Male skaters with great posture

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Chan, Kolyads and Farris are probably the top 3 recent skaters that come to mind. There’s something about the way their shoulders look so relaxed but their arms have just the right tension and the back isn’t too stiff or too arched.

Joshua Farris’ 3A is one of my favourite elements because the posture on the landing is just so perfect and relaxed. https://youtu.be/8eF4kmD-T0A (5:45 mark).

 

[Aklaus]

John Curry, Robin Cousins, Brian Boitano, Paul Wylie, Mark Mitchell

 

[Aklaus]

and what about Emanuel Sandhu?

 

[nguyhm]

I was impressed with Jun Hwan Cha's posture and found Nam Nguyen's posture very elegant.

​

 

[rain]

I so very often share and like your opinions that I love to disagree with you on this one. To me Yuzuru's posture is unique and one of the things that makes him recognizable on ice even if you cannot see his face, do not know the costume, music etc. I am not sure if I can nail what it is exactly but I'd say he's skating with his legs and not with his back and the way he positions his hands if that makes any sense to you, and it is very much a part of his "persona on ice" to me making him look elegant, straight, light, effortless and kind of nonchalant. I like it a lot and TBH I don't care that much whether it is a textbook posture or not. I find it rare and brilliant.
OTOH, IMHO, Nathan's posture is his weakest point to me, as he often bends pretty low which is probably no mistake but I just don't like it, although in general I do like Nathan a lot.
Just to show there are many ways to perceive a skater and many ways they can appeal (or not) to different people which is probably a beauty of this sport (and this thread).

Neither Hanyu nor Nathan Chen have particularly good posture. Hanyu is too loosey-goosey and Nathan Chen has hunched shoulders far too often.

I agree that Patrick Chan, Brown, Aliev have good carriage and posture. I would add Sadovsky (most beautiful arms in the business, which comes from core, chest, shoulders), Kurt Browning.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

and what about Emanuel Sandhu?

Emanuel Sandhu had nice lines and extension in his legs due to his ballet training (especially that camel spin), but his posture wasn’t that good IMO. He had a bit of a hunch in his shoulders especially going into his triple axel. And sometimes his arms were a bit sloppy and unfinished movements. Interesting choreo though and again nice lines when he hit them.

 

[emam]

Which male skaters have/had outstanding carriage and posture? (Not counting ice dancers, who obviously rule in this category.)

https://i.cbc.ca/1.4510298.1517331528!/fileImage/httpImage/patrick-chan.jpg

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/jason-brown-of-team-united-states-skates-during-the-men-single-short-picture-id1369256234?s=612x612

John Curry is the gold standard, but Jason Brown has the most beautiful posture of any current skater. And, how can we forget Johnny Weir!

 

[MidnightTiger]

I'd like to recommend adding the following to the list of underappreciated skaters with good posture:

David Shapiro

David Shapiro - Junior Short - 2020 U.S. Figure Skating National Championships

Skater: David ShapiroClub: Detroit Skating ClubScore: 58.69 (12th)Total Score: 165.39 (9th overall)Free Skate: https://youtu.be/MWQ_bDlPJns

youtu.be

 

[mtvessel]

i am not sure why so many people mention Yuzuru in here... no doubt he is a great skater, but if there is ONE thing I could fault him for and yes, i have also seen him live more than once, it's the posture.

I couldn't agree more. He's certainly a genius of the sport, but he's a floppy noodle. It's the one thing I dislike about his skating. In terms of posture and carriage there's no comparison between him and Patrick Chan.

 

[yugra]

Hanyu is too loosey-goosey

Thanks, I learned a new word.

It should be noted, however, that Hanyu has a naturally "perfect turnout" of both legs combined - what is the basis for good posture. Also he still good softness and elasticity of ligaments.
Perhaps his slight stooping is a conscious economy of forces to avoid too high muscle tone (hypertonic).
With his constant high loads, rational muscle work is primarily a matter of survival and longevity in sport.

This is just a small remark as I do not want to turn the topic into a discussion of one particular skater.
But, in fairness.

ETA:
Actually, I am so deeply puzzled.
I agree that Yuzu doesn't have a classic posture.
But the fact that he has no posture at all - I will never agree with that.
I'm going to go read some smart books about it.

 

[formersk8ter]

i am not sure why so many people mention Yuzuru in here... no doubt he is a great skater, but if there is ONE thing I could fault him for and yes, i have also seen him live more than once, it's the posture. He often looks down to the ice... and his air position on jump is often off-axis (which one cannot really see unless at the rink).

So yes to many others mentioned like urmanov, kolyada, aliev... let's not forget nathan also... but yuzuru? nope... of course, YMMV

Thank you for saying this.

Yuzu is undoubtedly a great skater but, IMO, his posture is the worst aspect of his skating. There's little to no upper body carriage and he looks down at the ice A LOT.

 

[LiamForeman]

Kolyada is who I would want my posture to look like. Very classical and near perfect posture. I get the Russian men mixed up, but I was impressed with I believe it is Aliev. For old timers, starting with John Curry, Paul Wylie, Mark Mitchell, Rudy Galindo, several present US skaters including Brown and Camden and a couple others. Also in pairs I thought Anton Sikharulidze had amazing posture.

 

[el henry]

Thanks, I learned a new word.

It should be noted, however, that Hanyu has a naturally "perfect turnout" of both legs combined - what is the basis for good posture. Also he still good softness and elasticity of ligaments.
Perhaps his slight stooping is a conscious economy of forces to avoid too high muscle tone (hypertonic).
With his constant high loads, rational muscle work is primarily a matter of survival and longevity in sport.

This is just a small remark as I do not want to turn the topic into a discussion of one particular skater.
But, in fairness.

One thing I love about Goldenskate is learning new words and new phrases, either in English or translated from other languages

I admire Yuzu and his posture is what I would call "sinuous", perfectly adapted to his programs, but not a classical straight back, arms aloft such as the older skaters, or Kolyada or Aliev among the newer skaters. Jason adapts, but certainly Sinnerman is the "sinuous" category.

Jumping off from your post, in pairs, really going afield because they are non-binary and are therefore not in a strictly "male" category, but Timothy LeDuc has beautiful posture.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

One thing I love about Goldenskate is learning new words and new phrases, either in English or translated from other languages

I admire Yuzu and his posture is what I would call "sinuous", perfectly adapted to his programs, but not a classical straight back, arms aloft such as the older skaters, or Kolyada or Aliev among the newer skaters. Jason adapts, but certainly Sinnerman is the "sinuous" category.

Jumping off from your post, in pairs, really going afield because they are non-binary and are therefore not in a strictly "male" category, but Timothy LeDuc has beautiful posture.

For sure Timothy Leduc! If we're talking pairs skaters, Eric Radford also had lovely posture and even though he and Duhamel were known for their athleticism, his posture and carriage was a notable quality that made them actually more elegant.

 

[treblemakerem]

Roman Sadovsky. Especially impressive considering his height.

 

[Victura]

I agree with many of the skaters mentioned, including Patrick Chan, Mikhail Kolyada, Joshua Farris, and Camden Pulkinen.

Also wanted to mention Brian Joubert, which may seem like an unconventional choice. He’s not generally thought of as an artistic skater, but he always had a very upright back and great carriage and posture that was very pleasant to watch.

I’m glad that this topic was brought up because upper body posture isn’t really emphasized so much in skating, but coming from a dance background, I really value it and it’s the one thing that can make or break whether I like watching a skater.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I agree with many of the skaters mentioned, including Patrick Chan, Mikhail Kolyada, Joshua Farris, and Camden Pulkinen.

Also wanted to mention Brian Joubert, which may seem like an unconventional choice. He’s not generally thought of as an artistic skater, but he always had a very upright back and great carriage and posture that was very pleasant to watch.

I’m glad that this topic was brought up because upper body posture isn’t really emphasized so much in skating, but coming from a dance background, I really value it and it’s the one thing that can make or break whether I like watching a skater.

Agreed that Joubert had good posture, especially on his deep, curved jump landings. Which made it more criminal that he chose pieces like Matrix and stuff to bolster the view of his macho-ness. If he were actually willing to explore his artistic side more, his posture would have lent itself nicely to that.

 

[iluvtodd]

^ I do like & appreciate his "Matrix" program, though!

 

[sworddance21]

I couldn't agree more. He's certainly a genius of the sport, but he's a floppy noodle. It's the one thing I dislike about his skating. In terms of posture and carriage there's no comparison between him and Patrick Chan.

There is no denying that Hanyu is extraordinary. For me, however, the carriage of his arms is something that I find distracting. From a technical standpoint - at least for me, as a ballet teacher - it is the lack of lift in the triceps and that his arms seem to move from the shoulder socket instead of from the center of the back.

On another note - I think Shoma has lovely posture and carriage. Not as classical as Kolyada, but it is there.

 

[elbkup]

Not sure it it has been mentioned but I think Ilia Malinin amongst the young skaters has wonderful posture. I love the final “tah-dah” move he does at the end of this..

Ilia Malinin: 2021-22 Short Program (Warm Up at Journey to Champion 2022)

Ilia Malinin warms up his 2021-22 Short Program to Billie Jean at the Patriot Figure Skating Club's 1st Annual ice show: "Journey to Champion", held at Patri...

youtu.be