Hi

I need help with twizzles (cannot do more than 1 revolution at the moment). Group lesson coach wants my group to do 1.5 revolutions at least.

Also I need help with chowtows. Please describe how they are done.

londonicechamp

You are going to have to give us a bit more than that in order for us to help you.

For the twizzles, which ones are you doing? Back, forward, inside, outside? What exactly is happening? Are you falling into one edge, spinning out of control, tripping over topicks, sliding off edges?

One common mistake is thinking of a twizzle as a spin. Can you do forward and backward 3 turns? If so, try doing a forward three and then backward three. Then connect a third. That gets you 1.5 around. Once you're comfortable doing this, take out the checking motion after the first two 3 turns so it is a more fluid motion. This helps get the feel of staying over the skating leg, as putting your weight in between legs will cause you to lose the edge. But it all depends on what you're doing wrong and what you're trying to accomplish.

As for "chowtows"..... Maybe my British friends can correct me, but I've not heard that term before. Do you possibly mean Choctaw? That is a type of turn that is similar to a mohawk in which you step from one blade to the other, however it uses different edges than the mohawk. Mohawks generally stay on the same edge (example forward inside to back inside) where a choctaw changes edge (forward inside to back outside).

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

Hi

Well, okay, will try the method that you suggested. May well work for me.

I think the group lesson coach said that do it like a back spin but without the legs crossed. I either end up keep on having more revolutions of the twizzles (most time rather than not having it at all.) I can do a double 3 turn though. So for a twizzle, what happens after I do the double 3 turn?

Yes, I can do mohawks. However, please describe more in detail how I do chowtaws.

londonicechamp

Mohawk - Change of foot, change of direction, same edge

Choctaw - Change of foot, change of direction, change of edge

There are many ways to do choctaws, as there are FI, FO, BI, BO, and open vs closed. If you can recall some details about what was shown in your class we could take it from there.

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Hi

I have been doing lots of double 3s lately, and found out yesterday that that help with my twizzles. Once I stand on my inside edge of my left boot, I can do a lot of the twizzles.

The coach does not teach us that much of a chowtah during a group lesson. Anyway, if there is a youtube link that I can refer to, that will be great.

Thanks in advance.

londonicechamp

Londonicechamp.. your enthusiasm for skating is wonderful. But it will probably help you, and certainly the people you are asking questions of, if you will use the correct terminology for skating elements. You keep referring to a "chowtah".. the step's correct name is "choctaw". I believe one of the earlier posters also pointed this out. Maybe this is just a typo on your part, but there are a lot of details in skating and using the correct names/spellings will help all of us. Sorry to sound like an old-fashioned schoolmarm being persnickety. Thanks!

You really need to be more specific. Maybe you can ask your coach what kind of choctaw he/she is teaching; then we can help.

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Hi dbny

Okay, I will ask the coach next time during our group lesson about a chowtah.

Hi thin ice

Thanks for your nice comments. I am always enthusiastic about skating. I do not plan on turning pro, only plan to take it up as a hobby. At present, I skate 3 times a week (during weekdays) in a local rink nearby where I live.
Thanks for pointing out that I spelt chowtah wrong.

londonicechamp

And yet.....

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I've had a lot of trouble with twizzles. Especially on my right foot. But I'll tell you what I've tried. It is starting to work, sometimes.

But, think of them (at least the basic forward inside version) as alternate foot back spins, which you never center, so you keep traveling.

I maybe rely on the equipment too much to solve athletic issues, but for me, it has made quite a difference to balance and center the weight on my feet: http://mgrunes.com/BootEqual.html If you have the weight uncentered on your foot (especially left - right centered), you will tend to fall off to one side. Play with the tape until you have no systematic tendency to fall either way. If you have a tendency to fall forward or back, use the tape to prevent that. This way I can sometimes manage 3 consecutive spins. (You will soon discover that the balance makes non-traveling spins easier too. Try the other foot for fun!)

But sometimes I still fall off twizzles after 1/2 spin, because I do something wrong. I sometimes travel when I try to spin, and center when I try to twizzle. Consistency is hard. Sigh.

This trick helped me to: wrap you hands around your body, right hand on tummy, left hand on lower back. Step onto on LFI edge, mid-blade, unwrap your arms and re-wrap (left hand on tummy, right hand on lower back) to spin clockwise while you travel forward. (If you step the right distance from the other leg, you will start balanced. Experiment.) Wrap and step and spin the otherway. (I use the wrap thing to balance non-traveling spins too.) And again.

The first method I was taught was to swing my arms to the side instead of wrapping. That works too, but is harder for me. So does putting your hands behind you, or joining them above (though that may center you more, so you no longer travel.)

The hand/arm positions that balance people seems to vary by skater. Wrapping does not work for everyone.

You can twizzle off any edge, still traveling the same way. You can even change hand/arm positions mid-twizzle. The basic foot position is side by side while you are spinning, but people sometimes do other things, or change that mid-twizzle too. I suspect mid-twizzle changes are to earn points; I find it harder to do that way.

I personally find it a lot easier to spin twizzles in the middle of my skate blade (but still on edge), not on the front or back.

AFAICT, the main difference between twizzles and 3 turns is that the spin is continuous from when you step onto the edge. You do not begin it by snaping like a three turn, or end it with a check, and your shoulders rotate with the feet and torso, all aligned together. Maybe someone better would disagree.

Good luck.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

Hi

In my group lesson last night, the coach made us do barrel rows, he said that it should be a chowtah done on the left inside edge and then 2 backward crosses. However, he still thinks that the chowtah is more like a mohawk than a chowtah. So I am still a bit confused. Any idea?

londonicechamp

The term is choctaw. Not chowtah.

If you start on a LFI you would step down onto your RBO edge. This is similar to a Mohawk where you would start on a LFI but in a mohawk you would then step down onto your RBI edge. The Choctaw is done in the same manner as the mohawk but you change edges when you step to the new skating foot (so from inside edge on the first foot to outside on the second).

A barrel roll (not row) adds steps after the Choctaw. So the Choctaw itself is done as described above but you add steps after completing the Choctaw

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

Repeat after me "choctaw, choctaw, choctaw"

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Hi dbny

I am repeating with you 100 times now choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw, choctaw.....