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What about spins and other moves? |
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Written by Sandra Loosemore
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Monday, 01 October 2007 01:32 |
- back spin
- performed in the same rotation sense as a forward spin, but on the opposite foot. Most right-handed skaters spin counterclockwise, doing a forward spin on the left foot and a back spin on the right foot. Somewhat confusingly, a forward spin is usually done on a shallow backward inside edge and a back spin on a shallow forward outside edge. Occasionally you will see skaters flipping a forward spin onto a strong forward outside edge or a back spin onto a strong backward inside edge, which is considered to add difficulty to the spin.
- scratch spin
- a fast upright spin. So called because it is done on the forward part of the blade, so that the toe pick scratches the ice slightly.
- layback spin
- a spin with a backward or sideways lean of the torso.
- camel
- a spin in the "airplane" position, e.g. the torso and free leg in a horizontal position. A flying camel is a back spin in the camel position entered by means of a jump with a forward takeoff, similar to an axel.
- grafstrom spin
- a low camel spin, skated with a bent knee. Named after Gillis Grafstrom.
- hamill camel
- this is a transition from a back camel spin to a back sit spin by first bending the knee of the skating leg and then turning out the free hip to "flip over" into the sitting position. Named after Dorothy Hamill.
- biellmann spin
- this is the spin where the skater arches her back and pulls her free leg high over her head. Named after Denise Biellmann.
- illusion (or windmill)
- this is similar to a camel spin, but the skater bobs her torso and free leg up and down in phase with the spin. It looks kind of like a windmill.
- harding spin
- this is a spin that looks kind of a like a cross between a camel and a layback. It's usually entered from a camel spin; the skater twists into a face-up position and bends the free leg so that the foot is held near the knee of the skating leg. Named after Tonya Harding, but more often associated with Josee Chouinard.
- death drop
- a flying spin with an axel-like takeoff where the skater achieves a horizontal position in the air before dropping into a back sitspin. Officially, this element is known as an "open axel sitspin".
- butterfly
- similar to a death drop, but the jump is from a backward edge and toe tap. As well as being done as a spin entrance, butterflies can be done by themselves just as a kind of leap or acrobatic move, often in a series of two or three in a row.
- spiral
- an edge skated with the free leg extended and held higher than hip level. A relatively easy move, but effective when done with good stretch and speed.
- spread eagle
- a figure skated on two feet with the toes pointing in opposite directions. It can be done either on outside or inside edges. Again, this is a fairly easy move -- at least for skaters with open hip joints -- and its effectiveness depends on being done with speed and a good body position (namely, without the skater's bottom jutting out awkwardly).
- ina bauer
- a spread eagle variant where one knee is deeply bent and the other leg stretched behind the body. Typically done with an arched back.
- besti squat
- a spread eagle skated in a squatting position, with bent knees; named from its use by Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin in their 1988 free dance.
- shoot-the-duck
- a move in which the skater glides on one foot in a squatting position, with the free leg extended in front, similar to a sit spin position. In some parts of the world this is known as a "teapot" or "pistol".
- mohawk, choctaw
- these are two-foot front-to-back or back-to-front turns. A mohawk is done on from inside-to-inside or outside-to-outside edges, while a choctaw involves a change of edge. Mohawks are commonly used in free skating as a simple turn or in step sequences, but choctaws are more typically used only in ice dancing.
- three turn
- the common one-foot turn, done on a circle with the cusp of the turn pointing inward. (The tracing is like a numeral 3.) Other one-foot turns are brackets, rockers, and counters, and are mostly only used in step sequences and ice dancing.
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