Does Anyone Spin Better in the Opposite Direction They Jump?

[dance2sk8]

Ok, so this is one of my problems (or advantages???). I can spin both ways, meaning, I can spin on my left and right foot (not backspin). However, I spin better on my right foot (easier finding my center of gravity) than I do on my left, yet, I jump on take off with my left foot! My brain can't wrap around the idea of jumping towards my right. Has anyone encountered this themselves? Also, since I spin better on my right foot, I can even do a sit spin pretty decently. One of the more frustrating things I am coming to realization is, I travel terribly on my left foot when spinning and I know that's the main root of my issues for not being able to center my gravity well on my left foot and have better control. I think once I solve this, I will be good to go.

Hope this isn't too confusing. :roll:

[Isk8NYC]

There are very few people who spin one way and jump another.

I can spin in both directions, but I always jump CCW and I favor CCW spins.

Generally, uncentered (traveling) spins are caused by poor entrances more than favoring one side or another.

Ask your coach for some advice - s/he would know better, having seen you skate. It could also be a problem with your skates.

In any case, keep practicing spins both ways - it makes programs more interesting!

[RachelSk8er]

I was like this as a kid back in the learn-to-skate/junior club days. I'm left handed, and back then coaches were still "correcting" skaters who had a natural tendency to jump/spin left-handed to get them to jump right handed. I was able to catch on to jumping right handed and get up to an axel, but really struggled with spinning right handed and it got very frustrating for me. This is part of what led me to quit freestyle and do synchro (called precision back then), becauase I wouldn't have to jump or spin. Eventually when spins got added into synchro programs, I had to re-learn to spin right handed. Traveling was a HUGE issue for me (not good when you're in a tight formation, either).

I started skating at a very young age, before I became involved in other sports. Turns out I'm actually ambidexterous when it comes to sports--I throw/catch left handed but switch hit (mostly bat R handed), golf R handed, etc.

Now that I'm doing freestyle again, I can still do some jumps both ways (sal, toe, loop, flip) but right-handed are much stronger, partially because I only practice left handed when I'm playing around. I now spin only right handed. Some turns are the same on both feet or come more easily on my L foot (counters, rockers), others are stronger on the R foot (twizzles). It took me a lot longer to get spinnng back than jumps when I started freestyle, but they're getting there. I sometimes play around with spinning left handed to give me options when I move up to gold and am competing under IJS, but it's not really a focus of mine right now. But when I try spinning left handed, it feels awkward.

[flying~camel]

One of my very good friends in Gold III spins opposite from the direction she jumps.

It doesn't seem to cause any problems for her because both her jumps and spins are lovely.

[RachelSk8er]

And where is vesperholly....her flying camel is in the opposite direction....

[dance2sk8]

I definitely plan to insert some opposite spins in my programs when I get strong enough in technique for everything (heck, I have 9+ months ;)). I can even adjust body positions and still maintain my center on the opposite foot. It makes me laugh when I am on the ice, noticing how terrible my spin is going into CCW but when I go into a spin CW...its easy. I guess I am easily amused but also frustrated at the same time. :P

[SkaterBird]

When I jump, I jump CCW, but I spin MUCH better CW. I can do several revolutions of an upright spin CCW, though, and am working on spinning equally well in both directions, at least in the upright position. I don't have a backspin at all, but when I do start working on it it will be CCW.
BTW, the late and very great John Curry jumped CCW and originally did all of his spins CW, until Gus Lussi got him spinning in both directions.

[Skittl1321]

Our skating director jumps and spins in opposite directions and she strongly encourages others not to. Apparently it causes some limitations (or at least challenges) as you move up the levels- in learning new moves, choreography, having other skaters recognize your patterns as you practice...

I wish I could do this, as I strongly prefer rotating clockwise, but I'm very right side dominants, so I'd prefer my right leg to be my landing leg.

[doubletoe]

A friend of mine (Adult Silver) has the same issue, where she is just much more comfortable spinning on her right foot. So she jumps CCW to land on her right foot and spins CW to spin on her right foot. She can do some spins in both directions, though, which is pretty cool. And of course if you compete under IJS, that counts as a feature that can raise the level of the spin.

[vesperholly]

And where is vesperholly....her flying camel is in the opposite direction....
Here I am! :lol:

I started out with a coach who had lots of CW skaters. So even though I'm right handed, I jumped CW. I was with her a year and was working on jumps through a lutz. Then I got a new coache, and she said I spun better CCW, so we switched my jumps. She let me practice spins CW, so I did laybacks, back camels and eventually flying camels CW.

I changed coaches again after 8 years with that coach, and my new coach encouraged me to try to do all my spins to CCW so I could do more difficult combination spins. I changed the layback after a few years, but the flying camels, not so much. So, I have one CW spin in my program. 8-) Good to know I'll get bonus points in IJS for that!

I think my spinning CW has more to do with preferring to spin on my left leg than it has to do with being ambidextrous in any way. I still have very weird preferences for things - I like spirals, T-stops, tango stops and one-foot turns on my left foot, I'm better at the CW novice rocker-choctaw pattern than CCW, but then better at the CCW double 3 pattern than CW. It's caused me some trouble in freestyle, but in cases like novice moves, the expected "weak" side is for me the strong side! It's important to catch such a thing now. I think if I had been properly made to spin CCW from the beginning, I wouldn't have so much trouble with backspins.

[Mrs Redboots]

I spin equally badly in both directions; I find clockwise easier, but am technically slightly better anti-clockwise. Neither is good. I do jump (when I jump, which is rarely) anti-clockwise, though; but I find clockwise turns mostly easier than anti-clockwise ones.

I have got far more used to spinning anti-clockwise since we started dance and pairs spins!

[Bunny Hop]

Whilst I hesitate to claim that I actually spin and jump, the pathetic efforts I do make are in opposite directions.

When I first learnt to skate as a teenager in group classes, we started jumps before spins and the coach determined that I jumped anti-clockwise. So when we started spins I was, not unnaturally, also taught to spin anti-clockwise. I got the hang of the basic jumps (three/waltz jump, toe loop, salchow) pretty quickly, but never did learn to spin - at all.

When I came back to skating as an adult, coach watched me struggle to spin and suggested I try spinning clockwise. Voila! I got a couple of revolutions on a two foot spin at first attempt. Haven't progressed much from that point, but it's still better than nothing at all. I am not, however, comfortable doing a waltz/three jump (read: hop) clockwise. Whether this is some sort of latent muscle memory, I don't know, but it feels more natural to jump anti-clockwise.

Doesn't bother me particularly, but it may be a problem if I ever get to the stage of dance spins, as my husband spins anti-clockwise.

[RachelSk8er]

I think if I had been properly made to spin CCW from the beginning, I wouldn't have so much trouble with backspins.

I think that is part of the reason I REALLY struggled with back spins. A year ago I could hardly do a back scratch, they scared the crap out of me and felt all sorts of wrong and awkward. But they finally came along, and getting that stronger (getting used to being up over the R side) actually translated into making my loop, my worst jump, a lot better--I had no problem with loops as the 2nd jump in a combo because you land over the R side and just pop back up, but a loop on its own, forget it. And now I'm on to back sits, flying camels, back camels, etc.

[gypsy_82]

I have a student that like to spin CCW and jump CW. She is left handed so jumping CW feels natural for her, so we are working getting her spins to be CW as well.

I tried switching her jumps but she just got too confused so we are going to fix her spins. Sometimes I notice that she is spinning CCW instead of CW. But its getting much better.