Friday, July 10, 2020

Skating technique: Jumps and spins review

In my lesson this week I asked my coach to go over and correct all my jumps and spins. I was telling you that I'm gonna skate at a new rink (my home rink just opened) and as I expected to be crowded, I wanted to have something that I could work on spots of ice, not the whole ice. And I was right... on my first day at the new rink I wasn't able to work on the whole ice. I was wrong on the reason why... it wasn't that crowded, it's just that the ice was terrible, the second worst indoor ice I ever saw, worse then most outdoor ice. The ice was flooded and it didn't dry until the end of the session. And before the freestyle session there was a 4 hour long hockey camp, so the ice underneath the water was terrible, just terrible. It stopped every single edge I tried to put in... and the dances exercises. Luckily I was prepared to work on jumps and spins that I just reviews with my coach.

Forward scratch spin. This is still the one thing that hasn't fully come back after the break. But it's not a technique thing... it's the dizziness. Because I don't feel comfortable, I'm cautious, I don't go into it with enough speed. I've got no correction on the actual technique.
Back spin. This got better after the break...surprise! I think I'm holding the posture better and it is not fast enough to make me dizzy so I have no hesitations. But the last few sessions it got worse. I've got the correction that I have to hold the free leg back until I turn the 3-turn for the spin entrance, and that fixed it.
Waltz jump. I've showed my coach three tiny waltz jumps in a row. Nothing really bad, but he wanted them bigger. Well, I want them bigger too... The correction was to let my free foot really go in that h-position, and also really push from that foot that's on ice.
Salcow. It was again... tiny. I have the timing right, that's great news, as it took me a while to get it. The first correction was to bring the free leg around, not in a straight line. I was ending up with the knees together, but bringing the leg around, allows the free leg knee to go across, towards the left side of the body; this was the second correction. The third correction was to allow this free leg knee to go higher, I am stopping it. I couldn't do it for now, but that's what practice is for.
Loop. The time was running and my coach knew I wanted to get to the Loop and Half Lutz, so we've skipped the Toe Loop. So I was able to do the loop few years ago, but then, as I haven't practice Freestyle at all, I've lost it. The first correction was that after I've got into the air, I was letting my upper body to go to far to the left, basically taking me out of the circle, stopping the rotation. I have to quiet the upper body and keep it square (actually more to the right side of my body, but it feels square to me). I've had that problem with my back spin, so I understood immediately, and I was able to apply it. but I think I'll need some time for it to become body memory. And that it's OK, because the second correction was that I don't have the power in my leg to push properly into the jump, or at least I don't bring it out. So that will need some time to develop too. My coach said that I should try to jump up the stairs step on one foot.
Half Flip. I was asked to do this more as an introduction to the half lutz. But I've got the correction that I don't really let it go up. I was asked to mentally stay in the air, not think about coming back on ice. The physical tip was to feel my upper chest going up not forward.I also remember from the past the tip to bend the skating leg more before the picking action.
Half Lutz. I've learned this in group classes, a million years ago, probably I wasn't doing it correctly and anyhow I forgot everything I may have known about it. So, my coach asked my to start from back crossovers going clockwise and from that back outside edge do the half flip. OOps, nope. He showed me, yes, he is allowed on ice now. And yes, I could see he was doing something with the free leg. He hold it in front while maintaining the outside edge until the upper body was set in the opposite position than the crossovers, left hand forward, right hand back. Then the free leg went back (skating leg got straighter), and while the skating knee, the  right foot got to pick the ice (the foot goes right back and it is not turned out). I had few bad tried and few better tries. That was all we covered in the lesson, but then, on my own, I've realized that as I put the right arm back I looked towards right (so back), while I was trying to jump toward left. As I tried to look straight forward, I was able to jump. So I think I've understood the motion, I'll have to do it until it becomes body memory.
Update 7/ 21/20202
Toe Loop. I asked for this in my next lesson. My entrance into the jump is from a RF inside 3-turn. That should be quite straight and it should end with the right shoulder and hand back. That should be hold back until the actual jump. The pick should be straight back with the left foot, the right foot is gliding back, on an outside edge toward the right of the left foot. I will have to double check on this, because sometimes my coach gives me a correction that is an over correction so I can correct something... but as I understand now, you shouldn't feel you jump from the left toe pick but from the right leg... The right knee hits the h-position in the air and after straitening the knee, the foot does like an inside 3-turn in the air...I kind of visualize it...

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