Bobbe Shire discusses two change of position spins on one foot, camel sit and back camel back sit. She starts with the camel sit because it is the most common.
Bobbe takes a moment to review her 5 steps to a good spin and she emphasizes that “George” needs to settle down before you squeeze him. Her technique focuses on a smooth transition from the camel to the sit by swinging the free leg around. She wants the free leg to swing around at the height of the skating hip because that’s going to get the “fattest George” (largest generation or rotational energy). She does not like her skaters to raise their body or “stand up” between the camel and the sit. Instead she says, “You keep the belly button out over the knee, your arms come out with the free leg, you turn the foot out, and then you squeeze to the bottom of the spin.”
When teaching any combination spin to a skater, Bobbe recommends ensuring that their basic spin is strong to begin with. She demands that her skaters do three complete turns in one position before switching to the next to demonstrate they have mastery of that position. Bobbe doesn’t let her skaters put their hand on their knee during a sit spin. She thinks its unnecessary and ugly and it makes the skater look lazy. She gets her skaters to seamlessly exit the spin by pressing down on the hands, tilting the hips forward, leaning back slightly, and letting “George” pop them up. For back camel to back sit, all the same rules apply; using the free leg to come out to the side, turning the right hip under the free hip, and entering the spin with everything comes together. Bobbe’s skaters demonstrate several spins, including a back camel back sit with a back scratch spin exit. Properly done, she describes the sensation as being in a “huge chamber of George.”
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