Camel Spin In Ice Skating – Part 1 (Charyl Brusch)

Spin specialist Charyl Brusch explains how she teaches the camel spin.  She starts by talking about the desired spinning position.  One of the keys to a good camel spin is having the free hip on top of the skating hip.  Charyl also discusses free leg position and body position and she offers a fun and useful tip for keeping the head up and level.  Charyl wants the skating knee straight in a camel spin (she prefers a slight knee bend for upright spins).  Charyl has her skaters practice the desired position at the wall.

As for the entry, Charyl says, “I want the same entrance you’ve done into your scratch spin and the same entrance you’ve done into your sit spin.”  Going into the spin, the free leg trails behind, the skating knee is bent and the body is up.  The body position on a camel spin entry is often misunderstood.  Charyl says, “I don’t have them lean way forward.  I don’t want them to lean forward because if they hit their toe when you’re leaning too far forward you kinda keep going [into a fall].  I teach it with their back more upright, because what I want is the back-end to come up.  I don’t want the front-end to go down.  So I have them go in on a knee bend and as they pop up I have them lift the leg.  I don’t do a whole lot with the upper body.”

Charyl prefers leading into the spin with the skating arm in front.  It sweeps back on the same level it’s already on so the arm moves parallel to the ice.  A very common error is to drop the arm down which can cause loss of balance as well as loss of rotational energy.

Charyl shows how she physically helps her skaters learn the camel spin.  As the demonstrators show camel spins, Charyl offers additional insights.  In terms of timing, she wants the skater to stay down in the skating knee until after hitting the toe pick in the three turn.  Then she wants the skating arm to sweep back as the skating knee straightens.  She also wants the shoulders to remain square and relatively parallel to the ice, rather then letting the shoulders open too much with the hips.  It’s important that the free leg remain back throughout the entry or it will cause the skater to switch to an inside edge prior to the three turn, causing the whole free side to drop when the skater pops up out of the knee.  It’s very common for skaters to sweep the skating arm too soon.  Instead Charyl prefers to keep it in front until the skater hits the toe pick.

We are very fortunate to have a spin specialist of Charyl’s caliber as a presenter at iCoachSkating.com. Please leave a comment for Charyl or other members below.

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7 Responses to “Camel Spin In Ice Skating – Part 1 (Charyl Brusch)”
  1. May 17, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    Bryan Really glad for this video, particularly the instruction with the last skater. I'm one of those for whom the camel is not a natural spin. And like the third skater I sometimes have good spins, and then it sometimes completely abandons me. The more videos on this spin the better!

  2. May 18, 2012 at 5:14 pm

    Nancy Charyl, this is close to how I teach a camel, but the extra tips are excellent. Thank you for helping me make it clearer in my mind!

  3. May 20, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    Laura I liked this video a lot. Camel is my fave spin and it took a good two years to really figure it out. When you talk about keeping the free leg behind you on the glide in....wow, I also feel this is a really important component to a good fast and controlled camel. It's almost like if you let it creep forward even a little during the hook/glide in, it turns into a mediocre spin and makes it hard not to fall on to an inside edge. Such a tricky spin, and so hard to do when you're tired! Thanks so much for posting this great video...all of this little details and tips help sooo much!!!

  4. May 2, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    lauren Any tips for a skater who can get a good spiral position, but when trying a camel spin can't get their leg up at hip or higher level? I have a skater whose leg dangles down and she can't seem to get it at the right height...

  5. July 24, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    GerryHarter I really enjoy your presentations: the material covered as well as your personality!!

  6. March 9, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    ericaskater88 This video was very helpful.

  7. December 28, 2021 at 9:34 am

    Janet Wright Very helpful. You covered all my mistakes which I get rid of, but then with all the lock downs and months off the ice, they creep back again and it takes me another few months to get rid of them. Thank you.

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