Sit Spin Help

So I'm new here, but not that new to figure skating. I used to compete when I was younger, and then I quit for ten-ish years. Now I'm getting back into it. I just started working on sit spins, and I'm having trouble really bringing everything close together when I do them... my spin is centered (most of the time, anyways), my free leg is straight and my foot is turned out... but I can't get my knees close together! Every time I try, it just makes me fall out of my spin. Any tips on how to keep this from happening would be much appreciated... thanks!

Sprockityspock, welcome to Golden Skate!

I hope someone will have some good advice for you.

Hmmm, can you get into the proper sit spin position while off-ice in normal shoes?

SarahSynchro said:

Hmmm, can you get into the proper sit spin position while off-ice in normal shoes?

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This is not always a great indicator. My sit spin is lower than any squat or shoot-the-duck I can do on or off the ice.

I'm more impressed you can actually keep spinning with your knees apart, OP! If I don't get my leg around quick enough I end up falling inside and over.

One tip my coach gave me when I was learning the sit was to imagine that my right hand and my free leg were connected by a piece of string. They came around together, and when the hands come together, the knees come together.

karne said:

This is not always a great indicator. My sit spin is lower than any squat or shoot-the-duck I can do on or off the ice.

I'm more impressed you can actually keep spinning with your knees apart, OP! If I don't get my leg around quick enough I end up falling inside and over.

One tip my coach gave me when I was learning the sit was to imagine that my right hand and my free leg were connected by a piece of string. They came around together, and when the hands come together, the knees come together.

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I'm the same actually. It's quite odd.

OP: Are your sure your shoulders are even throughout? If not then it can cause instability and falling quite easily.

karne said:

This is not always a great indicator. My sit spin is lower than any squat or shoot-the-duck I can do on or off the ice.

I'm more impressed you can actually keep spinning with your knees apart, OP! If I don't get my leg around quick enough I end up falling inside and over.

One tip my coach gave me when I was learning the sit was to imagine that my right hand and my free leg were connected by a piece of string. They came around together, and when the hands come together, the knees come together.

Click to expand...

This is a good one that has worked for me (yay for good coaches!). Also, your free leg does NOT need to be straight. In fact, you may be able to get lower by having it bent a bit--with the caveat that you HAVE to have that free leg turned out; otherwise, you're going to hit the heel of your blade on the ice and THAT ain't good. Think of the free leg as crashing into your skating leg and then 'wrapping' around it a bit.

Also, while your free arm and free leg come around together as you're getting into the spin, be sure that your free leg does NOT bob up and down. It should stay in ONE plane only. If it wobbles (ie, doesn't stay at the same height above the ice), your spin won't be stable and will wobble.

karne said:

One tip my coach gave me when I was learning the sit was to imagine that my right hand and my free leg were connected by a piece of string. They came around together, and when the hands come together, the knees come together.

Click to expand...

That actually sounds like it might be very helpful to visualize while I spin! I will try that tomorrow morning when I go practice!

zamboni step said:

Are your sure your shoulders are even throughout? If not then it can cause instability and falling quite easily.

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Yeah, my shoulders are definitely even... it's not actually falling that's my problem, but falling out of the spin... which thinking back may have been incorrect phrasing. I have no problem holding the actual spinning part, but when I try to bring my knees closer together I just end up having to come up and out of my spin. I will pay extra attention to my shoulders as well though, just in case they're moving around without me noticing. Thank you!

LilJen said:

be sure that your free leg does NOT bob up and down. It should stay in ONE plane only.

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I will have to pay extra close attention to that... It's very possible that in the process of trying to bring my free leg in I am not staying in one plane and I have not noticed it. Thank you!

First of all, your knees should NOT be together. If your knees are together, it will keep you from getting low enough on your sit spin. When you are in a low enough sit position, the inside of the thigh of your free leg should be pressing against the calf of your skating leg. But it sounds like you are trying to figure out why your free leg doesn't come all the way in to collide with your skating leg when you bring your free leg around at the beginning of the spin. . . Here are a few things that should help:
(1) On the entrance edge, keep your back arched, upright and tight and keep the right shoulder back.
(2) Get as low as you can on the entrance edge (you should feel like your skating thigh is parallel to the ice already),
(3) Curl your entrance edge and keep your free leg extended as far behind you as you can, like you're a dog chasing its tail.
(4) Wait, then bring the free leg around low and extended, like you are drawing a big circle with it just above the ice
(5) Turn out the free leg when it reaches 2:00 so the heel of your blade won't hit the ice.
(6) Without stopping the smooth swing of the free leg, let it collide with the skating leg.