In the old days, skater competed by carving many pictures on the surface of the ice. Whoever takes the best shape, the sharpest picture on the ice wins. The name of this subject is derived from the black pattern, which should exactly be called “ice engraving technique”.
Another reason is that the carvings on ice are quite boring, with few viewers spending money to support this category. As a result, this category was removed from modern skating competition 30 years ago. But in essence, athletes who want outstanding skating techniques must practice this basic item.
Nowadays, there are still ice carving competitions held in a number of countries, but the scale of these competitions is not large. Skating requires high technical and meticulousness. The main purpose is to show outstanding skating technique.
Viewers are very emotional, so they often like good upper body dancers, but less look at the feet to see what athletes do. The exams in figure skating competitions are meticulously choreographed with clear structures to help athletes remember and reduce mistakes. The structure of each test is based on the rules set by the skating federation.
In terms of style, Patrick Chan is more suited to classical skating, probably because his first two teachers were banyan trees in the old Canadian skating world. Patrick Chan excelled in a classic style. Hanyu is outstanding in a modern style and seems more arbitrary, free, sensitive and musical.
An athlete who uses too many crossovers to accelerate is not very good as this is a basic step in figure skating, using too much indicates a lack of complex skating skills. While there are male athletes who use a lot of crossovers on the test, Hanyu uses only a few crossovers to accelerate on the field. That is a respectable skating technique.
When athletes switch to two-legged ice skating during competition, it is often the case that they take their breath away. It’s not like figure skating on one foot isn’t quite possible, but doing so takes a lot more time than skating on 2 feet. Sliding on 2 feet is a little easier.