Spinning help please?

[Caro]

I've witnessed his unaided spins, they're real and he's human.
But, how long does it take for the talented to achieve that?

about a month

[Lee Bartholomew]

Different people do it different ways. There is never a right or wrong on this. The only thing that is right is that it takes practise.

A couple of youtube vids

YouTube - Jamie Spinning







Mine norm end up like the last one. A big loud build up followed by falling over, the girls all screaming and crying, then some man that needs a hair cut comming to carry me off and put me in a box.

No Jesus juice though.


Just for the record the most spins I have done that has been counted is 17. Was a very good floor though.

[MartinHarper]

How long does it take before you can spin say like Jamie?

If you chase Jamie & co. at spinning ability, you'll always be behind.
Find something that you can do well, and rock out with that instead.

[gebandemuishond]

If you chase Jamie & co. at spinning ability, you'll always be behind.
Find something that you can do well, and rock out with that instead.

Ask a good teacher to identify something you do really well, then build on that until you're as good as you can be. You'll probably have more success than with something you're no good at (not that I'm saying you aren't a good spinner or anything Steve, it just strikes me as very good general advice)

Dan

[Jamie]

It took me 8 months of solid practice before I was happy with my spins (bearing in mind when I started trying to spin, I could not do a double spin on one foot). I became happy with my spins when I made that video that lee has posted above. The video is in two parts, the first was shot Feb 07, the second, June/July 07.

If you want it hard enough, you'll do it. Most of my memorable traits are simply because I was told I'd never be able to do them, for instance, I was told I was rubbish at assisted turns, so I learned how to do assisted pirouettes, I thought I'd go one better

[NZ Monkey]

The latter part of the statement may be true, but the former I would strongly dissagree with: certainly use your partner to 'push' from, but it takes a very good lead to give a follower momentum that will not affect their balance.

It's just one of those things really....

If the lead can do it well then it's very helpful for the follower to be assisted, especially when going for a large of spins. If the lead can't do it well it's more of a hinderence for the follower than a help.

The moral of this story is if you're going to do something, learn to do it well

[~*~Saligal~*~]

* learn how to spot - stops you from getting dizzy, and helps your balance and spin speed when done properly. I think there's stuff on the forum already on this.
* pull up within your core - helps speed and control of the body when turning. Less wobbley-body movement means turns that are more balanced.
* look at using your arms to turn - and this doesn't mean doing a "wind-up"! make sure your arms are infront of you and reasonably close to your body. Ensure you arms are around "belly-button" height - anything higher can have the tendency of throwing your body balance backwards if not controlled properly.
* ensure your body is in a straight line vertically - you can check this by looking in a mirror side-on. Make sure your head is straight inline with your neck. Having your head craning forward or pulled backwards too far will impact your balance. Your head is the heaviest part of you in some regards. Make sure your shoulders are in line with your hips - that there isn't any piking (diving term) going on and that your stirnum isn't raised too high that you toss your shoulders backwards in the preparation for the turn. This is commonly done when people get all enthusiastic and take a deep breath. Tuck you bottom under - don't have it sticking out. A bottom sticking out means the rest of your body leans forward and makes it difficult to turn.
* turn on the ball of the foot - the smaller the axis the easier the turn is.
* ensure balance/weight is fully on the supporting foot (ie the foot you're turning on). You can test this by standing on one foot and trying not to put the other foot down. Try to also check that your body alignment is straight with the supporting leg. eg that you haven't lifted the hip of the non-supporting leg because your weight isn't fully on-top of the supporting leg. Essentially the stirnum should be in line with the ball of the supporting foot if you were to look down and check.
* try to strengthen the foot - practice rising up onto the ball of your foot and lowering throw the ball of the foot slowly whilst trying to balance on one foot. The strength in the foot will also assist the control of the turn - especially when trying to stop.
* supporting leg pulled up - there's debate on this. Some ceroc'ers teach spins with a bent supporting leg - and I've never really understood this myself. My ballet training and ballroom training encourages spinning with straight legs and it's always worked for me (and others).
* practice - aim to do a single spin well rather than a double spin that is out of control.
Oh yeah... and remember to breathe... focusing too much lends people to hold their breath and this doesn't make the experience terribly enjoyable

[Andy McGregor]

* learn how to spot - stops you from getting dizzy, and helps your balance and spin speed when done properly. I think there's stuff on the forum already on this.

- snip -

Oh yeah... and remember to breathe... focusing too much lends people to hold their breath and this doesn't make the experience terribly enjoyable

All great advice, have some rep

The one thing to remember is that, in Modern Jive, you are part of a partnership. Spinning is something you, or your partner, do alone. There comes a point during your spinning display where you are no longer a partnership, you are giving a display: that is either to your partner or to the audience.

[Twirly]

1) How do you practice without getting dizzy quickly?

3) How the hell do you spin clockwise when your very right footed and right handed like me (left hand and foot are for decoration and completeness only)?

These two can help each other out... if you're struggling with the spotting (or even if you're spotting, you'll still get dizzy if you're just doing spins to practise), try spinning in the other direction too. It'll send those little hairs in your ears the other way and stop you feeling dizzy - you should only need to go around once to readjust. I someitmes get leads to return me in class where we're practising part of a routine, and there are multiple spins in one direction.

And for either direction, whilst you're learning, and getting your balance sorted, just do quarter or half turns. Then build it up.

If you're really struggling with balance, you could also just practise standing on one leg as well. Try to do it without wobbling, and you'll automatically find that you have to draw up from the stomach, and slightly bend the supporting leg whilst relaxing your shoulders. It's easier to do that whilst stationary. Then when you've got the posture right, it'll be easy to put it into practise whilst spinning. You can do this anywhere as well - I often stand on one leg whilst heating my lunch up at work (whilst keeping a careful watch for anyone coming round the corner )

[Lee Bartholomew]

Re Spotting:

Alot of people are saying to spot to stop you going dizzy but in alot of cases when you are spinning 3+ times or you are going at speed, spotting is nigh on impossible and will make you dizzier if you try it.

If you find that is the case, when you are spinning alot, then try spotting at the end of your spins on the last 2/3 rotations as you are slowing down.

When I spin I visually spot without turning my head. Before the spin I note a bright colour or light infront of me and as Im going round, keep an eye out for the blur of that colour. If you do this though, you will get thrown out if there are other bright lights going on around you.

[Twirly]

Before the spin I note a bright colour or light infront of me and as Im going round, keep an eye out for the blur of that colour. If you do this though, you will get thrown out if there are other bright lights going on around you.

I was told to spot on my partner... which can cause similar problems if he decides to move whilst I'm spinning!

[Lee Bartholomew]

I was told to spot on my partner... which can cause similar problems if he decides to move whilst I'm spinning!

If it works for you then it works for you, just a majority who can do 5+ spins will not spot unless they have been clasically trained and taught it from a young age.

Also spotting can seriously damage your neck if done incorrectly.

[Twirly]

If it works for you then it works for you, just a majority who can do 5+ spins will not spot unless they have been clasically trained and taught it from a young age.

Also spotting can seriously damage your neck if done incorrectly.

I was taught it in ballet, pretty young age - but I'm not talking about multiple spins particularly. Was just highlighting your point about changing spotting points really, however many you chose to do.

[geoff332]

* practice - aim to do a single spin well rather than a double spin that is out of control.

I think this is the best piece of advice (along with all the useful technical stuff). Set-up a little drill - something like five or six controlled spins on each foot (we used to do it by stepping, spinning, and arresting the spin, then stepping back; start the drill with singles, then a double, then as many as you can; alternating the foot you spin off forces you to be completely in control). Do that every day for the next month and I can guarantee that your spinning will improve. I think everyone should be able to do a completely controlled double, unassisted spin on a single beat - but very few people will be able to do this without practice. Some people will be capable of much more; others (myself included) this level is pretty much their limit.

Another important point to note, is I've not done these drills for about 7-8 months and my spinning has deteriorated.

[~*~Saligal~*~]

Re Spotting:

Alot of people are saying to spot to stop you going dizzy but in alot of cases when you are spinning 3+ times or you are going at speed, spotting is nigh on impossible and will make you dizzier if you try it.

If you find that is the case, when you are spinning alot, then try spotting at the end of your spins on the last 2/3 rotations as you are slowing down.

When I spin I visually spot without turning my head. Before the spin I note a bright colour or light infront of me and as Im going round, keep an eye out for the blur of that colour. If you do this though, you will get thrown out if there are other bright lights going on around you.

Spotting also helps you to find where you want to end a spin - even when your partner is spinning too. So if you start facing towards your partner but want to end your spin with your back facing your partner, for example, then you would find a spot as you turn behind you and keep that as the spotting point.
Spotting isn't just about stopping dizziness (not that I used to get it anyway) it has many more purposes.

[Lee Bartholomew]

Spotting also helps you to find where you want to end a spin - even when your partner is spinning too. So if you start facing towards your partner but want to end your spin with your back facing your partner, for example, then you would find a spot as you turn behind you and keep that as the spotting point.
Spotting isn't just about stopping dizziness (not that I used to get it anyway) it has many more purposes.

it does but it can also be a hinderance.

Not my best spin ever but as a demo of how i spot at the end of the spins

[Steven666]

it does but it can also be a hinderance.

Not my best spin ever but as a demo of how i spot at the end of the spins

It's not that bad of spin!

Have you got both feet in contact with the floor there?

[Lee Bartholomew]

It's not that bad of spin!

Have you got both feet in contact with the floor there?

Done much better but never when theres a camera around

No one is slightly above the floor untill the last spin or two for breaking.

[Astro]

No one is slightly above the floor untill the last spin or two for breaking.

You can use the spare foot to do accellaration kicks with as well as a brake.

Steven666 and I spin on our left leg, don't we?

[Lee Bartholomew]

Actually the thing i find most impressive about Jamies spins are not his speed or the amount he can do, but the fact he can do it clockwise and anti clockwise.

I can do near 20 clockwise and 2 anti clockwise.