scratch spins... help

[peanutskates]

ok, I have a decent upright forward spin. so I have been trying to get a scratch spin, but when I spin, I can't place my free leg over my skating leg. It's like, a force isn't letting me.

How can I get that free leg over? thanks

[mintypoppet]

Assuming that a scratch spin is a crossfoot spin ('scratch' seems to apply to lots of things and confuses me!), I had the same problem, and now do the following:

- Go into the spin, and bring your free leg up as normal, turned out
- Bend your free knee so that your free foot crosses over the skating leg
- Gently straighten out the free leg again and pull in, so that your feet are crossed and close together

It's a faster spin, so I found it felt rather scary initially.

[Sessy]

My "trick" is to bring it over in 1 go, not get into the 1-footspin position first because from there I can't cross.

[Morgail]

Try to hold your free leg more out in front (at about 1 or 2 o'clock, if 12 o'clock is straight in front of you), rather than out to the side (3 o'clock) before you bring it in. That way, you have less force to fight when bringing your leg in because you don't have as far to go in crossing it over.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Well, get a good hook going into the spin so that you can get faster rotations, which makes it easier to spin in general. You can do this by bending your skating leg deeply while holding your free leg back and keeping your arms over the circle your skating on for your set-up. Stay bent for approximately 1-1.5 revolutions, which should cause your spin pattern on the ice to look like a lollipop on a bent stick. If you find that you're travelling, you're not staying down long enough.

After you get a centered, fast spin by following the steps for a correct set-up, keep your free leg out to the side, at 2:00 like a previous poster said. The force you experience from spin that makes it hard for you to get your leg over is due to centripetal force (in other words your body wants to pull in, but physics make it more difficult...). By keeping your leg at 2:00, it should make it easier for you to cross your free leg in the spin. All you need to do is bend your free leg while keeping it at the same angle (2:00). From there, just slide your free leg down against your spinning leg. Granted, it's going to take some time for you to build enough muscle for your body to become stronger than the spin's centripetal force, but it'll happen.

Be patient and keep fighting by pulling in your arms and legs as tight as you can. Also try and keep your core (abdominal area) strong - think of pulling your bellybutton to spine, but don't "suck" your stomach in or push your hips forward.

Hope this helps, good luck! :D

[*JennaD*]

I used to have a lot of trouble pulling my leg in too...but what helped me was to really center my spin on one foot before I pulled my free leg in. My coach always tells me that if I had to, I should be able to sustain the position I am in before pulling in my foot...so make sure you are really comfortable on the foot you are spinning on before pulling in your free foot.

Also, it has been said, but keep your free foot slightly to the front of you rather than at 3:00 beside you.

Start by bringing your free foot in low (don't try for the height of your knee right away)...until you get used to the speed...then try bringing it in higher and higher when you feel comfortable!

Hope this helps...

[peanutskates]

thank you everyone, I will try this tonight.

just to clarify, as I spin CW, my free leg should be at 10:00, right?

[SynchroSk8r114]

thank you everyone, I will try this tonight.

just to clarify, as I spin CW, my free leg should be at 10:00, right?

Haha, sorry. Yes, if you spin CW, your free leg should be held out at about 10:00. Good luck!