First you need to exercise your eyes. Watch footage of people spinning whether it's 720, 1080's, twist, flips, ect. Watch the videos over and over, in regular speed and in slo mo. Study the movements very carefully.
Secondly remember the techniques the people used (write down notes if you want), then try to duplicate their movements
Thirdly practice a lot, over and over. The only way to get more spins is to practice a lot, and use techniques that help you the best. You can weight lift for legs, and do plyometrics, but practicing tricks alone are plyometrics too. As far as bending legs Brian Ho told me to bend them a little, but not so much that it comes out like a squat and my upper body has to bend over to compensate for balance.
About crossing legs. Always cross your legs, cause this gives you a nice tight spin, and it helps get the kick out. Check out ice skaters spinning, cause you can see how important the legs and arms are. Bending your leg is something that either will or will not come natuarally. It comes naturally to me, with out even trying, so I don't change it. If you feel better spinning with your legs straight, then do it. To each his own.
Basically from repetitve practice you'll find out what works best for you. That's why no two people have the same looking tricks. Hope I helped, if not e-mail me. Peace
I liked the way you put that. Watching videos is an awesome way to train your eyes. Check the media/video section here and the loads of videos at www.bilang.com.
And to analyze those videos download GoblePro. It was created specifically to analyze tricks. It can do slow motion, frame-by-frame, and set segment looping. It's at available for FREE at www.combastics.com/provideo.
