Spinner | Golden Skate

Spinner

iceskating21

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
In this loooong quarantine, spinner seems to be a good friend for my skater now. She is practicing on it every day.

My skater said the feeling is not exactly the same as the feeling on blades. Is it true? If so, why do we use it? Also, I wonder, is it something just giving you the feeling of rotation or it can actually be a substitute as “blades off ice”? Should skaters practice all kinds of specific positions on it? Can you literally use it to do bielleman spin, camel- back camel, and etc?
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
My skater said the feeling is not exactly the same as the feeling on blades. Is it true? If so, why do we use it? Also, I wonder, is it something just giving you the feeling of rotation or it can actually be a substitute as “blades off ice”?

It's a very different feeling and definitely not a substitute, but it helps build the balance and posture and core/leg strength needed to do it on the ice.

Should skaters practice all kinds of specific positions on it? Can you literally use it to do bielleman spin, camel- back camel, and etc?

In theory, yes. In practice, my kitchen is the only room in my house without carpet, and it's nowhere near big enough for me to do many positions without risking smashing body parts into a cabinet. If you have big rooms with hard floors, have at it with camel spins and such. :laugh:
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
My skater has off ice with her coach twice a week and was asked to get a spinner. Cost a fortune for what it is, just a piece of plastic with the Edea logo on it. There are others, but I needed it fast, and that was the only one truly in stock.

As mentioned above it's no real substitute, but for balance and core conditioning it really does help. It takes quite a bit of practice to master it (she's still struggling) but I can't say it was money wasted.
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
My skater has off ice with her coach twice a week and was asked to get a spinner. Cost a fortune for what it is, just a piece of plastic with the Edea logo on it. There are others, but I needed it fast, and that was the only one truly in stock.

As mentioned above it's no real substitute, but for balance and core conditioning it really does help. It takes quite a bit of practice to master it (she's still struggling) but I can't say it was money wasted.

Ah, but this piece of plastic "scientifically simulates Skating Positions and Actions". You're paying for the design (and the Edea logo, of course).

Probably anything that keeps her amused and doesn't cause any actual harm is worth the money these days. Our VISA bills have been shockingly low since the pandemic hit, even though nobody takes cash.
 

guitarist

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 17, 2017
Yeah, not a substitute, but I've definitely found it to help with getting into the positions and balance. Of course, I'm a beginner, though, so take that with a grain of salt. I stopped using it because I live in an NYC apartment with limited space and far too much breakable stuff, though...
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
I'm not a fan of skating spinners. I'm sure they definitely help with getting the feeling of rotation but the rocker is in a different place on them, and your foot is flat rather than in a heeled boot. It's all very different to being on skates. So far, all of the amazing spinning I see on Instagram has been done by children who have excellent spinning skills on ice, too, and are able to readjust between the two very easily. How helpful spinners are to the majority, though, I wouldn't like to say. I remain unconvinced.
 

Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
I can't for the life of me do forward spins on my spinner (working on sit spins which strangely seem slightly easier...) but I can do back spins... which if it means that I'll finally be able to get on that back edge and in a cross position will be money worth spent.
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
I'm not a fan of skating spinners. I'm sure they definitely help with getting the feeling of rotation but the rocker is in a different place on them, and your foot is flat rather than in a heeled boot. It's all very different to being on skates. So far, all of the amazing spinning I see on Instagram has been done by children who have excellent spinning skills on ice, too, and are able to readjust between the two very easily. How helpful spinners are to the majority, though, I wouldn't like to say. I remain unconvinced.

Well now it all makes sense to me. I'm an adult and I'm a good spinner on the ice, especially my backspin.
Tried my friend's spinner and couldn't spin for the life of me.
 

jersey1302

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Country
Canada
I'm not a fan of skating spinners. I'm sure they definitely help with getting the feeling of rotation but the rocker is in a different place on them, and your foot is flat rather than in a heeled boot. It's all very different to being on skates. So far, all of the amazing spinning I see on Instagram has been done by children who have excellent spinning skills on ice, too, and are able to readjust between the two very easily. How helpful spinners are to the majority, though, I wouldn't like to say. I remain unconvinced.

So I just got my skate spinner from skatespinner.ca and its not flat. it rocks.. I will say .. I tried it and its definitely going to take a bit for me to get used to it and practice because you have to be completely centered or you're falling off. It spins a VERY good speed though. I did it in my garage on concrete. So if you are looking for a spinner that isnt flat get this one. They ship internationally aswell.
 

Schpanky

Rinkside
Joined
May 25, 2016
My son and I call our spinner the "human hamster wheel." Honestly it's helped more with my inline skating one toe spins, and my quad skating one toe spins, more than with ice skating spins.
 

SmallAminal

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2016
There may be even more, but it seems to me there are three main types of spinners that skaters are using right now for off-ice:

1) "Skate spinners" like the Edea one mentioned above. We have one of these - it is more flat with a tiny bit of rocker and looks like a small platform for your foot.
2) "Ballet spinners" We also have one of these. It is WAAAAY more rockered and a lot harder to spin on. It is intended, as I understand it, for dancers and not skaters. However, my skater is using it and I think it does train balance and help you learn to fight to hold the position.
3) "Turntable spinners" that go clockwise or counter-clockwise. They are like lazy-Susan's except they allow you to practice your rotations for jumps or to do various spin positions. We ordered one recently and are waiting for it to arrive.

For all of these, my kid wears sneakers, so I agree that it doesn't approximate the position of your foot in a skate boot. I think you need to be realistic in understanding that learning or perfecting a spin on a spinner does not necessarily mean you will perfect it on the ice as soon as you get out there (I also fear that my kid will look like Bambi on the ice when we finally get back, but that's another story). I think there is an analogy here with off-ice jumping - off-ice jumping does not replicate the glide into the jump or the position of the foot in the boot, but it does help you with the jump on ice. These spinners can help with aspects of spinning - learning to tolerate rotation, learning the position of your body, etc. but like most of skating, you can't learn all the skills "off-ice" and expect that it will 100% translate to on-ice.
 

jersey1302

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Country
Canada
In this loooong quarantine, spinner seems to be a good friend for my skater now. She is practicing on it every day.

My skater said the feeling is not exactly the same as the feeling on blades. Is it true? If so, why do we use it? Also, I wonder, is it something just giving you the feeling of rotation or it can actually be a substitute as “blades off ice”? Should skaters practice all kinds of specific positions on it? Can you literally use it to do bielleman spin, camel- back camel, and etc?

So I did a little "help review" on the skate spinner I have purchased to show everyone. Its one with a rocker and not the table spinners that make you have a flat foot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIHeoig7HIo&t=15s

I hope this helps anyone looking to get this type. its from skatespinner.ca
 

labgoat

I have no words
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Country
United-States
Not a fan either, many years ago I lost my balance practicing with a spinner and fell dislocating a shoulder really badly. My shoulder socket went all the way behind my scapular and my recovery was lengthy. I too was already a good spinner capable of spinning in both directions on ice. Be careful and don't use on a basement tile floor,
 

Snorlax

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Country
United-Kingdom
I haven't practised much on the ice in regards to spinning, and believe I need to learn a lot about posture and balance and train my body to adhere with the requirements for it :bow:

However, I got a metal spinner (the square one that stays in one spot and doesn't scratch the floor) and have started using that to improve my general body awareness in regards to balance and the spinning feeling.

I know that this cannot replace actual spinning practise and it cannot simulate the rocker, but it has certainly helped with my overall body tension, posture and getting rid of the severe dizziness I always experienced when spinning 1-2 rotations.

I really hope that I do not train up any bad form. I'm trying to position my foot in a way that I have to balance on the same spot on the ball of my foot, and I'm trying to shift my weight in a way that makes me fall forward when I loose my balance (rather than backward) because I know the last thing I want to do is falling backwards when spinning.

I also try to use my tightest shoes with the narrowest sole. I try to rotate rather slow to ensure that my body control is good in all positions and angles, but let's see how well that translates into the actuall spinning on-ice once the madness is over. :shocked:
 

ParadiceSport

Rinkside
Joined
May 21, 2020
Assuming you are counter clockwise jumper.

When you spin, your axis is always right leg(same leg with which you are spinning with spinner). This means, that spinner can improve your control of the right side, speed and momentum.
 

jersey1302

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Country
Canada
Not a fan either, many years ago I lost my balance practicing with a spinner and fell dislocating a shoulder really badly. My shoulder socket went all the way behind my scapular and my recovery was lengthy. I too was already a good spinner capable of spinning in both directions on ice. Be careful and don't use on a basement tile floor,

I was doing it in the garage on the cement.. I can absolutely see someone doing that if they aren't careful
 

kolyadafan2002

Fan of Kolyada
Final Flight
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Spinning can be useful for three reasons:
1) training vestibular.
2) training spin positions.
3) training rotation positions.

The rocker will never be accurate enough for 2 or 3 unless you have a flat spinner. If you want to do 2 or 3, you won't progress fast on ice with a rockered spinner as you are training an incorrect "sweet spot" more often then not.
For training vestibular and balance it is good. You will increase balance, and get less dizzy on the ice. You will increase "body awareness."
Just don't think it's a direct transition to spinning on the ice. On the ice, you are spinning on a sweet spot on the blade, and you are doing small circles on an edge. On a spinner you aren't doing this, and if you try to you will go flying.
 
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