ARCO
Course contents

Routine · 03

Routine 3 — The transitions

Chain the turns into transitions: the gazelle broken into entry-climax-exit over the two circles, the free practice that turns variations into flow, and the step to the Lion keeping the sensation.

Phase 1

Gazelles

Two circles together; the point where they touch is the climax. Forward open first, then closed, then backward.

EXERCISE · R3/01

The gazelle in three parts (entry · climax · exit)

Objective: Break down the first transition over the two circles: enter in a Parallel, transition at the point where they meet, exit in the same relationship — and from there cover the 8 variations.

Material: two practice circles

Execution

  1. Set up two circles together; the point where they touch is your climax.
  2. Start with the forward open gazelle: enter in a forward Parallel turn, reach the climax, change the edges and exit in a backward Parallel — same relationship (open).
  3. Play: try both sides, enter in different ways, then move to the closed one (change the shoulders-leg relationship; if you enter closed you exit closed).
  4. Finish with the backward gazelle, open and closed: enter in your backward Parallel, compress on reaching the end point and push on the way out.
  5. The movement's detail lives in its tutorial: arcoskating.com/tutoriales/gazelles.

What you should feel

At the climax, the compression-expulsion: you enter, 'boom', you exit — the sensation of catching the gazelle. If the transition feels like two turns glued together, you are pausing at the midpoint.

Breathing

Inhale on the entry, exhale at the climax: the exhalation accompanies the transfer and keeps the trunk from stiffening in the exchange.

Common mistakes

  • Pausing at the climax: you get two separate Parallels instead of a gazelle.
  • Lifting a foot during the transfer: the gazelle is on two feet; if a skate leaves the ground, it's already something else.

Phase 2

Flow and the step to the Lion

Free practice combining variations around the circles, and the first Lion from the gazelle's sensation.

EXERCISE · R3/01

Free practice around the circles (and the step to the Lion)

Objective: Turn the variations into flow: free practice combining forward/backward and open/closed around the circles — and trying the step onto one foot while keeping the gazelle's sensation.

Material: two practice circles

Execution

  1. With the gazelle's 8 variations covered, do free practice playing around the two circles: combine forward, backward, open, closed.
  2. Don't chase perfection on each attempt: chase chaining — let one transition leave you placed for the next.
  3. When the backward open gazelle feels comfortable, try the step to the Lion: keep that same sensation, push with one leg and let the other draw the shape (the tail doesn't come down).
  4. The Lions' detail lives in their tutorial: arcoskating.com/tutoriales/lions.

What you should feel

The flow: transitions stop being events and become continuous transit. In the step to the Lion, the sensation is identical to the gazelle — only the second foot no longer touches the ground.

Breathing

Let the breathing set the line's rhythm: one exhalation per transition is a good initial metronome.

Common mistakes

  • Always repeating the same comfortable variation: free practice exists to mix them all.
  • Jumping to the Lion without integrated gazelles: Lions are a progression of the gazelles; if the gazelle doesn't come out, neither will the Lion.

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