Learning Axel Experiences

[rf3ray]

Hey Guys, just wondering like what where your experiences when learning the axel, you now like totally stuffing them up when you where learning etc etc

[TimDavidSkate]

I had a bad "waxel" when I was a teen. Since then I don't practice it at all, I just pull it out of my pocket when necessary.

[figur8asandwich]

when I was a young'n, I had a temperamental axel, I had it, I lost it, I had it, i lost it, I had it, I lost it, then i quit and never did it again. (I'm sorry thats not very motivating)

[doubletoe]

I learned the axel as an adult, so it took me longer than it takes for most kids and teenagers. The breakthrough was when I finally started getting a decent reverse spin going. Once that happened, I started landing them on the floor in sneakers. I had it on the floor for a year before I landed my first one on the ice, though.

On the ice, my progression was this:
1. Landing them on the harness
2. Landing them on my own, fully rotated, but 2-footed with my feet crossed at the ankles.
3. Learning to keep the free leg lifted at the knee during rotation so it would be easier to check out and land on one foot.
4. Landed my first clean axel on the ice
5. Started landing backwards on one foot, then slipping and falling backwards onto my palms (I got padded bicycle gloves after that!)
6. Kept landing them on and off, learning just how many things you can do wrong on an axel takeoff, LOL!
7. Landed my axel (two of them, in fact) in competition for the first time a little over a year after I first landed it in practice.

[rf3ray]

Hi Double Toe how old where you when you started learning it, I'm turning 30 this Monday. Just wondering how young you where when you started doing it? and how long have you been skating before you started attempted axels on ice?

[beachbabe]

hmm.

when I first started I could never rotate enough and kept landing on my right side, never too painfully.
After a couple of weeks i could rotate it and land on my butt- it helped to work on a trampoline off ice to get the right position and backspins. Then i spent one session doing it in a harness. then for another month or so I just kept doing it, usually landing then falling back or to my right side. One day I just started landing it. One after another. I landed a lot that day. This continued for 2 weeks or so, then something was off. I could not land it for another month or so- i was very frustrated and the more frustrated i got the worse the falls got. Then it came back and has been very cosistent since for the last year. I recently had an off week when I couldnt land it but its not a major problem. I think I'm finally at the point where I can stop working on it for weeks then come back and land it on the first try or two. its not so much of a big deal now.

[jp1andOnly]

i'm almost 30 and have been working on them for just over a year. I either now rotatethem without my feet crossed and land on 2 feet, or my newest trick is 1/4 turn cheat, feet crossed on 1 foot. My biggest downfall is the mental issues I have with the jump..grrrrr
Hi Double Toe how old where you when you started learning it, I'm turning 30 this Monday. Just wondering how young you where when you started doing it? and how long have you been skating before you started attempted axels on ice?

[techskater]

Axels were hard for me to learn when I was a kid. I think it took well over a year for it to be consistent and clean.

As an adult, it took about 3 months to regain them and 3 YEARS to make them good (high, floaty, confident, good out flow, etc)

[doubletoe]

i'm almost 30 and have been working on them for just over a year. I either now rotatethem without my feet crossed and land on 2 feet, or my newest trick is 1/4 turn cheat, feet crossed on 1 foot. My biggest downfall is the mental issues I have with the jump..grrrrr

I landed my first axel on April 29, 2003 (See! You never forget!), so I was. . . let's see. . . 38. Oh, that's weird, I keep telling people I landed it at 37. Oh well, LOL!

The biggest challenge was staying focused in the moment and trust that I had enough time in the air, so I walked myself through it with technique cue words, first on the floor, then on the ice. "Push out. Up! Backspin!" were my 3 cue words. I still have to tell myself, "Up! Backspin!" sometimes when I take off. For awhile, it was "Toe! Backspin!" to remind me to spring up off of a pointed toe instead of taking off from the flat of my blade (which is always a really bad idea). The cue word, "Backspin!" works really well for me because that is a position my body knows, and my body knows I'm supposed to stay backwards on a backspin and not pull out and try to face forward. Also, learning to tell myself "backspin!" right after takeoff instead of waiting too long helped me to complete the rotation sooner, since I've always had a lot of air on my axel but used to wait too long before initiating rotation.

So at this point, I'd recommend trying to hold your free knee a little higher during rotation (to make it easier to check out), giving yourself cue words that work for you, and if you need more height, do the bench exercise. That's the one where you stand a foot or so in front of a stable bench, jump up, do 1/2 turn and land backwards on your landing foot, with your free foot in front of your landing shin and your arms open and rounded in front of you. this exercise helped me a lot. Good luck!!!!

[doubletoe]

P.S. rf3ray, I forgot to answer how long I had been skating before I landed my first axel on the ice. I started skating at 27, skated for 5 years in group classes, and had all my single jumps through the lutz within the first 2 years but never got an axel. But then I quit for 5 years and came back at 36 or 37. About 3-4 months after I came back to the ice, I finally started getting a decent backspin, and that got me finally landing my axel on the floor (which I had been trying to do for a year before I quit skating). It took me a year to land the axel on the ice after landing it on the floor.

[Isk8NYC]

I'd say I was skating about 4-5 years and I was a college junior when I finally (!) landed my axel. I had just switched coaches and she was THRILLED, too!I was the first adult she had ever used a harness with before and she was right: it really helped to just keep me in the air a few extra microsecs.

I then had a car accident, was off the ice for a few weeks, and lost my ability to do the axel. Then I regained it and it was so solid that I rarely missed one. Even five years after I stopped skating, I could still do an axel.

Today, no good. I can't even try to jump until the knee gets stronger and I lose weight. :cry: However, I went to a seminar this afternoon where Frank Carroll taught us all how he teaches the axel/dbl/triple. (Outstanding demonstrators, btw, even if the kids weren't perfect. That's what we deal with, anyway!) Now I'm dangerous, hahaha!

[lovepairs]

Just starting to learn this now...OHMYGOD, what is this thing??? :frus:

[rf3ray]

Ok, I have an Issue, on land I can do the axel Perfectly, right, without any effort, but when I do it on ice, I cant feel the change of weight to my landing foot for the back spin (meaning that my coach has told me i am rotating on my take off foot and not the landing foot) does anyone have any tips or suggestions?

[techskater]

Totally different animals.

Lots of practice and lots of waltz jump-back spins.

[rf3ray]

Have many people got up this to stage in their skating career and nearly give up cause you couldnt do this jump

[lovepairs]

Totally different animal from floor to ice is right! They "feel" completely different.

So, why do we practice it on the floor at all? It took me over a year to get the axel off ice, so what is it that I'm suppossed to bring from this experience onto the ice??? :??

[fmh]

for me i couldn't keep track of my arms and legs at the same time. I'd do the waltzjump then squeeze in only one or the other. Then one day i just started landing them, and i have been since :) (now i have the same problem with doubles :frus:)

[techskater]

Totally different animal from floor to ice is right! They "feel" completely different.

So, why do we practice it on the floor at all? It took me over a year to get the axel off ice, so what is it that I'm suppossed to bring from this experience onto the ice??? :??

I believe some coaches want skaters to work on jumps on the floor to get over fear and to improve "spring". Getting beyond one rotation is scary when you first start working on it (which is why a lot of people open up after one rotation in the air on their axel when they first start), but then the coach can instill in the student that it's "just like on the floor" and that may take away the fear for some and give the skater some confidence. "Hey, I can land this on the floor, so I should be able to land it on the ice". I could be totally off base here, though! Just a theory. :)

[rf3ray]

Ok, I can came so Close to landing one... is it normal for people to double foot the landing when you learn this Jump

[flying~camel]

I was 17 when I landed my first axel and had it consistent for about a year.

I quit skating when I was 18 and came back at 23. My coach and I are now just starting to really work on getting it back.

I can get the rotation easily enough, but I have a problem getting the right knee (I'm a CCW jumper) all the way through, so I have difficulty snapping into the backspin position in the air.

However, I just recently figured out that I've been trying to bring the knee through and jump at the same time instead of brining the knee through and then jumping, so, if I can keep that in mind, I may be able to make some more progress ;)

[MusicSkateFan]

I just started landing them in the harness and now will be taking time off to have knee surgery. My coach is very particular about the takeoff edge....he has good drills for practice. He is only using the harness as a guide and says the ones I land are "all you".

I am excited about getting back at it in AUGUST!

[doubletoe]

Ok, I can came so Close to landing one... is it normal for people to double foot the landing when you learn this Jump

Yes, that's often what you'll do on any new jump. :) You need to think "backspin" after you leave the ice, and try to make sure you stay backward over your landing hip until you are all the way around. Then try to do a toeloop immediately afterward so that you get used to staying on one foot and checking the free foot out behind you. If you are landing 2-footed with the legs crossed at the ankles, you need to hold your free knee higher while you're rotating in the air. That will help you stay over your landing side and unwrap the free leg to check it out.

[tidesong]

For me I actually dont recall the exact date I landed the axel anymore :(
But anyway I went in this order (2 and 3 might have overlapped a bit I dont exactly remember if they were at the same time too that could have been possible)
1) Incomplete rotation, two footed landing on ice
2) Rotating it completely two footed on ice
3) Landing it rotated on Land
4) Landing on Ice

After my first land on ice, I still often had the land and fall mistake or land and back shoot the duck because I tended to collapse on my landing leg. After that I had periods going through various new bad habits like kicking around, not jumping it etc

Now my axel is pretty consistent, but if I freak out I will still go back to bad habits and stuff, but usually taking some time to walk through the jump on my worst days will bring it back.