So I've been working on my salchow (I call it a sad-chow, but anyway) and also my waltz jump but no matter what I do I never seem to be able to kick all the way through. She couldn't think of anything to say that really helped me, so maybe you guys have some advice? The leg just does-not-stretch. It's not a flexibility issue cause I'm Ms. Bendy so...it's gotta be something else. Any thoughts?

Maybe you need to bend your skating leg knee more deeply just before you leave the ice. That way you can pop up and have the air time to kick through.

Are you afraid you might "accidentally" dig your free leg's toepick into the ice as it swings through????? Hmmmm? That's my issue, I'm trying to work around it by flexing the foot a bit more (still not pretty, but oh well).

At my rink, Salchows that don't turn out are "sour-cows"

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Or maybe you need a different coach who CAN think of what to tell you to help you. Why pay someone to fix your skating if they aren't? There are always things to say to help fix a problem. ALWAYS.

Well, I have two thoughts for you to try...

One is to think of kicking a soccer ball when you kick thru. Doesn't work for me that well but....
The other one that my "skating niece" does is to think of someone that you really hate and you want to kick that person HARD... and incorporate Terri C's mantra (see her .sig) as you are about to kick thru...

Try those!!! See if it works...

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Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I will second this, because this is precisely the trick that got me my waltz jump. Turn, glide, kick the soccer ball, launch, land.

And she has come up with plenty to say to help me in almost everything else I'm doing, and she's given me plenty on this topic but nothing is working. I'm not a coach hopper - she's an extremely effective coach who has helped me get a lot of other things that other coaches haven't been able to. I don't think you should drop a coach just because one thing isn't translating well. So I think I'll stick with her, but thanks for the suggestion.

Jazzpants - I've tried the soccer ball thing, but never the person I dislike thing...I rarely dislike people that much to kick them, but maybe I can come up with something similar.

S@D - I think subconsciously this might be whats happening. I keep telling myself I don't care if I fall - I've fallen before on waltz jumps and have survived...but maybe this is holding me back.

I'll definitely try a bunch of different things in my own practice and work with her again on Saturday. Really I think I need to get my psyche straight and then just go for it.

Well, I didn't know she was helping you on other things, usually a coach find a way to help their student on either everything or nothing (it's just been my experience) and even if they cannot make you magically land a jump, there is always a little alternate way of saying the same thing that can make a little light bulb go off in the student's help. I just feel that no coach should ever just not find *anything* to say.

However, since you are happy with her then that is great. What I am wondering is if perhaps she has associates that she works with, or people that she doesn't mind her students working with. Perhaps you could go to this other person for the purpose of learning to kick through. I know that every once in a while, I consult with other coaches on my jumps because I like having a fresh opinion on them. So instead of LEAVING your coach, think about perhapas getting 4-5 lessons in any time period you see fit with somebody else that the coach would approve just to get someone else's input on this issue you are having. Most of the time...it's just one word that needs to be said for someone to finally understand and for it to click in their head, and for that, you might need to go to someone else. Just thoughts.

Sorry if I seemed a bit snappy in my reply - I didn't mean it to come out the way it might have sounded, I'm just very pleased with my coach and I'm set on not changing. And I suppose I wasn't too clear on my original post.

I definitely agree that getting different perspectives is good - which is why I came here. I don't have "formal" instruction until Saturday so I was looking for some advice for when I practice on Friday morning

Try keeping your foot flexed, and lead with your knee. I try to think of balancing a cup of water on my knee to keep it bent. If you have stairs nearby, practice jumping up to the second stair with your right foot and landing sideways and eventually backwards.

My coach tells me all kinds of corrections for my jumps and spins. If I could fix all the things she tells me, I'd be landing every jump under the sun. Unfortunately, I don't think my brain is always ready to accept corrections on the axel.

My coach has tried the soccer ball analogy with me... then I laughed and said, well, if you've ever seen me try to kick a soccer ball, you'd know that wouldn't work! But I'll second the kicking the person approach--that's more effective for me....

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It's okay! I was just hoping not to have offended you. Most of my advice for your salchow and waltz are posted on the thread where you put up your videos. I hope some of it helps somehow. I'm really not that great at typing down advice. Good luck!

I think it would be a good idea to get someone to video you, I suspect that your free leg is coming through fractionally too soon before the take off, leaving it no distance to assist you.

What worked for me was to think about leaping up stairs. I use the phrase "step up" in my head. As I bend the knee on the left outside, I think "STEP" and as I kick the leg up/through, I look up and think "UP". Always look up, never look down, and as you look up, kick your free leg not just through but up! GOOD LUCK!

Good idea! If this doesn't work, you could also try imagining that you're jumping over something on the ice. Try jumping over a log, or visualize yourself as an acrobat who must jump over people laying on the ice.

My coach teaches the kids to do 3-jumps, as they're called over here, by taking them to the blue line and telling them that this is a stream that they must jump over, and they mustn't get their feet wet.... and later, they pretend it has logs on it, so they have to jump over the logs.

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Hmmm...I think (since I've been doing them on land just fine - my land waltz jump is impressive if I do say so myself heh) it's a fear of the toepick thing, as well as a timing issue. I'm not getting the right feeling for when to bring the leg through so I think I'll just concentrate on getting the timing down...on top of everything else, heh.

i think the important part of this jump is checking that 3 turn, getting your arms and the 3 turn to work together. The timing is also very important. It makes a big difference if you wait too long on the edge or not long enough. Remember to keep your weight over your skating side instead of dropping the shoulder and leaning into the circle.