What is an Axel?

The Axel is a jump first performed by Axel Paulsen in 1882. This is the only type of jump with a forward take-off. In figure skating all jumps land backwards (nobody wants to fall on their faces!), and the forward take-off means that a "single" Axel is really 1-1/2 revolutions in the air, a double Axel 2-1/2 revs, a triple Axel 3-1/2 revs, etc.

Here's my single Axel as of 2005:

The additional 1/2 revolution sounds more innocent that it really is! Not just that, the forward take-off can be tricky. Skaters often take longer to learn the single Axel than most other single jumps, some even claiming double jumps before "getting" the Axel. In an earlier post, I had put together a series of videos of my "Axel Progression"!

Various other interesting facts about the Axel jump are captured in Wikipedia!

Poll #2: Skating Involvement

My second attempt at Blogger's new poll feature was to see what kind of skating background my readers have. Of a total of 137 readers who voted,
35 (25%) are figure skaters
15 (10%) play hockey
38 (27%) skate occassionally, for fun
and last, but not least,
80 (58%) love to watch figure skating

Indeed, figure skating is a very popular spectator sport. Earlier this year, Skate Canada reported that "Figure skating tops hockey in television ratings". In the UK, the show "Dancing on Ice" drew over 10 million viewers.

Figure skating, however, is a challenging sport, as I had described in a previous post Sports Skills Difficulty. Still, it is nice to see that a quarter of the voters are figure skaters... For those who aren't, it is not too late to start! :-)

Vegetarian in Singapore

I often get a surprised look when my local skating friends first find out I'm vegetarian. The first question would be "where do you get your energy from?". The next question is, "then... where can we go to eat?".

Eating out poses some restrictions, but most of my friends are adapting and look for places where I can find something to eat. Over the years, my DH and I have set up a blog, Vegetarian Dining, about our experiences as vegetarians in Singapore and also as we travel around the wold.

Some years ago, I had a coach who disliked eating with me - not because of the restrictions on where to eat but because he didn't like the thought of me not eating meat!

So... if a person who eats vegetables is called a vegetarian, shouldn't a person who eats humans be called a humanitarian?