off ice axel

[peanutskates]

how do you do it? whenever I try, I usually fall, and I can never rotate it fully. I barely do 1 rotation... never mind the half.

if I just jump up from two feet and turn, I can do 1 1/2 rotations, but start from a waltz takeoff, and it's impossible...

anyway, by working out how long it took me to get jumps before, and adding on months to the complexity of the axel, (and counting how long it would take me to get flip and lutz and perfect loop), I expect me to get at least some sort of rotated, OK-ish axel by April end/May beginning... but I need to learn it off ice first, probably...

anyway, tips welcome (needed!)

peanutskates x

[doubletoe]

First, try the bench exercise:
- Stand a few feet in front of a bench that is mounted firmly to a wall or floor (or any other firmly mounted surface that is about 2 feet high).
- Facing the bench, take off like a waltz jump, but with your right knee bent and lifted on takeoff so that you are jumping up instead of out.
- Do 1/2 turn in the air, landing backward on the bench on your right foot,with your left foot in front. By the time you land on the bench, you should be done with your half turn so that you aren't doing any rotation on the bench. You'll be facing the direction you came from and your left foot will be in front of your right calf, just like a loop air position (the left leg is open, with the knee bent, not touching the right leg). Your arms will be open and rounded, like a nice waltz jump position.
- Once you get that exercise down, try doing the same thing on the open floor, but after you've done that first 1/2 turn and you're in the open loop position, just pull in. That will give you 1 more rotation in the air. I think of jumping up to the 2nd floor and doing a reverse spin there. Also, assuming you take off from your left foot, make sure to keep your right shoulder way back as you step out to take off (so you sort of step out to the left). Get all of your weight over the left knee--knee over toes--before rolling up off the toe and straight up.
- When doing axels on the floor, make sure you don't cross your legs at the ankle. That will make it hard to check out when you start doing them on the ice. Instead, have your left knee a little bent and lifted so that you feel your right knee against the upper part of your left calf when you bend your right knee. If you pay attention to your reverse spin, you'll notice that that's also the position your free leg is in there, too.

[Sessy]

Practice a lot of waltz-loop combinations on-ice and off-ice. It's the favourite drill at my skating club anyway.

[Morgail]

I'd been working on off-ice axels for about a month before I injured myself. I couldn't get the full 1 1/2 rotations from the waltz-like takeoff either. I could get it from just standing still, but that's easier because you don't have to shift your weight in the air and get into a backspin position. Anyway, from the waltz takeoff, I could only get about one rotation and then I'd land and hop my way around for the last 1/2.

The bench exercise is a great one (I'm going to try that once I'm able to!). And so is doing waltz-loops or waltz-backspins both on and off the ice. Those give you a feel for how to shift your weight into the backspin position.

If it helps any, I have a friend who can't get her off-ice axel anywhere near fully rotated, but is only 1/4 turn away from getting an on-ice axel:)

[coskater64]

To help me learn how to rotate I would do a two foot stance jump up turn half a rev and the land on my right foot in a landing postion, maybe 10 of those. Then I would do the whole thing with a full revolution land on the R foot in a land position, body must go up straight arms must go in. Do several of those until comfortable do the same thing one and a half, always starting 2 footed and landing on the r foot, it helped me with foot cross and jumping straight. If you can get a thera band it wrap it tightly a few inches above your new and do the same exercise, my coach would make me do waltz jumps with the band, then loop, then axel, then double loop, the exercise helped foot cross which was very hard for me to learn since I was taught side by side as a child.

Hope that helps,

:) :)

[vesperholly]

Off ice jump practice may not be beneficial and the axel will probably take much longer than 8 months to land. It took me several years to get my axel. I have never been able to do an axel off ice, but I have it on the ice, consistent, for several months now.

Skating is the epitome of this guy: :frus:

[coskater64]

Important to remember we are all different, what works for me may not work for you. I got my axel in 2-3 months as a teen and then got it back in about 6-9 months (38) and never lost it until surgery(42), so had it solid for 4 1/2 years into my early 40's. I could always do them off ice much better and larger than on ice.

So take that into account no one thing will work, I have watched people struggle with this jump for years, especially adults, it will take some time. Just keep on trying, watch skating and look for good technique and discuss it with your coach.

:bow: :bow:

[Sessy]

I think a lot of the axel is psychological. When one of our group class coaches told us to over-rotate the waltz jump to land forwards, everybody could do it seemingly easily. When the other group lessons coach told us we'd be learning the axel and then said to do 1 revolution from a waltz jump takeoff, over half the class completely froze up...

[*JennaD*]

I think off ice practice for the axel is really necessary...or some kind of preparation before actually attempting the jump...just because its such a different jump than the rest of the singles...and you really need to get hte feeling of snapping into a backspin and doing an extra rotation in the air.

What helped me get it off ice was doing really big waltz jumps, the waltz loops, then trying the axel, thinking that instead of landing the waltz and doing the loop, i just had to stay in the air and do that. haha does that make sense?

Also, dont swing your freeleg around you to get rotation, make sure you really jump up and out. If you swing your leg around, it will be really hard to come out of the jump. I used to do this and would fall off ice all the time. But, if you jump out, it is easier to pull into a backspin and easier to land.

good luck!!!!! axel is areally hard jumpp...it took me a few years..lol and I still don't have it 100% consistent...but if you practice off ice and do lots of waltz-backspins and waltz-loops on the ice, you'll be on the right track!!!

[ibreakhearts66]

the way i learned to do the off-ice axel (and this was a seminar by an internationally known coach whose name i can't remember casey something, something casey...) was like this...
you start backwards, step forwards onto your left foot. now, do a three turn on your left foot, but with a bit of a hop, then, step back onto your right foot, do the same three-turn hop-thingy to turn forward, then push off into the axel. it helps you get momentum. as soon as i find my camera i'll post a video showing this

[vesperholly]

(and this was a seminar by an internationally known coach whose name i can't remember casey something, something casey...)
Kathy Casey (http://www.kathycaseycoach.com).

[kayskate]

The bench and Kathy Casey exercises sound good. WIll try them.

I have seen most ppl skip into a floor axel to get a little momentum then use the same technique for an axel from a stand-still on the ice.

When on the floor, don't try to "stick" the landing. It can really damage your joints b/c you have no flow out of the jump.

Kay

[Muskoka Skater]

What I find helps is to do sort of hops, like when one foot is behind and the other is in front, hop once heading forwards then do your axel. It really does help, I don't use it for the axel but the double axel so it should work for you.

[peanutskates]

which foot is behind, the one that's going to swing through?

[techskater]

Nothing should "SWING" through. It kicks through. If you swing, you will end up with a nasty Waxel.

[Sessy]

Stupid question from non-native speakers time: what's the difference between swinging and kicking? Does swing go around and kick go through, or is it just a question of how much tension you keep on the free leg?

[techskater]

Swing would be around and kick would be through. Swinging will create some very bad habits.

[Sessy]

Oh thanks for the explanation.

Yeah and not to mention it throws the axis off. At least it did for my salchow majorly. I only sorta got a consistent salchow when I started practicing the axel.

[blackmanskating]

The tricky aspect of the axel is not the 1.5 rotations, but it's the transfer of weight in the air. Everyone is correct by saying that you should never swing your leg around. That will only make you swing around your left side which makes it impossible to transfer to your right side. You have to kick through. It almost feels like you jump a little outside of the circle your LFO edge is creating. Here's what helped me land my axel within a month of working on it. Waltz -- Loop combination. Waltz -- Loop -- Backspin combo. Waltz -- Backspin combo. When you get to the waltz back scratch spin, feel the transfer over to your right side when you land and pull in. (CCW skaters) Now, try to tranfer to your right side a little sooner. Try to transfer to a backspin in the air.

Now try to take that same feeling off ice. All you are doing is stepping up into a backspin. If you improve your back scratch, you'll automatically improve your axel. Keep practicing this and you'll land your axel in no time. I hope this helps you.


BlackManSkating

[Verena]

Hi all!

I though I should mention my experience about the axel. I myself think that is 90% psychology. Because of lack of ice I practice very very rarely. I have noticed that the first time I attempt the axel on the ice again (after a long time) I am usually very relaxed and I don't urge myself to succeed. The result is a good axel! The second time I try it, and this time I tend to get anxious of succeeding again, it is always a disaster.

Also, I have noticed that it helps me tremendously to think that I am not doing an axel, but a very high waltz jump - backspin, so high, that the backspin ends up starting while I am on the air. Beyond this, it really helps me if I think "up up" , look slightly up, and really pulling my abdominal muscles. This last thing, is the key for landing on the toe and prevent falling, because of hip dropping.