help... twizzles (grr)

[peanutskates]

any tips on twizzles? in particular, right inside twizzles. (they're now in my program.. aaaaaaghhhh) but I think I should learn all of them.
so I did a search on the forums, and all I;ve got so far is keep your leg and back straight, and stay on the back of the blade

any more tips?

thanks

[phoenix]

Start just doing alternating singles, over and over, until those are effortless & perfect (ie, no toepicks involved!). Then and only then, move up to doubles, etc.

You really need to think about lifting the free knee and keeping it straight in front of you, and keeping the free foot right against the skating leg (NOT behind it!), and not hanging somewhere out to the side. In other words, it's very important to keep the free hip closed & don't let it start to open & let the knee open out.

They're not easy when you're just starting out with them. Any chance you could take a lesson or 2 w/ a dance coach to get a good understanding of the technique? After you have the idea, they just take a TON of practice to get comfortable.

[blackmanskating]

any tips on twizzles? in particular, right inside twizzles. (they're now in my program.. aaaaaaghhhh) but I think I should learn all of them.
so I did a search on the forums, and all I;ve got so far is keep your leg and back straight, and stay on the back of the blade

any more tips?

thanks


I know just how you feel. RFI Twizzles are in my program as well. Get a good feel for double 3 turns first. Then gradually increase the number of turns and speed. And Phoenix is right about keeping your hips closed. My first reaction was to keep the hip open because it seemed to slow down my speed but you are more stable with your feet side by side.


BlackManSkating

[coskater64]

I would question staying to far on the back of the blade, it would seem you should be towards the ball of your foot. Just MHO.

[blackmanskating]

I would question staying to far on the back of the blade, it would seem you should be towards the ball of your foot. Just MHO.

Yeah you don't want to be on the back of the blade. You actually want to be toward the middle just behind the sweet spot where you would spin on the blade. This is still very tough for me. Doing these gave me a whole new respect for ice dancers. I can't do them clockwise yet.


BlackManSkating

[phoenix]

re. weight placement on the blade: yes, when you get VERY good/comfortale w/ any given twizzle, your weight will be more or less in the center of the blade.

But that's not realistic to begin with. You will feel a definite shift front to back as you do the turns, as you would feel doing running 3's. However, the shift is less than it would be for 3 turns. As you practice them more & more, the shift gets less and less pronounced.

And Blackmanskating is right, it helps to work on double 3's. When you turn them into true twizzles, there will be no movement in the skating knee--your skating leg remains straight throughout the twizzle, rather than rising & falling for the 3 turns.

[lov2sk8]

Also make sure you step on your edge, on a clock your body is pointing at 12:00 place your foot at about 2:30 or 3:00, this gives you an edge. Make sure you sink in the knee before the push then raise up. Also counter rotate your shoulders before the push. On right forward inside twist your body clockwise before the turn, I think of keeping my right shoulder back before the twizzell, not breaking at the waist, and spotting the end of the rink.