skater who has no coach of their own!

In one or two other places a picture is reversed (mirror image), which again can be very confusing if you're trying to learn on your own and don't know that there's a mistake in the book.

There is a good section on modern off-ice strength training, including periodization.

Overall I'd recommend this book *in conjunction* with Petkevich's book: both have gaps that the other complements. And of course there's no substitute for a real coach!