Hi there! I now have all my single jumps. They're all pretty consistent (except for the lutz). Anyway, I was just wondering if there's anybody here who's just starting their doubles or axel. I'm getting excited to learn them and I can't wait! What double jump are you working on right now?

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** Skate 'til You Drop **

I'm excited for you that you are ready for the axel and doubles
My daughter loved the axel and it was one of her best and prettiest jumps. Keep in mind that at first the axel can come and go for awhile before it becomes consistent, so try not to get too frustrated if that happens.

At our rink almost all the skaters learn their 2/salchow first. Then usually the 2/toe and 2/loop. 2/flips and 2/lutz last. Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

Thanks a lot Elsy2!! I'll remember to keep you posted

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** Skate 'til You Drop **

Right now i'm working on getting my axel and some doubles ready so that next summer i'll be able to compete in prelminary b. My double loop is getting really consistent (i'd say at least 75%) and i'm also working on my axel and double salchow. I'm so excited to start working on doubles!

Congrats on your accomplishments.

My daughter just started landing her dbl sal the last week of spring session in may, so its not consistent yet (about 40%). She only had 3 weeks of summer ice and spent it getting the sal consistent as well as working on the dlb toe and the dbl loop. The toe is a disaster right now but the loop is coming very well actually.

Congrats to you, and just remember, it can't all happen at once! Don't be frustrated if its here today and gone tommorrow. The axel took my little on about 2 months to get consistent. She found it very frustrating when she would step on the ice one day and it would be totally gone, but she never gave up. The one thing her coach did tell her though, and it really helped with frustration level, is not to work on it for more than 5 minutes. If its not there, just move on to something else and come back to it later.'

Mom

I have been at my axel and first double (salchow) for quite a long while now.. but I'm just started on the rest, I'm working on double toe and double loop mostly. My axel is pretty much there but all my doubles are inconsistent.

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Tidesong

I have a sorta kinda axel. I'm working on the double salchow, double loop and double flip. I would say my loop is the best. The flip has potential. =-) I'm working at correcting my salchow. I have farted with the 2 toe on a good day but personally this jump feels funny and scares me. I'm an adult skater and have been trying double somethings for about a year. I started working with a new coach recently and am changing and relearning much of this. I'm learning and improving. Maybe someday. =-)

Chico

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

I've been working on axel drills for the past couple of months. We'll probably start jumping it soon. Of course, this isn't the first time I've "started" working on an axel. I'd started trying it on ice several years ago (along with double toe disasters), but had to stop skating for months because of a back problem. Once I got back on the ice, I had such awful bio-mechanical (and therefore alignment) problems, that I'm just now at the point I can start again. And it really is starting all over!

Good luck everyone! May we all land some decent axel and a few doubles soon

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Just got back from the my lesson. I didn't officially start on axel or doubles yet. The coach made me do all the singles to see if I really have them. However, I did try the axel and double loop on my own. The axel, I managed to complete one and a half rotation BUT I two-footed all of them. Double loop, I have like half rotation left. It's soooo hard to complete that second turn in the air and I also two-footed them all!
Well well, it was a nice start, wasn't it? I had fun trying them

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** Skate 'til You Drop **

Do yourself a favor- do not start working axels and doubles without your coach. I did, and it took me years to straighten out my axel. I taught myself to do it with a cheated takeoff. I finally got rid of that, only to start cheating the landing. I never did have a very good axel. I know it's hard to wait, but you're much better off in the long run waiting until your coach starts doing them with you. He/she will do so when you're really ready.

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

My dd is working on her half flip, toe and salchow now.Think it will be at least a year for her to try an axel, her muscles need to be stronger.

Don't be in a hurry to be watching your dd start axels (I know your not)...that's the jump that you will see so many falls on trying to get it. It's hard for a skatemom to watch the learning process on that jump! Before the axel, all jumps need to be mastered in combination, so you have awhile to go.
Sometimes I had to leave the stands watching those falls, and it's the same when they progress to doubles. (Just a skatemom reminiscing here....)

There are so many other things for her to learn, which is one reason we arent.She knows she has plenty of time and she needs to have all her jumps down well first.We would like for her to have a strong strong just basic skills down, we seem to see alot of kids just want to do jumps and that is all.

I'm trying to learn my first double at 41 years of age, am I nuts or what!?

I've had an axel for a few years, although it comes and goes. I'm working on double sal, toe & loop all at the same time, but I'm only close on the sal. I'm getting frustrated and beginning to wonder if it's possible for someone to learn these jumps for the first time at this point in their life.

I've been told that if I have an axel, there is no reason that I can't do the d.sal & toe, but I'm beginning to wonder.

If there are any "older" skaters that have success stories in this area, I would love to hear them!

PattyP

I hate to say it, but based on my experience (which is as unscientific a study as you can get, huh?) it's really rare. I only know of one "real" adult skater who was able to learn and somewhat consistently do doubles as a middle-aged adult. And by "real" adult skater, I mean someone who didn't start learning to skate until they were at least 25. All the other fogies doing doubles learned them as kids. If I recall correctly, didn't you start skating as an adult?

But if anybody can do it, it'll be you. You've got some solid skating skills!

Have faith, PattyP, I started skating at 38 from scratch, (never as a kid except a couple of times on vacation) . I'm 45 and working on doubles, too. Let's pray to the ice gods together, and maybe they'll be generous! Hope your journey is successful! I'm sure there are those even more "mature" than we, who are working on doubles.
ONE MORE WEEK 'TILL PEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy skating!
Becca

...this is wierd.... i have all my singles...except my lutz... but i can also land all my doubles except my axel. is this not wierd? does anyone have any tips?? thanks.

Yep, I'm a true adult skater, started at the age of 34. I did have some experience skating public sessions as a kid, but the only jump I ever attempted back then was a waltz jump.

Okay Becca, lets be the exception and learn those doubles! Good luck at the Peach! I wish I was going but I've been spending too much time on these $&(!@# jumps to get my programs together.

PattyP

That is weird. What does your coach think? Are your doubles truly clean and fully rotated? Why did your coach have you put in enough time on doubles to get them clean when you can't do a Lutz?

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

I don't like the lutz. I avoid this thing as much as possible. Usually we only visit at lessons. =-) Needless to say my lutz is pretty bad when I try. I'm working on doubles and am getting closer on the 2 loop. For me it's a head thing. I LIKE the loop so my double potential is good. I HATE the lutz and so avoid it. It's difficult to improve what you avoid. Not so strange! I have made a goal to practice this thing regular in the future.

My coach says as an adult I can learn doubles. She sees no reason I can't. My body is capable and my mind wants too. She's been teaching me all the little things I need to learn to make this happen. Faithfully I have been working on these skills and have actually made positive improvements on doubles. Loop especially. (I am blessed in that I'm a small adult and I've been told this helps greatly.)

Chico

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

Hi,

Wow, this is my first post. Did a bit 'o lurking for a while but I guess this is as good a time as any to post.

I'm working on my double toe loop, double loop and axel. I can land my axel most of the time, sometimes 2 footed but I'm really pleased with it. I don't want to talk about my double jumps.

Greg

IceAngel725...you're working on doubles so you can compete preliminary?! Wow, the levels are really becoming more and more skewed. I remember the first time I competed preliminary ( I think it was actually Skate Cleveland), I won without a single flip. I see people doing doubles and lower and lower levels, and I still can't believe. I didn't have all of mine until I started juvinile.

e.SkAtEr~, do you work with more than one coach? Sometimes it's good to have someone else look at it. My old coach could absolutely not teach double toes, and as I result, I had all my other coubles clean, all my other double-double combinations (with a loop for the second jump), before I could even stand up on a toe loop, and, even after switching coaches, it's still my worst jump. It doesn't mean your coach is bad or anything; people just have their different strengths and weaknesses, and having someone else look at your stuff is always a good idea.

Anyway, the only advice I have to anyone starting doubles -- get a good pad if you find yourself falling on one specific area over and over again (and figure out why you're falling there). Don't bother with those really expensive gel pads they sell in pro shops; if it's a small enough area, cosmetic pads work really well. I own half a dozen different gel pads, but I still use a 25 cent cosmetic one the most. If that doesn't work, though, try out a bunch of different ones, use your friends or whoevers, for a few days, and buy the one you think works best. Never, ever listen to the packaging of the pad or the pro shop guy to tell you what its good for -- everyone falls in different ways, and the pads usually are used entirely differntly than originally intended.

Also, pay attention to pain. Bruising and sore muscles are one thing, but if you begin to get repeated joint pain, stop doing so many jumps, ice it, and if it doesn't go away, see a doctor immediately. While injuries are more common with triples, I got my first one from doing to many doubles.

I'm also working on my doubles and axel. Closest right now is double flip, though I've landed a couple of double toes and double sals. Haven't started on double lutz yet because of a fear factor, but I'm not afraid to do (and land) a single lutz-double toe combo.

Perry~ most competitions now are pre-pre=axel, prelim=axel and two types of doubles. I'm not allowed to test prelim freeskate until I have my axel and one double consistant, according to my coach.

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

Yeah kids in Preliminary can do at least two doubles now, and definitely an axel. Meanwhile, I guess I'm the only one who's really puzzled as to why a coach would move someone onto doubles without mastering all the single jumps first? I mean, you need the lutz in your tests AND programs before you need a double. And I don't know, I think it's kind of just a principle...going on to doubles before mastering singles, my coaches when I was struggling with my lutz years back DEFINITELY wouldn't have had any of that- I tried, haha.

To those trying all types of doubles at the same time- you really ought to take it one or two at a time- tops. Double salchow is easiest, double toe is hard for a lot of people for some reason. But once you get those two rotations in the air, all other jumps will become easier. Try to focus on just ONE double for a while, especially if it's your first- I think you'll see better results. Just my thoughts.