Spins - Technique...blade position?

[lyssx]

I started figure skating about 6 months ago (adult - I'm almost 27) and progressed quickly as I easily translated many skills from the artistic roller skating world. A lot of the "feelings" are the same, although balance points are different and certain things are easier/harder on one type of skates vs the other. I can do pretty much all of the basics, plus waltz jumps, half flip, half lutz, inconsistent single salchows and toe loops (still working on not cheating that one).

One thing I have been struggling though with is spins. Just a basic, two footed spin. Most of my issues in the beginning came from my upper body position, which has now been corrected and looks great according to my coach. So theoretically, something is going on with my feet. I can get a pretty good spin going now compared to where it was, however I can't stop dragging my left toe pick a little when I do it, which is slowing me down and preventing rotations and going to be a huge hurdle before I can even think about attempting the one footed spins. I'm trying to think of pressing further back in my skates, more towards the middle, but when I do, one of three things happens: the spin slows down and stops sooner than if I had just let the toe pick drag a bit, my posture breaks, or I almost fall backwards. My coach is at a loss at what else to tell me, because I've been diligently practicing them. I skate 7-8 hours a week divided between group classes, a private lesson, and practice. It feels like I just can't find the sweet spot, even when I try to go back to bare bones basics. We're laughing at it at this point because everything else is looking good and I can't pass FS1 (my rink is ISI based - looking to start USFS soon) until I get the spin.

I feel like I'm hitting a wall here and I don't know if this is something the position of my blade could affect (my coach is great, but not so knowledgeable about detailed equipment issues), if there's any other tips or tricks anyone can offer that I can try, or if I just need to keep at it which might be the case - it just seems like everyone else caught onto it much easier than me and the rest of my class is working on one foot spins (granted they are all half of my age), which I'm not allowed to start yet... I'm on Coronation Ace blades and have recently been messing with my ROH with my sharpener & coach - was at 5/8ths since the beginning but was sliding everywhere when leaning into edges, moved to 9/16ths, was better but still not comfortable, just moved to 7/16ths which has completely changed the game and made me way more secure in everything else but has had no effect on my spins.

I'm willing to accept that I need more practice and this might just be something that takes time for me, I just feel like I made a lot of progress on them and then...didn't anymore. I am stuck at 5-6 rotations max with a dragging toe pick that I can't seem to stop doing even though I'm actively trying to stop it.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Make sure that your feet are hip/shoulder width apart for stability and that your knees are bent. Think about balancing your weight either equally between them or 60/40 to the foot that would be the natural one for the one foot spin. Do NOT let either your heels or your feet come together! You're trying to trace concentric circles on the ice with your body in the middle, not loops. If your heels are trying to come together, try to turn your toes in instead. If you feel yourself start to travel, bend your knees a bit more. Once you feel the right position, you'll know it!

 

[sk8dreamzzzz]

Congratulations for getting on the ice! I also started with roller skates. Personally, I noticed an improvement when I tried a blade that was positioned differently because it was shorter. I have a thread on it here. It immediately felt like, "this is like the spot on my roller skates." I don't know if that will help in your case. Maybe you could look at your roller skate plate and see which part of your foot is above the front wheels and then compare that to where you feel your rocker is on the ice skates?

Spinning on ice feels further back (toward the middle of the foot) to me then on roller skates. This is probably because quad skates are missing that entire middle plane and the toe stops are a bit higher up than the drag pick so they are less likely to interact. The two footed spin was a weirder thing to me than 1 footed because I had to train myself out of doing it the rollerskating way (exaggerated heel+toe). There is a good practice 2 footed spin where your free leg is still on the ice but out in front. That might help you because you won't be on the heel of that foot anymore.

It might be fun for you to experiment with the middle area of the blade to get a feel for what that does. You could aim to feel the difference between the middle and the part under the ball of your foot. I still struggle with spins on both roller and ice, but they do improve over time.

 

[kinari]

I started figure skating about 6 months ago (adult - I'm almost 27) and progressed quickly as I easily translated many skills from the artistic roller skating world. A lot of the "feelings" are the same, although balance points are different and certain things are easier/harder on one type of skates vs the other. I can do pretty much all of the basics, plus waltz jumps, half flip, half lutz, inconsistent single salchows and toe loops (still working on not cheating that one).

One thing I have been struggling though with is spins. Just a basic, two footed spin. Most of my issues in the beginning came from my upper body position, which has now been corrected and looks great according to my coach. So theoretically, something is going on with my feet. I can get a pretty good spin going now compared to where it was, however I can't stop dragging my left toe pick a little when I do it, which is slowing me down and preventing rotations and going to be a huge hurdle before I can even think about attempting the one footed spins. I'm trying to think of pressing further back in my skates, more towards the middle, but when I do, one of three things happens: the spin slows down and stops sooner than if I had just let the toe pick drag a bit, my posture breaks, or I almost fall backwards. My coach is at a loss at what else to tell me, because I've been diligently practicing them. I skate 7-8 hours a week divided between group classes, a private lesson, and practice. It feels like I just can't find the sweet spot, even when I try to go back to bare bones basics. We're laughing at it at this point because everything else is looking good and I can't pass FS1 (my rink is ISI based - looking to start USFS soon) until I get the spin.

I feel like I'm hitting a wall here and I don't know if this is something the position of my blade could affect (my coach is great, but not so knowledgeable about detailed equipment issues), if there's any other tips or tricks anyone can offer that I can try, or if I just need to keep at it which might be the case - it just seems like everyone else caught onto it much easier than me and the rest of my class is working on one foot spins (granted they are all half of my age), which I'm not allowed to start yet... I'm on Coronation Ace blades and have recently been messing with my ROH with my sharpener & coach - was at 5/8ths since the beginning but was sliding everywhere when leaning into edges, moved to 9/16ths, was better but still not comfortable, just moved to 7/16ths which has completely changed the game and made me way more secure in everything else but has had no effect on my spins.

I'm willing to accept that I need more practice and this might just be something that takes time for me, I just feel like I made a lot of progress on them and then...didn't anymore. I am stuck at 5-6 rotations max with a dragging toe pick that I can't seem to stop doing even though I'm actively trying to stop it.

Hey there! I hope you're doing well now <3
One thing that really helped me with finding the right part of the blade to spin on is getting an off-ice spinner! Edea makes some really good spinners but they can get expensive, but Amazon also sells really good spinners! I got mine for ~$15-$20
My coaches tell me that the sweet spot on the blade to spin on is right behind the toe pick but just right in front of the middle of the blade. Also if you want to get rotation, try snapping your arms in as you get centered in the spin! If you also wanna go faster, try going from an entrance such as backward crossovers or a 3 turn! I find spins from those to be much more easier rather then just stepping into it.
TLDR; Sweet spot on the blade is right behind the toepick but still in the front, don't lean too back though! Pretend like you're being held up by a string so you don't lean too forward but not too back. (BTW I am not an expert on figure skating but this is the advice that helped me!)