For the past couple of weeks i've been trying to land the axle, but i can't get it. I can feel myself go into the air, but when I land its double footed or my legs are still crossed. Any advice?

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*lizzie

Patience. The axel takes months if not years from some people, even if you got the single jumps easily.

What does your coach say? There are so many little things you need to do just right in order to land an axel that it's impossible to say what the problem is without seeing it. This is definitely a jump you need to work on with a coach.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I'm working on my axle too and I've been working on it for about a year. I'm also working on my doube sal and I'm really close to landing both of them. On my axle I'm half way checked out and them I fall. Any tips?

It sounds like you may be needing to jump a little higher, since you said that you are landing two-footed and with your feet still crossed. Jumping higher will give you the extra few milliseconds to get your feet uncrossed or lift your free leg so you can land clean on one foot.

To help you jump higher, make sure that you are really powering through the jump with your right leg (assuming you jump CCW) and take off all the way from your left toe. Also work on lifting your left leg when you land to help you hit on one foot. I always think of pulling my knee up.

You can also try working on back spins and jumping out of them. Again, make sure that you're really feeling the left leg lift as you land.

Good luck!

This probably isnt the best advice but...
I was trying to land my axle for about a year and i just couldnt get it right. Then my coach went on holidays for three months so i switched to another coach and landed it within a month of his coaching. Also when my coach came back i had lessons from both coaches and when my first coach moved contries and i went back to full time with the second coach i landed my double sal clean as well as getting my double flip and toe.
That was a bit confusing and probably not the most useful story but have you considered looking at how different coaches teach (you dont have to havelessons, just observe)?
The advice from this story is: Try some different techniques

Flik

Speaking of Axel jump today marks the first day that I did an axel combination. I did an axel - loop jump combo. I couldn't believe it!!! When my coach said, "Do an Axel-loop combo" I looked at him like he was smokin' crack. I have never done that before. Sure enough I took a breath, exhaled, and landed it cleanly. I thought it was a fluke so I tried it again and landed it a second time. Finally I did it a third time before we moved on to double salchow. The skating gods have come down and finally blessed me. For me, axels are tougher to land than some of my doubles. So for me to do a combination off of an axel is a huge leap forward. (No Pun Intended) Who knows?? I might just meet my goal land this double axel by the end of this year.

For everyone who is having a hard time landing an axel, here's some imagery that may help you view the jump differently. I truly hope this makes sense to someone. I find that an axel is more of a mental hurdle than it is a physical one. I also found that a forward take-off is intimidating even though I've been doing waltz jumps since I can remember. I found it easier to imagine that I am aiming my right side into the air and I do a backspin instead of thinking 1.5 revolutions. It almost feels like I am jumping a mazurka to my right side. So even when I step forward, I try to jump sideways and swing both arms to my right side. It feels like my left arm swings across my chest as opposed to straight out in front of me. This causes the sharp 90 degree hook tracing on the ice as you take off. It puts your left shoulder in front of you like a good back scratch spin and it also causes you to jump outside of the circle that you are creating with your outside edge. You want that to happen. I find that when I jump inside the circle, I'll pull to my left side and splat!!! Waltz jump-backspins will really help develop this muscle memory. That may be a lot to take in. If you got questions, please ask. I hope I explained that well enough.


BlackManSkating

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Proud to be one of the few black men out on the ice

Goals
Pass my Silver Moves Test
Finish Choreography for Silver Program
Land a Clean Double Toe and Double Lutz
Work on Double Axel and Rockers
Speed up back Camel

Silly question, but is there anyone here that has started work on an axel with a really bad backspin?

Mine is really bad, but my coach started my axel work yesterday as my jumps are alot stronger than my spins.......... Just wondering if it is possible to land it or make progress, without having a decent backspin?

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If you want the best seat in the house, you'll have to move the cat!

Yep, you can start axels with a dodgy back spin.
mine used to be really dodgy before i was in an intensive training camp and we worked on them for like 4 hours and i already had my axel
some people say its harder but i doubt it

Flik

I started working on the axel before I had a decent backspin and it turned out to be a total waste of time. I just couldn't do it. But once I started consistently getting 3-4 revolutions on the backspin, I was suddenly able to land the axel on the floor. Then, after awhile, I was able to land it on the ice.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

As a coach, I would not start my skaters on axels unless they had a decent backspin. Having a solid backspin helps skaters to rotate in the air correctly, cross their feet and get over their correct side (right side if you rotate CCW), develop a correct, quick landing by use of free leg lifting, etc. If you coach, however, thought that you are capable of starting an axel without a strong backspin, perhaps you are just a strong jumper and I would trust your coach's instinct. Still, I advise working hard on your backspin - it'll make your axel that much easier! Good luck!

I agree that a decent backspin should be attained before attempting an axel. Even if you underrotate the axel, you should be able to land on your toe pick in a backspin position. This prevents some nasty falls. The backspin teaches you to rotate on your right side (CCW skaters) which is something you have to do to make an axel happen. I'd rather learn this position on the ice instead of trying to find it in a split second while airbourne. You may be able to make progress. Anything is possible. But it might be less painful for you if you learn the backspin first. At least be able to do a few revs before you tackle the axel. Good luck and best wishes to you.


BlackManSkating

__________________
Proud to be one of the few black men out on the ice

Goals
Pass my Silver Moves Test
Finish Choreography for Silver Program
Land a Clean Double Toe and Double Lutz
Work on Double Axel and Rockers
Speed up back Camel

I have gone through so many coaches to have me consistent with this jump, but overall its all in my head. I wonder when I will be able to snap out of it and just do it!

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Tim David's Website

Thanks for your help everyone. I am going to work hard on my backspin, which at the mo has been anything between 1 and 4 revs, but the prob is when I get the weight too far forward on my toepick.

Luckily though, although I probably won't get too far with my dodgy backspin, at least since I started axels on ice, I have finally got my rotation off ice to 1 and a half revs at last.......... just need to work on landing it on one foot off ice now and crossing my foot better!

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If you want the best seat in the house, you'll have to move the cat!

That's good progress! If you are 2-footing the landing, you will definitely benefit from doing lots of backspins, since that will train your body to stay over the right side and stay backward with the left hip closed.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics