A SCIENTIFICAL APPROACH TO STYLESLALOM

(Author: Enrico PERANO)

                                     Technical Vocabulary

STEP: set of skills performed by skates on feet during the running across a cups line following a predefined direction, maintaining this fundamental rule: every couple of subsequent cups must be crossed at least once by one or  both of skates.

ELEMENTARY  STEP: step that can’t be decomposed in  simpler steps.

FOUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTARY STEP: every step among the elementary ones  that are universally known and recognized.

EX.1: The following steps are defined as foundamental elementary steps: the simple forward and back crossed, every kind of eagle, only one leg (forward or back direction), and so on.

COMPOUNDED STEP: step that contains  two or more elementary steps connected among them.

EX.2: Some examples of compounded steps are: the double crossed (both forward and back crossed), Mabrouk step, and, in general, any mixture of elementary steps that is possible to fancy.

PERIODIC STEP: compounded step whose performance repeats  itself equally every n cups (n≥2).

The lowest n that satisfies this condition is called the period of the step  and indicated with T symbol.

For example the Mabrouk step is periodic and its period is 4.

NOTE1: any aperiodic compounded step performed among n cups may become periodic if  is repeated equally every n cups.

SWITCH: change between two different steps.

NOTE2: a switch can be realized in different ways and so it is possible to perform more switches between the two same steps. In particular the switch used to change from a step A to another step B may be different from the one by which we come back from step B to step A.

OPPOSITE STEP (or SWITCHSTANCE): Given two steps A and B, B is defined “ the A opposite “ if it’s obtained performing A in the opposite direction, that is the unusual direction.

Examples:
- The Ala step practiced from DX to SX and the Ala step performed from SX to DX
- The Mabrouk step and its opposite
- Sideways walk and its opposite
- Tip-tap on one leg and its opposite
- By only SX leg forward (back) and by only DX leg forward (back)

 SYMMETRIC STEP: a step is defined symmetric whenit is still equal to its opposite, that is when performing the opposite you always obtain the same step.

INVERSE STEP: given two steps A and B, B is defined “ the A inverse “ if it is obtained inverting the movements of the skates practiced performing the step A.

Examples:
- the forward and back walks are one step the inverse of the other one
- internal and external tip-tap by only one leg , using the same leg (VIDEO A)
- forward only by SX or DX leg and backward by the same leg (VIDEO B)
- the simple or double forward and back crossed

NOTE3: If you film a step performance, and when you play the film  push the bottom backward, you will see the performance of the inverse step.

NOTE4:Sometimes, performing the inverse or the opposite of one step we obtain the same step, that is one step can have inverse and opposite equal. For example the inverse and the opposite of sideways walk are equal; also the inverse and the opposite of crazy, and so on.

ANTYMETRIC STEP: When a step is equal to its inverse, that is, when inverting the movement of your skates, you obtain the same step. For example, the Mabrouk step is antymetric. In fact, if you film its performance and push the bottom backward, you always see the same step.

DISCONTINUITIES: There is a discontinuity  between two cups when, during the running across them, one or both of skates are lifted hopping.

According to the number of discontinuities, a step may be:

- CONTINUOUS: if there are no discontinuities while the running across all the couples of cups.

- PIECE CONTINUOUS: When there are some discontinuities, but they are isolated, that is they aren’t present while the running across more couples of cups consecutively, but there are only some discontinuities by switching from an elementary  component step to another one.

- DISCONTINUOUS: When all the running across the cups line is performed by discontinuities at every couple of cups.

- MIXED: When only some sequences of consecutive couples of cups are run across by discontinuities.

Examples:
- Simple and crossed tip-tap, or also tip-tap only on one leg are discontinuous steps.
- Alternating "running back remaining only on DX(resp.:SX) leg “ with “ tip-tap only on DX (resp.SX) leg " we obtain a mixed step.
- The simple, double crossed, the Ala step, the Mabrouk step,… are continuous steps.
- Also the walks may be considered continuous steps.