Routine 1 — The stance

Execution

1. Separate your feet hip-width, bring one foot forward and lower the weight evenly — not all forward nor all back, with a slight preference for the back leg.
2. Raise your arms to the front (the 'predator' silhouette that names the movement): they help balance and make you aware of where the torso goes.
3. Play: close your eyes, take the weight to the sides, forward and back; try lifting the back leg a little and then the front one.
4. In each variation, register where and with which part of the foot you are stepping — that awareness is what you'll need in motion.

What you should feel

A controlled sway: the weight travels and you stay stable. When the 'almost falling' sensation appears, correct — that edge is exactly the information this exercise trains.

Breathing

Calm, continuous breathing; exhale as you lower the weight to release excess tension in shoulders and hips.

Common mistakes

• Lowering the torso instead of the weight: the flexion comes from the legs, not from tilting the trunk.
• Doing the exercise once and with only one foot forward: the stance installs itself through play, on both sides.

Execution

1. From your base stance, consciously bring the weight to the back leg, enough for the front one to detach from the ground little by little, without losing balance.
2. Raise the knee to hip height (90°), arms to the front; play with a slight rotation of the trunk. That is your one-leg Predator going forward.
3. Reverse it: weight forward — without over-carrying the torso — and free the back leg.
4. For the fakie version, rotate the torso and hips: the leg rises on its own and becomes the tail, the leg that guides in the air. Repeat everything on both sides.

What you should feel

The gradual detachment: the leg peels off 'little by little', not all at once. In the fakie version, feel how the torso's rotation is what lifts the leg — not the thigh's strength.

Breathing

Inhale as you prepare the transfer, exhale while the leg detaches — the exhalation stabilizes the support.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the leg without having moved the weight: balance is lost in the first second.
• Compensating by carrying the torso far forward: only the weight needs to transfer; the trunk stays stacked.

Execution

1. In your base position (your Predator), rotate the torso a little.
2. Take the weight toward the outside of the feet and then to the inside; the opposite border lifts slightly.
3. Hold the balance on each border for a few seconds and register where the weight went; alternate calmly.
4. Repeat rotating the torso to the other side. Do it always before skating: the ankles will work all day.

What you should feel

Live pressure on the border of the foot and an awake ankle. The goal is not to lean a lot: it is to distinguish outside / center / inside precisely without looking.

Breathing

Exhale as you press toward each border; the exhalation sharpens the feeling of the support.

Common mistakes

• Leaning the whole body instead of pressing with the ankle: the edge is controlled finely, from below.
• Rushing it: it is warm-up and calibration at once — one slow minute is worth more than ten fast ones.

Execution

1. Take a couple of steps, set your base position and simply let it roll. Repeat until setting yourself becomes automatic.
2. As a drill, start changing the leg without leaving the stance: left forward, right forward, alternating as you advance.
3. Add the torsion: advance with the body in torsion (closed position), change, torsion to the other side, gaze back.
4. Move to fakie: fakie position, with and without torsion — all the variations you saw in shoes, now rolling.

What you should feel

The stance sustains the rolling effortlessly: you set the position and the skate travels on its own. The leg changes feel like weight transfers, not steps.

Breathing

Breathe evenly with the roll; avoid holding your breath in the torsions — held air stiffens the trunk.

Common mistakes

• Chasing speed: this is a placement drill, two or three pushes are enough.
• Changing legs skipping the sway: the change is born from transferring weight, not from taking a new step.