Quote:
Originally posted by Franck
Well force can come from the upper body, by simply twisting your upper body, you can start a spin, without involving either a man or your feet. |
Hopefully this isn't over pedantic, but twisting your upper body to start a spin wouldn't work if it wasn't for the force between your feet and the ground. If you try doing exactly the same motion in a swivel chair, you'll find your lower body does an "equal and opposite" twist and there's no net spin at all. Without something to "push" against, angular momentum is conserved.
[Strictly speaking, it is possible to "turn" but not "spin". That is, you can change the direction in which you are facing - this is how a cat lands on its feet when dropped upside down - but this can't be used to generate a true spin where your whole body is turning the same way].
Anyone wanting even more boring technical detail may find this article of interest:
http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/public.../twisting.html
Getting back to men v.s. women - even the very good male spinners (Viktor, Joseph, Humphrey) tend to use quite different technique from the women. Women usually spin with both feet close together and close to the floor, and it can be hard to tell which foot they're using at any moment. The men tend to have the feet further apart, and if they spin one footed, often have the other foot way off the ground. My gut feeling is that spinning like this is easier to control but (relatively) slow. Because men tend to use more force when spinning, it's a good trade-off for them.
Apart from men not getting the practice, I think there are other things that make it harder for men.
Firstly, it's hard to "make the space" for a spin. Typically either the man has to travel a lot during the spin (hard!), or he and the lady spin simultaneously, which means he can't use her as a "stabilizer" at the end of the move, as she's coming out of a spin herself.
Secondly, just as the men aren't used to spinning, the women aren't used to waiting for a man to spin, and do tend to wander off! Personally, when I do fast multiple spins, I can't spot my partner, I spot the whole wall in the direction I was facing at the start of the spin. If she moves behind me, I'm in trouble. And if I accidentally travel on the spin, it's very rare for the women to compensate and catch me.
Thirdly, when you've got the balance absolutely right and pulled off 13 rapid revolutions, whispering to your partner afterwards "I need you to hold me up for a second - I'm really dizzy" isn't quite as acceptable as it is the other way around!
Dave