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World champion Denise Biellmann started practicing her trademark spin when she was 11. First, she arches her back and reaches over her shoulder for her skate blade. Once Biellmann has the blade firmly in one hand, she grabs it with the second hand as well and pulls her foot high over her head. |
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Brian Orser's triple axel is one of the best in the world. In fact, he became the first man to land 2 triple axels in the same program in competition. Before he learned how to land a triple axel, he had to master a single. Here's how he does it: First, he lines up his left shoulder, hip and leg so that they're stacked on top of each other on the back outside edge of his skate. When Orser steps forward into the axel, he focuses his eyes on the spot in the air to which he wants the jump to climb. He takes a giant step into the air and rotates 1 1/2 times before landing backward |
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At the left is the harness used to teach skaters how to do tricks such as the axel, flip, loop, and Lutz. The harness is fastened around the skaters waist and they perform the ground preparation for the trick. At the time that they would jump into the air and spin, the trainer pulls the rope and the skater is lifted into the air. The skater then does the amount of rotations instructed and lands safely on the ice. When the trainer thinks that the skater is ready to do the trick on their own, they take the harness off. |
| The Lutz is similar to the flip jump. They both take off from the left foot. When you take off, make sure you are skating on the outside edge of your left skate. Once in the air, you have to wrap your arms around and do one full rotation. If you're a beginner, you should begin by doing a half Lutz and do only a half rotation in the air. When taking off, you should place your toe pick in the ice, not ram it in. When it is rammed in, it will cause your legs and hip to become unaligned and give great pain to the skater. |
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The death spiral is one of the most beautiful pair moves. The partners begin by skating backward, hand to hand. They move quickly over the ice to pick up lots of speed. Then the women arches her back and leans toward her partner as he makes a pivot-a circle that gets smaller and smaller. This creates a force that helps pull the woman down toward the ice. The woman must skate securely on her edge so she doesn't slip, and her body should look evenly arched from skate to head. The pair tries to complete one full circle when they hit their death spiral position. |