Figure Skating Prosthetic
Just Pinned to #mscedc: Aloft | Figure Skating Prosthetic #universaldesign http://ift.tt/2lbl869
Link to article HERE.
Fascinating!
Miller (2011) depicts ‘cyborgs’ as the the “interface between humans and technology” and of how “technological apparatuses have been used to fix and alter the human body.” The images above of prosthetics for figure skating can be described as ‘restorative’ and perhaps ‘enhancing’ (Miller 2011). I was surprised to find these prosthetic legs/boots/blades for figure skating – in all my years of skating, I have never come across anything like this! Although I have not worked with figure skaters who have physical disabilities (like loss of limbs), I have worked with a number of skaters with mental conditions such as autism.
I wonder if having a figure skating limb like this would enhance a person’s skating ability or detract from it? As a coach, I am always telling my students that their skates (boots and blades which are forms of technology) are a part of their body – that they have to feel as if their skates are extensions of their legs and feet. How would this work if they were using these prosthetic skates? More research is needed here!
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