Hello all...I'm new. I have a question about choosing a jump and spin direction. I am fairly ambidextrous. I write with my right hand and eat with my left. I am strongly right-footed but prefer to spin clockwise. I am having the worst time spinning and jumping. I have stronger landing edges and spin entries when doing them CCW though they feel more comfortable clockwise since that is my prefered turning direction. Help!

just try doing a one foot spin one way then the other then u can make your choice on which is easier and which u feel better doing..hope that helps you in any way..good luck!
marissa

If somebody says to you "Turn round", which direction do you automatically turn in? That's probably the one you should use for jumping and spinning.

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Mrs Redboots
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That's what I'd wondered about myself. I write and use scissors with my right hand naturally, but most other things I naturally do left-handed - ie unscrewing caps off bottles, tearing open ketchup packets, opening jars and shampoo bottles, etc. My mom lightheartedly teases me about it.

When my instructors, or others, have asked me which hand I use primarily, I usually say "right" because I write with that hand. I'm not sure if I'm really ambidextrous.

At first when I was learning to spin, both directions felt okay. But now I spin CCW which feels more comfortable.

Hi Scarlett - I'm another partially ambidextrous skater - I write right handed, play hockey and golf left handed, but tennis, snooker and baseball right handed. I also unscrew jar lids left handed, and deal cards with the left hand. With skating - I prefer CW spinning, but can really only do the proper 3 turn entry for a CCW spin. I don't jump anymore, never really did get into jumping, but the few waltz jumps I used to do were CCW. I find most moves come easier on the left foot - 3 turns, mohawks, spirals, etc. With spinning, I just decided to keep spinning in both directions, after all, why not? My sit spin is CW, and I was working on a CCW one but the left knee said No. When I started spinning, I just naturally tried both directions. People tell me that they usually feel sick going the "wrong" way, but I didn't, so I kept both directions. I tell myself I have something in common with some of the more famous skaters.
I'm told by older coaches that they usually encourage young skaters to spin and jump in the same direction. Good luck with whatever direction you try.

Thanks everyone for all your advice...I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was struggling with the CCW/CW thing. I've decided to do every thing CW...now I just have to tell my coach and work on strengthening my left leg.

Just a question...

How much is handedness really related to spin/jump direction? It seems that there is an assumption that right handed skaters should rotate CCW, and left handed skaters should rotate CW. However, in my personal experience, I've only met 9 CW spinners, and 8 of them are right handed. Among the 6 left-handed skaters I've met, only 1 spins CW (and yes, that's the same person I'm citing in the previous statistic). Maybe I've just met an unusual sample, though...

I do agree that it's important to spin and jump in the same direction, as spinning reinforces jump technique.

My dd is right handed and also her natural direction is cw for both jumps and spins
We hear alot of guess she is a leftie but she isnt.

Me too!!! (The right handed but spins and jumps CW part...)

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jazzpants

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Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I've found I'm better in the CCW direction at everything, but then I'll go to a mostly empty session and skate CW for a long time and "catch up" the CW skills, and can generally do them equally well. I can only do the waltz jump, but I can do it in either direction, and I can manage 2-3 revolution 1-foot spins on my new skates in either direction.

I intend to start going to a couple morning freestyle sessions a week, and skating CW during them. It is my intention to skate ambidextrously, even though a lot of people have told me not to bother. I can do most things (eating, using chopsticks, driving with one hand, shaving...) with either hand, though I don't write well with my left hand at all.