spin help... and spinners

[Kit kat]

i need help with a scratch spin. i cant seem to pull my leg in all the way. and...
do those spiners actually help with your spins? and where can i get one?

thanks!

[Thin-Ice]

Save your money for a lesson with a coach who teaches spins well... or a sports psychologist to figure out why you don't want to pull your leg in close. The skate spinners are available through Rainbo Sport.. but I don't know anyone who thinks they are any good.

Assuming your "leg not close enough" obstacle is on keeping the leg close during the spin (not at the start of it), here's a cool trick from one of our local coaches: he gets a squeaky-mouse or squeaky-ball-type dog toy and has you stuff it into your pants or down your outer pair of tights at the ankle of your spinning leg. The object then is to make the toy squeak. If it squeaks, your leg is close enough, if it's quiet, obviously you're not in the right place. It's kind of interesting watching skaters LISTEN for the squeak. He says if you get that kind of feedback, (silly as it sounds) you know what you're aiming for and are more likely to do it.

[ice-princess]

I don't know. I kind of like good quality spinners.
But i think that they help more when using them to prctice jumps like the salchow on the floor, (Instead of spins) because it gives you a similar feeling as if you were on the ice.
Each to their own though, I guess. :giveup: :) :halo:

[flo]

The more the leg is pulled in, the faster the spin. Having the leg out a bit helps you center and gain control. If the spin is not centered, pulling in will enhance any errors. So, first center your spin.

If that's not a problem, then perhaps, instead of thinking of "pulling in" which can change the position of your free hip, think of "bend and down". That is, in your first position, your free leg is extended. In your second position, simply bend the knee and place the outside of your heel on the outside of your spinning leg and slide it down to your foot. You will naturally "pull in" without an abrupt change in your free hip.

[flippet]

The more the leg is pulled in, the faster the spin. Having the leg out a bit helps you center and gain control. If the spin is not centered, pulling in will enhance any errors. So, first center your spin.

If that's not a problem, then perhaps, instead of thinking of "pulling in" which can change the position of your free hip, think of "bend and down". That is, in your first position, your free leg is extended. In your second position, simply bend the knee and place the outside of your heel on the outside of your spinning leg and slide it down to your foot. You will naturally "pull in" without an abrupt change in your free hip.

Totally agree. My coach could spin forever without ever 'pulling in'....so don't think that you 'have' to pull in in order to even spin at all.

On the floor spinners--I really liked mine, but I don't know how much actual spinning help it gave. It was more just something to do when I couldn't be on the ice. :) You have to be darn near perfect on them to make them work at all...they'll buck you off, otherwise. So, I would never say don't get one---get one if it suits your fancy. But don't necessarily expect instant help, or instant transference to the ice. (In fact, part of the transference problem is that on the ice, you have a skating boot heel lifting your heel up a bit. With a spinner, you're generally in sock feet, which puts you down flatter...and that definitely alters your balance point, so even if you 'get' it on the spinner...it's still not exactly the same on the ice. I was lucky in that I had a soft pair of shoes that had a heel very similar to my skate boot, and I'd spin in those, which I feel did help me find my 'sweet spot' just a little bit better.)

[fadedstardust]

Yeah you don't need to pull it. You will however need to pull in if you want to blur it. I'd think there might be a problem with the shoulder dipping or the arms being out of whack when pulling in, rather than the leg. People often think it's their leg doing the bad, when usually it's their arms or shoulders.