If we get enough, lets burn a DVD! Send your tips and ideas in, or post them here, and we'll put it together over the summer.
Okay, enough yackin'. Here is the first drill, this is what I make all my figure skating clients do in order to maintain balance as they are radically shifting position in spins.
I did this one a bit fast to make the video as short as possible, but try to hold each pose for a slow count of 25, and try to make the transitions as smooth as possible. In your layback spin, you want your standing hip to be pressed forward as much as you can, and your standing leg to be strong strong stron. Your head should be directly over your free foot.
In your Camel spin, you want your free leg to be at least level with your head, if not a good foot higher. Press your standing leg straight, and move your center of balance back, like you are trying to press your standing foot about 6 inches in front of you.
In your sit spin, try to get down to at least 90 degrees on your standing leg, but keep your heel on the ground (you can't spin on your toepick!) Your sweet spot on a skate blade is just at the back of the ball of your foot. Find that spot, and press it into the ground. If you can get all the way down so you are sitting on your heel, good for you! But when you stand back up, don't press on your knee! Points off!
Do this on both legs as slowly as you can, and do three sets (take breaks in between!) There are tons of variations on spin positions that you can add to this, and I will post some more if you are interested.
This applies really well to skiing, because when we get out of balance, we have to move, change something, to pull back into balance. Think of these spin positions as falls in progress, and your core is fighting to come back into balance, rather than giving in and falling.
Here is another one of me trying to do this on the Bosu ball, which is very VERY hard, but GREAT training. I've only made it through this drill twice without falling off the ball so far. Just keep working at it until you can do the whole sequence on both feet on the Bosu ball without falling. And then send me video of you doing it!
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Okay, so not only is the video sideways, but it doesn't play very well. Watch it like this for now, I will fix it tomorrow and reupload it with a new player, hopefully it will be smoother.
And BY THE WAY, YES, I know my shorts look like a giant blue diaper. My shirt fits because it came out of a "skinny box" from the attic, but I can't find my old "skinny shorts". And money for the training fund is going to getting me to Mt. Hood at the end of the summer, or towards my level 2 and 3 certifications, BOTH of which I have to do this season.
So deal with the baggy diaper shorts! I am!
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