Olympic Team medalist and coach Mirai Nagasu continues an off-ice seminar jump class focusing on the loop and double loop. In Part 1 she discussed alignment over the axis side and taught a hopping and rotating exercise to develop position and rotational control. In this video Mirai begins by reviewing alignment and setup details as well as a drill to feel the “snap” that many coaches use to describe the acceleration of the rotation in the air. [Editor’s note: the strong pre-rotation Mirai demonstrates with the shoulders usually doesn’t happen on a good loop jump on the ice, but this approach is useful for feeling the “snap” or quick movement into the tight rotational position and landing preparation. Some skaters do allow the shoulders to rotate past the hips on the ice, but most have a relatively square shoulder to hip take-off position.] Mirai wants the class to hold the final position showing excellent control.
After having the class hop and rotate on the axis side (see Part 1), Mirai has the class use an exercise band to provide tension for the arms while creating more awareness of where the arms and shoulders are with respect to the hips. She says, “You’re going to pull it over your right side” meaning the shoulders twist so the band which is held in both hands is near the right hip. Again she emphasizes the need to be aligned on the axis side. While hopping and rotating, a common error is opening the free knee and free hip as this destroys alignment and rotational control. She then has the class start with little hops and then turn them into a series of single loop jumps. Since the class struggles with control, Mirai simplifies the movement to be in place jumps in h-position. She finishes this video with repeating single loops with the exercise band.
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