Skills you find "weird"

[littlerain]

I remember when I skated briefly as a kid, I found Mohawks totally weird. Just couldn't wrap my head around it.

Now as an adult, I don't find Mohawks weird at all (though the others in my class do!)  now I can't wrap my head around backwards pivots!

So thinking about this, I was totally curious what elements, if any, you find totally strange to do. How did you manage to finally learn them?

[AgnesNitt]

Back inside edges. My body completely refuses to cooperate.

[Doubletoe]

Figure loops.  I still can't do a forward outside, but I can do a back outside loop now.  Ironically, I got that one pretty quickly because I totally "get" the back outside pivot and I told myself I was just doing a back outside pivot without putting a toe in the ice, LOL!

[irenar5]

Figure loops.  I still can't do a forward outside, but I can do a back outside loop now.  Ironically, I got that one pretty quickly because I totally "get" the back outside pivot and I told myself I was just doing a back outside pivot without putting a toe in the ice, LOL!

I can't wrap my head around the left back outside loop!  When I do the right BO loop, I think of the loop jump- and instead of going to the toe, I just continue on the edge.  But the left BO loop- that's a different story!  I will  try the pivot trick!

[mamabear]

I don't understand backward cross rolls or power pulls.  It's not something I've had in an LTS class or in lesson but we do them in power class.  Or at least some people do them while people like me attempt to move backwards while turning your head enough to see the coach. 

[Query]

I don't know about weird, but my muscles get tired really, really fast on backwards power pulls.

[WaltzJump413]

Back inside edges! And I haven't quite figured out to do them correctly...yet.

The mohawk used to be like that too...and ISI's "back wiggles"...and the half flip.

Almost every level has had one of those "weird" skills, I feel like.

[Cush]

Schaefer pushes. Weird stuff.

[nicklaszlo]

while turning your head enough to see the coach.

Turning your head will make it 10X harder.

[nicklaszlo]

I don't know about weird, but my muscles get tired really, really fast on backwards power pulls.

That's kind of the point!  I've started doing a lap of each power pull as a warmup.  It burns!

[AgnesNitt]

The mohawk used to be like that too...and ISI's "back wiggles"...and the half flip.

I failed 'back wiggles' in Pre-alpha I.

[alejeather]

Half loop. And lutz. Weird jumps.

[icedancer]

Any of those half-jumps like half-flip and half- lutz.  Clunk-clunk.

I don't just anymore but those jumps are just... odd - not sure what they teach the skater - maybe the entrance....

[WaltzJump413]

I failed 'back wiggles' in Pre-alpha I.

That post is so funny!

[mamabear]

Turning your head will make it 10X harder.

Of that I have no doubt!  Sadly, these fell into the category of skills I hadn't learned before I started power.  I was the last one in line so I wound up turning my head to try and figure out what was going on and quickly gave up and turned around so I could try to figure it out.  But, I still can't quite get them.  And I think powerpulls look weird when other people do them as well. 

[littlerain]

Back inside edges! And I haven't quite figured out to do them correctly...yet.

Totally had a moment with those last week! Took me a few minutes to stop switching to outside lol!

[Loops]

Any of those half-jumps like half-flip and half- lutz.  Clunk-clunk.

I don't just anymore but those jumps are just... odd - not sure what they teach the skater - maybe the entrance....

There's a 1/2 lutz?  I was spared that, thankfully.  Totally agree.  1/2 jumps are just weird.

[dlbritton]

I find it hard to look inside the circle on a backward edge. I want to look outside the circle even if my hands and arms are facing into the circle. I guess this is why an outside step around after a 3 turn or mohawk feels easy and an inside step to forward feels awkward.

This may come from teaching kids to ski. I spend about 1/4 of a lesson skiing backwards constantly looking over my shoulder to see where I am going. You have to look to the outside of the curve to see down the slope. Twenty years of muscle memory is hard to overcome.

[Neverdull44]

Spread eagles.

[lifebyliya]

My body just screams "don't" when I try to enter that half lutz! And the half toe walley entrance, maybe cause it's on a back outside edge, is driving me NUTS. )

[kr1981]

Totally agree with the half flip, and half lutz! I get that they're there to teach property entry and picking technique early on, but they're not pretty, and the forward landing (clunk!) is awkward. They're also easy to over-rotate if you have any kind of speed and power going into them (although I suppose the thought is that at the lower levels, most skaters probably aren't going into them with much speed or power).

What has me totally confused right now is the mazurka. My coach just showed me this today. I'd heard of it but never learned it in the 5 years I skated before, never knew what it was, and honestly don't think I ever knew anyone who did it! Anyway, I get that the entry is like a toe loop... but then something about sliding to the side and doing a bunny hop? All I know is that I couldn't wrap my head around it, and after I got the entry and picked, I'd spring/jump opposite of what you're supposed to do. Every. Time. My coach said what I was doing (every time) was actually called a cherry flip... which no one does anymore, but apparently I'm bringing it back. Haha! I think I'm going to have to go on YouTube for the mazurka and figure it out off the ice first.

[sarahspins]

I disagree with the half flip and lutz being "awkward" - done well they can be beautiful and effortless looking jumps.  Lots of very high level skaters use them in footwork sequences (often rotating their opposite direction).  They are also important for reinforcing the correct take off without worrying about rotating the jump. I still can't reliably do a lutz, but I have a lovely half lutz   We also wouldn't have split jumps without the half flip.

I do agree that the mazurka is awkward and difficult to learn for a lot of skaters, but the mazurka is important because when done correctly it teaches the correct foot action on the take-off to avoid a toe-waltz and later a toe-axel.  Unfortunately many USFS BS programs are a little lax in both their teaching of and later their evaluation of this skill, so kids still end up floundering around when they learn the toe loop later in FS2, and the pivoting action on the take-off is very hard for them to do - toe-waltzing in comparison is VERY easy.

That said, the one skill I just don't "get" myself is an outside ina bauer.  It doesn't make sense to me how anyone can skate in that position, and never has - even when I was younger and could easily do an outside spread eagle I couldn't do an outside ina bauer.  I can do a slow/pathetic inside one, but not an outside - I've had multiple skaters/coaches try to explain it, and in just as many different ways, and it just doesn't work.

[fsk8r]

What has me totally confused right now is the mazurka. My coach just showed me this today. I'd heard of it but never learned it in the 5 years I skated before, never knew what it was, and honestly don't think I ever knew anyone who did it! Anyway, I get that the entry is like a toe loop... but then something about sliding to the side and doing a bunny hop? All I know is that I couldn't wrap my head around it, and after I got the entry and picked, I'd spring/jump opposite of what you're supposed to do. Every. Time. My coach said what I was doing (every time) was actually called a cherry flip... which no one does anymore, but apparently I'm bringing it back. Haha! I think I'm going to have to go on YouTube for the mazurka and figure it out off the ice first.

In the UK a cherry flip IS a toe loop. So if you can find out what your coach means I'd be really interested.

[skategeek]

Right now, back right crossovers.  I can do left ok, so long as I'm by the boards.  Right feels completely unnatural... feet were not built to move that way!

[fsk8r]

Not that I've tried it, but I can't quite understand why the solo dance rules we have say that to get an extra level in a solo spin you can do it by spinning in the reverse direction. But you can't change feet because that would be considered a combination spin. So you're meant to spin and pull out on the same foot (is back spin) and then somehow get into a spin in the opposite direction. This apparently is the same difficulty as doing a sit into layback. Who thought up these rules? It's plain peculiar even contemplating doing a spin like that.