Wrapping Your Legs While Rotating

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SkateFan4Life

Guest

• Jul 30, 2003

• #1

Here's another "habit" shared by some skaters that I find very unattractive -- wrapping one leg while rotating for jumps instead of pulling both legs together.

Midori Ito typically wrapped one of her legs during many of her jumps, and while she usually landed the jumps successfully - she was a phenemonal jumper (!!) - that wrapped leg was very distracting, IMHO.

I just think this is an example of poor technique. I can't imagine why a coach would not correct this habit when the skater was just learning the jumps. I recall seeing a tape of Midori as a five-year-old, rotating single and double jumps and wrapping her leg in the process. Obviously, this was a longstanding habit, and perhaps it was one that was impossible to break.

 

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shanilia

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• Jul 30, 2003

• #2

What do you mean wrapped? The only thing I noticed about Midori's jumping is that instead of crossing her feet like most skaters, she'd place her left foot on her right shin. Is that what you mean? I haven't seen any other skater do that.

 

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starshinexavier

On the Ice

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Jul 26, 2003

• Jul 30, 2003

• #3

A wrapped jump occurs when the skater's free leg while rotating rises upwards and is crossed at the knee or higher. I believe that Yoshie Onda has a wrap as well. I find them distracting, and they are indeed a sign of poor technique.

 

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thvudragon

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• Jul 30, 2003

• #4

I don't understand your defenition of "wrap". All skaters wrap/cros their legs on their jumps nowadays. Midori just had a different, and less aesthetically pleasing way of doing so.

TV

 

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dewet

Final Flight

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Jul 28, 2003

• Jul 31, 2003

• #5

Yoshie Onda? I've never seen her wrap. During the past few seasons, I've only saw Silvia Fontana perform a wrap, though shes not skating anymore.

 

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starshinexavier

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #6

It is correct technique to cross have your freeleg crossed at the ankles when in the air, with the freeleg at an angle close to 180 degrees. A wrap occurs when the angle of the freeleg gets closer to being 90 degrees. This usually causes the freeleg to be crossed closer to the knee instead of being crossed at the ankles.



This shows that the angle of the freeleg is closer to 180 degrees, and is indeed the correct air position.

http://www.iol.ie/~ead/onda/photos/03french/french05.jpg

This shows that the angle of the freeleg is closer to 90 degrees instead of 180 degrees, and is indeed a wrap.

 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

Record Breaker

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #7

Midori Ito, I understand learned most of her jumps watching videos, as did a lot of the Japanese and Chinese skaters in the earlier days. That was part of the problem with the Chinese pair team with their spins - they learn by imitation and watching others. Now of course, Japan and China are both becoming more prominent in the skating world, so no doubt their coaching techniques will improve.

 

berthes ghost

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #8

Erin Pearl had one of the worst wraps I've ever seen. It was like her shin was sticking out at a 90 degree angle when she was in the air. Bleack.

One of the young Japanese ladies does it, but only on some jumps (or some more obvious than others) but I'm embarassed to say that I can't remember which one (Miki Ando?).

 

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Bynx

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #9

The leg wrap on Midori didn't really bother me because I was just so in awe of her awesome jumping.

 

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dizzydi

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #10

Leg wrapping

Personally, I find leg wrapping very unattractive and distracting. It's an ugly position, looks clumsy and shows a lack of control. Once a skater displays a leg wrap, I tend to watch each subsequent jump for the same poor technique which distracts from their program. It spoils the presentation of the program for me.

Dizzy

 

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icenut84

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #11

I actually liked Midori's air position. I don't think it looks distracting or unnatractive. I thought it gave her jumps a more unusual look, and made the number of rotations she was getting more obvious. Combined with her power, height, spring, smoothness, rotations etc... Midori was one heck of a jumper.

(Kyoko Ina wraps, doesn't she? She did in the Olympics anyway, on her double axels at least. I don't think I'm imagining that.)

 

dlkksk8fan

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #12

Wrapped jumps are when the knee of the skater's free leg is bent in the air and appears to be wrapped high around the skating leg. Wrapped jumps are considered poor technique. Good jumping technique should show the skater's body in the air with arms close or against the chest, legs extended with the free leg crossed over the landing leg at the ankles. And yes Midori Ito does wrap her leg.

The picture of Sasha Cohen is good technique.

 

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Excidra2001

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #13

The great Midori's leg wrap didin't bother me because she excelled in almost everything else plus with those BIG jumps why would anyone pay attention to her leg wrap.

 

shine

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #14

One of the young Japanese ladies does it, but only on some jumps

Click to expand...

Yukari Nakano. Not too surprising since she's coached by Midori's former coach. Only I don't think she's got the same jumping talent as Midori.

 

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SkateFan4Life

Guest

• Jul 31, 2003

• #15

Thanks for posting the great photos of "good" jumping technique and "wrapping" jumping technique.

I guess I did not explain my meaning of the "wrapping", but as several posters very nicely wrote, a wrap is when one leg is bent at the knee in a 90 degree angle instead of having both legs wrapped fairly tightly together at the ankles.

 

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missflick

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #16

Personally, I think the worst offender in this category was Oksana Kasakova. She did improve later on though. I always wondered how she managed to "unwrap" in time for her to land the jump.

 

Last edited: Jul 31, 2003

S

SkateFan4Life

Guest

• Jul 31, 2003

• #17

Missflick, I agree with you that Oksana Kasakova was one of the worst "wrappers" when she jumped. I always found that distracting, and it was really bad technique, in my opinion.

Obviously, the judges at the 1998 Winter Olympics did not share my view, as K & D won the gold medal.

 

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missflick

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• Jul 31, 2003

• #18

SkateFan4Life said:

Missflick, I agree with you that Oksana Kasakova was one of the worst "wrappers" when she jumped. I always found that distracting, and it was really bad technique, in my opinion.

Obviously, the judges at the 1998 Winter Olympics did not share my view, as K & D won the gold medal.

Click to expand...

Well, she wasn't as bad at the 1998 Olys. But when she first appeared...1996 worlds...oh God, how many people beside me commented on it? And I was in the nosebleed section.

 

IDLERACER

Medalist

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• Aug 1, 2003

• #19

[url]http://www.shanfan.com/nongymn/skating/women/ep99n4.jpg http://www.shanfan.com/nongymn/skating/women/ep99n16.jpg[/URL][BR]

Erin Pearl's twisted limbs were one of the modern wonders of the skating world. The fact that she was also a lefty really accentuated the situation as well.

 

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metmsjones

Spectator

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Joined

Aug 1, 2003

• Aug 1, 2003

• #20

Wraps are as hard on the skater as they are to watch. Nothing that has a bent axis rotates well. Think of a top spinning, Now try to visulalize it with a big "bow" the the middle. For the top to achieve maximum rotation it must be what? Right !STRAIGHT! If your cross rotation is not "straight" (toes pointed and the sensation of them pressing down) in the air at the apex of a jump, it will be even harder to land and sustain good momentum(flow) for the next jump in combination . I think a good visual and physical analogy is pottery wheel with clay. We've all seen what happens when a spinning pot is all most finished and one piece gets lopsided. The wheel spins the would be pot, right out of shape. Although the force acting upon the clay is external rather than internal, as in the body of a skater, the results are the same. Wobble, Wobble, Wobble. It certainly doesn't feel good to a skater, and if you had good technique, once it is hard to live with. The solution in training is to develope a good backspin with as perfect a finishing position as possible. You will be able to feel the "pushing down" you should have in the air in the final phase of the spin. I am a Guss Lussi junkie so if you can get you hands on the tapes for spinning and jumping do it !

 

Last edited: Aug 1, 2003