Arabesque...?

[Ceres]

Well, the problem is...

One of my friends watched me skate (she is a juvenile level skater btw!:o ) and said that I am doing the arabesque spiral slightly wrong because my back is not entirely straight and my free foot needs to go higher. I tried to do that but for some reason I'm still in the same pose...

WAHH! 8O

[xofivebyfive]

You need better extension probably. Try doing a spiral position when you're at home and try getting your free leg up and back as much as you can while keeping your back straight.

[Sonic]

When you practise at home you could also try wearing an ankle weight on your free leg (to compensate for the fact you're not wearing skate).

Also, always turn the free foot out slightly, this helps the leg extension and your balance.

S xxx

[Ceres]

Thaaaank you so much! :P

I'll go try it tomorrow on ice!

[doubletoe]

By the way, you don't really want your back "straight." You want it arched so that it curves like a banana, with your head being one end of the banana and your leg being the other end of the banana.

Lie on your stomach on the floor, extend your arms out to either side, then try to lift your head, shoulders and arms off the floor. That's what your back should feel like when you do a spiral. When you do a spiral, your stomach and ribcage will be facing down to the ice, but your face, shoulders and the top of your chest should be as upright as possible.

[dbny]

There are two more things that can help you. One is to do stretches after you have warmed up and before attempting any spirals (that's the correct skating term). The other is to enter the spiral properly. When you see accomplished skaters do spirals, you don't notice that there is a technique involved, but there is.

First, skating on one foot (the one you will skate on for your spiral), place the free foot in T position behind your skating foot. Next lift your free leg as high as possible without any other movement. Maintain the outward extension of your free foot (point it out). Now bend your skating knee very slightly, and raise up while lowering your torso from the hips. Keep looking up and arching your back. This takes the strain off your back and gets your free leg in the proper position before you begin the spiral.

As you get better, you can blend the individual steps together until finally, they are not noticeable.