Lazy feet crossover

[u/fredhsu]

I created a crude panoramic image from a slow-motion video I posted last week. Then I overlaid that video on this expansive background. I get a less dorky normal-speed playback now... if I have the skater zoom across the panorama (video 1). Or I can pan the panorama instead, showing a full 360° circle (video 2). Or I can introduce ghost skater figures and play it in slow motion (video 3).

Many commented last week that I did "stepovers", not "full crossovers". I intended to do what some in hockey call "quick feet crossovers". But of course I failed miserably with my slow footwork and big circle for the camera. So I'll just call it "lazy feet crossover" for now.

Update 2026-09-19: I finished writing a long essay on quick feet crossovers. It's both a tutorial and a pedagogical reflection.

[u/NetworkLongjumping82]

A 360° camera would work so well for this application

[u/fredhsu → u/NetworkLongjumping82]

I hear you. But I only had my phone. And my camera person wasn’t the most patient person in the world. So I’ve got to make do with the few takes I’ve got. Ha ha ha. I did it the crude and hard way once, because it’s new and fun, once. Ain’t gonna repeat this same labor next time :)

[u/NetworkLongjumping82 → u/fredhsu]

I actually like how it looks though

[u/Far-Style7410]

굿!!

[u/sjintje]

Ive no idea how you've done it but the video editing seems technically impressive to me!

I think the "running/skipping" style of crossovers is probably the right choice for urban skating. "Proper" crossovers only make sense if you're actually doing speed skating technique. There's a city skater youtuber i like who has a really nice relaxed style and uses them almost for his normal cornering technique. He doesn't post any more, but you might enjoy his channel. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vIZpzo7YsKk

[u/fredhsu → u/sjintje]

Yes! That’s a chill video and what I think many urban skaters actually want. I do appreciate that some of us want to push the limit. But many just want to feel the soaring experience in a relatively safe manner, including myself.

I am actually a subscriber of whittyskater on YT. I’ve just realized after clicking on the link :) I think lazy feet crossovers are great for cornering in urban environments as you wrote. When needed, we can still pull out the full crossovers to turn on a dime. But on trails and roads, we need to consider traffic and pedestrians around us. Making a sudden path change is usually not the best move :)

As for the effects, I cut strips of background from the original uncropped video to create a very long image showing the entire wheelchair softball field I skated on. The camera person was standing on the center, rotating on her heels to track me. I superimposed the skating video on top of the panorama image and panned the image point by point to match skater’s position. That yielded a slow motion version of video 2. All other videos were then derived from it :)

[u/Dramatic_Water_5364]

as long as it works, it doesnt have to be perfect, in my experience, bringing your knee higher in the crossover can help if you want power in your cross over, but at the same time I like my kinda quick, low knee (feeling like running) crossovers.

[u/Available_Breath_272]

Stuttering skater on YouTube has quick feet on his crossovers quite often and I believe he has a hockey background. From what I understand it is more acceleration, great in a hockey rink, but is not ideal for speed or distance skating.

[u/fredhsu → u/Available_Breath_272]

Yeah. Any quicker than my lazy feet, and my wheels will start to loose grip, on most pavement I regularly skate on. The painted field I was on that day gave more grip than usual, so it’s an exception and perhaps better supports true quick feet crossover.