yay got an off ice video of me on youtube!

[peanutskates]

feel free to have a look at my off ice jumps :D I really need suggestions.

salchows are OK, I think, but I uncross my feet too soon.
waltz jumps I am happy with, but how can I improve?
and the toeloops are rubbish. It's like I'm rotating on the toe and then doing a waltz. lol. please HELP with this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kpm0uedq_s

peanutskates x

[peanutskates]

and some more vids added:

salchows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ve0siXKHJs
spirals etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ve0siXKHJs

hopefully, I'll get some on ice ones soon (trying to sort out permission with the rink)

please comment!! i need feedback desperately

p.s the salchows in this second video are a little better (i think)

[SynchroSk8r114]

Many of my students share the same problem as you have on your jumps. Here's what I find myself telling them...

Overall, it looks as though you just let your core (abdominal) go. That's why when you land, you break at the waist, hunch over, and have trouble holding the landing and stopping your rotation.

Salchow: When you set up on the second half on the 3-turn, you do not have your right arm in front. That would help tremendously. You could also try to really "check" your landings by having your right arm slightly more in front than the left. Again, this is where I really see you not maintaining core strength.

Waltz jump: It's kind of hard to tell, but you could definitely use your arms to help power you through a little more. When you step forward, your arms should be in front of you, go back as your free leg goes back, and come through and meet in the air. As with the salchow, check your landings with the right arm a little more in front. To help you get more distance and air, you can try to think of doing a split in the air. For you, try and kick your left leg as far as you can. This should make your waltz jump bigger. This is not that bad though. :)

Toeloop: The main problem is your core. Keep your upper body pulled up, esp. on the pick-in. The tap on the toeloop is just an assist, so keep it light and easy. As you are picking in, you need to remember to let the heel lead through - not the toe! - which is probably why you say that you are rotating on the toe and then doing a waltz jump. In the actual jump, you are keeping your legs very close and wrapping your legs around as if you are doing a double. Try to do like you are on the waltz jump - split your legs a little more. Basically, the toeloop is a waltz jump in the air, but you are adding an inside 3 assisted with the toe. Just make sure to let the heel lead. An exercise that seems to help my students a lot is to work on back pivots. After working on a few where you really focus on letting the heel lead, do a back pivot and a tiny hop over and hold the landing. Gradually work on going quicker, then try the actual toeloop focusing on the heel leading through!

Hope this helps you somewhat! Good luck, keep working hard, and try working on your core muscles! :D

[peanutskates]

thanks :)

I do find it a little harder to land off ice, because none of my energy is going into a back glide. but still, the abdominal thing is true. how can I hold the core instead of letting it go? (pull in stomach?)

edit: just looked for strengthening core muscles on Google, and for the ref. of readers, here's a link:

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/SM/00071.html

that's a good page about the core and what it is.

and, wow, check out this site!!:

http://www.physioroom.com/prevention/core_strength/index.php

it's very detailed and has a step-by-step program for strengthening the core.

[SynchroSk8r114]

thanks :)

I do find it a little harder to land off ice, because none of my energy is going into a back glide. but still, the abdominal thing is true. how can I hold the core instead of letting it go? (pull in stomach?)

about improving the core muscles, should I do like sit ups? hula hooping?

On ice I think of pulling my belly button into my stomach. Sometimes your body may really have to fight to keep your core strong, but your muscles will get used to this and it'll become easier.

Off ice I find that some of the best exercises you can do include planks. (I'm sure you can look this up on the Internet if you don't know what these are.) Sit ups are helpful if you do them slowly and in the correct position. Think quality, not quantity. Pilates is also extremely helpful because it's about maintaining muscle control rather than repitition. I've taken a Pilates class before and have purchased several Pilates tapes, which are really fun!

[DallasSkater]

Peanutskates...sounds like you already received some good tips...but I just wanted to say...you are adorable...giggle.

[peanutskates]

DallasSkater - ???