Dusty or sparkly: 25 April-1 May 2004

[Mrs Redboots]

Sparkly: Robert and I got all our exercises over and done with in pre-lesson practice, which meant we didn't have to do them in our lesson! And the ones we didn't do before, we did afterwards - and our swing rolls in waltz hold are getting better, especially when Robert remembers to partner me and not use me as a prop!

In our lesson, we ran through our Artistic Pairs, or whatever it is called, which was a bit of a disaster because we cut the step-sequence too short, then got thoroughly lost! But it was a blessing in disguise, because our coach then choregraphed the step-sequence for us: LFO, RFO, bunny hop, 3 cross rolls, another bunny hop, RFI touch-behind, LFI touch-behind, and then we decided to go into a side-by-side spiral! So it's coming together now - we just have to work out the transition into the hydroblade sequence!

Dusty: Pairs spin.... oh dear.... enough said..... trouble is, neither of us can spin worth a damn, anyway! Our aim is for 3 revolutions by the beginning of October....

[Cinderella]

Mrs. Redboots - oh dear, spinning is tough enough on its own, let alone in tandem! As a child pairs skater, all I can say is hang in there because eventually those revolutions DO come along! The step sequence sounds great.

[plinko]

I'm thinking about the bunny hop out of cross rolls. I can't do cross rolls, they're more like cross steps with ugly toepick sounds, but I'd like to try that out.

[Mrs Redboots]

I'm thinking about the bunny hop out of cross rolls. I can't do cross rolls, they're more like cross steps with ugly toepick sounds, but I'd like to try that out.Means you aren't bending your knees enough - cross-rolls take more knee-bend than you would think possible, they really do! And the bunny-hop into them is tricky - as is the one out of them. Do-able, but it took me a couple of goes and it's not quite smooth yet.

[skateflo]

Mrs. Redboots you are always so ahead of the game! I just posted a long post on last week's 'running smoothly...' and didn't remember that today is the 25th. Today's post from you sounds like such fun!

[jazzpants]

Dusty:

Power 3's on the LFO3's side. So what else is new??? :roll: (Actually, it wasn't that bad. At least there's now some flow and I could do the LFO3's consistently.. But power??? What power!?!?! :P :lol: :evil:
The back crossovers to BO edges were that great, but still "passable."
Backspins!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:
Jumps also :evil:, but I think it's mainly b/c of my being protective from that calf injury.
Starting to feel some pressure, b/c I know I'm getting close to testing the darn Bronze Moves. The thing that bothers me most is that I haven't even filed the paperwork and already my skills has already start going down the toilet. :roll:
Camel spins half bad! (Can't spin more than one revolution.)

Sparkly:

I still managed to land one loop and one flip too!!! :mrgreen:
Rest of my jumps are still intact, though obviously tentative for obvious reasons.
The rest of the Bronze moves are fine, though I could definitely do better on the 5 step mohawk, particularly at the beginning when I do the very first FI mohawk.
Camel spins are half good. (Can do 2-3 rev.)
Forward spins and sit spins okay.
Forward progressives are doing okay.

[Mrs Redboots]

Mrs. Redboots you are always so ahead of the game! I just posted a long post on last week's 'running smoothly...' and didn't remember that today is the 25th. Today's post from you sounds like such fun!Thanks. It's only because I normally skate on Sunday mornings....

I can't spin either, so don't feel badly!

[sk8pics]

Sparkly Making progress, ever so slowly, on the bronze moves. My primary coach worked with me yesterday on all the elements that have crossovers in them, and all are looking better. I was able to do the forward perimeter crossover stroking on pattern now. 8-) Still have a ways to go on the backward perimeter crossover stroking, but it actually got better while we worked on them. Also ran through my program several times and it's looking better also.

Dusty Nothing really, except I nearly fell over on my salchow in the first runthrough of my program. Suddenly found myself spinning on my heel instead of rotating on the toepick to take off. Oh well, at least it didn't freak me out! Also, my legs felt like jelly after 2 40-minute sessions with so many crossovers (between practice and my lesson)!

Hang in there on those moves, Jazzpants!

Happy skating,
Pat

[luna_skater]

Dusty: Jr. Silver multi-turns suck. Plain and simple.

Sparkly: Westminster is coming along. I think this is probably the most difficult dance I've had to learn. There are a couple of awkward bits, but they feel better each time I work on them. Super sparkly: I tried it to the music for the first time and did great! I was expecting it to be a lot faster than it was, so it felt like I was just crawling along, instead, LOL.

Flying choctaws improved a lot today. I haven't worked on them for a while, and today my coach tweaked some things so I feel pretty confident with them. Power threes are improving too. Just have to make sure I don't slack off with them, since they are so boring.

Loops! Forward outside are the best, but all of them are really improving. I was extremely frustrated at first with loops, but they really are something you just have to keep practicing over, and over, and over again to get the feel for them.

Did a really nice LFO spiral at the end of practice today. I've never much liked spirals, mainly because I don't think mine are very good, but I've been practicing them off-ice and it made a HUGE difference today!

[sk8er1964]

Dusty:[B]Sparkly: Flying choctaws improved a lot today.

What's a flying choctaw? I've never heard of this, but it sounds like fun :) .

[johnfisher]

What's a flying choctaw? I've never heard of this, but it sounds like fun :) .

A native American in an aeroplane??? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sorry couldn't resist.

John

[luna_skater]

LOL. :lol:

I'm not sure if I can explain it very well. On the pattern, they are done quite quickly; the focus of the exercise is power and agility. Actually, as I sit here and try to figure out how to describe it, I am at a complete loss. LOL. Anyone else want to try?

[techskater]

It's what the Junior move used to be before the USFSA figured out too many of the kids were really only doing Mohawks and changed it to be more edgy...

[StarshineXavier]

What's a flying choctaw? I've never heard of this, but it sounds like fun :) .

They're choctaws that are hopped a bit. So instead of smoothly placing your foot on the ice after the turn, you jump the turn a bit before the foot hits the ice.

[singerskates]

Still having trouble landing my loop on one foot. Why does my free foot become uncrossed in the air and then I two foot?

Tried a half flip/flip/loop combo and boy was it messy after the flip. LOL I think I'll keep trying them.

So far in my 1 min 33 second Bronze freeskate, I start out with a half flip/flip, then the next jumping passes are a salchow, then a waltz/toe combo and finally a toe loop.

Has anyone tried doing a LBI spiral then change feet to a RBO edge to set up for a waltz/toe combo? It works pretty good. I wish though that it was an axel/loop after the LBI spiral.

Dusty: My legs were so dead today, I barely made it off of the ice in my jumps. AFter a while I couldn't do my flip jump anymore. Just no gas in the tanks left.

Brigitte

[Mel On Ice]

Sparkly: the loop was not a fluke, I was able to do them at about a 40% clip yesterday during freestyle. The other 60% was either underrotated or two-footed.

Now that I have moved up the ISI chain, coach Mandy has added work on the flip, sit, camel, attitude/layback, and more finessing of the loop.

Show practice went great, I have a higlight element, the sal-toe combination.

Dusty: The honeymoon with the loop is essentially over, now that I'm over the thrill of landing them, I want to land them consistently well. And oy! the back pain and hip pain of practicing them for over an hour!

Moving on to harder elements: I've been working on some things, but not giving it much attention until I passed to a new level, and wow, this stuff is challenging once you start in on it. The flip is high, huge, and still landed on two feet, although with the new improvements added yesterday, now I"m landing on two feet crossed instead of side to side. The sit is getting lower with more rotations, but closing that gap so it looks like a sit can be scary. And I learned I have been doing the camel aaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll wrong, as I have been going into it with an open hip instead of closed. And least we forget the terror and thrill of the attitude/layback...

[flo]

Sparkly: It sounds like there's been quite a bit of success from everyone here from landing jumps, getting edges and the competitions- congrats!
I like the flying choctaws, and have been trying to work them into next year's program. My double sals are going better, and I'm looking forward to working on them with the new entry of waltz three's. My coach changed the entry in hopes I would land more of the jumps on my foot. She had been saying "one foot or fall" but noticed that I really didn't mind falling. I think my left leg is longer than the right :roll: , and it just taps the ice on my way out of the jump.
Our show went well, we all had a great time. I asked one of our 6 year olds to be our flower collector - she was great, and really cute. Also there was a nice surprise, I won the club's Davis Cup, it's an award for the skater with the greatest accomplishments over the season.

Dusty: my voice. Woke up sounding like a frog.

[batikat]

Dusty:Most things after over a week off the ice due to the kids Opens being on all last week.
Most of my spins
Forward crossover/backward crossover Field Moves (UK) pattern. Havent practised crossovers in a while (slap wrists!) and still find the step from LBI to RFO extremely scary. Sometimes it just works fine but most of the time I wimp out.

Sparkly: salchow/toe-loop combo was looking OK - not sure why as individually both jumps suck!
One reasonable sit spin.
3 -jump (waltz) - could still do with more height though - coach says I dont look like I am putting in any effort - I am but it doesn't seem to get through to the feet!

[icenut84]

Sparkly:

Passed the 4th element on the silver Skate UK Star dance test, and one of the gold ones. :)

Did some nice spirals.

Dusty:

Motivation, again. :( No oomph.

Toe loop wasn't really working.

Other spirals were not as good.

Spins were kind of in between - not awful, but nothing special either.

[jazzpants]

Dusty:

Too hot to do anything productive. I came from an office whose AC decided to die on a HEATWAVE!!! :evil: I was dragging throughout the session when I came in from the heat.
LFO3 decided also to do a disappearing act at the end of the session. There goes the power 3 again. :roll:

Sparkly:

Had my power 3's somewhat in place at the beginning of the session.
Rest of move was okay at beginning of session.
WOW!!! I can't believe no one wants to be on the ice to cool off from this heatwave!!! It was simply DIVINE!!! :mrgreen:

[dbny]

Sparkly:
Something almost indefinable has changed for the better this past week. When I step onto the ice, I feel confident. I have much less fear in general, but I also just seem to have a whole new level of comfort on the ice. In addition to working on moves, I have been playing around with footwork of my own, something that I never used to have the confidence for.

As part of my severance package education grant, I bought two instructional videos, and just got around to watching them Sunday night. The first, "Stroking Exercises on Ice, the Dance Training Methods of Natalia Dubova" was very interesting, and got me doing chasses and thinking a little differently about FO three turns, which was helpful. The second, "The Magic of Style, Vol III", by Ann-Margreth Frei, I thought was mostly so far beyond me that it was really not worthwhile. When I got on the ice yesterday, though, I kept remembering snippets from this video that I could actually use. There were arm movements that I liked, and best of all there was a swing roll entrance into F power pulls. My coach has not yet showed me a one foot entrance, and I could actually do the swing roll entrance, but very slowly. Since my F power pulls still don't have much power (but nice deep edges), it didn't matter.

I had a mini breakthrough with the 10 step Mohawk pattern. I have known all along that it closely resembles the Fourteen Step, which was a Silver Bar dance when I was a roller skater, but that never helped me before. Yesterday while working up the courage for the CCW FO Mohawk, it suddenly clicked that I shouldn't be scared of that one, because it is the same as in the Fourteen Step (completely ignoring the fact that the turn is done differently on ice than on roller). I actually did the CCW with just a little speed, and faster than the CW, which is the easier one for me.

Here's the footwork sequence I've been working on developing:

RFI 3
XB-LBO
XF-RBI
XF-LBO (devil roll) maybe a few of these
XB-RBO into more B cross strokes

Dusty:
Spins :cry: I've had to go back to two footed spins entirely, and once again feel dizzy after a spin. I'm making myself do about 10 per session to try to get back to where I was months ago.

[twinkle]

Batikat: I have to do the figure of eight crossovers for the Level 3 elements and that LBI to RFO step scares me too, although not as much as it used to.

[Mrs Redboots]

Don't usually have a lesson on Tuesdays, but with our Opens, everything is up the twist. Both coach and me very tired - had a busy day at work, and coach exhausted with no day off this week, poor man.

Sparkly: Arrived to find everybody very jazzed because One of Us had won one of the main, very important trophies at our open. As the girl in question was only in her second Novice-level competition, this is a real boost for her, plus she was the first Streatham skater to win it since her coach (also my husband's coach and my coach's wife, so very close to us), some years ago now! The trophy in question was first awarded in 1960 - we thought this was our 30th birthday for the festival, but maybe it's the 45th.....

Anyway, finally got on to the ice.

Dusty: Robert (who has been helping at the Opens, so is not at work) was tired, and although we tried to practice together, we spent more time squabbling ("You're supposed to track me!" "Well, I'm going to do curves, not zig-zags!" "I'm not doing zig-zags. And if I am, it's because you're pushing me off-balance", and similar unedifying remarks) than actually skating. So we abandoned that idea, although we did work on our step-sequence and side-by-side spirals, but that was about all.

In my lesson, my back outside edges were pretty dire, and my back inside ones even worse! My changes-of-edge were okay, but I didn't "sell" them - my presentation wasn't just so great. I also had trouble controlling my inside 3-turns - they are not well checked, yet.

Sparkly, again: HOWEVER, I spent some time in my lessons doing crossovers and holding the edge round the circle - all 8 edges. My BO edges were pretty dire, but suddenly I found, right at the end of both my lesson and the session, that I could hold a BI edge. Not as well or as beautifully as I can hold the FO and FI edges, but not badly! Ta-daaaa! :)

Oh, and I did a great run-through of my programme!

And Robert is getting supper (only preparing salad), so I don't have to!

[NickB]

As far as my skating went yesterday, it was all sparkly :)

I worked on putting together different "footwork sequences" with crossovers, mohawks, and forward 3-turns (since that's all I can do :P). One that I did, which was just forward crossover - RFI3 - step forward several times in a row, and after working on it for just a few minutes it felt really smooth and confident, and I always had exactly the right balance going into the 3-turns and could keep the sequence going. Even a couple days ago I didn't always have the right balance and wouldn't even dare to turn at all because it didn't feel right, and I couldn't do 3 turns directly out of crossovers (because I needed a longer edge), but I did both yesterday. :) Also, all forms of crossovers and turns that I've been practicing are getting better, and we worked a bit on bunny hops. ;)

[kisscid]

Dusty
Forward crossovers in a counter clockwise direction. Very weak. I was at a rink this past weekend where the first half of the session you skate counter clockwise, and then after the ice is re-made you skate in the other direction. It confused the heck out of some of the smaller children.
Sparkley
Scratch spin and Waltz jump coming along nicely.

[batikat]

Also, all forms of crossovers and turns that I've been practicing are getting better, and we worked a bit on bunny hops. ;)

Aaaaarghhhh!!! - the dreaded bunny hops - I'd forgotten my coach made me do these today. :evil: My brain had obviously tried to bury this traumatic event. I really hate these - they are scarier than launching into a salchow at speed - I have never been able to do them properly and although I can sort of do one on my right foot; when my coach wanted me to do them on the other side too, I literally could not even think how to do that.

twinkle: I thought I was the only wimp on the RBI to RFO move! :lol: Maybe it's not on the Field moves - I know it used to be an 'inter-bronze something' before all the tests changed. I'm never likely to make it to level 3 elements but I would like to be able to do this one properly if only because it is such a good way of practising crossovers and mine certainly need practice!

[jp1andOnly]

Dusty: was a little tired today and didn't have the speed I would have liked. Took a HUGE spill on a lutz and ended up crashing on my shoulder and my well..ummm..boob. Let's just say that one hurt. I also picked myself in the leg which is stinging now.

Can't seem to get the free leg kicking thru in my waltz jumpp. WE're working on axel entries and I need a nice kick thru in preparation for that.

Camel spinds are still my sore spot. Today they were not too bad...

Sparkley

Did some nice sit-change sits. Finally getting the hang of them though they are a bit hit and miss. Not too bad for a weeks worth of practice.

Got my lutz back..did some lutz/loops

Learned how to do a flying sit. It's horrible at the moment but I'm going to have fun trying them and falling all over the ice. These suckers are really hard

All in all a pretty good skating day.

[luna_skater]

No lesson today, but I practiced on my own for an hour and a half this morning.

Sparkly: Skills in general, which is odd! I mostly focused on the Jr. Silver multi-turns: lots of back-inside-threes, mohawks, brackets, and choctaws. The first circuit has been my weakest exercise (well, not counting the loops circuit...I haven't learned the whole circuit yet), and it improved a LOT this morning. This one is a mind game for me. I just have to convince myself to not chicken out on the BI 3, mohawk at speed. Also did a lot of BI3-bracket sequences on my left foot, which is weaker. Mostly I'm just proud that I am starting to force myself to just DO IT and not think about it.

Loops are still getting better, too! LFO is really consistent, and RFO are improving.

Dusty: Was getting frustrated with the Westminster this morning. Was kind of a backwards day for me, as I'm usually strong in dance and weaker in skills. The FI rocker, back edge, FI three sequence is still awkward, though getting better. But it's one of those steps where head has it all figured out, but my body isn't quite cooperating. :)

Flying choctaws exercise, after being quite good yesterday, sucked today. No explanation for this one, just couldn't get the rhythm going. :(

[Cinderella]

Sparkly - Both of my practices on Monday and yesterday were focused again on the new stretchy/flowy moves that coash is recommending to help me internalize the need to extend the free leg, turn it out and point the toe. It is becoming much more comfortable, and I notice that my carriage is better in general. And even though they are evil, I'm making progress on the series of choctaws along the wall (no more hanging on) and starting to get that swiveling motion that I see in the top skaters. Just hope I'm doing them right, because coach was sick yesterday and couldn't make my lesson/check-up. I might watch the MIF video tonight to see if I can catch any pointers.

Dusty - <wails, moans and gnashes teeth> Where, oh where, has my walley gone? True, I've never had one as an adult, but I remember being able to do them in both directions as a kid. Well you would never know it now. I can't seem to do more than a half-walley without twisting myself into a pretzel, and I desperately need someone to set me on the right path. I remember them as smooth and brisk little hops in the middle of footwork, but apparently that was another body that was doing them over 30 years ago! Aaaaarrrrgggghhh!

[jenlyon60]

Having gotten my angst out of my system last week, my Friday lesson went surprisingly well (lots of 3-turns and lots of CCW progressive/LFO3 sequences) then some Paso & a bit of Blues.

Today was almost all Blues. Coach is very pleased with progress although he wants more "rise and fall" in the knees and quads in the steps after the choctaw going into the repeat. He likes my edges going into the choctaw...says they're "bloody good."

At the beginning of the lesson, did a pattern of 5-step mohawk from AB MIF and it was much smoother and quicker than before...and I hadn't been seriously working on it. Both coach and I were very pleased with it. So maybe all the Paso and Blues work is paying off for the MIF.

[twinkle]

Batikat: The figure of eight crossovers were on the old Inter-bronze elements.

[Mrs Redboots]

Why does everyone hate bunny hops? I really, really like them, they are one of the few elements I can do! Husband hates them, too, and measured his length (hard) yesterday trying to do one..... tough, he'll have to do the sequence in our Artistic pairs, whether he likes it or not (that's one off each foot).:twisted:

[NCSkater02]

I've had some of my worst spills and injuries on simple bunny hops, so I'm not real fond of them.

Sparkly: Tuesday was my first session after missing two last week, so my goal is usually to just work through most/all of my skills without falling, and getting my feet used to boots again. No falls, and I did most of my skills. I ran through my free skate and my compulsary a couple of times each, without any major problems.

Dusty: I missed two sessions last week--my coach always says she can't tell I've missed, but my feet and legs certainly do, and they tell me about it. I had the same problems I usually do...spins, and the lutz that I just started working on in Feb. (it's in my free skate) Or at least a reasonable effort.

[jazzpants]

Why does everyone hate bunny hops? I really, really like them, they are one of the few elements I can do!Those bunnies can be quite :evil: . (Trying doing them down the length of the ice FAST in power class with a bunch of little kiddies!!! NOT fun at all.)

[skatingatty]

Dusty: a rude kid on the freestyle session kept getting in the way during my lesson- little does she know I'm the test chair, and I'll see her on Saturday- heehee! :twisted: Wore new Klingbeils yesterday to break them in. They felt so nice that I got overly ambitious and started jumping, at which point my ankle twisted or slid when I landed a flip jump, b/c the boots weren't totally laced up. Now my rt. ankle hurts, but it should be ok soon. :) Can't do a camel spin in the new boots. Can't practice axels for a while due to ankle pain.

Sparkly: Hmm... things are going ok but nothing's great either. I finally got a dress that somewhat fits, for my Swan Lake program. Gotta lose a few pounds to make it fit well. The Klingbeils are lighter than my old Harlicks, so it feels great when I try waltz jumps!

[dbny]

Dusty
Had very bad left hip pain all night and could hardly walk this morning, but still had to go teach the Mommy & Me class. While skating afterwards, got the old click of death on B crossovers and now have a very nice bruise just below R knee. I hit hard on the edge of my knee pad, but it would have been a lot worse without the pad.

Sparkly
I never really expect to do much on Wed mornings, because I'm always tired from getting up early, but this morning I did feel like skating. Tried B chasses and then just kind of ambled into the back portion of the Paso. I really only stepped through it at a snail's pace, but this is so much more than I could have done a year ago. Aside from the Fourteen Step, this is the only dance I still remember from my roller dance days.

I was playing with FI Choctaws, which need a much deeper knee bend on the BO edge, and forgot what I was doing and did a FO closed Mohawk, much to my surprise.

[luna_skater]

Had a GREAT session today!!

Sparkly: Just about everything. Did flying choctaws and multi-turns exercises to music. Flying choctaws were decent, and my multi-turns have improved so much! Working hard on them yesterday really paid off. Also tried the 6 back-threes-brackets in a row sequence on each foot that is part of the snakes and ladders exercise, and, to my amazement, didn't fall a$$-over-tea-kettle! :lol: I couldn't believe it. I've NEVER been able to do multiple brackets in a row without holding on to someone before. And they felt really solid, so now I can just work on giving them more power.

Also partnered the Westminster for the first time and didn't butcher it, so that is a big sparkly moment, lol. If it wasn't for a mandatory work thing, I would be testing it next week. Now I have to wait till June, but it should be in GREAT shape by then!

Dusty: Back outside loops stink. The other loops are getting a lot better, and I even did some FO ones today that my coach said would pass. But I feel like I need to learn the back outside ones from scratch again. There was just zero rhythm there today.

[Cinderella]

Sparkly - For the first 1/2 hour there was only one other skater on the ice, and since she was working on moves, I did too, so that we were always 180 degrees opposite each other. I definitely feel like I'm getting more secure in my free leg extensions/toe pointing and that it's starting to undo some of my lazy habits during my "regular" skating when I'm jumping and spinning. My landings seem to be held better as well.

When she left, I ran through all my spins and was just shocked that everything was so "on" and centered. The best part was they just felt like second nature to do them. I hope this continues. The only "troublesome" one is that when the scratch spin is off, it is way off (as in a 5 foot corkscrew trail). It's fast, but not always centered.

All the jumps felt great too, right through the axels. So then I decided to run through my program (first time in 10 days), and I was shocked that I skated it clean and had no breath control issues at all. Well, except at the very end where I was so excited that I landed both axels and hit all the spins that it kind of took my breath away!

Don't you just LOVE a great practice??!!

P.S. to Lunaskater: what are flying choctaws? And what's the snakes and ladders exercise. I haven't been falling on my a$$ enough lately :lol:, so I'd love to learn something new!!!

[luna_skater]

P.S. to Lunaskater: what are flying choctaws? And what's the snakes and ladders exercise. I haven't been falling on my a$$ enough lately :lol:, so I'd love to learn something new!!!

Hehehe! I'm no good at explaining flying choctaws, but a few people tried to explain them earlier in this thread if you scroll back up a bit.

Snakes and ladders is the exercise with loops up one side. You do all eight of the loops, then edges across the end, inside and outside spirals down the other side, and across the last end you do 6 one-foot back-inside-three-forward-outside brackets in a row on each foot.

ETA: Whoops, my mistake...should be 8, not 6.

[singerskates]

Just found out that I made yesterdays sports page in my local paper today. It's been a month since I competed at Adult Canadians and won a Bronze medal for my Freeskate 1 40 + (Prelim B- US Adult Bronze competition) and now someone must have phoned the local paper and told them or something. Because if they had looked at the Skate Canada website, I would have been in the paper weeks ago. I know I didn't email them or phone them after Adult Canadians.

Sparkly: corkscrew and attitude spins starting to be entered cleanly in program. Better loop and flip attemps. Actually rotated them. Just have to get the right foot down first and keep the free foot free from the ice. LOL

Coached my coach's Junior student. She still need to work on her back crosscuts but they are starting to come together. Once she got a few LBx's working, I had her hold her LBI edge with her freeleg crossed behind with her blade parallell to the ice and with her right hand behind her butt. Once she got that, I then tried to get her to step onto her left onto a LFO edge to get the spiraling edge. That's where we had to end with the forward one foot spin because she kept on skipping the spiraling edge part. Next time. Then we worked on her two foot spin. She's having trouble bending her knees and tries to stick her right leg out straight which throws her completely out of wack when spinning travelling all over creation. She's young about 7 years old. It took several attempts for her to get her LFO3. I was trying to get her to get a smooth longer edge for her waltz jump. As soon as I got her to do a good 3 turn, we worked on her waltz jump from a stand still. After 7 tries, she got it to flow nicely. I was so proud of her, I high tened her. Then I brought her to the center circle to work on waltz jumps from crosscuts. Those didn't go so well because as soon as she stepped forword, she jumped and didn't have any guide time on the LFO edge and the waltz jump got out of control. So then, I did the little trick my coach pulled on me back in Sept. She had me do my RBx's and then step forward and do a LFO3 and then a few more crosscuts and then step forward to do the waltz jump. When she finally got the instructions in her head and her body to do them. She got a decent waltz jump from Bx's. Then we started to work on the landing position. She was just about to get to it when her session was done. I gave her a 50 minute lesson.

Dusty: Most of my session time was taken up by testing so I only got 25 minutes for my session today.

I forgot to take my inhaler (asthma) before going on the ice. So my first run through of my program was slow and I couldn't get my forward corckscrew spin done. Then I took my inhaler and had no legs on the next run through and skipped my flip and my salchow jumps but at least I ended the program with my corkscrew and kiss to the audience turning in the opposite direction of my corkscrew.
My knees didn't bend enough on my sitspins. Probably because taking the inhaler made my legs shake. I wasn't calm until my session was over and the junior session started. LOL

Brigitte

[jp1andOnly]

Sparkley: Starting axels next week. WOOHOO. Gotta buy me some knee pads. Did some lutz/loops that were pretty good. I even had one that just popped the way it should. Good jumping day today

Dusty: spins weren't too good. Did one beautiful sit/change sit then stumbled on the exit. Camel spin went to the desert.

Took a flying spill on a lutz and smashed my knee good. I keep hitting the same really sore spot. I just kept repeating "fruit loops" over and over 'cause I didn't want to say any nasty words with the kiddies on the ice

[icenut84]

Dusty:
Spins :cry: I've had to go back to two footed spins entirely, and once again feel dizzy after a spin. I'm making myself do about 10 per session to try to get back to where I was months ago.

Don't worry too much about that. It could be a good thing to go back a bit and make sure you're strong on something before advancing to the next thing. I've never been particularly good at spins, but a while back I also went back to the 2 foot spin (it wasn't good enough to pass a test), and now it's much better - stronger, often not bad centring, and faster and more controlled. I also do it from a different entry now than I used to. My 1 foot spin is also getting a bit better now than it was (although it still needs a lot of improvement) and I'm learning a backspin. You'll get back to where you were, don't worry. Just make sure you get some good spin coaching to help you.

I skated yesterday, and had a freestyle lesson, and despite the fact that I havent' yet finished the silver test (still need to pass the teapot/shoot the duck), I passed the toe loop on the Gold Skate UK Star test! Woohoo! I think I'm also making a bit or progress on the backspin - I'm at least getting what feels like rotation, although it doesn't count as a complete rev yet, but it doesn't feel that scary. :)

Aswell as that, I spent time practicing field moves (one of them, that i haven't really worked on for ages, was much better!!), turns, various exercises. I did a few spirals, but the LFO one was the only one I could do without being scared of kicking someone in the head (there were quite a few skaters onthe ice), so I didn't work on them that much.

However - great news was that yesterday was officially a Good Jump Day! :mrgreen: Towards the end of the session, I spent time working on toe loops and salchows (neither of which have been that great or consistent lately). I spent time working on the entry and takeoff etc, and they are both soo much better! Especially the toe loop, which I'd say was about 99% consistent :D and the salchow was pretty consistent too, about 80% or so. I also did toe-toe and salchow-toe combinations, which I haven't done for ages. The great thing was that both jumps were starting to feel much more like my body was doing the exact same thing every time, which is obviously the key to consistency, and the landings were strong. I still want to increase the height on them both, but I came off the ice with a smile on my face, and I could say that I really actually enjoyed jumping, which I wouldn't normally have said. :D Hopefully I can see if I can get the loop and flip back soon! :P

[flo]

Dusty: missed two skating practices due to icky cold.

Sparkly: feeling better, and looking forward to Saturday. Due to the confusion of the proposed pairs rules, I may not be able to compete with planned partner, so I posted on-line with a photo and will see what happens.
http://www.icepartnersearch.com/

[Mrs Redboots]

Rachel, well done! The toe loop isn't easy.... at least, I don't find it so!

Sparkly: For once wasn't tired, or rather, although I was tired, I was aware that, if I skated, I'd get my second wind and enjoy myself. So I was able to get on the ice by about 6.30 to have half an hour or so to warm up before dance club.

Dusty: However, what I hadn't reckoned with was that my blades, which I knew were beginning to need a sharpen, suddenly went totally blunt! Okay, I could have taken my boots off, sharpened my blades with a hand-held stone, and put them back on again, but..... so I tried to do it without taking my boots off, and it didn't work! So eventually I realised I couldn't skate any more until they'd been done, and got off. Have left the boots to be ground, and am looking forwards to nice sharp blades come Sunday!

[NCSkater02]

Had my first lesson in over two weeks this morning. My coach and I had the rink to ourselves for nearly an hour before the Mice on Ice came out.

Sparkly: Jumps went well. I'm skating Pre-Bronze, so I'm doing halfs only--Waltz, Flip, Toe Loop, and Lutz. The only combo I am currently doing is a waltz-toe loop. I am getting the full half rotation, and in the waltz and flip what feels like miles of height. Not sure what they look like though.

Dusty: Spins. I keep on struggling with the scratch and the one-foot that is in both my programs. One day I will actually do a scratch.

[singerskates]

Dusty: It wasn't a skating day for me. There was this one kid on CanSkate that just wouldn't stop crying and the parent wouldn't take them off. The kid just kept on going around the rink having a fit, looking for a way to get off of the ice. Some parents don't understand that skating is not a babysitting service. Some kids are not ready to do things without their parents.

Sparkly: Coaching CanSkate (learn to skate) today. This one little girl, who last week and especially the week before couldn't get up on her own, was now getting up on her own and actually skating today. She's just 2 and half. She doens't understand what the word backwards means but once you show her, she understands and does it. Yes she was skating backwards, skating forwards, gliding on two feet, walking around the circle in both directions, making snow, jumping and more than that, jumping while gliding forward over the lines on the ice! When she gets older, she could be a Joannie Rouchette(sp). She's so cute. OH, she knows how to play What Time Is It Mr. Wolf? on the ice and loves it. This is one smart small cute girl, this little skater of just 3 weeks one time a week.

Brigitte

[Mrs Redboots]

Last night, I wrote Have left the boots to be ground, and am looking forwards to nice sharp blades come Sunday!

Come Saturday! Coach has rung up and asked if we mind having our lesson a day early, as one of his skaters turns 18 tomorrow and they have volunteered to help at her party, "So we'll be fit for nothing on Sunday morning!"]

I loathe Saturday patch, it's always so crowded. Sigh.

[Cinderella]

Sparkly - Yesterday I started to feel like I was catching a cold, so in deference, I only skated an hour and 15 minutes today. But every minute was simply excellent. More good progress on the footwork. The Evil Choctaws now have been broken down into merely Heinous Choctaws, and thanks to a brief demo by someone else's coach, I was able to land walleys for the first time as an adult. Yes, I only landed 6 out of 48, but hey, that's 1 in 8. On Monday I'll try to up those odds. All other spins and jumps were on, so I left them after doing only 2 apiece. I left the practice with a big sparkly smile on my face.

[mikawendy]

Sparkly--They've finished doing annual maintenance on the ice at my home rink, and it feels great. It was very smooth, with no "bullldozer tracks" at the ends from the Zam, and it feels very fast right now. Practicing just plain stroking on it felt very good because I really felt good push and speed down the ice.

Was in Alexandria today for a training class for work, so I got my skates sharpened at Skater's Paradise, then took power stroking class at a nearby rink to avoid the rush hour traffic. Once again, I was the only adult taking the class, and some of the exercises were way above my level. They were working on double threes, back power threes (BO3, mohawk, BO3, mohawk, etc. etc.), power pulls, and brackets, none of which I do with any consistency or skill. Eeep! But I got a lot of crossover practice in during the endurance drills, which is good since I need it.

Annabel--bunny hop into cross rolls? That sounds very difficult! I understand what you mean about them being more knee bend than you ever could imagine. I was working on back cross rolls today and for the life of me, as hard as I pushed and as much as I bent my knees, I was STILL scratching my toe picks!

Dusty--The loop and backspin. (What else is new?)

[jazzpants]

Dusty:

Forward Power 3's. So what's new??? (Well, except that primary coach thinks they are much better compared with a few months ago though.)
Backspins totally STINK!!! At most I had some close calls at the end.
Sparkly:

The rest of my Moves for Bronze Moves... or at least that's what my primary coach says. My secondary coach, OTOH.... :twisted: (She's a "perfectionist!!) :P (Edited to add... well, maybe not as sparkly this week with the primary coach either...but he went through those fairly quickly.)

[jenlyon60]

Dusty: No lesson yesterday (my choice... because the rink was extremely crowded and coach was tired and I was stressed out from family matters) so I'm rescheduling to 6:30AM Monday morning for 45 minutes, and then my lesson next Wednesday will be 45 minutes.

Sparkling: Early morning lessons with hardly anyone on the ice are great... Also, (sorry Packer fans) they repainted the rink for the 2nd time in 3 weeks.... changing out the bright yellow/green back to a nice white/navy. Much easier on the eyes. Bright Yellow/Green looks nice on football jersies only.

[Mrs Redboots]

Annabel--bunny hop into cross rolls? That sounds very difficult! I understand what you mean about them being more knee bend than you ever could imagine. I was working on back cross rolls today and for the life of me, as hard as I pushed and as much as I bent my knees, I was STILL scratching my toe picks!That means, then, that your weight was too far forward. My coach says you have to "sit back" on your skates, and even if you are then bending forward like a hockey-skater, as long as your centre of gravity is in the right place, you won't scrape. He showed me once, when I was complaining of the exact same thing!

Anyway, much though I loathe getting out of bed early on a Saturday, we pretended today was Sunday and got ourselves down to the rink for just after 7.00. For once, it wasn't as crowded as usual, so it could have been a lot worse! Of course, we had newly-sharpened blades, so for the first 15 minutes could do very little except get used to them. Rob said his were so sharp as to be slow, just at first, but mine weren't - they just "didn't feel like my blades" for the first 15 minutes or so, then they were fine except that I couldn't stop!

Robert, for once, had his private lesson with our dance coach, as his normal coach (our dance coach's wife) was fully booked. They were working on the counter from the Argentine Tango (which I, for now, can do better than Robert, which pleases me! Except that I have a horrible feeling I was doing a bracket, not a counter. Oh well, tough!), and on his back cross-cuts. Then I joined them for our dance lesson.

Sparkly: Ever had one of those lessons where just a couple of tweaks makes all the difference? This was one of them. We started off working on our Swing Dance, and, as always, my Mohawk was appalling. I knew it wasn't entirely my fault, because I was doing quite good ones solo (except, when I tried to do that part of the Swing Dance solo, I think I had my weight just wrong, as I found I couldn't actually do it to time). Anyway, I then walked through the end pattern with my coach, who then realised what Robert was doing wrong, which was incredibly simple - he was looking the wrong way! Once that was fixed, it made everything just soooooooooooooooooo much easier, you wouldn't believe! I still don't do the Mohawk as well as I ought, but at least I'm not scrabbling!

Then we moved on to the Canadian Cha-Cha, which was dreadful, just at first. Slow and laborious. We are still not sure of a couple of the steps - need to find a pattern somewhere, but I'm fairly sure I know where one is - but my main grouse was that we simply weren't moving. Coach was amused at me, so I said I'd strangle Robert first, then him! But we went out there and did it again, and pushed, and oh, the difference! That's how I want to do that dance in future......

Dusty: I just wish I knew why we weren't pushing on that dance to start with.... and can we guarantee we'll push on our Dutch Waltz and Rhythm Blues, when the time comes? And why can't I do that wretched Mohawk in the Swing Dance consistently???? :frus: :?:

[Magz]

Ever had one of those lessons where just a couple of tweaks makes all the difference? This was one of them.
Yes! In my lesson with my dance coach I couldn't manage to check my three's properly and hold the edge after...and all it took to make them perfect was changing which arm was in front going into them! Anyways...
Dusty - Axels-Nothing seems to really work with them anymore...and if we fix one thing, we'll try to fix another but then I'll be doing the first thing wrong again...sigh...And I can't manage any good flying spins lately.
Also our ice is sooo crowded! 27 skaters last time and about 7 or 8 coaches. The ice is practically ruined after 20 minutes.
Sparkly - Double loops!!! My coach seemed to get fed up with the axels so we tried these and she was very excited about them...and so am I! My camel is also managing to feel good...finally!! My skills also should be ready to test at the end of May I think...yay!

[jp1andOnly]

Dusty: Why oh why do my camel spins come and then go. It's so frustrating.

So inconsistant that I'm doubting whether to try my junior bronze or not

Sparkley: did a gorgeous lutz/loop combo. Even my coach had to admit it was the nicest one I've done so far. Of course I know he was thinking how they can be better ;)

Jumps were pretty good last night. Was the human zamboni as one coach pointed out, but was trying harder stuff and taking risks. She commented that I wasn't afraid to fall and that I was the hardest worker out there. I commented that because I pay for my skating I'm getting every cent worth. Its a lot different when mom was paying. Hehe I figure its better that I'm falling anyhow, because when we start axels next week I'll be doing the human zamboni again

Did 1..out of don't know how many tries..on a flying sit. It was tiny tiny tiny but I had the right technique and everything. I think that was yesterdays highlight

[batikat]

Thursdays lesson:
Worked on the choreography for my Rumba OD (solo dance) and while we have nearly completed it there are some moves in there that are horribly difficult for me, particularly a LFI swing roll directly into a LFI to RBI mohawk - doesnt' sound too bad but this is at considerable speed and I have trouble repositioning my weight after the swing roll and getting the right shoulder back to enable the right leg to come back and turn into the correct direction for the mohawk.

Couldnt figure out why my drag, to inside 3 in drag position for one rotation and then up to RBO was so out of control - til i realised I hadn't tucked my laces in and the plastic bit on the end was causing the boot to slide every which way. :lol: for once the out of controlness wasn't just me!!

BTW - what are the characteristics of a Rumba - does anyone know - I am hoping to have a lovely orangey-red competition dress (which also happens to come in useful for our forthcoming group artistic) which I hope is Rumba-ish but really dont' know what the 'expression' side of it should be?????

Jumps group lesson

Sparkly: did nice 3 jumps, salchow and toe-loop and felt like I very nearly had the hang of the Flip - seems easier than the loop anyway. I got the rotation mostly and coudl land on two feet and then managed a few on one foot but with no hope of flowing out of it - as usual it seems to be all about getting your weight in the right place.

Dusty: The Loop . I dread to think how long I have been working on this jump now. I have done one but I just can't repeat it- it is driving me mad :frus:

[twinkle]

batikat: I want to see your jumps! I've never seen you try a loop or a flip before. Haven't seen your new OD either. :cry:

[NCSkater02]

Just like annabelle (Mrs. Redboots) I had newly sharpened skates today, and I couldn't do anything either. I thought I was the only one with that problem.

I had group lesson today--well group of which I am the only student. Not much better than a private lesson at group rates. Luckily, we get 30 minutes to practice/warm up before lesson, so I was able to work on the sharp blades before I worked with my coach.

Sparkly: We worked on back 3turns, and I did a couple, but still put my free foot down as soon as I rotate. And, I'm not on the back of my blade--but I am starting to get the rotation. And the scratch spin...I did one that had one rotation. Doesn't seem like much, but I've been struggling with it since Jan/Feb and have despaired of ever getting, so one rotation is just fine....for today. :)
All my jumps went well, with the exception of the waltz--since I missed two practices last week, my timing is off. It'll take me a several practices to get it back.

Dusty: It was only one rotation. Spins will kill me. I will also get the b3t one day.

[Terri C]

Dusty:
Try anything in brand new boots- I got them Wednesday!


Sparkly:
The boots look GREAT and feel "cushy", Was actually able to do 5 step mohawk and forward crossovers in them after awhile. Back crossovers- they're a challenge!

[jazzpants]

Sparkly:

YEEEEEE HAAAAW!!! Just practiced the forward power 3's this afternoon and they are finally getting some amount of speed (at least faster than a snail's pace now.) WOOOOO HOOO!!! Of course, I didn't try my luck further by doing waltz jumps afterwards! :P I hope I can get it to go even faster so I can get this %#$&@* moves test over and done with.

YAY ME!!! :mrgreen:

Dusty:

Back crossovers are bad this afternoon, particular around the ends of the rink.
Back crossovers to BO edge also sucks in one side... and it doesn't help either that there were some bratty city kids who are playing tag and skating right into people intentionally. KILL! KILL!!! KILL!!! :evil:
Scratch spin and sit spins went to Hades too. The only spin that actually worked was the camel. WEIRD!!! :??

[batikat]

batikat: I want to see your jumps! I've never seen you try a loop or a flip before. Haven't seen your new OD either. :cry:


They're not worth seeing yet believe me - hopefully this will change soon. I will be at the adult Opens with my pathetic salchow and toe-loop - unfortunately I have to go in at level 1 because I took level 1 dance moves a year ago so despite this being my first ever Free programme I will be in with all the experienced level 1'ers. Help!!!

Are you competing this year?

The OD is pretty scary even without jumps - I am hoping there will be a bit more competition this year now that people have had a go at OD's for last years British Adult Championships. I dont' want it to be just two of us again.

[twinkle]

Are you competing this year?

Yes, I'm doing the Level 2 and over free and interpretive ( I think, not sure whether my programme is really artistic or interpretive ). I'm not that well prepared though, I changed my free programme a few weeks ago, coach and I are both going away and I have exams coming up so limited practise time. After the exams I'll hopefully be skating a lot to make up the lost time. Looking forward to the competition anyway, it will be my only one of the year.

[sk8pics]

Just like annabelle (Mrs. Redboots) I had newly sharpened skates today, and I couldn't do anything either. I thought I was the only one with that problem.

It doesn't have to be that way! Ask your sharpener to wipe down the blade when he finishes, and that takes just a tiny little bit of the edge off it. Both my current sharpener and my previous one did this, and my adjustment period after a sharpening is all of 2 or 3 minutes, and stopping is fine. The biggest adjustment I have is adjusting to the new speed, which my coach always told me is the mark of a good sharpening. I also get my blades sharpened every 30 hours or so on the ice, so it helps that they don't get all that dull.

Jazzpants--Congrats! Keep up the good work!

Pat

[jenlyon60]

I find that when my sharpener runs the "soft stone" over my blades about 3 to 4 times, that the worst of the burr is removed and I don't stick to the ice (unless it's really soft) and I don't have problems stopping.

[luna_skater]

I like my blades very sharp, but if I am just needing a touch-up before a test day or competition, I will just ask for a "light" dance sharpening and they come out perfect.

[singerskates]

So far since Sept. 2003 I've only had my skate blades sharpened 3 times. Twice because it was about four months and once to stop me from skating too close to the toe picks forwards and backwards (The blades were sharpened only near the picks because my boots were severely warped and it wasn't discovered until two weeks before Adult Canadians. Even at Adult Canadians, the blade correction wasn't made. It wasn't until a few weeks ago after AC that I had my blades fixed. I may have another correction done before competing at the Ann Arbour Spring Skate. Otherwise I litterally wait until I start to slide sideways before sharpening my blades.

Brigitte Laskowski

[jp1andOnly]

i get mine done after about 20-30 hours.

[twinkle]

Otherwise I litterally wait until I start to slide sideways before sharpening my blades.


That's probably not such a good idea, because you will work on something with blunt blades for a while and get it in your muscle memory, then have to relearn it when your blades are sharp. Trying to compensate for blunt blades could slow down you learning, and it will take longer to get used to them when you finally do have them sharpened.

[Mrs Redboots]

No, I agree with Brigitte there..... in fact, this last time I waited until I literally couldn't skate on them any more. Which I didn't actually mean to do, but now that the ice at our rink is actually good, it is also rather hard, and dulls your blades faster than normal. Still, they'll be nice for the Mountain Cup now, which is good - one year, I forgot to have them done, and was frantically putting an edge on with a stone before every time I skated!

[jenlyon60]

Had my skates sharpened Saturday also... was going to order new boots (custom Klingbeils) but we started the measurements, and when I told Mike (Skaters Paradise) that I was doing South Beach diet, he suggested that I hold off on ordering new boots until I got my weight down and stabilized.

I wasn't sure how much my feet had changed over the past couple years with the weight gain + middle age foot spread, so we called up to Klingbeil to check (no on-site records due to last year's hurricane...). Major changes in my right foot (hadn't measured my left foot yet). Lorraine up at Klingbeil also suggested waiting until things were stabilized with my weight, and if I needed anything done to the boots until then, I could send them up for a re-build.

But will post more on lesson on a new thread...

[jp1andOnly]

Had my skates sharpened Saturday also... was going to order new boots (custom Klingbeils) but we started the measurements, and when I told Mike (Skaters Paradise) that I was doing South Beach diet, he suggested that I hold off on ordering new boots until I got my weight down and stabilized.

I wasn't sure how much my feet had changed over the past couple years with the weight gain + middle age foot spread, so we called up to Klingbeil to check (no on-site records due to last year's hurricane...). Major changes in my right foot (hadn't measured my left foot yet). Lorraine up at Klingbeil also suggested waiting until things were stabilized with my weight, and if I needed anything done to the boots until then, I could send them up for a re-build.

But will post more on lesson on a new thread...

I have gone from a size 9 shoe to a size 7 shoe. I lost weight and bought Grafs in Nov when I thought my weight had stabalized. Well, that was a waste of $700. Basically my feet, which i thought stabilized at 7.5 have shrunk to a 7 or even smaller making my Grafs at least a 1/2 size too big. It is frustrating because I have 3 insoles in them and cant afford to buy new ones

[singerskates]

How can your feet shrink from size 9 to size 7? I've always had size 9 and 1/2 feet ever since I stopped growing even when I was 19 and 115 lbs at 5 feet 8 inches tall. I looked like I was from one of those kids they show for World Vision. Anyway, I have to run to work and then skate and teach skating. SEe ya!!!

Brigitte

[jp1andOnly]

How can your feet shrink from size 9 to size 7? I've always had size 9 and 1/2 feet ever since I stopped growing even when I was 19 and 115 lbs at 5 feet 8 inches tall. I looked like I was from one of those kids they show for World Vision. Anyway, I have to run to work and then skate and teach skating. SEe ya!!!

Brigitte

I lost about 50-60 lbs in about a year-year and a half. Basically I lost a LOT of width in my feet. When you lose width then you can wear smaller sizes. And also, when you stand, the weight you have puts pressure on them making them wider. Hence when you lose weight your feet shrink.