Stallion/Mule: Lessons and/or Practices February 15-21, 2004

[Black Sheep]

Stallion: Not really much of one, but last night I found some old skate boots with laces that were still good, and fit my current boots perfectly!

Mule: This morning I was a frozen zombie at the early-morning practice at my local seasonal rink. It was so cold and I was so sleepy I couldn't land anything.

8-)

[quarkiki2]

Well, technically this was from the 14th.

Stallion: Suddenly I got the rhythm of the BI edges. Nice, easy flow and, voila! They work, woo hoo!! Maybe next week will be a breakthrough for the BO edges... I'm getting nice, ripping pushes with each of them, but I'm still pretty wobbly and somehow run out of steam on the BO edges.

Stallion: Walk-throughs of 1/2 flip and waltz jump are A-OK.
Mule: Jump throughs of 1/2 flip and waltz jump don't exist.

Stallion: pivots OK on both feet. Tried BI pivots, made about 3/4 of a revolution.

Stallion: Spirals OK on both feet. I'd like to practice with more speed. Started practicing on edges on my own.

Stallion or Mule, depending: Worked on crossovers before my lesson as it's been a while. Suddenly my back crossovers are better than my forwad. What happened? Forward clockwise the worst of the bunch Backward clockwise the best. I've got to stop being afraid of speed, though, because my back crossovers are developing more power than I thought.

Have a great week!

[garyc254]

I started a thread similar to this one in the "On Ice - Parents/Coaches" section for those that want to talk about lessons and practices of their children or students.

[1lutz2klutz]

Stallion: Everything today! When I got back on the ice after my torn achilles tendon, I asked Coach to take me back to the fundamentals. I have my jumps up to a lutz-loop combo on a good day, spins up to a camel- sit on a REALLY good day, but my basic edges and three turns are lousy. In fact, when I really break it down, I realize that I can jump (poorly) and spin (even worse!) but I can't SKATE. I couldn't believe how excited Coach was about going back to basics- I thought he'd be bored but he says he loves this stuff. And I also couldn't believe how sore I was after the stroking exercises and basic edges!!!8O I can really see how this is going to improve everything for me on the ice.

[Terri C]

Today on lesson with Coach, it was all Mule!!
I had been taking it easy on the ice for the last two weeks after the New Year's competition. Now it's biting me right back in the butt, as everything was off today.
Decided to sign up to do Bronze Compulsory for Central Carolina Classic in April ( as well as Pre Bronze Free). While Coach is choreographing my compulsory, I'm thinking to myself, "What the h#$% was I thinking when I decided to do this?"
I hope to figure out the latter somehow!

[Cinderella]

Morphing Mule - Monday's practice started out a little slow and creaky, like they often do. It always seems to take me a little longer to get my skates to fit right and my legs to loosen up.

Simply Stallion - but once I did a run-through on the single jumps, my brain and body perked up and I worked hard on the flying sit, which is starting to be a little more "flying" and a little less just "trying." One of the coaches said I'm about a foot and a half off the ice with the tuck, so it's a start.

I spent most of the rest of the time trying to go from an axel landing straight into a flying sit without any crossovers, just the step forward. This is how I need to do it at the end of my program if it's going to fit the music. Not a high rate of success, but it's looking much better.

Finished up with a few run throughs of the Tigger footwork, which would look a lot better if I would keep my feet closer together (scary, scary).

[AnnM]

Stallion: Crossovers are coming back quicker than I thought they would, thank goodness. I just need to be really warmed up to do the "bad side" ones. Forward and backward edges went better than I expected.

Mule: Crossrolls were rough! But that is partially due to the fact that I had initally learned to do them with improper technique. So now in addition to relearning the movement period, I need to relearn how exactly to do the move and how to push properly. I know it will be worth it in the long run, but for right now my legs really hurt.

[luna_skater]

Stallion: I learned a Gold dance today! I'm working on my last two Sr. Silvers, and I guess coach is feeling optimistic. :)

I can't really say anything was a mule today. Everything I worked on improved between the beginning and end of the session, so I'm pleased with that. Hopefully the trend keeps up, because I'm testing again in one month!

Mule: I lied, there is a Mule. The LFI stop from a LF arabesque at the end of Sr. Bronze skills. AARRRRGGGHHH!!!!

[Cinderella]

Mule-ish - Yesterday's practice started out a little slow and unfocused. I confess I haven't been preplanning my time the last couple of weeks, and it sure shows. Time to get the book back out and spend those extra few minutes before heading out onto the ice.

Stallion - Thank goodness for my coach, who always manages to focus me back on the task on hand and to push me beyond the boundaries I would set for myself. Since I'll be on vacation for 2 weeks, with nary an ice surface in sight, she decided we would recreate the competition environment to see how I did. Started with a 6 minute warm-up and then she made me "sit" on the sidelines for the length of time it would take 3 competitors to do their programs. Then she called my name, I skated in my prep circle and then she fumbled with my music before getting me started.

More Mule - Aaargh. My legs were like concrete, I was heavy and dull, and I blew my flying camel/back sit/sit right out of the box. Two-footed the loop on the lutz/loop, fell on the 2sal, two footed the 2toe, tripped on the footwork, and turned the flying sit into a semi-, quasi- scratch spin. Yikes! :eek: That was ugly.

Beautiful Stallion - Well, I thought I really stunk, but coach pointed out the great camel/sit/back sit, spiral and leg lifting thing, and the axel at the very end. She was not as disheartened as I was.

And the rest of the lesson was awesome. We worked a little on the doubles, which she insists are almost there, she gave me a new entry for the 2sal which involves less telegraphing, the lutz/loop turned out great with nice flow, and she helped get my arms up (I'm supposed to think about airing out my armpits! :p )

So, as usual, she can make anything seem like tons of fun and I'm excited to head out the door now to practice more!

[jenlyon60]

Today was MIF day ...

Stallion: Coach was happy with my Forward Power 3's today. We worked on me getting more knee bend after the turn and then really pushing onto the opposite foot BI. I'm also getting a really nice strong crossover that's setting me up much better for the choctaw for the next repeat.

On my own today, I worked on the alternating back crossovers to back outside edge MIF and it felt quite nice and strong. Extension needs more work, but that's my biggest bug-a-boo.

Mules: The BO-FO mohawk in the 5-step... I'm flattening out the FO edge very badly, more on the RBO-LBO than on the other side. But I think I know why... so I can work on fixing it.

Friday's lesson is Compulsary Dance day... probably Paso this Friday since we haven't worked Paso in a couple weeks.

[Jumpingbeans]

Stallion: I landed my axel today! It's completely around and clean and everything. The only weird thing is that I used to cross my leg a lot but now I don't anymore. Now I have to work on it. But at least that's the only thing that I have to work on!

Mule: I felt really tired at the end of the session. I guess that all the excitement took everything out of me.

[Cinderella]

Woohoo Jumpingbeans! Great job on the axel!

Stallion - Yesterday's practice was an eye opener. First, I was able to catch that elusive flying camel spin which I used to do fairly well and which took a couple of weeks off. I felt like a big fat lazy cow when I did them and you know what? It turns out I WAS! :roll: I had gotten far too complacent and was just going through the motions instead of tightening my abs, jumping like I meant it, and checking my arms out and back in the swan position. Amazing the revolutions you can get when you aren't landing flatfooted and hard on the blade and then slumping into a heap over the toepick.

Fell HARD on my one footwork piece and was pretty disgusted until the only other person on the ice (a coach) first told me that it was a pretty sophisticated little piece (it's got some sharp back inner edges into a 3 turn/bracket, hippity hop, twisty-toe thingie) and then she said my problem was that I was hunching over (curling up into the fetal position is more like it). When I straightened up like someone was yanking me up by my hair, it went very smoothly.

Did my program run-through in two separate halves and things were much better than Tuesday, so I left the ice smiling and ready for more.

[sk8er1964]

Mule: I'm dead. I'm dead because my coach killed me. You may think that you are reading something posted by sk8er1964, but it's really my shadow, because I am dead.

Stallion: I survived my lesson! Wow, I don't know what in the heck got into coach today, but he came to my lesson determined to kill me. He almost succeeded! :lol:

We did the competition warm up. Then we did the program. Then we spent the next 50 minutes doing section run-throughs to music. By the time we ended I had spaghetti legs, was hanging over the boards limply, and was barely able to speak. However, he said that if I do that final section on Saturday the way I did it today, all tired out and nearly dead, then it would really be a "wow". I guess there is hope for me after all (assuming I am still alive tomorrow 8O ;) ).

[Mrs Redboots]

Originally posted by sk8er1964
Mule: I'm dead. I'm dead because my coach killed me. You may think that you are reading something posted by sk8er1964, but it's really my shadow, because I am dead.

Stallion: I survived my lesson! Wow, I don't know what in the heck got into coach today, but he came to my lesson determined to kill me. He almost succeeded! :lol: Coaches have Days Like That, I've found. At least, mine does!

Best of luck in your competition - you will let us know how it goes, won't you?

I hope to be back on the ice this afternoon, or, failing that, Sunday for sure. (I could go tomorrow but I hate Saturday morning patch, it's far too crowded).

[sk8pics]

Stallion: Good lessons last night with my secondary coach and my main coach. I'm actually starting to make some progress with me 5 step mohawk on the bronze moves test, which is pretty exciting. Also, my main coach is on a mission to improve my speed. Sooo, we were working on back crossovers and I was going pretty fast, which made him happy. Then he decided he would skate with me, like a pair would do crossovers together, and he just took off like a bat out of you know what! Wow. And he's telling me to really push towards him. Yeah, right, while I feel like I'm going a bazillion miles an hour he wants me to pick up speed. 8O We stopped, regrouped, and I was able to do a better job of really accelerating so that we were going pretty much as fast as the first time. It was fun.8-) Also worked on more speed in a sequence of: forward CW crossover, RFO3-turn, back CW crossover, LBO edge, step into waltz jump. It wasn't too bad!

Oh, and my coach told me someone came up to him at the rink and said, "Your girls did really well in the competition Saturday." And he didn't even know the person! 8-)

Mule: That opposite sequence to what I described above: CCW forward crossover, LFO 3-turn, gulp! That's a lot harder for me, but I did make some progress on it before we finished.

I'm off the ice now for a week or 10 days. :( I do need a break, and I have to take care of a nasty corn/callous. I already can't wait to get back on the ice, though!

sk8r1964: :lol: :lol: I've had days like that, too! It's great that you "survived" it, though! Good luck!

Happy skating everyone.
Pat

[TashaKat]

Mule (or should that be *** ;) )

I 'appear' to have lost yet another coach! I am just SO careless with them ;)

After a series of misunderstandings about lesson times (well, two, one on my behalf ... I thought I'd said evening, she thought I'd said morning! and one on theirs (I turned up, they didn't)) and one broken down car (I didn't ask for it to conk out in the middle of the motorway!) I haven't heard from them since even though I left a message! The effect is that I can't bring myself to go in and just skate so am waiting until .... oh, another mule first

Because I've not been able to get any work (I lost my job at the beginning of December) I have to move away from where I am living because I can't afford it anymore :( Now to the stallion .... Mrs Redboots, you're going to be VERY jealous ..... the place that I'm going to have to go is near to the rink where Jimmy Young is now teaching! It's a new complex and I 'believe' that there are three pads in total (including the one used for shows at the nearby arena .... we don't get to skate on that one!). From the blurb they seem to have a good 'package' going with dance and gym there too :)

I just want to enjoy skating again ..... :cry:

x

[Mrs Redboots]

Grrrr - yes, I am jealous of you, Lynne! Especially as you actually have a choice of 2 rinks, since the original Sheffield rink has been refurbished and various new coaches there (I know some of them - PM me if you want details!).

And I was working too hard today and it's now too late to go skating, which it wouldn't be if Friday teatime's patch didn't end at 6.00. Rats! Actually, I mean Mules!

[plinko]

Stallion: I got my skates sharpened. I love my sharpener although we've never met. The coach takes the skates in for all of us.

Mule: We're doing a show in a couple of weeks and because a few people have been away that are in our adult class, we did a lot of runthroughs, and I swear, the music seemed to get longer every time.

[jenlyon60]

Mule: We worked on Paso cross-rolls today. Definite challenge... different technique (the way my coach teaches them, at least) than cross-rolls with nice long strong edges. Near the end I sort of got them the way my coach wanted, for once it was easier in the dance hold than just solo down the ice.

No real Stallion today....

[dbny]

Originally posted by jenlyon60
Mule: We worked on Paso cross-rolls today. Definite challenge... different technique (the way my coach teaches them, at least) than cross-rolls with nice long strong edges. Near the end I sort of got them the way my coach wanted, for once it was easier in the dance hold than just solo down the ice.

No real Stallion today....

At one beat each, there is no time for long edges. I'm wondering, does your coach want them kind of bouncy?

[jazzpants]

Originally posted by sk8er1964
Mule: I'm dead. I'm dead because my coach killed me. You may think that you are reading something posted by sk8er1964, but it's really my shadow, because I am dead.

Stallion: I survived my lesson! Wow, I don't know what in the heck got into coach today, but he came to my lesson determined to kill me. He almost succeeded! :lol:
He can't kill you! He needs you to come back so you can pay him more money to torture you some more!!! :lol: :twisted:

Just before my injury, I've had a few of those sessions lately working on moves. I barely had enough energy to get my skates off, never mind walk to my car for my hour long drive to work. :P At one lesson, I said about 10 minutes before my lesson ended that I think I'm gonna need an oxygen tank. (I think I remembered also sitting for about 5 minutes after the lesson ended (head resting against the wall) to figure out whether or not I'm still alive or not too.) :lol:

[Cinderella]

Originally posted by sk8er1964
Mule: I'm dead. I'm dead because my coach killed me.

Ahhh yes ... but don't you just LOVE those lessons? Lately my coach seems to be "pouring" a lot of her energies into me, and I find it very motivating (if not physically exhausting!). I try to respond with every ounce of energy I can muster, and then there's the feeling you write about, like maybe life should go on hold for 2 days while you tend to your exhausted and recovering self!

Speaking of Stallions - Actually, my practice yesterday was like that, and my coach wasn't even there. Get out the Zamboni and redo the ice, because I was on fire! There were only two other people and we were all on the "big" rink, so I pretty much could just let loose. My new discoveries about what I was doing wrong with the flying camel have completely brought it back, and my spins were much more centered and getting so fast that it felt like my brains were going to fly out and not just snot! 8O Axels were really big, and I was able to go directly into the flying sit. Flying sits were big individually, and somewhat more subdued after the axel, but definite height and rotation improvement. Footwork was peppy and yet controlled, and I skated the two halves of the program with energy and feeling. Everything just clicked, and like the Energizer Bunny, I kept going and going and going. Eventually I just wore myself to a frazzle and had to seek immediate nourishment.

This is my last practice before a two-week vacation in Mexico. My plans there are to focus on daily strength (upper one day, lower the next) and flexibility exercises so I will be more limber when I return. Also am bringing DVDs to watch and learn -- Physics on Ice, Magic of Style, and my last 2 practice sessions. I figure if I can't skate, and I can visualize!

See you in two weeks!