Catch foot spins

[skatingmum2]

The Blood on the Ice thread has me thinking -  is there some technique to not cutting fingers? My daughter seems fine on all spirals catch foot - but - spins are another thing.

On one occasion neat cut along three fingers doing spin (layback foot to head)... sometimes fine. She has also cut her fingers doing catch foot twizzles.

(She is a kid who hates gloves....) No coach has ever mentioned a technique not to cut finger.

[Sk8tmum]

A couple of things you can do.

First, our coach makes the kids hold the heel of the boot, not the blade.  She wants them to have the muscle control and balance to do the move with a light hold on the heel (which you can't pull as hard on because there is nothing to hook onto) instead of what I see a lot of, which is kids hauling the foot up by really pulling on the blade. That cuts down on the cut fingers.

Alternatively, there are silicon gripper liners you can put on the inside portion of the blade where most kids grab on. They don't last forever, and some coaches don't like the look, but, they have reduced some of the sliced fingers. Here's a link to one store that sells them:

http://www.skatingboutique.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_59&products_id=2948

[techskater]

I've seen kids use bandaids on the fingers they grab with (2 layers typically)

[hopskipjump]

Dd said she never touches the blade edge.  She reaches into the inside of the blade and pulls up. She showed me how she hooks two fingers in that space.

[jjane45]

No coach has ever mentioned a technique not to cut finger.

I am very curious about this question too. Never hurts to ask coach!

[Sk8tmum]

Dd said she never touches the blade edge.  She reaches into the inside of the blade and pulls up. She showed me how she hooks two fingers in that space.

That's where she's going to get cut; that inside edge is sharp, and the pressure of pulling up on it is where the slice is. It's not from the blade itself.  Which is why the grippers get used by some skaters, as so many do use the inside of the blade instead of grabbing the boot heel itself. 

[hopskipjump]

But she has been doing them for a long time with no issues.   

[nicklaszlo]

I have heard of wrapping hands in gauze for practice.

[Skittl1321]

But she has been doing them for a long time with no issues.   

Sounds like something changed.  Is she rotating faster making the catch less accurate?  Has she gotten lazy about it?  The coach needs to evaluate what is different.

[Isk8NYC]

My guess would be that there's a burr inside the blade stanchion section that's cutting her hand.  I put clear packing tape on the blades of all my skaters and children.  Two layers cover the unfinished edge inside the stanchions and protect from burrs and cuts.  Clip the curve to make it fit that part of the blade.

Just be sure you trim the tape so it doesn't get near the business edge of the blade.  I remove the tape entirely before the blades are sharpened, just to be sure it doesn't get in the way of the sharpener.  (More to ensure that I don't get any comments about it being an obstacle.  :dramaqueen: )

On spirals, the foot doesn't really move very much, but on catch-foot spins and twizzles, there is more movement and force, so that could be a secondary cause of the cuts.  If she pressed with one side of the blade more than the other, the friction can open up a cut.

Are you sure your DD is catching the same foot in the same place each time?  Many skaters use different grips and even change feet from element to element.  For example, I have a skater who does her catchfoot and y-spiral with the right foot on the ice, but her catchfoot spin is done with the left foot on the ice.  Most people would assume it's always the same blade being "caught," but it isn't, which is why I taped both her blades.

[skatingmum2]

Never thought about looking into the inside of the blade - but - will have a look. Can't remember if its one hand or both. I know she does catch foot twizzles on either foot but don't think she does a back-spin layback yet. Although the camel spin with foot grabbed she tells me she does better on back-spin/flying camel I can't remember which hand she cut.... Cutting fingers does interefere with violin playing.