Unique skating moves | Golden Skate

Unique skating moves

Wildstorm

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
I enjoy creating and preforming new and unique skating moves so I decided to ask the golden skate community for their ideas!!!

I'll start by contributing a list of some that I do (or try to do)

Gionet Spreadeagle (and ina bower) -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sWT98EkY9A
Biellman spirals
Besti Squat (crouched spreadeagle)
Cantilever (work in progress)
Hydroblading -> http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/...0210999103583_594878582_7323898_4636067_n.jpg
Bootslides (work in progress)
Catch spirals
Crouches (place free leg over skating leg and crouch down to shoot the duck position. Free leg should rest on top of your thigh)
That thing that Johnny Weir does (Does it have a name yet?) -> http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/...0101273822116_583647115_6962575_1141026_n.jpg

More of my moves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRiq...PhMV5PHE8V2l5sIuIRWXuZojkgsdbv8&feature=inbox

:biggrin:

Can you do anything unique or amazing? Have you seen something uncommun that you need to share? Are there long lost moves that never caught on? Let your creative juices flow!!! (and let me know ;) )
 
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Kitt

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Country
United-States
That thing Johnny does is just called his slide, AFAIK. He does it at every exhibition (and I know, I've seen it at least 3 times this year!)
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Thanks, kid, I love this thread! :love:

I too like to see unique and unusual moves from skaters that I've never seen before, or have only seen a few times, makes the competition more interesting, and in some cases it becomes artistry.

This is what I loved about Michelle Kwan's skating at the time, I recall how she brought back the Charlotte Stop (short for Charlotte Oeschlangel: http://www.icestagearchive.com/charlotte.html ) and also she used to do a Besti Squat (shades of Tenley Albright's per Dick Button). And her Split Falling Leaf was the best in the business.

But for creativeness and pure artistry, I would have to give it to Sasha Cohen, that stag leap with broken leg that she did at 1:45 was awesome (totally out of gymnastics: http://gymnasticscoaching.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Nastia-leap.jpg ), as well as my favorite scratch spin with unusual arm position (to this day she's the only one that I've ever seen do it at 4:10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouNL5ux17c4 ).

And nobody does hydroplaning better than Bourne & Kraatz. :)^)

But for flying and being a fairy on ice, I would have to say the Mazurka Jump takes the cake. Ahhhh, memories of Sonja Henie's signature jump, as well as Peggy Fleming performing this move to perfection at the 1968 Olympics, and of course Tenley Albright.

As well the half-axel jump, it is synonymous with Janet Lynn, just as the Butterfly Scissor Jump is with Evgeni Plushenko (btw I hope to see his spread eagle make its reappearance after his knee heals).

Here's hoping more innovative moves are created, and also skaters bring back moves that we rarely see now, most likely because they gain no points, but to see them in competition is otherworldly, brings back another time, another era, and also makes the viewer feel like they are skating also, flying! :cool:

ps: Wildstorm, I love your Gionet Spreadeagle, at first I thought it looked dorky b/c of the inverted feet, but it's different and unique and one cannot help but stare. (8^O
 

CoyoteChris

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
Actually, the Gionet Spreadeagle is growing on me....I dont know anything about skating but is it possible to go from a normal SE to a GSE and back on the same curve in a smooth manner?
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Ah, I found the skater that made me take notice at Russian Nationals with his unique innovative moves ~ Artem Grigoriev ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv0Ns9yEQ4w :love:

Notice at 1:39 he squats like a Russian Cossack Dancer on his knees and grabs his free leg: http://www.zazzle.com/russian_cossack_dancer_photosculpture-153336048325835644

And then at 2:56 he does a beautiful Cantilever, which rightfully receives applause from the audience.

Also I noticed that both he & Artur Gashinski do lovely twizzles on one foot while holding their free leg blade, at 2:24 (Artur's are my favorite though, he makes it into art + power + beauty).

One more thing, I noticed quite a few Russian Ladies do a weird type of Half-Biellmann, wherein they resemble Does, leastways Adelina Sotnikova does, at 1:50 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DGm_4prb0M&feature=related (btw I love all the different & unique images she makes on the ice, simply by a bend of a knee or a twist of her arms)
 

CoyoteChris

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
Thanks, Nadine...good post, although I am in shock after seeing Adelina's performance at the 4:04 mark on the vid....those stands are EMPTY! Where did they hold this, Siberia?
And the boards look like there was a zamoni driver who got drunk and rammed them for an hour. Are they textured to look that way or something? Well, lets hope Putin doesnt have
to empty the prisons to fill the seats at the Olympics.....
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
This thread made me go to youtube late last night and watch old videos of Sonja, Tenley, Peggy, Janet, and Oksana. :love:

Once again, thanks for starting it Wildstorm! By the way, if I were you I would try to get your fabulous GIONET SPREADEAGLE patented, otherwise you might end up like so many others that invented moves that were not named after them (aka Tamara Moskvina and the Biellmann spin, and Lucinda Ruh's numerous fabulous spins, to name a few). It can mean the difference between immortality, and not. Example(s): Axel, Salchow, Lutz, Rittenberger, Biellmann.

Back to the topic at hand, I so wished when Oksana Baiul was competing that the donut spin she does would have been named after her, because imho she does it the most beautifully, with one hand fluttering in the wind like a Swan, see 2:31 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TTI0fWHzC0&feature=related (like Peter Carruthers once said, her arms are like "liquid gold", how very true)

And check out Tenley Albright's Mazurka Jumps! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjYF8ThHkuA

Here's to hoping one day I might actually see an upside down Biellmann performed ~ never give up hope! :love:
 

Wildstorm

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
Absolutely! You can do a split jump like hop in a normal spreadeagle or besti squat by flicking your heels outwards while gliding down the ice, then you can land back in your original position. You can do the same thing into a GSE by switching the direction your toes are facing in the air. :)
 

Chemistry66

Mmmmm, tacos.
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
About the spread eagle, I just remembered seeing it in an ice dancing performance a few years ago, and I found the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=66DID9ukhFU#t=165s

It's the 2009 free dance of the Gamelin twins, Danielle and Alexander, who are going to be at the Junior level at nationals. Danielle does the toes-pointed-in version while Alexander does a regular spread eagle. Just more evidence that even non-World-famous skaters do cool things.
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
I was wondering why Tamara Moskvina and Lucinda Ruh never got recognition for the moves they created on ice, meaning none were named after them.

Then a light bulb went on, and I noticed over at wikipedia (click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biellmann ) that it states Denise Biellmann was the first skater to win a major international title whom performed this spin on a regular basis, therefore it was named after her. Whereas poor Lucinda Ruh never won a major international title, not even close, thus I'm not surprised none of her fabulous spins were ever named after her. A pity really, especially after reading her book, one can tell how upset and hurt Lucinda was; they used her spins in COP classes, etc., but never even contacted her.

Conclusion: you have to be a S-O-M-E-B-O-D-Y to get a move named after you. A big somebody, one people recognize, especially at the international level. Otherwise you are out of luck, as it should be, and that includes Lucinda Ruh.

NOTE: after looking at this picture ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caroline_zhang_grand_prix_2007_lp_1.jpg ~ it is my opinion that Caroline Zhang could do an upside down Biellmann. She has the perfect somatype and hyper-extended flexibility for such a move. :cool:
 

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
You know I honestly thought of him (aka Adam Rippon) when I posted previously, then I remembered he was a 2-time Junior World Champion, and therefore he qualified as a somebody. Still, I recall an announcer calling it a two-fisted Tano Lutz. *shrug*

Either way, these two are somebodies, but has there ever been a highly recognized move on the international scene that was named after a nobody, meaning someone so low on the totem pole nobody even knows who they are?

Some moves recalling from memory (btw it seems regulations are stricter now than when the sport was in its infancy in order for one to get a move named after them):

AXEL (named after Axel Paulsen; 1882 World Champion; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Paulsen )
LUTZ (named after Alois Lutz, who first performed it in competition in 1913; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutz_jump
RITTBERGER (named after Werner Rittberger; 1910, 1911, 1912 World Silver Medalist; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Rittberger )
SALCHOW (named after Ulrich Salchow; 1908 Olympic Champion & 10-time World Champion & 9-time European Champion; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_Salchow )
INA BAUER (named after same namesake; 1958 & 1959 Pewter Medalist; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ina_Bauer_(figure_skater) )
BIELLMANN (named after Denise Biellmann; 1981 World Champion; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Biellmann )
TANO LUTZ (named after Brian Boitano; 1988 Olympic Champion; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Boitano )
RIPPON LUTZ (named after Adam Rippon; 2008 & 2009 World Junior Champion; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Rippon )

The following lists figure skating moves that were named after people/skaters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports_terms_named_after_people

However, just going from memory, I see they don't have the Hamill Camel nor the Button Camel. In fact it seems as time marches on, so does the original inventor's name, shortening it or no longer using it at all. :( Example, Graftstrom Spin. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spin

So much for immortality; ah, the usurption of words-slash-names. :p
 

DianaSelene

Medalist
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
Which one? The I-spin? Or the Bielmann, because Anastasia Kononenko has done this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fZpATUeEuXM#t=43s

Yes, I meant the biellmann, it's pretty cool. I've never seen anyone else do it, but I guess she's not the first one. Thank you for showing Kononenko. However, I think that what is so interesting about Lipnitskaya is that she doesn't just do the Biellman with perfect stretch but she also does it so quickly. The same is for the I-spin. I don't really like how she does the I-spin but it is SO FAST.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
I don't know if it's a "unique" move, but I :love: Ilia Kulik's cantilever move!
 

brightphoton

Medalist
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Here's to hoping one day I might actually see an upside down Biellmann performed ~ never give up hope! :love:

I found something that might please you :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTurAbVufU0#t=0m54s

One more thing, I noticed quite a few Russian Ladies do a weird type of Half-Biellmann, wherein they resemble Does, leastways Adelina Sotnikova does, at 1:50 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DGm_4prb0M&feature=related (btw I love all the different & unique images she makes on the ice, simply by a bend of a knee or a twist of her arms)

I've seen Mao Asada do similar Biellmann spins. She's been doing a one-handed variation for a while, but I don't believe I've seen her do it like this until this season. I don't see how they resemble does though ... if by doe you mean a female deer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mp8RBnMydc&t=4m52s
 
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