Muscle memory, visualisation, etc

[Mrs Redboots]

Last night I came awake at about 4.30 am, and took awhile to go back to sleep, so while I was waiting to do so, I did some visualisation exercises. One of them was back chasses, and I was aware that one side was on a much steeper edge, and had much more flow, than the other. Come this morning, on the ice, when I did back chasses, I found that neither side had nearly as much edge or flow as they had done in the visualisation, but that it was the opposite side that was worse!

In my lesson, I was doing compulsory figures, and kept getting stuck as my body couldn't find the position it needed to be in to carry the edge. My coach said "Your body will learn what it needs to do eventually!" but will it? If I don't know, how can my body find out?

I ask, because sometimes when I'm doing visualisations, I can't visualise myself doing something that I can't do when I'm on the ice. Some things work much better - the step sequence I want for my "funny" piece, for instance, that I can't do on the ice - but other things, like 3-turns at speed, don't happen in visualisation any more than they do in life! So how can my body possibly learn what to do?

[Canskater]

Hi Mrs. Redboots:

I certainly hear you ..... I skated on Monday for the first time in almost a year. In the days and weeks leading up to my return to skating, I would visualize myself (either in a near dream-like state while sleeping or while listening to music) doing all sorts of wonderful moves, etc., which I used to be able to do as a teenager. However, when I finally got on the ice .... no muscle memory *or* very little muscle memory left. It seems I am going to have to re-learn many things over, so I guess that I am in a similar position. While I can certainly *skate*, and have an intellectual idea of how certain moves are done, when the time comes to do them, the body doesn't cooperate because its forgotten how to do it.

Of course, some of my "visualizations" are quite impressive and I suspect I will have to significantly lower my expectations as to what I will realistically be able to accomplish. That said, I do wish one could will the old bod to do what in theory we know how to do.

-- sheilagh

[mikawendy]

Mrs Redboots, I have the same trouble visualizing elements that I have trouble doing in real life. What's worse is that I skate clockwise, but because of watching skating on TV (and since the majority of skaters are counterclockwise), I visualize most jumps counterclockwise. It really muddles me up, especially when it comes to envisioning some of the smaller connecting jumps (half-loop, walleys, etc.).

I used to use visualization in dance classes and it really helped me. What I would do is listen to the instructor's corrections--often the teacher would say, "This turn should look like Xyz" or "When you do this jump, imagine that your leg is like Abc" or "Think of your torso being part of your legs--that you have extra long legs" (that last one to get us to use our core strength and stay centered). These kind of corrections quite easily lend themselves to visualization...

[x_peacegirl_x]

not all people benefit from visualization. i know whenever i picture myself doing spirals i see myself fall over and over! i find that "feeling" the elements helps me do them better. walking through whatever you're doing or just standing at the boards for a second to get the feeling before doing the jump, etc. can help.

[chiclet]

i totally agree my coach is always telling me to visulize my program but i usually just stop in the middle or remember what i did in skating instaed of visualising. so i seee my mistakes but i never learn any thing it's awul but oh well what can you do:?:

[sk8er1964]

I use visualization, I think rather successfully. The trick is to clear your mind of all outside distractions. Listen to your music as you visualize. Develop keywords for your program - like for my axel it is "just do it". Say the keywords in your mind as you are visualizing.

It's hard to explain, but what's going through my head when I visualize is that I am watching me skate while concentrating on the music and the key words. Sometimes, believe it or not, I can actually feel my body make corrections (even though it really isn't), such as bending the knees more when I say the keywords. I know it sounds kind of weird, but it works. I guess you just have to practice.

I used to listen to a relaxation tape that used visualization with music. I remember actually feeling like I was in the relaxing scenario that she was describing once I had listened to it several dozen times.