Spin variations for Silver freeskate

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spins

My coach explained the importance of spins once hitting Silver, since some competitions start judging with IJS rather than 6.0. And given that I’m unable to land double jumps but could, theoretically, hit a Level 1 or 2 spin, the spins end up being bigger point-getters than jumps, although there are only 2 spins allowed versus 5 jumping passes. But then on the downside, if you don’t quite get a leg high enough or low enough, or hold a position long enough, the dreaded dash of doom could zero out the whole attempt.

So all in all, I’m putting a lot of attention on my spins these days. It’s been a while since I’ve videoed my jumping, but I guess I’m not that excited about my jumps (other than dreaming of an axel someday) — I generally have all my singles now, and they’re dinky adult jumps so there’s definite room for improvement, but somehow it feels like there’s less to work on. Whereas, there’s an endless number of spin variations.

• I have trouble with the traditional layback position, and it’s something in the right hip and leg that I haven’t figured out yet. I can see the problem in the video, but it’s still a struggle to get it corrected. I tend to lean to the right and I don’t think my hips are pushed far enough forward, and when I try to correct my hips my right leg sort of dangles.
• We tried tweaking the layback position to lean intentionally to the right, and that seems to work better. Right now it’s just an upright/attitude spin because I’m not really leaning back, but it’s a goal.
• For the back camel, we’re playing around with position changes. Possibilities: back sit, crossing my free leg on my spinning knee, or going into a cross-under backspin. The goal is to be able to get 4 revs on the back camel (to leave margin for error so I get credit for the position).
• Sit spin to broken leg may be an option. I feel stuck in the broken leg position, and I can see there’s a lot of space between my chest and my knee, and it looks like the best broken leg spins are when the chest is all the way down and nearly touching the knee. I’ve tried it a couple times and it’s freaky! Also incredibly dizzying.
• Back sit to back tuck. This is unlikely to be a candidate because it’s an awkward transition. As soon as I tuck the free leg, I hit my toe and grind to a halt. I’ll keep working on it, but I’m not getting the hang of this.
• That cross-under spin (? is there a real name for that?) is so pretty when I see other skaters do it, but it’s a ways off — most often it dies after a revolution or two. I doubt I’ll end up using it in a program anytime soon.
• And, last but not least, the good ol’ camel-sit-back sit. The struggle, as always, is hitting the camel. It’s a fickle beast!

September spin practice

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spins

I’ve had a sporadic summer of skating — I’ve been going, but not as often as I’d like, and my practices have been a little unfocused. I’m actually in between coaches at the moment, and when I don’t have weekly lessons and a game plan, I find my practices can get a little random. I don’t mind, necessarily, since it’s nice to be able to relax and practice at my own pace, but I do feel like I work best in the long run when I have more of a set goal and direction. That’s next on my agenda!

But for now, I’m working on the same ol’ spins and jumps as ever, trying to make them better and more consistent. Here’s what some of them look like at the moment:

Notes to self:

• Sit spin is looking okay – can get lower, but almost there. Back sit is coming along, thankfully! I haven’t been able to get more than 1-2 revolutions on that until this summer, so that’s a new development.
• Camel is always a struggle. All my forward entry spins have been giving me trouble lately, and the problem seems to be in the entry hook. My most common error on the camel spin is that I don’t rise up smoothly and hook the spin into a nice centered circle, but rather the entry looks like a big 3-turn (hence the falling out early).
• Layback still looks crooked and ugly, but I think I can see what’s going wrong now. I’ve thought all this time that my problem was one thing, but looking at the video I see that it’s actually something else altogether! I’ve been trying to lift the free leg because it feels like I collapse on that side, but the free leg is actually high enough. In trying to lift it, I’m not tucking my hips under me properly, which results in that peeing-dog position I hate. I don’t think I’ve recorded my layback on video enough, and doing it sooner would have helped.
• Back camel is clearly falling on a very large outside edge/circle. It’s a miracle that upright backspin pulled up instead of falling out!

Just practice and more practice

Tags

back camel, back sit, jumps, layback spin, spins

It’s been nice to spend some time post-competition to put the program run-throughs on hold for now to get back to learning new skills, which is always motivating. (Although I have to remember to still run my program every now and again! The last time, it took me so long to be able to do a full run-through because I’d gotten out of the habit for so long.)

Most of the new skills have been with spins, mostly because my jumps are still where they’ve been — I’ve been working to get them better, but I haven’t added any to the arsenal, sadly! For the past couple of months, my forward spins have all gone completely AWOL and it’s been my backspins that have shown most improvement, which is a little surprising (though I’ll take it! Don’t say I’m ungrateful!). It’s to do with the entry edge, and my coach and I are working to break down the problem and fix it at the source — I can still do forward spins, but the hit rate is pretty low because a lot of the time, a bad entry means the whole spin is gone.

The camel’s been the most affected by this (urg! It’s completely gone these days), as well as my basic scratch spin, but I can sometimes still salvage a sit spin and the layback, which is improving although I still have issues with keeping my free hip down so I’m not doing that lovely dog-peeing pose as I spin. You know, where your free leg is awkwardly up and open instead of tucked nicely in line with your hips. It’s ugly, I know, but my hips just don’t want to tuck under. I’m also enjoying practicing the back camel, because for whatever reason I find that backward entry a lot more secure than the forward one.

Jumps are much the same, although I’m telling myself that if I squint really hard, my flip and lutz are every so slightly improved. I’ve been working on getting a good jump off the toe pick and not leaving my left leg on the ice too long, so that it looks like I’m jumping off two feet. I’m pretty sure getting that timing better will help ensure I don’t flutz, as will getting my foot crossed in the air, which it really really doesn’t want to do, because I just don’t feel like there’s enough time in the air to do all the things my coach wants my body to do! And the axel is still a long way off, but I’m starting to feel more secure in the jump-into-backspin mechanism, where I jump up and over, and come down straight down on the toe pick instead of trying to swing myself around. I know THAT will never get me there.

Jumps:

Spins:

Final thoughts about Sectionals

Tags

Adult Sectionals, competition, programs

Some additional thoughts post-Sectionals regarding my performances, competing in general, and whatever else (plus video):

Before taking the ice, when dealing with nerves it has never helped me to remember “Bend your knees” (even though it should — I just always forget it promptly) but it did help tremendously to remind myself at every step, “Take your time. Slow down. Don’t rush.”

Sadly, you can never practice for the nerves. Amazing how once second you can be fine, and the next second the nerves can hit and render you almost immobile.

On the upside, competing does get better the more I do it. Each time I’ve stepped onto the ice, I feel a little less sick to my stomach and terrified, which is promising. Not that I’ll ever NOT feel nerves, but it’s comforting to know it gets better.

Also, competing is so much more about dealing with when things don’t go according to plan than it is about doing things perfectly as planned. In practices, I’m focused on doing things exactly as they were meant to be done, but once you’re on the ice the smallest detail can throw you! In my warm-up for the dramatic program I was marking through all the elements and their placements, and I totally mixed up the ends of the rink and got confused, which I never do. I make it a point to do my programs in both directions at my home rink so that it doesn’t throw me off when I’m elsewhere, but all it takes is a split-second and you’re lost. Quick recovery is the name of the game.

(Mostly) spin practice

Tags

jumps, layback spin, sit spin

I got a new camera (a GoPro) for Christmas, and was excited to take it to the rink for a trial… and somehow only caught 20 seconds before it cut out. Arg! There may be a bit of a learning curve on this thing. So I ended up using my phone to record most of this practice session from the past week, which isn’t the best camera but is better than nothing!

The elements I recorded are mostly what elements in my two programs, the free skate and dramatic, though I’d like to get video of the full programs soon. Videoing myself is incredibly enlightening (and completely humbling), but I know that if I only ever see myself doing elements solo, I won’t have an accurate picture of my actual skating level. (I’m always surprised at how much dinkier everything looks when performed in a program. Such a letdown, isn’t it?) I’d like to get a proper idea of what I’m skating like, work on power and flow, and not feel such a rude awakening when watching myself for the first time in a competition video. Isn’t that a deflating moment?