Mike Cunningham News

[Isk8NYC]

Just a bit of news - Mike and his wife, Joan, are well.

Mark Ladwig mentioned during a webinar this weekend that Mike Cunningham was a skate tech at the 2022 Olympics. 

Mark also thinks Mike should do something with US Figure Skating to transfer his knowledge to a new generation.  Maybe a Master Class on fitting and sharpening? 

[supersharp]

Just a bit of news - Mike and his wife, Joan, are well.

Mark Ladwig mentioned during a webinar this weekend that Mike Cunningham was a skate tech at the 2022 Olympics. 

Mark also thinks Mike should do something with US Figure Skating to transfer his knowledge to a new generation.  Maybe a Master Class on fitting and sharpening?

I agree with Mark!  that would be an amazing class to take.

[Query]

Yes!

[supersharp]

If there is anything we can do to encourage this, particularly to have at least a partial webinar or Zoom so people across the world can have access to this wealth of knowledge, please let us know!

[Isk8NYC]

You could reach out to Mark @ Jackson Skates.  It was his idea and he knows Mike well.  Mark's on LinkedIN.

[tstop4me]

There is a skate tech named John Harmata, aka "Mr. Edge".  He does offer training seminars (https://geppettosskateshop.com/skate-tech-training/).   Anyone familiar with his level of expertise vis-à-vis that of Mike Cunningham?

[supersharp]

There is a skate tech named John Harmata, aka "Mr. Edge".  He does offer training seminars (https://geppettosskateshop.com/skate-tech-training/).   Anyone familiar with his level of expertise vis-à-vis that of Mike Cunningham?

I've seen this option before, but there is no way I could ever get an adequate return on this level of investment.  I would love to learn more, but this is not the route I am going to be able to do it through. 

Fortunately we have the forum and I have learned quite a bit through my contacts here.  I will also take Isk8NYC's advice and email Mark Ladwig to encourage sharing Mike Cunningham's knowledge.

[tstop4me]

I've seen this option before, but there is no way I could ever get an adequate return on this level of investment.  I would love to learn more, but this is not the route I am going to be able to do it through. 

Fortunately we have the forum and I have learned quite a bit through my contacts here.  I will also take Isk8NYC's advice and email Mark Ladwig to encourage sharing Mike Cunningham's knowledge.

So your expectation is that Mike Cunningham will provide training either as a matter of goodwill, or for a fee substantially less than that charged by John Harmata?  [ETA:  Just to clarify.  I don't know either Mike Cunningham or John Harmata.  And I have no first-hand knowledge of their level of expertise.  But before people start a campaign for a guy to come out of retirement and start a new training service, I think they should first ascertain what need is not currently being met by existing providers (if any) and what they are willing to pay for such a new training service.]

[supersharp]

I would love to see something available, but it may of course cost as much or more than Harmata's training, particularly depending on whether it is a hands-on course or virtual delivery.  Even a simple webinar or two would be great to see.  Really, this is just an expanded comment on:

   "Mark thinks Mike should do something with US Figure Skating to transfer his knowledge..."

Ideally, some of the blade manufacturers would want to help (financially) support this kind of training, because it promotes their products.  "Skaters that have good techs like their equipment better" would be the idea. Or through US Figure Skating—maybe grant funding could be found?  The starting point would be to see whether Mike Cunningham would want to participate at all.  I have zero expectation that someone would come out of retirement to "tart a training service, but maybe he would be willing to put a few thoughts together.  It would provide a huge benefit to the skating community.

Let me be clear that I would not expect anyone to provide training for free. I do a lot of training that I develop the curriculum for, and it is time-consuming and takes a lot of focus.  I don't know Mike C but his reputation indicates that he would have a lot to share. Whether or not he has the time, energy, or interest is his choice.

Overall, people just need to be asked if they are interested and if so, what needs to happen to move forward.  I do realize that for this to happen, someone would have to make it happen, and I am willing to be part of that effort, rather than to just wish it would happen.  It would be disappointing to find out later that it could have happened if more people had expressed interest.

[Query]

There is a skate tech named John Harmata, aka "Mr. Edge".  He does offer training seminars (https://geppettosskateshop.com/skate-tech-training/).   Anyone familiar with his level of expertise vis-à-vis that of Mike Cunningham?

I have not had John ever sharpen my blades, or work on my skates. But from phone conversations, he seems very knowledgeable about skates. For a long time (maybe still), he wrote a column on skate edges for one of the major skating magazines ("Skating", published by USFS[a]??). And there at least used to be a link on the USFSA page where you could send him questions. AFAIK, he is the most respected figure skate tech in the Chicago area, including I think parts of Canada, just as  Mike used to be the most respected figure skate tech in the DC/MD/Virginia area, and someone else held that reputation near the University of Delaware. John's classes are quite expensive, as you can see from his web site, and last I knew, they were taught in person. John wrote a book, Anatomy of a Figure Skating Injury. He had originally advertised he would include extensive info about sharpening and skate tech stuff in general, in it, but apparently decided to offer his training instead. It is a fairly good book, well worth reading, but it doesn't include as much detailed info as you might want.

John seems to be somewhat younger than Mike, and AFAIK, is unlikely to retire in the near future.

Mike told me that he and John did most of the same things, and implied he was a very respectable skate tech, and I THINK that they had communicated a fair bit. But of course they disagree on some matters. E.g., Mike believed that side honing made little difference, but, on the phone, John told me it made a difference for some customers. Again, Mike believes most skaters benefit from relatively dull blades, so they don't have to make major changes to their skating style immediately after sharpening, so Mike deliberately dulled the blades a bit after sharpening. But based on his store website, John favors very sharp blades. John also pushed Skate Science blades a lot (he tried to convince me to buy them), which Mike didn't stock.

I would be curious how good the training materials that you can buy from various skate sharpening machine manufacturers are. I know that Blademaster says it offers training to people who buy their machines, but I'm not sure if that is just their training manual and Youtube videos, or if they do it in person, with the opportunity to ask questions.

The only manual with much info on sharpening I have read was the Skateology Manual published by Sidney Broadbent, who makes one brand of sharpening machine, including The Incredible Edger which some on this forum have bought. It has a fair amount of useful material, but doesn't give detailed sharpening directions, and I'm not sure everything he says is completely correct. E.g., he said that all skating is done pushed against the hollow, with no push from the sides of the blade. (That might make sense if there were no edge changes, because skating on an arc requires a centrifugal force.) He also talks about the non-skating zone, and implies it does not affect skating, which I think is wrong, because the blade sinks into the ice a bit. I think some of the info on blades in the manual I read was out of date - but it is possible it has been revised. He did some his work using a grant from the USFSA. Anyway, I think that manual is worth reading.

Some of the boot makers have offered training in skate fitting to people at pro shops. Some of them asked Mike to train people to take measurements to fit their boots at one point. I'm not sure if he did - he told me (when he was working) that it wasn't really in his best interest to train his competitors.

Anyway, if you want to encourage Mike to offer master classes, last I knew his email was spva@aol.com. He lives in Maryland, I think near Calvert Cliffs.