Axel Help

tearbender · May 9, 2015

Hey guys!

Up until recently, my axel has been pretty consistent (it's been consistent for 2 weeks). However, this week during practice, my axel seemed to be deteriorating. I've been landing less and less and during practice yesterday, I only landed a sum total of 3 of them.

When I 'fall', I fall forwards. My training mates and coach has been telling me that it's because my body is unstable in the air (I lean forward too much), but no one can find a solution for me. Does anyone have any advice? I have been told to swing my arms forward rather than sideways and to make my back straighter during takeoff. I know it's hard to find help if I don't have a recording, but any general advice please?

THANK YOU SO MUCH! :laugh:

P.S. I skated for about 3 years but then quit for another 3 and just started up last month again

karne · May 10, 2015

The Axel is the most notoriously flip-flop jump of the lot. Plenty of people lose it and regain it.

Two weeks is nothing, and one week is even less. Breathe, and relax. Try not to push too hard. Maybe even ignore it for a couple of practices. You may find that it will come back as mysteriously as it disappeared.

vlaurend · May 10, 2015

Karne is right. The axel is very fickle and it's going to be a long relationship where you will lose it, figure out the problem and get it back, then do a different thing wrong and lose it, then figure out the problem and get it back. . . and repeat. It's really hard to diagnose your current problem without a video. There are just too many little things you can do wrong on an axel.

CanadianSkaterGuy · May 11, 2015

One of the biggest advices I've gotten to avoid posture breaks (i.e. leaning forward) is to tighten up your core (your midsection) going into the jump, and going out of the jump. By having a strong core going into the jump you ensure that your takeoff is controlled, and a strong core going out of the jump will absorb shock of the landing and ensure that you're "upright". Also, keep your arms firm (not stiff, but firm). Do not arch your back on takeoff, and yes swinging your arms upwards instead of sideways will ensure more of an up-down motion on the jump. Very few skaters can get away with sideways arms if they are fast rotators (like Lipnitskaia). Pilates training is great for developing a strong core that can handle the torque of jumps, and also help you "save" jumps that are slightlly off. I find my worst jumping days are when I'm tired and my body slacks going into and out of jumps and at that point I'm just throwing myself in the air. You gotta stay controlled.

Also, practice waltz jump-single loop and tell yourself to be strong throughout the entire combination. Or, do a waltz jump into a backspin and check out on your landing with a strong kick-through of your free leg.

Skaters have ups and downs in terms of elements. One week they might be nailing jumps and the other week it's a struggle. Just be confident in knowing that you *can* land it.

tearbender · May 12, 2015

Thank you so much for your advice! I shall try it out during practice tomorrow

And yeah, confidence is something I'm lacking (according to my coach) :/

Also, is it normal to pre-rotate slightly on the ice before takeoff in an axel?

vlaurend · May 12, 2015

If you look at the tracing of your takeoff edge on the axel or any other edge jump, you will probably see the edge curve tighter just before takeoff, and maybe pre-rotate on the toepick on takeoff. But get this out of your head because if you FEEL any pre-rotation on takeoff, you aren't doing it right. You need to feel like you are on just a slight curve and NOT turning until you are up in the air. On the takeoff edge, keep your landing side shoulder back and lead with your takeoff side (your left breast, assuming you take off from your left foot). The landing shoulder and leg stay back and very still until you leave the ice, and then you release them. What worked for me on the axel was thinking, "Arch, Straight, Up, Tall, and Land". "Arch" means to arch your back and push your chest out a little over your takeoff knee as you push out onto the takeoff edge. This puts your weight on the ball of the foot and keeps you from breaking at the waist or waxeling. "Straight" means don't let that takeoff edge curl and keep that right side back and very still. "Up" means jump straight up off the toepick, not forward. "Tall" means straighten the landing leg and pull up tall in the air after you turn your landing hip in to get backward. "and Land" means stay in that position for a beat, then land strong, on a straight landing leg and pulling up tall.

tearbender · May 12, 2015

Thank you so so much for your advice! I do actually feel some pre-rotation on ice before I jump, so I'll pay attention to that.

Do you have any advice on snapping quicker into rotation? I can't seem to properly shift my weight onto my landing/backspin leg in mid-air (it's still bent). So any advice on that?

I'm sorry for bombarding you all with questions, but I just really want to get my axel down (I know it takes time but... still

)

vlaurend · May 13, 2015

There is a great exercise for that weight shift/snap that really helped me get my axel. Off the ice, in supportive athletic shoes (I find basketball shoes best for off-ice jumping), find a low bench that is up against a wall and has a level seat. Or you can use any sort of raised surface that has enough space for you to land on it. Now stand in front of the bench, about a foot away from it, and jump up off your left foot, just like an axel takeoff, doing 1/2 revolution in the air and landing backward on the bench on your right foot, with your arms and free leg in front of you in an open backspin or loop position. This is just like a waltz-loop, except that you don't actually take off on the loop, you just stay in that loop takeoff position when you land on the bench. If you can do this 1/2 rotation and land backward on your right foot on the bench without over-rotating or under-rotating, and with your body squared and balanced, all you need to do on the floor or on the ice is to pull in at that point and you'll have a great axel.

tearbender · May 13, 2015

I'll try this exercise when I get home tonight! Thank you so much!

You guys have all helped me so much

In practice yesterday, I landed over 90% of my axels

One last question (I'm so sorry everyone) : My coach keeps saying something about an 'axis of jump/rotation' or something? Can someone explain that to me ?

tearbender · May 14, 2015

Oh yeah, and my body slants forward in mid-air a lot :/ like a really high tilt angle :/ how do I get a straighter posture/less of a tilt?

vlaurend · May 14, 2015

It's really hard to see where the tilt is coming from without a video, but I'm pretty sure that bench exercise will help because it's all about transitioning your weight to the landing side for rotation while keeping your alignment correct. Waltz-loop-loop on the ice should help, too. 90% success rate on your axels is awesome, though!!

tearbender · May 16, 2015

Thank you so so so so so soooo much for your help! My axel's been improving

I PROMISE THIS IS THE LAST QUESTION, but I have a bad habit of hopping before landing. Like, my blade touches the ground and all that, but I have to hop twice before getting into landing position. Why is that? Is there anyway I can change this?

tearbender · May 17, 2015

Oh yeah and here's an oldish video of an off-ice axel I did (in slow-mo). The angle's not very good because I had to "self-film" it with my phone and nothing but a box supporting it :/ And I'm aware that it's slightly under-rotated :/

I hope it helps though!

Thank you so much!

https://youtu.be/fvXLfmgnE3Q

vlaurend · May 18, 2015

Hmm. . . Again, I really don't know what's causing the hopping without seeing a video. Do you check your landing tracings after each axel? Is it under-rotated on the ice?

The floor axel really doesn't have the same dynamic as the ice axel because you don't have an edge, so I can't really tell much from it. The only thing I'd point out is that you are turning your takeoff foot out as you step down onto it. Try to keep it facing straight, i.e., the same direction as your knee. If you have natural turn-out in your hips, you will need to fight that on the axel (that's one of my problems). Your hips need to stay closed in the air and even on landing. Land with your left hip still closed, then lift the thigh and check out straight back, without swinging the leg around.

Adrienne · Jun 3, 2015

Did you happen to take a bad fall doing one after it was consistent and then it became inconsistent?

dorispulaski · Jun 5, 2015

Welcome to Golden Skate, Adrienne!

Sebbe · Jul 4, 2015

Alright, so I've been loosing my axel twice so far. It really is a hell at first but once you get it back up it's most likely even better than it was before you lost it.

Some things I did to regain it, if it happens to you again:
I made a lot of waltzes into backspins which helped me a lot after a while.
Also, don't rush the jump, find a good position and a good edge before jumping, you'll probably even get higher up in the air this way (I know I did).

But you seem to have gotten it back, so good luck

Axel Help

tearbender

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

vlaurend

CanadianSkaterGuy

tearbender

vlaurend

tearbender

vlaurend

tearbender

tearbender

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tearbender

tearbender

vlaurend

Adrienne

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

Sebbe

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