Axel Help! Please!

[Talula]

Okay, so I can land a good axel off ice consistantly but once I get on ice my legs don't wanna cross. It's just so awkward going into it because I'm not used to jumping so open like that into the air.

I can do a double salchow though [cheated 1/2 revolution]. I don't understand why I cannot do it.

My coach is trying to get a harness.

Any tips? I've been doing a lot of waltz-jump back spins and waltz- loops.

[doubletoe]

Scroll down a few posts and see "Axel SOS" by Peanutskates.

[Talula]

I've looked at that, it doesn't answer my question.
:]

Thank you though.

[doubletoe]

I've looked at that, it doesn't answer my question.
:]

Thank you though.

Keep doing axels on the floor, and when you do them on the floor, give yourself a cue word for each phase of the jump so that you sort of walk yourself through it and tell your body what to do (for example, "push out, straight up, hip, arms, land"). Once you are used to doing that on the floor, do the same thing on the ice, guiding yourself through the jump with your cue words. That will help you to do the exact same thing on the ice without chickening out. Doing them on the harness will help give you more confidence as well. I first got my axel consistent on the floor, then landed it consistently on the harness, and only then finally landed it on the ice on my own. Does that help at all?

[patatty]

One thing that finally helped me is to kick up more with your knee than your toe on the takeoff, and bring the knee across your body as you go into the jump. For some reason, as you straighten the landing leg during the rotation, the other leg seems to wrap itself around, and voila, crossed legs! Another tip that I was taught was to practice the jump on the floor, and think about slamming the landing foot straight down during the jump. This snaps the body into the correct position (you don't actually end up slamming your foot down, the landing should still be soft).

[johns135]

If you have the 2sal, you already have the axel. I'm pretty sure what you
are leaving out is the lean into the circle on the takeoff. That lean into
the circle makes you jump up over your landing leg ... and it gives you
the pre-rotation that you need. It also gives added height and spin
without having to "kick" for it. Don't rush the takeoff. Go smooth.

Same thing is true in the loop takeoff. Try it.

johns

[doubletoe]

If you have the 2sal, you already have the axel. I'm pretty sure what you
are leaving out is the lean into the circle on the takeoff. That lean into
the circle makes you jump up over your landing leg ... and it gives you
the pre-rotation that you need. It also gives added height and spin
without having to "kick" for it. Don't rush the takeoff. Go smooth.

Same thing is true in the loop takeoff. Try it.

johns

Yes, it's important not to rush the takeoff, but you want to be careful about leaning to the left or curving that takeoff edge because it can keep you over your left side and make you waxel in the air instead of making that transfer over to the right side for the rotation. Those are the worst falls, too. At least in my experieince, the edge curves even when you're trying to keep it straight, so if you actually try to make the edge curve, you end up in big trouble.

[patatty]

I agree with doubletoe. Trying to lean into the circle on the takeoff can be very risky, and lead to a very spinny jump under the best of cirumstances, the worst of circumstances being the waxel. Try to jump on a tangent to the circle, as your outside edge will happen naturally. The straighter the takeoff, the better "snap" you will get, and the more solid landing edge as well. I have noticed that when I start to lose my axel, it is because my takeoff has become too curvy and I'm jumping around, rather than out.

[johns135]

Somewhere on the internet .. I dl'd it years ago .. is an mpg called
Sax2 ( Scott Hamilton axel 2 ). Slow it down. It is a perfect demo
of the body leaned to the center of the takeoff circle. Note how
his skate is far out and then comes in under him. That lifts the jump
nicely without having to kick it up. For that matter, dl any mpg
of axels that you can slow down and look at technique. All of them
circle on edge, and the body is placed at the center of that circle.
The waxel comes from not bringing the jump skate under the body.
In the case of the loop, the lean is already towards the landing
side, so it doesn't require the "spin-in" of the jumping skate. Both
work, and no beginner in these jumps ever realizes it. I got my
axel in my driveway on PicFrames ... after I realized that a straight
jump takeoff would only give a 2-foot landing. Of course, now I'm
working on a standing axel 1 inch off the ice. It is coming, and I
lean in very far, but then bring the jump skate under me as I stand it
up. Who knows? I may have the best geriatric axel in the world.

johns