The Figure Skaters Body

I started figure skating at the age of five and continued skating and competing until the age of 17. Figure skating was a body practice that I began at a young age and it completely took over my life in a similar way that disease takes over the life of an anorexic. Figure skating, however, does not have the destructive and deadly power that anorexia has. One could say that the figure skaters body becomes that of a docile body because us figure skaters willingly go along with the plan. We do what we are told by our coach to achieve the wanted outcome, whether it be passing a test, winning the gold, or completing an element. The picture above shows an element that I worked on for a long time and when I finally completed it I was happy, but it wasn't enough. I than began working to pull my leg even further up and into an even more unnatural position. In this way, I was on a pursuit without terminus; I worked as hard as I could to achieve my goal only to be dissatisfied and want even more. Its a never ending cycle. Just as the anorexic wants to be thinner, the figure skater wants to be more flexible and stronger.

Another thing that the body practice of figure skating reinforces is having a lean, slender body. A body that could easily be on the front cover of Shape magazine. This leads us to even more body practices specific to the figure skating culture. You must practice good nutrition; never eating too much fatty, unhealthy foods. You must only eat foods that will give you energy but won't cause you to gain any weight. Even just one pound will throw off all of your elements. You must practice good posture; shoulders back, head up. When all of these things are perfect we create something of an intelligible body designed for world class figure skating.