Double Loops With Chris

I had two 1/2 hour lessons with Chris and his Dartfish software last week. We spent 1 3/4 lessons on double loops and 1/4 of the second lesson on lutzes.

Single loops actually have very good technique. There are a few minor, nitpicky corrections such as keeping the free leg bent a bit more in the air and holding my landing on a wider curve. Chris did say that I had really good snap off of the ice. On Dartfish, we watched my take-off in slow motion, and you could really see me spring off of my toe! I worked so hard for that, as it used to be one of my weak spots.

We moved onto double loops, and I'm making a few minor errors that are adding up to being between 1/2 and 1/4 short of the full rotation. The things that I need to work on are:
-getting a better "h" position on the take-off by keeping the knee bent on the free leg which will allow me to snap into the rotation a bit sooner
-getting my ankles together in the D position (rotation position)
-keeping my arms in tight on the landing
-keeping my right side back on the take-off and really snapping the rotation
-I also lose a bit of height from the single to the double, so I have to concentrate on making the double feel like the single in terms of the height and distance
All in all, the jump isn't too bad. He was surprised that I wasn't landing them cleaner. Hopefully I will be by the next time I see him.

We didn't have much time to look at lutzes, but I no longer flutz. I'm now a flatzer. I start on a good outside edge, straighten out to a flat, and then end up pressing on the outside edge again just before I take-off. It's really retarded. It seems that my problem is raising my picking foot just before I pick and hammering it in the ice. Chris suggested that I keep my right side back more on the entrance edge, and that I bend the skating knee as I go to pick in instead of hammering my foot down. Both are good things to work on.

The other thing that Chris was big on was getting me to soften my arms. I tend to get tense in my arms, especially when I'm trying really hard to do well for a guest coach, or when I'm trying something hard, or when I'm nervous. Ok, maybe I tend to be stiff in my arms most of the time... But he wanted me to soften the arms, and stay strong in the core. Coach K was there for this part of the lesson, and had the biggest "I told you so" smile on her face. It was very cute. Of course, Chris and Coach K were right. I softened my arms, and everything felt so much smoother. It apparently looked much better as well. Now I just have to figure out how to keep my right side back on the double loop by using core strength instead of yanking on my arm/shoulder.

I have lots to work on this week!