Hi All

Well there's some great advice on here, so I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do teapots*?

Basically, the problem is I cannot can my butt down low enough - I have trouble on two feet! If anyone has any suggestions and/or could recommend any exercises to help me come more flexible, that would be great.

Many thanks, Sonic xx

*teapot= here in the UK this is the move where you go along on one foot with the other foot out in front, butt as near to the ice as possible - the sort of sit-spin position - dunno if it's called something else elsewhere?

Yep, what we call a teapot here in the UK is known as a "shoot the duck" in the US. I must admit I never mastered a decent teapot. I really don't see what the point of it is since it's not used in a programme. I know it's believed to help you get into a decent sit spin position but I have a good sit spin anyway without being able to do a teapot. I'm sorry that I'm not really able to offer you any advice, but I remember my coach telling me to really lean forward and try to get my ribs down onto my thighs in order to balance. I never got that low though! Sit spins are so much easier!

Nicki

Yep! You need to really s-t-r-e-t-c-h forward as you're going down...reach for your outstretched foot. I usually had more success if I also turned the free foot out.

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I used to be able to do these really well when I was a kid.

What worked for me was to go down into a "dip" on 2 feet and then lift the foot and stick it out, while really reaching forward.

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I've got mad salchow disease!

I can get really low down on a shoot the duck but can't do a sit spin to save my life! get some speed then with yur back straight looking straight ahead and arms out in front bend yoiur knees all the way down, when you feel balanced on two feet, slip your leg out in front holding the foot parallel to the ice so your blade doesn't hit the ice. it took many falls before I got it. what helped me is to think of pushing free foot foward and my hands forward, the minute you tilt back youll fall. even if yiou do fall your so low down yull just slide. off ice do some squats with your back against the wall and hold your squats with your legs at a 90 degree angle, when you get reall good off ice try one foot squats those are real killers, but youll gain a whole lot of strenght in yiur quads, just dont forget towork your hampstrings so yoiur muscles are balanced.

I always teach teapots as two-footed, shoot-the-ducks as one-footed, so I'm not sure which one you're talking about. No matter, same suggestions:

Can you bend your knees over your toes? If not, undo the top hook of your skates and try again. That should give you more knee bend and help you get down into the sitting position.

Can you squat in your skates and keep your blades on the ice? I know my oldest has trouble with this, mainly because she catches for the softball team, so she squats on her toes, not her feet. Someone on this Board suggested doing toe-hangs off the stairs to help with that stretch.

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Thank you SO much for finally explaining what a "teapot" is, ROFL!!
And now that I know it's just a shoot-the-duck, I will chime in!
As others have said, this is an exercise in getting your weight forward so that you get your rear end close to the ice without falling backwards. In order to achieve this position, you need to lower your bottom while arching your back and pushing your chest out over your knee. You also need to turn your free leg out and push it forward.
You'll know when you are in the correct position for both a sitspin and a shoot-the-duck/teapot when you are on the ball of your skating foot with the bottom toepick scraping just a tiny bit (which is why you always want to do these backwards), and you can feel the top of the calf of your skating leg pressing against the inside of the thigh of your free leg.

Shoot-the-duck is not done backwards.

When I started learning shoot-the-duck I did so by gliding on 2 feet, going down as if to sit down on a stool (with shoulders squared and back straight) keeping the weight centered on my feet. When all the way down I picked up my foot and stretched it forward in the shoot-the-duck position.
Once I was able to do the move in this way I started practicing going into it on one foot.

I can do them backwards - it's easier (and safer) . If you think about a sit spin, it's done on a BI edge, too. But you're right: most people think of the forward maneuver when you mention shoot-the-ducks. (Didn't Michael Weiss do a variation they nicknamed the "Mike Pike"?)

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Nancy Kerrigan did a back shoot-the-duck into a double lutz in her 1993-94 (I think that was the year...) season free program.

Well there are 2 ways you can do it, either put your leg out as you're going down, or go all the way down and then put the leg out. I find the 2nd easier, can't do the first one at all,probably why I can't get my sit spin anywhere near as low! Either way you REALLY have to pull forwards, that's they key. Good luck!

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The hardest thing about ice skating is the ice.

I should have been more specific. . . If you want to do it as an exercise for the sitspin, you should do it backwards.

Oh ok, that makes sense then.

I can get into my shoot-the-duck and can hold it, however I can't do it on two feet (a dip), and so I cannot figure out how to come up. Do I just need to work on my quad strength, or is there some technique I should try? I usually end up falling onto my left hip.

My daughter used to do the teapot into a lutz jump in competitions. The judges nearly died of shock the first time they saw it. She did them backwards. Apparently it is easier backwards.

To get your butt down lower, my coach tells me to think of a see saw. Once you hit a certain point, you can't just bend your knee. You also need to lift your leg at the same time which will push your butt down.

Work on your quads, do lunges and squats (off ice) start with no weights then slowly progress to added weights.

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

Also doing 5 Teapots of land everyday helps, try to have you feet completely flat when you do it, it will also improve your core body strength

It's harder to do when you don't have a heel, though (because your weight falls back and you can't keep your chest over your knee). Fortunately, skate boots have a heel, and that will make it a little easier to keep from falling back when you do them on the ice.