Sit Spin Question

[rf3ray]

Ok Guys I'm learning a sit spin.... Ok just wondering.. My coach said I need to break in the tongue of my skate to do a SIT SPIN is this true???

[TashaKat]

Break in the tongue??? Don't get that one, my tongue was quite soft (compared to the one in my head which could get quite harsh when we were doing sit spins). Maybe she means that your skates need to be broken in, it's much easier to get down in a sit spin if you're not wearing brand new skates :) Could she mean that she wants you to put more pressure on the tongue? Maybe it's her way of getting you to get the position right, I know that some people sit back towards the heel so maybe you're doing that a bit?

Not much help I'm afraid ... I'll shut up now :D

[NickiT]

Not really heard that one before. My daughter is in her second week of new boots and doing sit spins, so I can't see why you'd need to break in the tongue. I'd agree that it's easier to do sit spins in broken in boots, but it's not to say you can't do them if your boots aren't well broken in.

Nicki

[stardust skies]

You don't break in a tongue. A tongue's not rigid enough to require break-in. You do need to break in the bending point in your boot on each side of the tongue, but you should have done that before even jumping or spinning on them at all (the first couple of weeks of breaking boots in should be only stroking and MITF, which is why if you're not changing blades it's good to keep the old boots for freestyle until you've broken the new ones in). So no, breaking in the tongue makes no sense. And either way, even with brand new, super stiff boots, you can still do a sit spin. It's just not as low. ;)

[BelleOnIce]

Perhaps you should try getting more bend in your boots by not looping the top hook then doing a few sit spins and seeing if you can get lower?
Also I find when im breaking in new boots I often wear them about the house and do different things like bending up and down like squats, walking up stairs and also practising going in to your sit spin position off ice?

As someone else said it may not be your skates but the position you have your blade on the ice? Try leaning forward on your blade towards the ball of your foot and also the more you open your hips the lower you can go.
Hope some of that helps!
Belle :D

[stardust skies]

Also I find when im breaking in new boots I often wear them about the house and do different things like bending up and down like squats, walking up stairs and also practising going in to your sit spin position off ice?



I'm a believer in that "whatever works for you cannot be deemed wrong", but I've heard from both Harlick and a bunch of trustworthy boot fitters that wearing your boots to break them in outside of skating is really bad because it breaks them in in places other than where they would naturally break for skating, and that you'll get creases in the wrong spots that way. I don't know if it's true, as I never break in my boots off the ice, but it's what I've heard. Something to keep in mind, at least.

[AnnM]

My coach used a similar phrase ("break in the tongue"), but what she was referring to was actually, in a broader perspective, breaking in the boots as a whole. The tongues on a new boot do tend to be a little stiff and pop "out" of the boot if they are not laced up. My coach encouraged me to lace them firmly and bend as much as possible when doing sit spins, to the point where I could feel a little bit of lacebite, in order to speed up the process and help the tongue conform to my ankles better. Of course, this whole process also helps to break in the boot. It worked for me.

My coach also recommended wearing my skates at home, but just while sitting or doing some two-footed squats so that the boot would start molding to my foot sooner. I was a little skeptical, since I had heard the same thing as the poster below about *not* doing this, so I just stuck to wearing them while watching tv for short time periods. I don't know if it really helped, but I was having foot cramps bad enough to make me want to at least try it.

[luna_skater]

I'm a believer in that "whatever works for you cannot be deemed wrong", but I've heard from both Harlick and a bunch of trustworthy boot fitters that wearing your boots to break them in outside of skating is really bad because it breaks them in in places other than where they would naturally break for skating, and that you'll get creases in the wrong spots that way. I don't know if it's true, as I never break in my boots off the ice, but it's what I've heard. Something to keep in mind, at least.

I think there is some truth to this, but it depends what you are doing in the boots. If you are "walking" around in the boots like you would with normal shoes, then yes, the break-in spots are not going to be the same as when you are skating. But if you are doing skating motions off the ice in your boots, I don't see a problem. When I got my new boots, I would put them on at home and just bend straight up and down in them, practice extension, choctaws, progressives, etc., all in front of a mirror.

[Mrs Redboots]

I'm a believer in that "whatever works for you cannot be deemed wrong", but I've heard from both Harlick and a bunch of trustworthy boot fitters that wearing your boots to break them in outside of skating is really bad because it breaks them in in places other than where they would naturally break for skating, and that you'll get creases in the wrong spots that way. I don't know if it's true, as I never break in my boots off the ice, but it's what I've heard. Something to keep in mind, at least.I heard that what you mustn't do is wear the boots without blades on them. But once the blades have been fitted, it's okay.

But I found my new skates to be relatively comfortable from the off, and didn't need to do that - the mouldable padding round the ankle was a huge help. It only took a week before they felt like "my" boots, although it did take longer to adjust to the upgraded blades!

[Skate@Delaware]

I think there is some truth to this, but it depends what you are doing in the boots. If you are "walking" around in the boots like you would with normal shoes, then yes, the break-in spots are not going to be the same as when you are skating. But if you are doing skating motions off the ice in your boots, I don't see a problem. When I got my new boots, I would put them on at home and just bend straight up and down in them, practice extension, choctaws, progressives, etc., all in front of a mirror.
That's a good idea! I don't have a full-length mirror in my house....
I wonder what the people at my gym would say if I brought them in to the mirrored room for 'footwork'????? 8O

It's a big room with flat carpeting and mirrors on all the walls, just no barres, but it's great for working on stuff, because no one goes in there unless they have to....I could leave the guards on....

maybe I'd better not-I'm dorky and klutzy enough to fall.... :oops: and they'd see it on the security camera (well, it would be good for a laugh!)

[flippet]

I heard that what you mustn't do is wear the boots without blades on them. But once the blades have been fitted, it's okay.

That's what I've heard, too. Without blades, walking in them like a shoe might indeed break them in/down in some rather odd places--you certainly don't need a crease line over the toe or a flex line under the arch! (Although I can't imagine walking enough in non-bladed boots to even begin to do that.) But once the blades are on, that will keep the sole flat and exactly where it should be, and I don't think you can even make too many movements that are so unlike anything you'd do on the ice that it would damage them or make a difference.