Help - best technique

[Fozzie Bear]

I love how Peggy varied the leg positions in her layback without losing speed or centering.

Fumie's back scratch spin and death drop are also wonderful.

And Maria Butyrskaya's stunning camel spins.

The back sit was a particualr problem spin for michelle and wasn't as low as her front sit, which wasn't as low as a lot of skaters at the elite level get..

This isn't the best example of her beautiful back position, but the sit part looks to be 90 degrees. Kwan - sit spinHow much lower should she go? :scratch: I don't remember many ladies who could get that low.

Anywho, I agree with Mathman. It's darn pretty!

 

[hyoo]

Camel Spin: Sasha Cohen
Layback: Sarah Hughes, Angela Nikodinov or Sasha Cohen
Quad Toe: Plushenko
3 Axel: Johnny Weir
Falling Leaf: Michelle Kwan
Russian Split: Sasha Cohen
3 Loop: Irina Slutskaya
3 Lutz & Flip: Mao Asada ( I think she has good ones )

 

[vintagefigureskater]

Sit Spin: Michelle Kwan

Add another vote for Michelle's sit spin. Love the straight back. Very elegant.

3 Salchow: Joannie Rochette

Layback: Jennifer Robinson

 

[antmanb]

But it was the prettiest. Straight back, well centered, just exquisite.

Same with her spiral. Sure, you can get out your protractor and ask if someone else has more degrees of split, but meh? It's how she looked doing it!

Come to think of it, there is also her "heart" layback.

And her Y-spin. (Someone already mentioned her split jump.)

Its not just a question of position though its speend as well as centering. Until around 2000 Michelle's back sit was slightly higer than her front sit and the back sit would rotate more slowly than the front. She worked hard on this and sped the back sit up but as an example of best technique, in a world that includes Lambiel, Ruh, Todd Eldredge, Scott Davis, Neil Wilson...and on and on, Kwan's back sit would be towards the end of any list of elites and greats over the years.

Her sprial, IMO is untouchable - edge quality speed, exntension and amplitude to die for. Sure skaters have attained moer "splits" but Kwan's was perfect in every way. The noly person who challenges (and maybe even possibly wins it) is Bobek.

Ant

 

[antmanb]

Thank you guys for all the examples.

What about the other triples (salchow, toe loop, loop and flip)? Any suggestion? And the camel spin?
For the triple lutz I'll choose Boitano and Tonya or Shizuka. What do you think?

Honestly in the ladies i think Rochette has one of the best triple salchows in the business - she sinks nicely into the knee on take off and pops up nice and high for an easy rotation and smooth flowing landing.

Ant

 

[antmanb]

I love how Peggy varied the leg positions in her layback without losing speed or centering.

Fumie's back scratch spin and death drop are also wonderful.

And Maria Butyrskaya's stunning camel spins.


This isn't the best example of her beautiful back position, but the sit part looks to be 90 degrees. Kwan - sit spinHow much lower should she go? :scratch: I don't remember many ladies who could get that low.

Anywho, I agree with Mathman. It's darn pretty!

It does hit 90 degrees and it always did, there are many more skaters who got lower (free leg extended parallel to the ice and only inches above it) and faster. All i was saying was if you listed all of kwans elements and put them in order of how well she did them, i think her sit spins would be near the bottom of that list.

Ant

 

[antmanb]

3 Lutz & Flip: Mao Asada ( I think she has good ones )

Doesn't Mao flutz quite badly?

Ant

 

[Mathman]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

http://heatherw.com/mk/pics/events/gwg/Patmk3.jpg

 

[SeaniBu]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

http://heatherw.com/mk/pics/events/gwg/Patmk3.jpg

:agree:
Is that a broken leg spin?

 

[Mathman]

Is that a broken leg spin?

No, I don't think so. I think it is just a normal bent free leg position.

As far as I know it was Toller Cranston who invented the broken leg spin. I don't know if anyone else ever did it. In this video, I think it is the third variation in his first combination spin that occurs around the 50 second mark, where his leg is out to the side parallel to (almost lying on) the ice, bent backward. (Is this right, anyone?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swXyT06zuuo