"We're going the WRONG WAY!"
Apr. 5th, 2014 01:15 pmI learned today that I spin backwards. Either that or I'm a frustrated clockwise spinner.
When you start learning anything beyond a two-foot spin, you're supposed to begin with a forward scratch spin on the foot of the direction you're turning (for CCW, the left foot; for CW, the right foot). When I pick up my foot, I actually do what's called a backspin, which is traditionally done on the opposite foot (and also traditionally learned after you master various forward spins).
As C explained to me, when you're circling around that tiny point (because a spin isn't really in place; even the best-centered spin still technically travels in a very tiny circle), you can either be revolving forward or backward. I'll be honest, even when she demonstrated, I still sort of think it all amounts to a live version of the spinning dancer GIF, and the perceived direction of travel depends more on the observer than the spinner, but I'll take her word for it for now.
Neither of us could figure out how to turn my backspin into a forward spin, so she decided she'd have to think on it and we'd come back to this next week. I guess I could consider it a point of pride that I've managed to stump a coach?
Anyway, on the off chance this is happening because I'm really a clockwise spinner going against my natural grain, I played around with those, and...I dunno. The entrance, which I learned today, is much easier on the CW spins, and the exit is a little easier, but the spin itself is less good. Also I'm pretty sure I'm having the same problem, with the backspin on the wrong leg. So...yes. I got nothin'.
At least today I also learned how to do three turns on the correct part of my blade, so YAY. I knew I was doing them too far back, but didn't know how to fix it, and now I do. On one level, it makes them scarier because you have to shift forward to the point where the toe pick aaaaalmost scrapes the ice, but the runout is more secure, so it's a bit of a wash.
When you start learning anything beyond a two-foot spin, you're supposed to begin with a forward scratch spin on the foot of the direction you're turning (for CCW, the left foot; for CW, the right foot). When I pick up my foot, I actually do what's called a backspin, which is traditionally done on the opposite foot (and also traditionally learned after you master various forward spins).
As C explained to me, when you're circling around that tiny point (because a spin isn't really in place; even the best-centered spin still technically travels in a very tiny circle), you can either be revolving forward or backward. I'll be honest, even when she demonstrated, I still sort of think it all amounts to a live version of the spinning dancer GIF, and the perceived direction of travel depends more on the observer than the spinner, but I'll take her word for it for now.
Neither of us could figure out how to turn my backspin into a forward spin, so she decided she'd have to think on it and we'd come back to this next week. I guess I could consider it a point of pride that I've managed to stump a coach?
Anyway, on the off chance this is happening because I'm really a clockwise spinner going against my natural grain, I played around with those, and...I dunno. The entrance, which I learned today, is much easier on the CW spins, and the exit is a little easier, but the spin itself is less good. Also I'm pretty sure I'm having the same problem, with the backspin on the wrong leg. So...yes. I got nothin'.
At least today I also learned how to do three turns on the correct part of my blade, so YAY. I knew I was doing them too far back, but didn't know how to fix it, and now I do. On one level, it makes them scarier because you have to shift forward to the point where the toe pick aaaaalmost scrapes the ice, but the runout is more secure, so it's a bit of a wash.
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