Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a short series of videos discussing adult skaters and their specific issues in terms of spinning. In the previous 3 videos of the series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Charyl covered general helpful tips and the backspin. In this video, she focuses on the camel spin and in particular, tips for adults who struggle with this spin.
Charyl always starts the camel spin by looking at the skater’s spiral. She notes the common error of having the free leg to the side rather than directly behind the hip, and this is her initial first priority. Then she uses a back spiral in a straight line to develop comfort with the position and the ability to control the blade and develop consistency with the spinning spot on the blade. Charyl wants the skater to grip with the toe pick and to feel “pressure into the ice.” She also makes it clear that the upper body lifts in the back spiral and the skater needs to bend from the hips and not the waist.
Next, Charyl reviews and improves the entry edge (see this video for entry edge details). She wants them to keep the skating side arm in front and simply wait on the edge for the three-turn. A very common error is doing the three-turn too soon. Charyl then explains that the biggest error for adult skaters on a camel spin is the tendency to allow the free leg and hip to come around early and “drop inside.” She focuses on keeping the free leg back and in a straight line behind the hip on the entry edge. And although she’s not a fan of dragging the free foot, it is a way of keeping the free foot back in in the proper alignment. She thinks that adults tend to let the free leg go early because they’re afraid they will tip over so they let it come around/forward so they can step down onto it more quickly. Another reason is simply a lack of hip/core/glute strength.
Another important tip that will help many adults is to stop thinking of dropping the upper body down on the entrance to the spin. Charyl suggests keeping the body up and then when the three-turn happens and the spin begins, the leg rises and the upper body naturally drops into the classic camel position. She suggests finally releasing the skating side arm as they are doing the three-turn and not before (until later when it can add rotational power). Yet another valuable tip: go into the spin faster. Charyl says, “A camel spin is almost impossible going too slow.”
Charyl explains that she does provide hands-on coaching for adults, although many if not most adult skaters don’t like it. But with assistance, many skaters can better feel the necessary timing and positions. To end the video, Charyl talks about using the boards as a tool to work on the camel position itself, and she suggests pushing into the spin with the “foot already turned open” to assist in keeping the hip and foot open throughout the entry and spin itself.
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