The bunny hop is evil. Die, bunny hop, die.

[FallDownGoBoom]

On Thursday I got the mildly enchanting idea to learn the bunny hop. Should be simple enough for someone who can do a rather fabu waltz jump and now and then uncorks a passable toe loop, right? Those 6-year-old punks make it look so easy. They bunny hop from one end of the rink to the next. Tra, la, la, bunny hop! Tra, la, la!

My experience?

This little number is evil. OK? It's Beelzebub's signature move.

Kick, hop, switch legs! Kick, hop, switch legs! MY EYE.

WHY would I EVER want to learn this thing? Do I want to wind up in traction? Do I really want to get that familiar with massive head injury? Do I want to be known around the rink as, "Oh, you remember her! She's the woman who was paralyzed from the eyebrows down on that triple-triple bunny hop combination."

We now return to your regularly scheduled forum.

[xofivebyfive]

I feel you. I've fallen backwards onto my head quite a few times from this little atrocity.

[Clarice]

My most embarrassing skating moment was due to the Evil Bunny Hop. I had to do 2 in a row in an artistic number, and wiped out on the second one during the competition. Total swan dive into the ice. There was an audible gasp from the audience. Luckily, nothing was hurt except my pride. To make it worse, the President of the USFSA was on my judging panel. Sigh. I still hate the stupid things. So, of course, I put one into my current artistic!

[hepcat]

I'm a new adult skater and I was jazzed this week to actually learn the bunny hop. It's my only jump! :lol:

But as my friend said as she was watching me, "You can really bite it on a bunny hop."

[Emberchyld]

This little number is evil. OK? It's Beelzebub's signature move.

Kick, hop, switch legs! Kick, hop, switch legs! MY EYE.

WHY would I EVER want to learn this thing? Do I want to wind up in traction? Do I really want to get that familiar with massive head injury? Do I want to be known around the rink as, "Oh, you remember her! She's the woman who was paralyzed from the eyebrows down on that triple-triple bunny hop combination."


:lol: :lol: :lol: :bow: :bow: :bow: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I am soooo stealing that quote from you the second any coach tries to make me do that thing again!

[doubletoe]

Hmm. . . I've only tried it a handful of times taking off from the right foot and landing on the left toe. I would think the dangerous part would be alternating between the left foot takeoff and right foot takeoff, since your feet could get confused with the rhythm, making you trip and fall. If you just take off from the left and land on the right toe for awhile, then do it the other way for awhile, I would think it would be less dangerous. . . I have to admit, they are a good basis for learning 1/2 and 1 revolution jumps.

[dbny]

I think the problem with it is that if you miss the timing of the actual jump you end up swinging the free foot through, but instead of landing on the toe pick for a moment, you have lifted yourself right off the tail of your skating blade. At least that's what happened to me once. Fortunately, I didn't fall, but have never felt much like trying the bunny hop again. I shouldn't be jumping anyway, with my knees and hips. I teach the thing on the wall.

[Sk8pdx]

On Thursday I got the mildly enchanting idea to learn the bunny hop. Should be simple enough for someone who can do a rather fabu waltz jump and now and then uncorks a passable toe loop, right? Those 6-year-old punks make it look so easy. They bunny hop from one end of the rink to the next. Tra, la, la, bunny hop! Tra, la, la!

My experience?

This little number is evil. OK? It's Beelzebub's signature move.

Kick, hop, switch legs! Kick, hop, switch legs! MY EYE.

WHY would I EVER want to learn this thing? Do I want to wind up in traction? Do I really want to get that familiar with massive head injury? Do I want to be known around the rink as, "Oh, you remember her! She's the woman who was paralyzed from the eyebrows down on that triple-triple bunny hop combination."

We now return to your regularly scheduled forum.

I'm a new adult skater and I was jazzed this week to actually learn the bunny hop. It's my only jump! :lol:

But as my friend said as she was watching me, "You can really bite it on a bunny hop."

BTW, welcome to the forums hepcat:)
LOL. I actually like bunny hops. I have found they are helpful in practicing the "kick-through" in waltz jumps.

Falldown, Try a waltz jump tap-toe, or even a Mazurka and then you will have a bit of an appreciation for these evil little devils. :twisted: :P

[SkatingOnClouds]

I'm a bunny hop-hater myself. Been doing them for years, still do when the younger skaters make me feel I ought to, but I still hate them. I think it goes back to the occasions where I didn't make it up onto the toe-pick and my skating blade sort of slipped instead.

Ugh! Nightmares just thinking about it.

[Isk8NYC]

You set me on "High Troll Alert" with that title-LOL!

Yep, the bunny hop is a scary thing, but the entrance is what you need for the Waltz jump and the landing is needed for the half-or-less jump. (BTW, did you know that the USFSA allows a half-flip and half-lutz to land on either foot? The ISI dictates that it must be on the non-picking foot.)

Make sure you land on your toepick, please. I have one student who REFUSES to do that and I know she's going down on her head one of these days. I try to avoid working on the jump by substituting other things to make her use those toepicks. I can always revisit it later before she's ready for the waltz jump.

The Bunny Hop: Why, Oh Why? (http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=20741&highlight=bunny+hop)

Welcome, hepcat 8-) !

[cathrl]

I like bunny hops - it's the only jump where I dare leave the ice for more than about half a millisecond!

[Sessy]

Try practicing on the floor.

[Scarlett]

LMAO. I totally sympathize. I also am a bunny hop hater. But then I am not a fan of anything that has me moving forward on my toepicks. Bad forward toepicks...bad.

[jskater49]

I'm another bunny hop hater. But I do like the mazurka. I think it's that forward take off thing.

Once I forgot to turn backwards and tried to do a mazurka and ended up doing kind of a sideways bunny hop and darn near killed myself.

I'd rather jump going backwards, then I can't see what's coming for me. ;)


j

[CanAmSk8ter]

LOL, kids are always so excited to learn the bunny hop, but every adult I've ever taught or talked to hates it. A lot of my adult students say they don't plan to ever jump anyway, so unless I have a student who plans to do a waltz jump someday it's not something I spend a lot of time on, if any.

I personally taught myself to do a bunny hop long before I actually started lessons. Of course, I was all of ten years old and maybe 90 pounds at the time ;)

[tidesong]

I'm still a little scared of the bunny hop till date everytime I think about doing one, I remember the big splat I did long time back when I attempted a bunny hop but didnt really quite jump and basically launched my knee at the ice.

So I have to always remind myself to do it properly and JUMP... lol

[jazzpants]

I agree...BUNNY HOP is EVILLE!!! :evil: I've had one of my worst knee bashing doing alterating bunny hops down the length of the rink... going at FAST SPEEDS!!! 8O

But yes, it's a necessary evil for a waltz jump. Of course, I have one bunny hop in my program that is with the OTHER LEG (not my waltz jump kick thru leg...) And of course, now that I have a pretty decent waltz jump, I have no excuse NOT to try to apply those tips towards the other leg huh? :roll: :giveup:

[Derek]

Glad to know it is not just me that hates this jump, and more so at seeing the little ones filling the ice with hops ... I need to do this for the passport Bronze though (bunny hop + drag) :??

[Skittl1321]

I don't like bunny hops at all if I try to alternate between the two feet. I don't mind them if I do a bunch on the same feet in a row.

If you want to get used to hopping on your toe picks, try waltz jump- side toe hop- waltz jump. Tons of fun!

[Morgail]

I like bunny hops:) But I can only do them with the right foot kicking and landing. I learned them when I was but a teeny-tiny little thing, so maybe that's why I like them.

[jp1andOnly]

I hate the darn things. I can never get my coordination just right and end up with arms flailing all over the place. Grrrrrrrrrrr

[CanadianAdult]

I do them with the wrong leg, which is crazy because it's no preparation at all for the waltz kick through, unless I want to learn to jump the other way. They are evil, and make spectacular accidents. My adult learn to skate group won't do them, I don't make them try, but the other coach (young thing) does.

(BTW, did you know that the USFSA allows a half-flip and half-lutz to land on either foot? The ISI dictates that it must be on the non-picking foot.)

I ran into this last week. I did a nasty flip jump and landed forward on my picking foot, my coach called it a half flip. My old coach said half flip was a split jump without the split, ie landing on the other foot. I *was* rather confused but didn't question it. Thanks.

[SkatingOnClouds]

Interesting about the 1/2 flip thing. When I learned it, I had to land initially on the pick of the non-picking foot, into a glide on the inside edge of the picking foot. These days it is taught (around here anyway) with landing on the pick of the picking foot, into the glide on the non-picking foot.
Coach said it is to get people used to landing on the same foot as they will land on in the full flip.

[Sessy]

Interesting about the 1/2 flip thing. When I learned it, I had to land initially on the pick of the non-picking foot, into a glide on the inside edge of the picking foot. These days it is taught (around here anyway) with landing on the pick of the picking foot, into the glide on the non-picking foot.
Coach said it is to get people used to landing on the same foot as they will land on in the full flip.

Our half-loop (you can't really call that a half loop, since a half loop is a full revolution and I literally mean a half revolution from a loop takeoff) does that. We call it a spreid rittberger. Spreid means split. It's just footwork if you do it in your programme though.

[samba]

I usually use a bunny hop either to link steps or get a little speed before a jump, I never ever fall on it.....famous last words, however last week I toe-picked on the way up and fell heavily forward hitting my left elbow, my left hip and both of my knees 8O , I have some wonderful bruises and a cut on my elbow to prove it and becuase I wasn't expecting it I came off shaking, I will never under-estimate the bunny hop again.

[mdvask8r]

Our half-loop (you can't really call that a half loop, since a half loop is a full revolution and I literally mean a half revolution from a loop takeoff) does that. We call it a spreid rittberger. Spreid means split. It's just footwork if you do it in your programme though.
That's what we call a Falling Leaf. Love 'em!!

[LilJen]

Folks, this is all related to the First Law of Figure Skating: Toepicks are evil.
Its corollary is: Bunny hops and spirals, therefore, can be dangerous.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Hahaha, all this bunny hop hatin' is pain to my ears! I love teaching bunny hops!

If you want a little advice to help make them a little more bearable, one thing I always have my students do when first learning a bunny hop is to literally have them walk through it on ice, usually while holding on to the wall. I see you've already learned how painful this little jump can become if you lean too far back. Try this:

1. Stand holding on the the boards with your left leg extended behind you. You may want to keep your left arm in front and your right arm behind you while holding the boards...
2. Swing your left leg through straight (nothing hurts my eyes like a bent knee in a bunny hop) while going all the way up on your right toe. This is the part where it helps tremendously not to lean too far back! ;)
3. After bringing your left leg though and balancing while holding on to the wall on your right toe, slowly step down feeling your right toe hit the ice first and slowly glide forward on your left foot to finish.

Repeat, repeat, repeat until you feel comforable enough to do this exercise away from the wall. Remember that your arms must also work in a scissor-motion (not using them at all may be causing you to lean back and fall down).

A few practices with this exercise and you should have a perfect bunny hop! Works for my students every time! ;)

[Thin-Ice]

By the way, I never understood why these are called "bunny hops"... none of my rabbits do ANYTHING that even remotely resembles this jump!:D

Oh, and for the record, the worst fall I've ever taken was on a bunny hop my coach put in footwork despite my protests! So add me to the "I hate bunny hops" club.

[Jeanne D]

I have a lot of respect for the bunny hop as well. I've never attempted switching feet and have no desire to do so. The thing I've been trying to change with my bunny hop is to turn out the free leg at take off and point my toe. I think it's quite attractive when done this way but my muscle memory will only let me do the bunny hop one way.

p.s. I've been skating for 10 years and the BH still puts me on alert, but not as bad as when I first learned it.

[NCSkater02]

Add me to the Bunny-Hop-Hater's Club. Some of my worst falls were on this simply evil jump. I always managed to trip over my kick-through toe pick. I haven't done on in years. In fact, I'm not sure I remember how.

[Skate@Delaware]

My daughter and I learned how to "kill the bunny" while doing these in synchro....easy to kill them AND US while attempting at FULL SPEED!!!!

and so much easier to fake when in a synchro line :lol:

[Sessy]

I've never had problems with the bunny hop, but then the two times I felt on it, I fell on my hands, not my knees, and I was wearing wrist guards. But then I was the happy type whom the coach had to tell to stop waving my arms around in the air, cuz I wasn't a colibri... I was like "Whee, I'm flying!" all the time.

[Isk8NYC]

Voila! Sessy has now joined the discussion about the evil Bunny Hop.

[Skittl1321]

That's what we call a Falling Leaf. Love 'em!!

So a falling leaf is a "half of a loop?" (take off backwards like a loop, but only make it half way around, and land forwards?) Because then I can start calling it that and stop calling it "half of a loop" to differentiate it from a half-loop.

[Isk8NYC]

So a falling leaf is a "half of a loop?" (take off backwards like a loop, but only make it half way around, and land forwards?) Because then I can start calling it that and stop calling it "half of a loop" to differentiate it from a half-loop.
DING! DING! You are correct - here's a biscuit.
A falling leaf is a loop takeoff that lands on a forward toepush/edge.
A SPLIT falling leaf is a loop takeoff that includes an in-air split position and lands on a forward toepush/edge.

A half-loop is a loop takeoff that lands BACKWARD on the inside edge of the 'other' foot.

[Skittl1321]

Alright- I can check another jump off the "need to learn how to do" list. Apparently I can do a (bad) falling leaf. Of course, I can only do one because I can't do a loop. The only time I've done a "loop" is when I was about to fall out of a backspin and jumped instead. My coach takes this as evidence that I'll be able to get it someday.

Back on topic- boo bunny hops...

[cherriee]

I don't even remember the last time I've done one. Vaguely remember the bunny was NOT intuitive (well maybe to kids). Let me try it out this weekend using SynchroSk8r114's instructions above and see what happens. :P

[Laura H]

Ha, I just have to mention how much I LOVE this thread title . . along with the practice thread entitled "soar like an eagle, stink like a skunk" :P it is one of my favorites!!

[Isk8NYC]

OT: My fav thread title was "I own a human skull (http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=20786)" lol Everytime a new person posted their odd inventory item, the forum displayed looked like THAT PERSON owned the human skull....lol Even though Phuket started the thread, DBNY was the title holder last I checked. roflol

Back OT:
I learned "double bunny hops" when I was skating, but totally forgot about them until a coaching seminar a few years ago. It's actually like skipping on the ice. Gotta stay on the ball of your foot; it's very scary.

[Ice Dancer]

The first time I was taught a bunny hop I promptly fell on my butt! We didn't attempt it again for a good few months, and then it was at my insistance. Now I love it. For some reason, the second time around I just took to it.

[Sessy]

DING! DING! You are correct - here's a biscuit.
A falling leaf is a loop takeoff that lands on a forward toepush/edge.
A SPLIT falling leaf is a loop takeoff that includes an in-air split position and lands on a forward toepush/edge.

A half-loop is a loop takeoff that lands BACKWARD on the inside edge of the 'other' foot.

While I still am not clear on how I joined the bunny hop discussion,
the half-loop is commonly refered to as an "euler" (pronounced oylur) in the Netherlands and I think in some other European countries as well.

[Skittl1321]

While I still am not clear on how I joined the bunny hop discussion,
the half-loop is commonly refered to as an "euler" (pronounced oylur) in the Netherlands and I think in some other European countries as well.

Do you have any idea where that come from? What the famed mathematician also an ice skater?

[cherryliphoto]

OMG you're so funny!
will you please write a Bridget Jone's Diary 3??:yum:
I actually always do bunny hops before doing any other jump, just to get myself used to jumping. ok sometimes I don't HAVE to , but definitely have to before flips.

On Thursday I got the mildly enchanting idea to learn the bunny hop. Should be simple enough for someone who can do a rather fabu waltz jump and now and then uncorks a passable toe loop, right? Those 6-year-old punks make it look so easy. They bunny hop from one end of the rink to the next. Tra, la, la, bunny hop! Tra, la, la!

My experience?

This little number is evil. OK? It's Beelzebub's signature move.

Kick, hop, switch legs! Kick, hop, switch legs! MY EYE.

WHY would I EVER want to learn this thing? Do I want to wind up in traction? Do I really want to get that familiar with massive head injury? Do I want to be known around the rink as, "Oh, you remember her! She's the woman who was paralyzed from the eyebrows down on that triple-triple bunny hop combination."

We now return to your regularly scheduled forum.

[Mrs Redboots]

I like bunny hops! Especially as they're one of the few moves I'm better than Husband at, and I can do them on both feet and make him do them on both feet, too, in our programmes and dances.

The way I learnt them was: first you kick the bunny in the stomach, then, when he doubles over, you stomp on the back of his neck! Not very pleasant, but at least it's a graphic image you don't forget.

[Sessy]

The way I learnt them was: first you kick the bunny in the stomach, then, when he doubles over, you stomp on the back of his neck! Not very pleasant, but at least it's a graphic image you don't forget.

Bwahahahaha ROTFLMAO! :bow: You know how cruel it is to describe it this way after I spent yesterday night at the gym working on my 8-pack belly muscles? :mrgreen:

Nah they just told us to like, go up before you went down. I never did the stomping thing in the stomach, more like the kicking in the groin thing on the bunnyhops...

[Sessy]

Do you have any idea where that come from? What the famed mathematician also an ice skater?

No, all I know is that it's also what the English wikipedia refers to a half-loop as in its roller skating article.
http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Artistic_roller_skating
[quote]Though both ice and roller skaters perform the Euler jump (called a "half-loop" by ice skaters), it is more common in roller skating programs, as lengthy multi-jump combinations are emphasized in roller skating judging. The Euler is a useful connecting jump in such combinations; for example, a five-jump combination might include a waltz jump, loop, Mapes, Euler, and a salchow.[/quote

[FallDownGoBoom]

"first you kick the bunny in the stomach, then, when he doubles over, you stomp on the back of his neck!"

There'll always be an England. (Meant in the best possible way!)

[Award]

Probably the secret to doing them is to do them really tiny at first, then keep building up from there. Eventually, you'll master them, and really nail those landings hehe

[Isk8NYC]

"first you kick the bunny in the stomach, then, when he doubles over, you stomp on the back of his neck!"

There'll always be an England. (Meant in the best possible way!)
Sure, Mrs. Redboots says it in her veddy proper accent and it's cute. If I were to say it in my New Yawk accent, I'd be eaten alive.

Thank heaven for England (and Monty Python) - and I mean that in total admiration!


There were a few coaches at our rink who taught a modified two-foot hop as a bunny hop. Their version has the skater come down on one foot using the flat, not the toepick. (Clomp, clomp is heard across the rink. YOu'd think we were training circus horses to skate.) I always ended up reteaching the entire jump because they never learned arms or free foot usage.

I think the secret is this: I always start Bunny Hop lessons with the landing. You have to, have to, have to, land this jump on a toepick. If you don't learn that from this jump, you will struggle with half-flip, half-lutz, and split/stag jumps. Practice standing on what would be your landing toepick and immediately pushing off onto the other foot's inside edge with a cross-check of the arms. Keep doing it until it becomes natural. Now, do the phony bunny hop I mentioned above and land it properly.

After you master the landing, it's just keeping your weight forward on the skate as you kick through and back. The arms are front-to-back (don't flap to the sides) opposite hand:foot in front at any one time.

Keeping it small works, but eventually the skater must start to kick through and move their arms/feet. Those skills are needed for any jump.

[dbny]

the half-loop is commonly refered to as an "euler" (pronounced oylur) in the Netherlands and I think in some other European countries as well.

OMG - I suddenly remembered this jump from my roller days. We pronounced it U-ler, and I had forgotten it existed.

No, all I know is that it's also what the English wikipedia refers to a half-loop as in its roller skating article.
http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Artistic_roller_skating
Though both ice and roller skaters perform the Euler jump (called a "half-loop" by ice skaters), it is more common in roller skating programs, as lengthy multi-jump combinations are emphasized in roller skating judging. The Euler is a useful connecting jump in such combinations; for example, a five-jump combination might include a waltz jump, loop, Mapes, Euler, and a salchow.

And now I know I really do remember it and am not just imagining it.

[Thin-Ice]

I like bunny hops! Especially as they're one of the few moves I'm better than Husband at, and I can do them on both feet and make him do them on both feet, too, in our programmes and dances.

The way I learnt them was: first you kick the bunny in the stomach, then, when he doubles over, you stomp on the back of his neck! Not very pleasant, but at least it's a graphic image you don't forget.

Not to be a complete spoilsport, but as a person who shares her home with bunnies (yes, they live in the house and use the litter box just like cats), I'd really appreciate it if you didn't quote this to people who may not have as much common sense and affection for animals as our well-behaved and thoughtful forum members). :) Thank you!

Oh, and as I mentioned earlier, I would not mind if this jump completely disappeared from the skating world. One of the worst falls I've ever taken was on a bunny hop.

[Sessy]

OMG - I suddenly remembered this jump from my roller days. We pronounced it U-ler, and I had forgotten it existed.

And now I know I really do remember it and am not just imagining it.

Heh, yeah it feels somehow different than a single half-loop when you plant it in a combination, especially with a salchow behind it. With a flip they felt more half-loopy to me. By the way the flip-loop-toeloop-euler-salchow-euler-waltz jump combination they made us do once was spooooky. I never actually made it to the waltz jump, lol, neither did anybody else in our group haha. :o

[sk8tmum]

They call "bunny hops" forward power jumps now in Skate Canada- world.

My kid was given a list of 'thou shalt nots" when when she started assistant coaching CanSkate. One was "thou shalt not" use the term "bunny hop" (or, weirdly, Waltz Jump) when speaking to kids or parents.

Because the hockey dads and mums got all freaky over the idea of their future Sydney Crosbie (sp?) doing something as wussy as a bunny hop. Now FORWARD POWER JUMP sounds cool, right?

Baby DD has this "thing" about jumps, she grew up watching axel type and 'real jump' takeoffs, and when she was starting her CanSkate 1 "two foot jump" at age 3-1/2 we couldn't figure out what was going on, until we realized she was doing a kick thru attempt to do a front takeoff jump (axel, waltz, something) ... like big brother and sister. So, we told her to "hop like a bunny" - and she promptly put both hands upside of her helmet to make bunny ears and hopped like a rabbit across the ice (maybe she'll get extra points for a unique move ...)

(p.s. I'm not letting our pet rabbit see this thread, even though she does bite me regularly).

[Thin-Ice]

They call "bunny hops" forward power jumps now in Skate Canada- world.

My kid was given a list of 'thou shalt nots" when when she started assistant coaching CanSkate. One was "thou shalt not" use the term "bunny hop" (or, weirdly, Waltz Jump) when speaking to kids or parents.

Because the hockey dads and mums got all freaky over the idea of their future Sydney Crosbie (sp?) doing something as wussy as a bunny hop. Now FORWARD POWER JUMP sounds cool, right?

Baby DS has this "thing" about jumps, she grew up watching axel type and 'real jump' takeoffs, and when she was starting her CanSkate 1 "two foot jump" at age 3-1/2 we couldn't figure out what was going on, until we realized she was doing a kick thru attempt to do a front takeoff jump (axel, waltz, something) ... like big brother and sister. So, we told her to "hop like a bunny" - and she promptly put both hands upside of her helmet to make bunny ears and hopped like a rabbit across the ice (maybe she'll get extra points for a unique move ...)

(p.s. I'm not letting our pet rabbit see this thread, even though she does bite me regularly).

I really LIKE "forward power jumps" much better as a name. As I've said before, I've NEVER seen a rabbit hop in anything that looks like a bunny hop/forward power jump and we've had rabbits for about 15 years (not including the one I had as a kid.)

As for the bunny bites... is she confusing you with a treat because you're so sweet? or is she just a moody rabbit?:?:

[flo]

My coach likes all kinds of forward hops, forward to backward hops ......
so I can do a variety. I remember learning the bunny hop in an all adult class with an older, tiny, but well endowded teacher. She was demonstrating and Boing! We decided that bunny hops were not for adults.

[sk8tmum]

We had a youngster end up with a boot-top fracture ... coach decided to have your break in her brand-new, first-time-with-a-real-toepick skates by doing a sequence of bunny hops down the ice.

[Mrs Redboots]

"first you kick the bunny in the stomach, then, when he doubles over, you stomp on the back of his neck!"

There'll always be an England. (Meant in the best possible way!)Except that I was taught that by a Californian skater.....

And for me, growing up in the country, rabbits are a pest, rather than a pet. We never did have pet rabbits, although I believe they do make wonderful companion animals.

[chowskates]

Hahaha, all this bunny hop hatin' is pain to my ears!


Haha, me too, and I'm sort of surprised at all this animosity towards bunny hops!

Re your tips below... is that meant for those jumping "the other way"? Well, there's no turn in the bunny hop, but I'm a regular CCW skater, and I'm used to kicking through with my R leg ;)


If you want a little advice to help make them a little more bearable, one thing I always have my students do when first learning a bunny hop is to literally have them walk through it on ice, usually while holding on to the wall. I see you've already learned how painful this little jump can become if you lean too far back. Try this:

1. Stand holding on the the boards with your left leg extended behind you. You may want to keep your left arm in front and your right arm behind you while holding the boards...
2. Swing your left leg through straight (nothing hurts my eyes like a bent knee in a bunny hop) while going all the way up on your right toe. This is the part where it helps tremendously not to lean too far back! ;)
3. After bringing your left leg though and balancing while holding on to the wall on your right toe, slowly step down feeling your right toe hit the ice first and slowly glide forward on your left foot to finish.

Repeat, repeat, repeat until you feel comforable enough to do this exercise away from the wall. Remember that your arms must also work in a scissor-motion (not using them at all may be causing you to lean back and fall down).

A few practices with this exercise and you should have a perfect bunny hop! Works for my students every time! ;)