It's me, johns from Usenet. Getting pretty old, but I'm still out there on the ice, and doing fairly well. Arthritis kind of hurt .. my jumps .. so for the last 2 years, I've been working what I call "small jumps". I got some good pointers from a young girl who developed them over the years, and she gave me the idea that I might be able to do those jumps and kind of blend them in with my general foolishness around the ice. Took a while, but I'm getting her technique. She uses a lot of high leg wraps to generate the spin .. instead of strong arm lifts and pullins. For example, the loop jump. Just before I do the take off in the jump, I lift my left leg up about a foot or so, and as I jump, I pull the Lknee up smoothly, and this seems to make the loop easy and effortless. I also do about the same thing with both the flip and sal. Again, both jumps are smooth and easy if not big. These jumps are much easier to blend in with MOVs and dance, and require almost no setup. The young lady can do loops and flips standing still. It's a nice technique.

Oh yeah ! :-) I'm skating 5 days a week, and my season pass cost $65.

johns

Johns,
Hi! Sounds like you are having fun! (Hard to skate with arthritis.) Glad you have fund a technique that works for your jumps.

Nothing worng with a leg wrap. (I use this technique myself.) A lot of rollerskaters jump with a high leg wrap (even for triples!). Officially, it is considered "bad technique" on ice. Supposedly, because it makes you less areodynamic and, according to ice skaters (and I don't agree with this) it just "looks ugly." Actually, this is probably based on the fact that ice skating is modeled after ballet (all long lines and pointed toes). Wrap is considered less "balletic." But this is not an issue as long as you are not competing or testing and as long as you are skating for fun I don't see what's wrong with wrap. (If you are competing, some judges with deduct from the GOE mark for this type of jump.)

5 days a week for $65!!!!!! (OMG, I am sooooooo jealous!!!!)

I think the leg wrap in roller is part of what helps them get so much height. If you watch some roller skaters, they have much less speed when entering a jump, the jumps seem to have more height than jumps on the ice, but they jumps don't travel in the air and cover as much distance as a figure skating jump does (roller skaters tend to land the jumps much closer to where the took off). I'd imagine the leg wrap helps get the height up so that they can get the rotation in.

If you're just skating and playing around and all you want to do are singles, I'd say you're fine. Some skaters even do triples with the leg wrap, although a lot of coaches consider it bad technique. I'd worry that lifting the leg like that throws you off because you may not keep your hips level.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

I've never understood why leg wrap is wrong. I think it looks pretty and there are elite skaters who do it.

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Scott Cohen (a roller legend) did triples with a high wrap (and a costume problem). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cJSv95RjjA One of the comments on this video is from a skater who mentions how their coach says the wrap is bad, but look at him landing the triples with it......
It also can be done on ice. (Although Dick Button hates it!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR05b8SBtTs And, of course Nakano wraps some of her jumps (notably 3lutz and 3flip).

So it is interesting that you mention "small" jumps because it is possible to use it on triples.....Except that the "skating world" has a prejudice against it. (Unfortunately.)

I asked Dianne DeLeeuw about it and this is what she said.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Figure-Sk...ainst-wrap.htm

Personally, still suspect the prejudice against it has something to do with ballet. When their men do tour-l'air their legs are perfectly straight and pointed. They consider this "graceful," therefore, wrap is "bad" because it is "not graceful" (according to ballet).....Ice skating likes to copy ballet, therefore........wrap is "bad" technique.

Johns, it is great that you are "still out there" and doing freestyle (even with arthritis!) Make sure to be careful! I use bubblewrap. (Yes, seriously. Works great!)