Adult learning the axel

[tinna]

So, how is it going ?
Have you landed your axel ?

Thank you for asking! I have. It is not perfect, the air position still needs work but it is there.
I have also landed the odd double-salchow and am slowly working towards a double-loop. Adding this update as encouragement for other adult skaters.
It took a while because of covid closures but the rink being closed also gave me time to really work on it off ice.

 

[Arwen17]

Besides the mental side of it, i.e. the fear of committing and 'going for it', I'm not actually sure every adult is physically capable of a single Axel or doubles. :think:

It's hard to separate the two of course, but I do often feel that even without the mental barrier, many adults would still struggle with the quick snap needed for a single Axel and other, higher rotational jumps. I think it might be because of inherent muscle composition and how it's been developed at an earlier age (or not) through certain physical activities.
But to be fair, I personally haven't met any adults who've done some serious exercising to improve their explosiveness, so who knows what's possible with proper training.

I know many adults who have all their singles save for the Axel, and they're very comfortable doing them, but they just can't progress any further than that. And this is also true for many people who started out in their early 20s. I also know many who've had an Axel as a child/teen and they struggle a lot with getting it back and maintaining it.

But who knows, you might be one of the lucky ones, where rotating is easy for you. I wouldn't be surprised, with your background in gymnastics. And I take it, thanks to your experience from playing hockey (ice hockey, I assume?) you must be already very comfortable on the ice, compared to someone who's never skated before, so that's already a big plus.

This exactly. I'm definitely not a natural snapper, which is exactly why my axel and doubles are still severely under-rotated. Singles below axel were EASY. I could always rotate that much without any prior training. But axel and above has been really, really hard because of how slowly I snap and rotate. But I do wonder if you took us snap-challenged adults and put us in a "rotation boot camp" where we are required to show up for a 2 hour class every day, with constant monitoring and corrections, that we could eventually get there. My snap has improved over the years. I used to be like negative 7....now I'm like negative 3. Still not enough to get the axel 100% rotated, but it looks more like an axel now, albeit still too "slow motion" on the snap and rotation lol.

I often think the same thing about people who claim they can't get their splits etc. If they were required to show up to a proper contortion class every day (not yoga), I think most people would eventually achieve it.

But daily contortion class, daily rotation class... those things don't usually exist (except in Russian training academies). So we have to rely on our coach's advice, advice from internet videos, and self-discipline at home. Which doesn't always work out if we're not attacking the problem the correct way or with enough consistency.