How can I stop myself from checking out too early on jumps?

[Amandaskategirl]

I think I need to retrain my brain!

I am embarrassed how long I have been learning the axel and still can’t do it.

On my axel my coach has told me that there is not anything in particular which she can correct technique-wise but I just have to give it a little more. I land on one foot but I am usually a quarter turn short, sometimes a half. I tell myself over and over again to stay pulled in longer but I always end up forgetting until I have landed. It is so annoying and for a long time people have said that it doesn’t look like I am trying and I could land the jump to backwards if I wanted to. I really DO want to but I don’t know how to make myself stay pulled in! I think that maybe my muscles have become used to the timing of checking out early. I can do it off ice though.

I don’t work on other jumps as much but I have exactly the same problem on my attempts at all double jumps. I also need to pull in quicker and tighter as my jumps don’t ‘spin’. I feel like I give up half way through but I seem incapable of actually holding on for a bit longer. Sooooooooooooooo frustrating!!!! I know what I need to do but can’t actually do it. :frus:

I don’t know if it is fear of falling or not. I say that I don’t mind if I fall over but I never push myself so much that I do fall. Is it possible to learn axels/ doubles without falling?

Any advice would be great!

[peanutskates]

It does seem like you've been trying really hard, so I can't give you that advice... try to imagine you're off ice? I assume you're landing it fully rotated off ice. Or, try to think that you're doing a double axel, and maybe that will help you rotate your single one fully. For the double jumps, think that you're doing triples.

tell us how you get on!

[Amandaskategirl]

Think triple!!!! SCARY! I think that is a very good idea though. Thank you for the suggestion, I am definitely going to try that when I next go skating.

I have tried imagining that I am off ice but sadly it doesn’t work the same. I think that the bricks on my feet make it difficult to trick myself.

[vesperholly]

I hate off-ice jumps. It's just not the same. I was never able to do axels off the ice, and I have mine now. I think once you've learned the jump, it's OK to practice off-ice, but it can screw you up while you're still learning.

When I'm short on rotation, it's usually because I'm not getting enough height. Jumping higher will give you more air time to complete rotation. Up and then in. Also, work on a lot of backspins. I like to work on pivot-backspin and practice snapping faster into a tight backspin position.

It doesn't work for me very well, but try doing waltz-backspin. It helps to distinguish the kick through and the rotation of the jump as separate actions. The momentum of the weight transfer will be what quickens rotation. A good, strong kick through and UP with the knee will do more to propel the jump and initiate rotation than simply "rotating faster."

[doubletoe]

I tell myself, "Up! Backspin!". My body knows the backspin position and knows that it is always held for several revolutions, so that helped me.
I was one of those skaters who had to get the jump off-ice first, and even now, when I have trouble on it I have to go back to doing it off-ice. It eliminates the fear factor from the jump and gets my body to the point where it knows what to do once I've left the ice.

[peanutskates]

Are your skates too heavy? cuz that might be holding you back.

lol, now I have to follow my own advice and think double for my stupid salchow... (nah, I love it really...)

[newskaker5]

Not sure if this will help, since I cant do doubles yet- but I take my strategy for twisting from gymnastics, so this might not be entirely correct, but it works for me -
Sometimes opening up too early on a jump is do to your body being pulled open by the outside force. Your arms, chest, core, and inner thigh muscles are what hold you in the back spin position. If you find you are trying but feel like you get "pulled" out of position, I would work on upper body strength (push ups are great for this) as well as core and inner thigh strengthening - this will allow you to pull in tighter and stay there.