World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek continues his discussion of the double and triple loop, including more detail on the exercise and movements discussed in Part 1. Here he begins by addressing probably the most common problem skaters face on double and triple loop. He says, “Having the skater understand how to stay checked in that position (setup) while they rock on their blade to the take-off moment is an important part of the triple loop being successful.”
Returning to the exercise he explained in Part 1, Tom notes that he often asks the skater for feedback about how it “feels” to the skater. He describes the movement as, “In general, upper body should be firm and still and patient but it has to move quickly and strongly in the right moment.” Tom talks about a “tightening on the bend” where the skater moves the left arm and shoulder slightly, with the left arm moving against the rotation and across the mid-line before releasing up and into the jump. He notes that skaters will feel different amounts of this checking or tightening, as well as different amount of edge pressure.
To finish this video, Tom shows how to perform the exercise for a double loop (or triple loop) in combination. The main difference is the free foot is now off the ice to simulate the moment just prior to the second (or third) jump of a combination. The free hip and knee are closed which Tom describes as being across the mid-line of the body. The exercise includes 3 pivots to forward, with the final one simulating the full take-off into the combination including proper movement of the axis arm. Tom says, “Loop combos are easy to do once that free leg is controlled, that free hip pressed forward and turned in even from the knee to the free foot across the mid-line of the body.” The axis side arm helps generate both lift and a feeling of releasing into rotation.
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