Shirl wrote:
"Roger (K8RI)" wrote:
In skating you can get badly hurt not knowing the limits.
In flying you can get killed.

Shirl:
Coincidentally, I was a figure skating instructor--I know what you're
saying, [snip]

Dudley Henriques:
Unbelievable! I was a Delaware Maryland State and Eastern Regional Speed
Skating Champion (RSROA 1955) Skated Free Style and Dance as well :-))

Pretty cool!
I remember joking about the similarities between skating and flying with
my CFIG. One of the ways, thinking about how, with any of the big jumps
-- axel or any of the doubles or better -- you better be prepared to go
for it 100% or you're probably going to get hurt...that is, you can't
"kinda" do it and get away with it more than a couple of times. Not to
mention all the jokes about landings and spins!

I was in the SF Bay Area. We had a group of speed skaters that rented
our rink Sunday nights. Of course, some of us were there most Sunday
nights watching -- THAT was cool but surely seemed *a lot* more
dangerous than anything we did on figure skates (maybe it was just fear
of the unknown!).
;-)
That's funny. Roger and I have been friends for years and I never knew
he was into skating. All 3 of us being involved in some way is interesting.
Roger's analogy using skating is fairly accurate. I've used it myself on
occasion with students through the years.
As an aside, our roller speed skating was almost like your short track
racing only slower :-)
I'm wondering since you were into figure skating whether or not you ever
ran into Elvin Griffin? Elvin and I grew up together and actually
competed against each other in speed skating when we were boys. I was a
bit faster than Elvin, but never his match in dance or free style. He
went pro and taught over in new Jersey training a few champions in the
process.
Just a shot. Thought you might have run into him in your travels. He
died last year unfortunately. Skating lost a fine pro and I lost a
boyhood friend.
Anyway, about the Axel and 100%; you're exactly right. I always
considered all jumps, especially doubles (Axels are of course a 3
revolution jump for the double) to be a conditioned memory process. Your
mind equates the rotation against the time and throws the signal at you
to break the rotation at the exact instant required for the landing.
This is why you need constant practice, so the mind doesn't "forget"
this timing.
Some aerobatics require the same timing sense; multiple snaps, the
gyroscopic maneuvers, spins especially.
It's interesting how one thing can be used to profile another in flying.
:-)


--
Dudley Henriques