i think the reason why my spins are so scratchy is because im spinning on my toe. i cant seem to find the correct way to spin the the ball of my foot. i always just go on my toe and my coach didnt corect me until now. so i have a habit on going on my toe. is there a way i can spin on the ball? or just find the ball of my foot at all?

thanks for your helP!!

Here's how to find the "spin spot:"
Stand next to the wall on one foot.
Rock onto your toe pics and swivel back-and-forth.
Slowly come down toward the heels while swiveling back-and-forth.
When you reach the point where the blades swing free, without toe or heel resistance on the ice (Grinding!) that's the place where you have to spin.

I used to have a drill for balancing, but I can't remember it now. If I remember, I'll post again.

Centering is key to starting a spin and it's a combination of entry, thrust, and body position. If your tracing looks like jagged loops, you're not centered. If it's scratchy circles, you are on your toe pics too much.

Once you're spinning, if you find you're using your toe pics too much, try lifting your toes inside your skates. That'll bring you back down onto the blade more, hopefully to that sweet spot.

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Bending your skating knee a bit helps get you back off the toe-pick too.

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Here are 3 things that will help keep you from rising up onto your toepick like a top when you spin:

1. Keep your skating knee bent the whole time
2. Press down into the ice with the ball of your foot -- the front part of your foot just behind your toes
3. Think of pressing down towards the ice with your shoulders and hands as the spin progresses.

Once you enter the spin, explore your blade w/o pulling in. I agree w/ others who have said to keep the knee relaxed. Do not try to hyper-extend your knee. A soft knee will allow you to find the spin spot. People often try to pull in too soon before the spin is centered. Forget about pulling in all together until you find the sweet spot. Keep the free leg out and extended. Arms out too. Rock lightly around on your blade to explore its contours. Experience spinning all over your blade. You will find that perfect spot and it is magical. However, it is harder to find if you are ruching to pull in.

Kay

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I have been struggling a lot with this. I can't balance if I don't pull in right away, and can't even do one revolution. If I do pull in too soon, I occasionally find the proper spot on the blade, but most of the time I'm dragging the toepick and only manage 3 non-centered revolutions. To make things worse, my spinning is better clockwise, though I jump better counterclockwise.

*sigh* Stupid spins.

Seeing how I managed to slip off an edge to fall and break my ankle while attempting to spin, I can't agree more. And I'm still not back on the ice yet. I hope the doc releases me on Tuesday so I can start abusing my ego by *not* spinning any better. I've been trying to learn scratch for over two years. One day, I'll do one......not.

Try relaxing your spinning knee, as I think someone else mentioned. If you're locking it, you'll end up on your pick. You ought to be able to spin without pulling in at all, so try working on balancing while bringing your arms in no more than if you were hugging a LARGE beach ball. Slow everything down--your body won't learn the precision it takes for spinning otherwise.

Also, have someone watch you to see if you're dropping a shoulder, or more likely, a hip. Your upper body from shoulder to hip needs to be really square.


Yeah, I hear you. It took me three years to get an upright spin that you could even call a spin. I stopped skating shortly after that, so I never got any other kind of spin at all. Jumps, I could do, but spins bedeviled me.

Spinning takes time and patience to learn...more so for most adults. That's why you need to slow everything down, and break it down to work on one 'problem' at a time--it's going to take some time, and you can't really bypass the journey.

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One other thing that hasn't been mentioned. I used to have heaps of trouble learning to spin and I eventually discovered the reason was because I hadn't had my boots properly fitted and since I was in a narrow style boot, I ended up in one a couple of sizes too big. This resulted in the blade being too long and my big toe being in line with the spinning spot. Once I'd got myself sorted with correctly fitted boots and the correct length of blade, there was no stop in my spins.

i knew it!! my coach kept on telling us to keep our leg straight!! i will try bending my leg.

Well, don't bend it. Just don't lock it. You get a really deep knee bend on the entry, then you rise up and straighten your knee as you 'hook' it, and start to spin. If you're locking your knee, you're probably a little too tense all over--I mean, you don't want to be limp like spaghetti, but if you're too stiff, that will cause problems too. You need to find the right amount of tension.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
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www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

The entrance on the spin will look almost like a number "6" on the ice if you are doing it right. It sounds like you aren't allowing the edge to flow into the spin (maybe going in too flat).

Mary E.