Back Spin Made Easy: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide For Figure Skaters

Hey, it's Stacey here from Next Step Tutorials. In today's lesson, I'm going to be showing you the process to getting your first backspin. So, before I teach you a backspin, let's take a look at our end goal of a backspin. So, I'm pushing forward. I'm on a right forward inside edge. I three turn. Now, I'm on a back outside edge. I pull in for the spin, lift up and out, and exit. Now, I'm going to teach you the backspin in a five-step process. You might find this super helpful or you might find an easier way to learn the backspin, but I have found this way the easiest to learn a backspin. All right, step number one. It's going to be putting my right toe pick in the ice. If you spin in the other direction, it's going to be your left toe pick. So, I have my right toe pick in the ice, right arm slightly back, left arm in front. And what we're going to do here is just do some pumps with our left foot. So, we're understanding how the spin works. So, we're going to go pump, pull up, pump, pull up, pump, pull up. As you can see, my shoulders aren't moving during the pumps. They are staying nice and still and I'm just allowing my left leg to do all the work. So, I'm going pulling up here, slightly in front, slightly back, bend and pull up, bend, press and pull up, bend, press and pull up. This is the very first step. And you want to make sure that you're feeling that inside edge on that left foot. Press and hold. I'm pushing into the ball of the foot and then drawing it up. All right, now we're moving on to step number two. So, we're going to take step number one and still use that pump. The difference is we're going to glide back now on a back outside edge. So, it's going to look like this. So, left arm in front, right arm slightly back. We're going to go pump, up, now pump and glide. And what we're going to try to do is just maintain that position on the back outside edge. So, I go right toe picking the ice, left arm in front, right arm back. I'm going to do that pivot pump, then push and glide. And when you do this glide, you want to make sure that you're not pushing back in your hips, holding here. You want to feel yourself over that right leg and that left leg lifting up. You want to use that strength in that left leg to hold it through that inside edge holding here. So, let's look at it again. Arms are going to stay in position. I'm going to feel this pump. Now, pump lift and then press it around. If you are struggling to stay on that back outside edge and you don't feel that pressure, don't be afraid to grind on your toe pick and do this. Here, push and then press that toe pick. So, that your weight's going in towards the toe and not staying in your heel. All right. Before we move on, I want you to click on the link below in the description for your free PDF guide on how to start your figure skating journey. If you are new to figure skating, this is the perfect PDF because it goes over finding your local ice skating rink, enrolling into skate school. It goes over all the small stuff so you are not guessing. And even if you've already started figure skating, it's a great PDF to just make sure that you are doing all the right things because we've laid everything out for you. So, when you're ready, give it a click. All right. We are ready for step number three. And step number three is going to look very similar to step number two, but the difference is we're going to tighten up our circle. So, it's going to look like this. Arms are still in the exact same position. Press pump, press pump, and lift. All I'm doing is I'm keeping it on the same circle. I'm not moving it out. Because remember, with step number two, it was holding on a long edge. If you find that you need a little bit more rhythm, don't be afraid to do more pumps. I mean, don't overdo it with pumps and get too dizzy. But you might want some more rhythm with those pumps. And it might look like this. You might need one, two, three, and then pick it up. So, we're not pulling in yet. We're just getting used to that press and lift and holding into our center, balancing over that right leg. Let's take a look at it one more time. Left arm in front, right arm slightly back, my head looking forward. Get some pumps going to get that rhythm. And then press lift. And that is our step number three. All right, we are ready for step number four. So, we're going to keep everything the same, except we're going to pull in with our arms and our free leg. So, I have my left arm in front, right arm slightly back. I'm going to use pumps for some rhythm. Here's that rhythm. Then I'm going to push lift. And then I'm going to bring my arms and leg in. Now, when I pull my arms and my leg in, it's not a fast in because I don't want to throw myself off balance. I'm just taking my arms and my leg and I'm gently bringing them in. So, let's take a look at that again. Arms position. I'm going to use that pump for some rhythm. Down and up. Down, up. Hold balance. And then I'm going to bring it into my body. Do not move on to step number four until you feel comfortable with step number three, holding here. And then crossing and then bringing our arms and leg in. Okay, if you are doing step number four, you are doing a backspin. You should be so proud of yourself. Now, step number five is just adding that extra high level entry. Now, remember, we don't have to go as fast as possible right now with this backspin. That comes later on when everything gets more and more comfortable. So, what I want you to do with step number five is we're going to take that advanced entry. So, I'm going to do a left forward inside edge. Then a right forward inside edge. I already have my left arm in front, right arm back. I'm going to wait on that edge. Three turn. Here's that position that we worked on. And then just drawing it in and out. As you can see, it is not as fast as possible, but it is a backspin. So, this entry, again, is going to be... You can do, if you feel like you need more rhythm, you can do multiple inside edges that look like this. You might go inside edge, hold, hold, hold. It's just that last one. I want to see that free leg stretching back. Three turn. Let it flip and then draw it in. When you do this entry, I want you to be patient on that right forward inside edge. If you wait long enough, it will naturally turn into that back spin position. If you rush it, you are going to wind up doing a tight three turn and then traveling. So, what I want you to do when doing step number five, be patient. So, you're going to push, hold. Now, we're just going to hold this. Hold, hold, hold, hold, hold. And it will naturally turn on its own. And then you can pull in for that spin. And there you have it. That is your backspin that I want you doing the next time you're on the ice. All right, there you have it. That is your five-step process to getting a backspin. If you like this video, like, subscribe, write to us. It is so important because we had so many of you write to us saying, Hey, Stace, I want you teaching us a backspin. And here you go. If you want to see something else, let us know so that we can help you. Thanks for watching Next Edge Tutorials and looking forward to seeing you in our next lesson.