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6. Figure skating skills

   At  the  outset,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  each  of  the three
   disciplines  (dance,  freestyle, and moves in the field(US) -- skating
   skills  (CA)),  (the  latter  has  replaced figures in North America),
   offers  challenges  that contribute to improving the other two. A well
   rounded skating program offers all three.

  6.1 Dance

   Skate  dancing uses the same skills as other forms of skating, but has
   its  own  emphasis  and  sequencing.  You  may  also  want  to get the
   instructor  to show you the steps for the introductory dances to get a
   better  feel for what's involved. The introductory dances require only
   forward  skating  - no turns. When you do get to the turns, they'll be
   Mohawks  and  then  forward  3's.  You'll probably find them easier to
   learn in the dance context than in a "figure" or random class context,
   particularly the Mohawks.

   The  main  skills  that  you  need  to  begin  "dance  skating" are an
   effective forward stroke, the ability to hold inside and outside edges
   (meaning you can glide around turns on one foot) and a reasonably good
   posture. If you haven't mastered these yet, a lot of your "dance" time
   will be spent working on basics.

  6.2 Freestyle skating

     Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
     And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings
     from High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee Jr.

   Jumps  and  spins cannot be mastered without good edges and upper body
   control  since  it  is  this that sets the stage for what follows. The
   approach to a jump is as important as the jump itself, since it is the
   approaching  footwork  that  gets  your  entire  body  into  the right
   position to jump.

   The main reason to jump and spin in the same direction is that you use
   the  spins  to  safely  practice  jumping  technique. The back spin in
   particular is used as a preliminary to the loop, which is in turn used
   as  a  preliminary to the Axel. Ultimately the rotation, air-position,
   landing,  and  exit  for all the major jumps are the same, and are all
   developed from the backspin.

   Several  single  jumps  are  described  below,  roughly  in  order  of
   difficulty.  They  are  first  defined  in terms of the take-off edge,
   whether  or not a toepick is used, and the amount of rotation. For the
   sake  of  brevity,  all  the jumps are explained for counter-clockwise
   rotation.

    6.2.1 Waltz jump

   The Waltz jump is done on the arc of a circle starting from a LFO edge
   and  landing  on  the  RBO edge, with one half rotation. Here are some
   tips.

   -- Posture. You can't possibly do a Waltz jump if your body is leaning
   forward  from  the waist. You must stand upright over your skating leg
   and your knees should be bent.

   --  The  biggest mistake most beginners make in the waltz jump is that
   they think that all the rotation is in the air. A waltz jump is really
   a  side-to-side  jump.  You actually take off with your left foot like
   this  |  and land with your right foot like this | . THE LAST THING TO
   LEAVE  THE  GROUND  IS YOUR LEFT TOEPICK. THE FIRST THING TO TOUCH THE
   GROUND  IS YOUR RIGHT TOE PICK. The force of the landing and your free
   foot coming back complete the rotation.

   -- Since you glide on your RBO edge after landing, practice gliding on
   this  edge. Get your coach to show you what a correct landing position
   looks  and  feels like (arms below shoulder height, and slightly ahead
   of your body so that you can see both hands out of the corners of your
   eyes,  your  left  leg  extended out behind you, head up). Work really
   hard  to  memorize  that  feeling while gliding on your RBO edge. This
   landing position is the same for almost all the jumps.

   --  The  sequence  of  the  jump  is  a down-up-down movement. Down to
   prepare for the jump, up to jump, and down on your landing leg.

   --  Stand holding the rink barrier and put your hands on the boards to
   steady  your  self. Try just making little hops from your left foot to
   your right foot just to get the feel of having both feet in the air at
   the same time. Don't worry too much about take off position or landing
   position to start with. Just get the feel of shifting your weight from
   the left side to the right side.

   --  OK, got all that? Now try doing it away from the wall. Don't worry
   if  you can't get as high or far when you first leave the wall. It's a
   little  scary  at  first.  But  with practice, you'll have really nice
   waltz  jumps  that you can do from some speed that will be even bigger
   than  anything  you can do on the wall. Generally some speed will make
   the whole take off and landing more predictable.

   -- Don't look down. The ice will be there when you need it whether you
   look or not.

   --  Swing  your free leg forward at the beginning of the jump. Because
   you  are  on  a  curve, this will feel like jumping outside the curve.
   Think of this as jumping OUT or AHEAD, but don't let yourself think of
   it as jumping AROUND.

   --  If  you jump straight ahead, and if you were on a FO edge when you
   took  off,  your  body  WILL  do  the  required half revolution all by
   itself, so that when you land, you will be going backward.

   --  When  you land, you should roll off your toepick onto an RBO edge.
   Landing on the flat of the blade will make you skid.

    6.2.2 Salchow

   The  Salchow  starts  from  an  "open" LFO 3-turn followed by a strong
   check on the LBI edge. Leaving your hip open will extend your free leg
   behind  you in the direction of travel. As the skating leg rises after
   the  check, the free leg and shoulders are released (swung around) and
   the  skater jumps, landing on a RBO edge after one rotation. If you go
   back  and look at the tracing you left as you took off, you should see
   a  pronounced curve, shallow coming out of the 3-turn, and deeper just
   before  takeoff  with  a  toe pick mark at the end (like a check mark)
   indicating  that  you  were  rotating  forward  on  take  off. In this
   respect, a Salchow is not unlike a Waltz jump with a backward entry.

   The  Salchow  is an incredibly easy jump to cheat, and the easiest way
   to  cheat  is not to have or hold any check following the introductory
   3-turn.  Since cheating is bad, reduces power and control, and is hard
   to unlearn, start out by learning the jump without the cheat.

   First,  practice  the approach WITHOUT the jump. From a RBO edge, step
   forward  and turn a LFO 3. HOLD IT. HOLD IT. HOLD IT. Practice holding
   the  entry  edge on the 3 turn, right leg extended back, body strongly
   checked.  This  is the position that you want to have before the jump.
   Practice  this  a lot, until you get familiar with what is involved in
   holding  the edge ... where your shoulders are, how open your free hip
   is, where your free leg is, etc. A LOT of the power for the jump comes
   from  creating  momentary rotational tension by initially checking the
   rotation of the 3 turn.

   Remember  that virtually all of skating is done as a series of down up
   down  up  down  up  down movements. The introductory 3-turn requires a
   DOWN to prepare, an UP to turn the 3, a DOWN to finish the 3, an UP to
   do  the  jump, and a DOWN to land it. Don't forget any of the "downs",
   because if you don't go down there is nothing to come up from.

   The  Salchow  has a 1, 2, and 3 cadence. 1 - turn, 2 -check, and - let
   the free leg and arm move from behind to inside the circle, 3 - jump.

   There are two primary sources of rotation: the edge you are on (should
   be  deep),  and  having  the  arm  in back come forward during takeoff
   (which  rotates your shoulders). The jump comes when you progressively
   deepen the back edge by releasing the free side, closing the free hip,
   throwing/pulling  the  free  leg  forward and up, and by scooping your
   arms in/down and up.

    6.2.3 Toe-loop

   A  toe-loop  is  a  toe-assisted  jump  done  from a RBO edge (for CCW
   jumpers)-  usually after a RFI 3-turn. The free (left) leg is extended
   far  behind  and  the  toepick  is  planted  on  the circle behind the
   direction  of  travel and used as a pole vault. The skater rises, does
   one rotation in the air and lands on a RBO edge.

   When  you  put your pick in, put it in BEHIND you; make sure that your
   free  leg  does not cross behind the skating leg before picking. Also,
   make  sure  that  both your torso and free leg are facing backwards to
   the  direction  of  travel as you pick. If you let your shoulders turn
   around before you pick or turn out your free leg (so that your toepick
   is  facing  forwards  as  you  pick)  you  will  do what is known as a
   TOE-WALTZ.  Once you learn this "cheat" it is hard to undo and it will
   make it harder to achieve a double toe-loop further along the road.

   If  you  are having trouble getting up the nerve to actually jump this
   jump, try the following: do a RFI 3-turn, put your pick in the ice far
   behind  you,  but don't jump, instead, use the pick to pivot around on
   the  RBO  edge about one quarter of a turn; then push off the pick and
   do  another  RFI  3  turn,  pivot around the pick again, etc...This is
   basically  a  series of "toe-assisted" RBO threes. One of these times,
   though,  when you put in the pick, don't to the 3 -- jump instead. The
   series of 3s will get you used to how much rotation you need, and will
   serve as a stepping stone. for the jump.

   Here are a few tips to watch for:

   -- Make sure the check is strong. When you put your pick in, your left
   arm  should  be well forward, and you should be sighting down the left
   arm  toward  your hand.The right arm is slightly behind you and off to
   the side

   --  Make sure that you point the toe-pick and drive the top picks into
   the ice. This will not only make the take-off more secure, but it will
   make it harder to turn out the picking foot.

   --  Although  the  toe-loop  is nominally a full rotation jump, in the
   practice  you  will  be doing at least a quarter to a half rotation on
   the  ice.  This  is  not  bad technique, as long as your shoulders and
   picking  leg  turn  together  as  a  unit  and face the same direction
   throughout the take-off.

    6.2.4 Loop jump

   The  loop  jump  is  an  "edge"  jump,  starting  from  a RBO edge and
   finishing on an RBO edge after one rotation.

   Here  is an exercise that can help you get a feeling for what the jump
   feels  like. Start either from backward CCW crossovers or a RFI 3 turn
   (the  3  turn is easier for most people). Either way, the position for
   entering  the  jump  is a RBO edge, left (free) leg in front, left arm
   strongly  checked  in  front,  right arm strongly checked behind, head
   facing forward.

   For  the exercise, scoop a pot of gold up from the ice with your right
   hand as you rotate crossing the free leg across the ankle. Do a single
   rotation backspin on the ice and check out with the free leg in back.

   The  jump is the same, only at the same time that you scoop the pot of
   gold  up  off the ice with the right hand, DEEPLY bend the right knee.
   Just  before  you'd  pop into your backspin for the exercise, pop into
   the air instead.

   Things to remember are:

   -  make  sure  that you have a strong RBO edge and a strong check. The
   "launch"  power  comes  from  pushing  up  off  of  a strong edge. The
   rotation comes from releasing the check.

   - On the entry, avoid having your weight rock forward.

   -  Keep  the  free  leg  IN  FRONT of the skating leg. It's very easy,
   especially  just at the moment of jump, to let it wander off sideways,
   out of the circle.

   - Keep your head looking inside the circle until just before you jump.
   This will keep you from leaning outside the circle.

   -  Remember  to jump through the entire foot, pointing the toe so that
   the pick is the last thing to leave the ice

    6.2.5 Flip jump

   The  flip jump is a toe-assisted jump starting from a shallow LBI edge
   (usually  after a LFO 3-turn). The toe-pick of the right (free) leg is
   planted  in  the  ice  behind  the  direction of travel and the skater
   vaults from the right leg, rotating one full rotation and landing on a
   RBO edge.

   The flip doesn't have quite as nice a stepping-stone as the loop jump,
   so  that might make them seem harder -- there's no easy way to get the
   feel for them as a full-rotation jump. However, here are a few tips.

   -- Make the 3-turn pretty flat, almost on a straight line.

   --  Check strongly after the 3-turn, with the right arm behind and the
   left arm across the front of the body (like the loop preparation). You
   should  feel  a  strong pull in your right shoulder blade. Think about
   keeping  the  right arm slightly above parallel with the ice. Keep the
   shoulder  open,  so when you swing the right arm, it comes around, not
   up.

   --  Keep  the  hips  square to the "straight line" you're on after the
   3-turn.

   --  Hold  the LBI edge and bend your left knee a lot. Do not move your
   arms  and  shoulders  yet. Bend forwards so that your upper body is on
   the  same line as your right leg (Think of a rigid bar going from your
   right toe to your head)

   --  Don't  kick the ice when you pick. In this jump, you must transfer
   your  weight from the left to the right side. The right toepick has to
   be  able  to  support  your  weight and pull you into the air. To feel
   this,  stand  on  your  left skate and reach back with your right leg,
   held  straight  and  with the toe extended. Hook the ice and pull your
   left skate backwards, rising on your right leg.

   --  Jump  on  your  left  knee.  Meanwhile  release  the check at your
   shoulders:  Move  the right arm forwards alongside your body and bring
   in  your  left arm towards you. Pull back with your upper body so that
   you  are  still  on  a straight line with your right leg. If you want,
   kick  upwards  with  your  left  knee  in  order to put your centre of
   gravity on your right leg more easily.

   --  Turn  your  head  towards  your left -- same sense you are jumping
   (this  will  force  your  left  shoulder back a bit, so it can be very
   useful  if  you  feel  you are stopping yourself from rotating ). Keep
   arms folded close to your body.

   --  In  the  air, cross legs at the ankles in a backspin position. For
   this reason, working on backspins is a helpful exercise.

   --  You  can  use  half-flips as a stepping stone, but they can easily
   become  a  crutch. After the LFO 3-turn, pick with the free right leg,
   jump  up,  and  land  again on the toe-pick of the right leg, stepping
   forward  onto a LFO edge. Go back and take a look at how much distance
   you  covered  doing  the  above.  Then do it again, this time making a
   conscious  effort to use your picking foot to pull yourself backwards.
   The distance should get longer.

    6.2.6 Lutz jump

   The  Lutz  is  named after the Austrian skater Alois Lutz. The Lutz is
   similar  to the flip, but it takes off from a BO edge instead of a BI.
   This  means  that the jump turns in the counter direction to the entry
   edge.  This "counter"character of the jump makes it one of the hardest
   single  jumps,  since  it  is  not  possible  to take advantage of the
   intrinsic rotation provided by the edge to start turning.

   One  of  the most common mistakes in the Lutz is doing a change before
   the  take  off, so that the skater is technically doing a flip instead
   of  a Lutz. This is what is usually referred to as a "flutz". Although
   an incidental change of edge just before the takeoff is tolerated, the
   best looking Lutzes are achieved by taking off a pure outside edge

   The  standard  preparation  for  the  CCW  Lutz  consists  in  CW back
   crossovers followed by a sustained shallow left back outside edge. The
   hips and shoulders should be perfectly square while riding the edge.

   After  settling  on  a stable outside edge, pass the right arm back to
   get  a  serious  check on that shoulder. Look straight ahead down your
   left  arm.  Bend the skating knee, extend back the right leg and plant
   the pick on a straight line behind the left skating foot - it may feel
   like  the  pick  is  slightly  inside  the  BO circle described by the
   skating foot.

   Make  sure that you don't raise the free leg and kick the ice with the
   pick.  This  is not only a waste of energy, but it also makes you bend
   too  much  at the waist, which slows down the rotation (not to mention
   that it will hurt your toe!)

   During  the picking, concentrate on holding that right shoulder check.
   If you let the right shoulder come around before picking you will very
   likely "flutz".

   As you jump, draw the free arm into, not around, the body.

   An  alternative  entry:  Instead of riding the long back outside edge,
   some  skaters do CCW crossovers or a left foot mohawk, ride briefly on
   a  right  back  outside  edge  (or flat), cross the left foot over the
   right  onto  the  left  outside back edge and then pick and jump. This
   entry  is  sometimes  recommended  to  get rid of a flutz, because the
   right  shoulder tends to move naturally backwards during the crossover
   step  prior  to  the jump. The secret is not to linger on the LBO edge
   and pick and jump immediately after the crossover.

    6.2.7. Axel jump

   The  Axel jump takes off from a forwards outside edge is landed on the
   backwards  outside  edge  of  the  opposite  leg, after one and a half
   revolutions.

   The  usual  approach  to  the Axel is a RBO edge (for counterclockwise
   jumpers).  On  the approach, make sure that your body is very upright,
   your  feet  are closer together and you are facing outside the circle.
   From  this  position,  push  strongly onto a LFO edge on a deeply bent
   knee, leaving the free leg far behind you. At the same time throw both
   arms  behind  you,  with  slightly bent elbows. Your upper body should
   remain  upright  and  over  your  hips.  The following bit of clip-art
   illustrates  what  you  are  supposed to look like on the entry to the
   Axel:
            _
           (_)
            |_
            | \
         _ _|
        |    \__
       _|       \

   The  lift-off for the Axel comes both from pushing off the skating leg
   and  from  swinging  forwards  the  arms  and  the  free leg. The more
   forceful  the  swing, the higher the jump will be. As you raise on the
   jumping  leg,  roll your weight forwards onto the toepick. The toepick
   will be the last thing to leave the ice.

   IMPORTANT:  When  the  free leg overtakes the jumping leg, do not kick
   forwards  with the free foot, but instead drive the knee upwards. This
   is what some people means by "stepping up" into the Axel. The movement
   of  the  free leg resembles climbing up a steep staircase. The purpose
   of this "stepping up" is to keep the free leg as close to your body as
   possible  during  the lift-off stage. This facilitates the snap into a
   fast  rotation and the weight transfer from the left to the right leg,
   required for a stable landing on a strong back edge.

   As you lift the ice your free knee will be pointing upwards, your arms
   extended  in  front  of  you and your jumping leg fully stretched. Now
   comes  the  tricky bit: To generate the fast rotation, quickly pull in
   your  arms  towards  your chest, point down the soon to be landing leg
   and  cross  the left over the right leg. This will look as if you were
   doing  a  backspin  in  the  air.Although  achieving this air backspin
   position quickly is not strictly required to be able to do an Axel, it
   is  the  key  to  complete successfully more advanced multi-revolution
   jumps  and  it  is  generally considered better form than jumping with
   your legs hanging side to side ,so you might as well learn it!

   When  you land, unwrap the legs by lifting the left knee and roll onto
   the RBO edge in the usual landing position.

      6.2.7.1 Axel exercises

   The  Axel  can  be  a difficult jump to learn. Although mastering this
   jump  will  inevitably take some time and quite a few falls, there are
   several  skills and exercises which can be used as stepping stones for
   the  Axel.  Practicing  them  will  provide  you  with  some ingrained
   knowledge  of  the  correct  technique for the different phases of the
   jump and reduce the risk of injuries resulting from clumsy attempts.
    1. Waltz  jump:  Having a strong confident waltz jump is an important
       requirement  for  the  Axel. Practice waltz jumps making sure that
       you adopt the proper Axel take off position.
    2. Waltz-loop  combination:  Doing  a  loop  (or better, a loop-loop)
       after the Waltz jump practices control of the free leg and hip and
       also  helps  with the concept of weight transfer to a new rotation
       axis.
    3. Backspin:  Practice  as many backspins as possible. A particularly
       useful  exercise  consists in snapping into a fast backspin from a
       standstill (by quickly pulling in your arms and crossing your legs
       at  the  ankle.  This  exercise  simulates getting into the flight
       position and fast rotation in the Axel and multi-revolution jumps.
       Doing  the backspin off the landing of a waltz jump is also a good
       exercise.
    4. Step-up: From a standstill or a one-foot forwards glide, step onto
       the  take-off  leg  and  practice the step-up into the Axel: swing
       your  arms  forwards  until  they are extended in front of you and
       drive  your free knee upwards to hip height or higher and you roll
       up  onto  the toepick of the jumping leg. When you are comfortable
       with  the  step-up,  try  adding a fast backspin as you touch down
       with the landing leg.

    6.2.8 Two foot spin

   The hardest part about learning spins is to get the feel of it. It's a
   bit like balancing a broom on your hand...

   Do  you work in an office with a swivel chair? Or can you find one? If
   so,  sit  square on the seat and twist your upper body opposite to the
   direction  you  want  to  spin.  HOLD YOUR ARMS OUT UNTIL you have the
   chair turning just a bit. Then pull them in SLOWLY.

   You'll  probably find you start whizzing around. If you don't, oil the
   chair  or keep fiddling until you get it. Once you've got it, practice
   it until you get fired or you can do it every time.

   As  in  the  chair  analogy,  the  preparation  for a 2-foot spin is a
   wind-up  and  release. Start by bending your left (skating) knee. Also
   bend  the ankle, and just sink your hip toward your heel, keeping your
   torso  upright.  Your  shoulders and hips should be lined up over your
   skating  foot.  In order to do this, you have to allow the non-skating
   (right)  foot  to slide/glide a long way out from your skating foot --
   BUT  without  any  weight  on  it.  Your weight should be ALL over the
   skating  foot.  "Wind  up"  your  upper  body. Your left arm should be
   forward  and  a bit across your body and your right arm should be well
   back.  When  you  release  this  tension  by  bringing your upper body
   (shoulders,  torso,  arms)  to  neutral,  you  create  some rotational
   energy.

   NOW,  you are ready for the *real* trick: As you release the free side
   (i.e.: release the wind-up), and begin to straighten the spinning leg,
   PULL  IN  with  your  thighs.  You  don't  just  *let*  your legs come
   together, you PULL them together. Your inner thighs have very powerful
   muscles  in  them  and  you  will  be  amazed  at  the energy they can
   generate.

   Keep your shoulders level. Don't bend at the waist. Don't look down at
   the ice.

   An  alternative standing start is with a pivot. Cock your left knee to
   stick  the  left toepick in the ice, and start your spin with the same
   windup  you  would  use  if you were standing on both blades. Put your
   weight  over  the  pivoting  toe.  As  you  release  the free side and
   straighten the skating knee, roll the left skate back off the pick and
   onto the blade.

   Try  a  moving  start:  glide forward on 2 feet held parallel. Wind up
   your upper body. Cock your left knee to stick your pick in the ice and
   turn  out  the  left  hip.  Commit  your  weight  to the left foot. By
   sticking  the  pick in the ice, you translate your momentum, which was
   forward on BOTH feet to forward only on one, but that one has to go in
   circles  around  the  left toe, which is now stationary. When the pick
   catches, release the windup, begin straightening the left leg, rocking
   back  from  the pick, and pulling in with your thighs. In other words,
   once  you have begun the pivot, this is identical to a standing start,
   but you have the added momentum from your forward motion.

   The crux of all spins is that you have more time than you think. Don't
   yank your arms or legs in quickly; use the twist in your body to get a
   little  bit  of  rotation  first,  and then pull in. As you get faster
   you'll  start  to  feel the centrifugal force trying to pull your arms
   back out. Balance that pull so that you keep on pulling in slowly, and
   you'll have joined the Scott Hamiltons of the world!

   Good  luck.  And  remember  --  spinning is like riding a bike. It's a
   knack, not a talent.

    6.2.9 Forward Scratch spin

   On  a  1-foot spin, both the arms and the free leg are drawn in to the
   body  to increase your speed. The slower and more controlled you bring
   in  the  leg  and arms the faster and more controlled the spin will be
   (and it will look better!). A 1-foot spin is done standing up straight
   on  the "sweet spot" of the skate, just behind the picks. Learning how
   to  spin  is  largely  learning how to get into and hold this position
   with no residual linear motion.

   The  following  definitive  description  of  a  forward  scratch spin,
   covering  the  basics  of  one  foot  spins,  is  included (with minor
   modifications) with permission from Janet Swan-Hill.

   **  Spinning is a matter of celestial mechanics. As you are doing your
   back  crossovers  getting ready, you are describing a circle (a planet
   orbiting the sun). You want to spin in the exact center of that circle
   (where the sun is). BUT, just as you can't aim straight at the sun and
   hit  it,  because you are moving backwards on a curve. You have to set
   off on a curve that will get you to the center eventually. This means,
   that  when  you step off for the spin, you step slightly forward (on a
   strong outside edge), NOT backward, and not quite perpendicular to the
   skating foot.

   **  Don't  hurry.  You  will never center the spin if you step off and
   immediately  release  the  free  side.  You  should  describe  a  full
   half-circle  before  you get to the "sun" and release the free side to
   let  yourself  spin.  Practice  on a hockey line: Stand with your feet
   crossed  as they would be before you step into the spin, with a strong
   check  (skating  arm/shoulder well forward, free side well back). push
   off  onto  a forward outside edge (left for most of us), and don't let
   the free side release until you have finished a half circle and gotten
   back to the line. People who are already very accomplished at spinning
   will often not look as if they have "waited" to spin. Don't copy them.
   They  already  have  the  kinesthetic  memory  of  the spin completely
   ingrained,  and  can  telescope  everything  into  less of an apparent
   sequence  of  events.  they  can  also compensate for an unorthodox or
   "off" approach. Beginners don't do very well at compensating.

   **  When  you step into the spin, keep your shoulders level. Sweep the
   skating  arm  around  from  its  strong  check  to a neutral position,
   imagining that you are sweeping across the top of a high table, trying
   to  clear  it off. If you go in with your skating arm angled downward,
   your  spin  will  travel  badly.  And remember that your arm is not an
   isolated  body  part.  Think  of  the  arms/shoulders/upper torso as a
   (hinged)  unit.  As  you sweep the arm across, you are also moving the
   shoulders and upper torso, with the aim of getting them into "neutral"
   position  (faced  forward,  shoulders  and hips facing straight ahead,
   arms  extended (at first) to the side, or rather, slightly in front of
   the body, but equally in front)

   **  When  you are doing your backward crossovers getting ready to step
   into  the spin, imagine that you have a tail. Before you step into the
   spin,  your  left foot is underslung -- behind and outside the skating
   foot, and your hips are angled so that your "tail" is pointing outside
   the circle instead of backward

   **  Spend  some time practicing stepping into the spin without pushing
   with  the  toepick of the soon-to-be-free foot. If you step off from a
   toe pick or a backward scrape, you will lose most of your momentum and
   "jar" your position, making it more difficult to keep balance.

   **  Imagine  that someone has inserted a broomstick so that it runs up
   your  left  leg  and  side  and  ending at your left shoulder. Imagine
   yourself  spinning  forward  around the broomstick. Lift your free hip
   slightly.  This  will  move  the  center  of gravity directly over the
   skating  foot  ...  and  whatever  spin  you do, whatever position you
   eventually assume, you will always need the center of gravity over the
   skating  foot. For instance, in a layback, the hips are thrust forward
   to act as a counter to the weight of the upper body. The arms are also
   used to adjust the location of the center of gravity.

   **  When  you  release  the  free side and allow the free foot to come
   forward,  bring the free leg as close to directly in front as you can.

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