Okay, so how do I keep my left arm from checking out before I hit the ground? I think everything else that is wrong I know, but I don't know how to keep that dang arm in. Every single time I attempted the jump I would pull in tight and then BAM out goes my arm.

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It's probably because your left shoulder was slightly ahead when you took off, so you're opening up. I try to think about keeping my shoulders over the tracing on the ice - left hard in front, right hard behind - and keeping them over the tracing as I take off.

Hi!

I try to think constantly that my leading shoulder is right below my chin, right from the begining of the jump (before taking off). If I achieve to keep it that way throughout the jump, then everything goes fine. Also, you can think of extending your arm right in front of you or even across the other side. These exaggerations help keeping th shoulder somehow in the right place...

V.

The trick is to keep the left shoulder in front throughout the jump, including the landing. Also, don't prerotate on the ice; doing that naturally forces your shoulders to turn the wrong way.

A good drill is to do a tight backspin, open up while still spinning, draw in tight again, repeat until dizzy. LOL Frank Carroll calls it "spin 'til you drop."

Champion Cords are also good for this - they provide a bit of tension to prevent the arms from opening up too soon.

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Here's a video... maybe you can tell me something else that I'm doing wrong? Because I really went into it with the instructor saying OH Why don't you try a double? .. Alright. haha.

from tuesday
http://youtube.com/watch?v=twqoaLdCxfg

from wednesday
and a new video, the double loop attempts are near the end, like 2:37ish.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=X6jF5q1mSRI

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Try doing the double loop and landing in a backspin, which should force you to try and keep your arms in in order to spin. Don't land and then go wide with the arm and leg then pull in. Watch that you're not landing though and sticking your hips back. The trick is to hit the landing and spin. It's hard, but it'll train your body to stay in. Good luck!

Based on your video, it looks like you are bringing your upper body (shoulders and arms) into that squared, pulled-in air position before you've actually left the ice. In other words, they are in position for the right amount of time, it just happens just too early! Be careful not to pre-rotate the upper body before takeoff, only the lower body.
The rotation on this jump needs to happen from the bottom up. So the first thing you need to do is really curl your takeoff edge, using the ankle of your skating foot. Now the knee. The deeper the bend, the more curl you'll get. Now, start rotating that right hip. Your left arm should be automatically starting to cross in front of your chest as you twist your knee and hips CCW but leave your shoulders counter-rotated to the right. Only once you've started twisting the right hip in do you finally release the right shoulder--which should have stayed pulled way back all this time--and let your shoulders square up with your hips as you start to leave the ice. This is what gives the jump the snap that gives you the half turn extra you need in the air. Also, when you leave the ice, try punching the right fist into the left palm at waist level, 6 inches above your right hip bone. That will also help keep your weight over your landing side and keep your left arm side from flying open. In the air, my coach tells me to rotate over my right toe. For some reason, that seems to help me. (All of this stuff has worked fabulously in giving me a fully rotated double loop on the floor and on the harness. I think doing it on the ice without the harness is just a mental thing for me, LOL!)

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I'd really like to see more jump in your loop, single and double. It really goes around instead of up. Try doing it on a straight line instead of such a tight curve.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zXvm8n2FZ6Q

HELP. Double loops are 1:45 into it.

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Keep working at it and you'll get it eventually. I liked the ones you fell down on (showed you were pushing past your comfort zone). Do you do any off ice training? I'd recommend strengthening excercises and anything that will make you quicker

What doubletoe said before is right, it looks like you pull your arms in just before you leave the ice. Also, as kander says, find exercises that makes you quicker... But I think they are both related - if you get the snap, you will be quicker.

Last year, I had a coach tell me that I was "too slow" in the double loop. Of course when I was doing it, it felt like that was the fastest I could possibly go... I suppose it wasn't! Anyway, I recently found videos of my double loops from a practise session earlier this year... they are still slightly under
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M-pEKwBFxM8

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So wait.. I'm pulling in too soon? Crap.

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Well, look at it this way... my coach likes to tell me to "use the arms", which should actually help with the lift, and then the snap. If your arms are already folded in before the lift, they are not helping at all! Actually I like how tight you pull your arms in, but as doubletoe said, its in "for the right amount of time, just too early".

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I see. Thanks!

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Seconded, you are leaning way into the circle. Have you ever tried entering the loop with your left foot skating on an outside edge - that will straighten out your jump.

It helps to think of this jump as starting at the feet and working its way up your body. With that in mind, your hips should start rotating first, then your right shoulder should be released so your body becomes square, then you should leave the ice, and only after leaving the ice should your arms pull into the body. (As for your head, it just stays where it is, slightly counter-rotated to the right from takeoff to landing.)

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

You're letting your free (left) foot go past your skating (right) foot before you go up, so you're starting the jump with your feet parallel instead of crossed. It's much harder to pull it back in after you're letting it go - kind of like losing a check and regaining it. Keep the left foot in line with the tracing throughout the jump and the left shoulder checked strongly in front. To think of it visually, your left heel should never pass beyond your right shinbone.

Do you have a video of a nice, strong, BIG single loop? I'd like to see a fast, powerful single, I'm sure you're capable of it. Your doubles look a little weak and deflated. Do you feel hesitant or tenative going into them?

Here's a video of a loop with good technique (slightly wrapped):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qyiDDUEVlS4

Side-by-side comparison of takeoff position:

Try to take off for the loop from a forward inside mohawk... that'll straighten it out. Also, lift up your free leg! More bend in the skating knee and more lift from the free knee... It's not a horrible attempt, you should be proud!

As a sidenote, your forward spiral is awesome!!

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense, I'll try it next time.

Gee I wonder why. This was only my third attempt at the double loop. And I have lyme disease, am extremely weak from medication and am scared to death of falling backward onto my head when I go into the jump. LMAO.

But.. I do.

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I looked at your video from July 24th and your double loops are actually not that bad. One thing I noticed is that you seem to be breaking at your waist when you land, which could be why you're putting your free leg down and therefore two-footing the jump.

The double loop you do at about 2:30 - you definitely could have landed that! It was so close, a little cheated, but so close! And on one foot almost! Had you have kept your core a little stronger, you may have been able to hang on to that landing minus the two-footing. You may also want to try staying in a little tighter with your arms. You seem to let them go at the last minute, which is something I do when I'm trying to avoid falling...kind of like a safety net, you know? Perhaps double loop-backspins would help. Just make sure you land the double loop and immediately go into the backspin. Don't open up or that'll defeat the purpose and just bring you back to square one. If you don't feel comfortable doing double loop-backspin, try just a single loop-backspin. It's all similar motions...

Good luck! It's coming together...

FWIW, that never helped me. I tend to lean into the edges and it screwed up the take off. Any kind of curved entrance screws me up.

What I do for the double loop take off is this: Skate from the boards straight towards the top of the center circle. Turn backwards at the circle (RFI mohawk), do one back crossover so you're heading straight backwards down rink. Wide step with your right foot to stop the rotation from the crossover, bring your right foot behind the left foot so you're on a straight line. Line up your left shoulder on top of the tracing and the right shoulder strongly back. Keep yourself on a strong straight line, then bend and jump.

I know how you feel. I was diagnosed with Graves' Disease a few months ago, and it had a huge impact on my skating, especially endurance. How long have you been skating? IIRC it wasn't that long. These attempts are good for your third time. The coach in me is critical, I can't help it!

I've been skating for about 16 months. Oh and I'll try that technique next time.

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Wow! See, you should be really proud of yourself for even thinking about working on double loops, let alone doing some quite respectable attempts. It took me four years to start on doubles - and that's just from the start of my private lessons, not learn to skate - and another two before I even landed one. Double loops after a year and a half of skating is very impressive. I've watched your other videos, and you have nice spins as well. I would never have guessed that you've skated for so short a time.

Keep working on it. Skating takes time, even for the most talented. I don't mean to be overly critical, it's just the coach in me!

Okay so I tried the 2loop again today and something weird happened. I think I actually used the edge mostly to jump up and around. Like.. I did the mohawk and then got into position, bent down and then sprung up but the edge like.. got caught.. umm like power pulls. Is that what is supposed to happen or is that bad?

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Sounds like maybe you "sprung up" too early.