Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a tutorial on how to use her off-ice spinboards. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim. This presentation is taken from a Zoom call between Kim and well-known US coach Diane Miller. Both were gracious enough to let us publish their discussion and demonstration. In Part 1, Kim talked about the basic warmup and upright spins, and Part 2 focused mostly on basic forward and backward upright and sit spins.
Editor’s Note: The quality of the video below is not up to our usual standards here at iCoachSkating. However, the information in the video is so valuable, we hope you can overlook the small video and subpar audio. All important information is still visible and understandable.
In this video, Kim focuses mostly on the camel spin. In Part 2, Kim spent a little time explaining why she teaches the camel with both hands clasped in front. Here she explains how to incorporate that into the entrance to generate rotational energy from a standstill. Notice the initial wind-up position and “step” that mimics what happens on the ice. One camel trick she uses (whether on the ice or off) is to flex the free foot which helps skaters point the toe to the side (or even up) and force the free leg to lock straight.
One important problem to avoid is looking down. Skaters tend to look down anyway, and off-ice training exaggerates this, especially if phones being used for video feedback are placed on the ground. Kim suggests taping a big X up higher on the wall to bring the eyes and focus up. Kim also recommends doing off-ice spins with music on, to practice various arms and musical interpretation while spinning.
Next Kim shows an upright variation that’s relatively easy she calls the egg-beater. Ideally the skater enters the grab position while in a sit spin or the “happy sit position” and stands up to an upright spin. The process therefore is a great way to work the transition, especially to the exit. Kim notes that skaters who seem to master spinning on the spinboard often still struggle with proper strong exits because they simply don’t remain focused with proper physical tension until the very end. She says, “You’re not done till you’re done.”
Check out all videos in this series: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
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