Sit spin help

I am working on ISI FS 4 and I need to learn a sit spin.... Whenever I attempt them I can not get any rotations or get nearly low enough. I have passed both my two foot and one foot and change foot spins and can get at least 6 rotations on those but I am unable to do a sit spin.... Help!!!!

On a sit spin, stay low on the entry. Starting in an up right spin and then lowering tends to lose speed and balance. In the spin squeeze the free leg in close to your skating leg as soon as possible. A smaller, more compact position creates a faster spin. To get lower try thinking back with your hips as opposed to down.
Hope that helps a bit.

Agreed with what silver.blades already said.

In addition, a good solid sit spin takes a lot of practice and isn't learned overnight. I recall spending a year really getting a good sit spin that was lower & centered. It was very hard for me to learn to spin as an adult, but the more I worked on it with a good coach, the better it got over time.

Just don't give up on it. You will get it.

Agreed with both posters here and can attest to Kristin's nice sit spin.

For me, I have to think about pressing my thighs together as I go down into position and really reaching out over my free foot to get my back in the right spot.

A number of sitspin tips. . .

1. Preparatory edge:
- Bend your knee as deeply as possible and get your free leg way behind you.
- Arch your back and keep it rigid.

2. Entrance edge:
- Plant your spinning foot on the ice and bend your knee very deeply (think 90 degree angle, i.e., thigh parallel to ice), and push off and around.
- Keep your free leg extended waaaaaay behind you until you've come to the end of your entrance edge curve.

3. Hook:
- Swing the free leg straight, low, level and smooth
- Keep your back arched and very, very rigid (your back provides the strength for this spin)
- As your leg comes to the front (at 2:00 if you spin CCW), turn your foot out.
- Let your free leg come all the way around until it hits the spinning leg, without stopping it.

4. Spin:
- Once the free leg hits the spinning leg, bend your ankle and sink your butt lower while pushing your chest and free leg forward. Keep your back arched and tense.
- Keep lowering your butt and pushing your free leg forward until you feel the calf of your spinning leg pressing against the inside of the thigh of your free leg. That means you are low enough to get credit for a sitspin (spinning thigh parallel to the ice).

To practice the balance and the position, try back inside shoot-the-ducks, keeping your weight balanced on the front of the blade so your bottom toepick is scraping a little. Feel for the calf of the skating leg against the inside of the thigh of the free leg.

Practice off-ice to strengthen muscles. Squats while wearing boots/shoes with 2-inch heels (preferably a solid heel) to simulate the foot position of wearing skates will help you with getting lower and with being able to hold the position. Be sure to check your upper body position while lowering/holding/rising in a controlled manner.

icedancingnut31 said:

I am working on ISI FS 4 and I need to learn a sit spin.... Whenever I attempt them I can not get any rotations or get nearly low enough. I have passed both my two foot and one foot and change foot spins and can get at least 6 rotations on those but I am unable to do a sit spin.... Help!!!!

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The sit spin was one of my best spins. It's not that difficult. Can you do a shoot the duck move? That is how I learned. It is a similar position. Make sure you are well centred when you start to spin and then slowly lower yourself in a sit position. You can use your hand on your thigh to push yourself back up.

I hope this along with the other tips helps. Keep practicing. There are some videos worth watching on Youtube of skaters demoing a sit spin.

I am working on my sit spin, too. I find the information you guys posted very useful (I shouldn't start with an upright spin and then lowering : it is much more difficult indeed!)
It is very difficult for me to do the sit position. You should work hard at the gym on that. Once you can do the "sit", you should be able to center the spin properly with a bit of practice, - if you can do a good upright spin of course

My russian coach just told me yesterday that you know that you're learning the sit spin properly when your arms begin to hurt, because you should keep them always straight when you're learning it. I suppose he means this helps a lot centering the spin.