Hi, does anyone have any suggestions on how to learn the backwards shoot-the-duck/teapot? Do you still lean forwards heavily as for the forward one?

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Also, for both directions, how do you get up from it? From the sitting position with the leg out, do you:

a) bring in the free leg, put it down on the ice so you're doing a 'little man' then rise up

b) rise up like you got down (i.e with your leg stretched out all the time until you're up)

thanks

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For doing a back teapot, it's like going into a forward one - strike a back edge, then lower yourself.

For getting up, probably easiest to get into a "little man" and then stand up, but more elegant to rise up like you got down. However, since an awful lot of people come out of the thing by sitting down on the ice......

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I'm gonna guess that mine are actually pretty good, since I hear nothing but compliments on them. First, get on an edge, making it a hydroblade. This makes it SOOO much easyer. Next, practice your back outside edges, the part of the glide with the foot up front and just a little to the side. Then, you simply deepen this position every time. I'm practicing it on inside edges on my quad rollers right now, they can be done on the inside edges too, but it's easyer to do them on the outside ones because of the body position.

When I get down on my hydroblades, I'd have to say by balance is just behind or on my sweet spot of the blade actually, not by the toepicks as one might think. When I get onto the toepicks, the edge curves far too much.

Also, I straighten out my leg forward and to the side a little as I'm sitting down - before I'm sitting down in fact. I DONT sit down first and then straighten out a leg, cuz this is much much harder. If you sit down with your leg to the side, on an edge, the pushing into the edge makes it so much easyer to keep your balance and to glide, because your blade grinds into the ice and can't skid across the ice.

You do stretch forward with the rest of the body, almost as if you wanted to reach your toes though, but you keep the upper body slightly turned to stay on the edge, like you typically would to stay on a back outside edge (except less strongly).

One last tip: if you fall, roll. Keep your chin pressed to your chest, and just let yourself roll, your legs will fly up and you'll almost tumble over your head backwards, but as long as you roll with it, it doesn't hurt at all and you can get back up on your feet straight away from it.

thanks sessy, your back teapots were really good in your competition. I'm off to practice now, actually... so feedback later!

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