Heat Wave, Cool Spell Lesson/practices Aug 1-7 [Archive]

Figureskates

08-01-2005, 06:27 AM

It is August already!!!

HEAT WAVE: Adult Week starts in 3 weeks in Lake Placid...coach has given me an long list of things to work on when I go up there. Looking forward to it and seeing old friends again

COOL SPELL:The bad thing about summer is the amount of ice time goes way down and you just skate enough to at least keep your skills at the same level. Coach is on vacation until midweek but my schedule at work is a disaster so it won't be until next week I can get a lesson.

BelleOnIce

08-01-2005, 03:39 PM

HEATWAVE- lesson today and I landed my double loop in my lesson (first time in quite a while as its one where I just dont seem to jump cause of the fear factor!!!) All my other jumps were actually considerably good, only 3 of us on the ice which always helps!

COOLSPELL- Dont think I am ever going to manage to keep breathing the whole way through my programme!!! Everytime I get half way through my legs just seem like jelly!!

Skate@Delaware

08-01-2005, 07:18 PM

Heatwave: Off-ice jump class was moved to tonite; I was sooo tired all day but went anyway. Glad I went because it was really worth it! I really learned a lot! Got into the whole position with leg crossed on the loopand got all the way around! Now, if I could just get that done on the ice (without chickening out-bwak-bwak!) Also got some pointers on why I pitch forward on my waltz. Boy this jumping stuff is hard work!

Cool Spell: Only 3 or 4 sessions at my "host" rink before my home rink opens (34 days and counting). I will be glad about not having the long drive, but will miss them as they have been good hosts! Edited to add: just checked their revised calendar and I only have 2 sessions with them now before my home rink opens-somehow 2 weekday sessions are no longer available :frus: Dare I try to loop? Maybe I'll wait until my super-duper pads come in. Maybe I'll hit the beach instead.

Terri C

08-01-2005, 07:35 PM

Heat wave:
No kids at the afternoon freestyle today!!! There was only 2-3 people at a time out there! And the ice was awesome! While I didn't run through my freeskate program, I did do segements!

Cold front:
This was at the small rink, so doing moves was a joke!

figure_skater

08-01-2005, 11:14 PM

icy front:sit spin was so slow... i think it was one of the slowest ive ever done :roll:, and backspin was horrible :cry:

heat wave:my coach immediately loved the new music i picked out for my new spotlight and artistic routines..., learned and nailed some new footwork, finally fixed my spin entry postition (coach cheered), and skating went really well today!

The Ice Demon

08-02-2005, 03:11 AM

Heat Wave
Spins were on today. Did a very centred backspin and some very good combinations (sit-sit and camel-camel-sit etc) :)

Jumps started good, worked on 2loop first time in ages and although the few i landed were very cheated it was better than I thought considering the amount of time since I was working on it. 8-)

Cool Spell
Jumps got worser! Axel dodgy, salchow technique not there. :frus: Also I wish there were more adult skaters. The competitive teenage skaters are so serious... I'm sure I was the only one out there enjoying myself and smiling when i went splat :roll:

Mrs Redboots

08-02-2005, 08:43 AM

But I don't really like hot weather...... :roll:

Heatwave: I skated today. And I did some decent forward cross-rolls. And we worked on a new introduction to the Golden Skaters' Waltz.

Cold spell: Everything else! It was one of those days - the coaches said we all have them - when I simply couldn't do anything right. Working with the husband, I was all hunched forwards - I could see his feet, which always shows. The end pattern of our Riverside Rhumba was awful, slowed right down, felt clunky. GSW okay, but only okay - I kept forgetting the steps, so did he; I could see his feet; I made a mistake with the RFO swing roll and blamed him.... actually, not, once I realised it was my mistake! He was utterly hooked on chassés today and kept putting them in our free dance in places where they don't go! And we messed up our step sequence yet again.... sigh....

Then after he'd gone I tried to work on moves, and couldn't do anything except forwards cross-rolls, which I don't need to! Back cross-cuts hurt, and even then weren't quite proper. Just one of those days when nothing wanted to work, and I wondered what I was doing there! I mean, I'm a skater, sore tailbones are par for the course, but my muscles are bruised, too, and that does make life awkward.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow will be better. It'd have need to be!

TwirlGirl10

08-02-2005, 08:55 AM

Heat wave: My program is almost done!!! Can't wait. Spins were better.

Cold Front: couldn't do any axels!! :evil: I just had them friday! My coach is gone for the week so I will have to ask my sub to help my. I do them off ice all the time so I hope I was just having an off day. Has this happend to any of you?? Didn't even try double salchows.

coskater64

08-02-2005, 09:26 AM

Heat Wave: Jumps are getting better, spins are faster and power is getting better overall. EWaltz is smooth and R Fox is good except for xbehind a opening progressive, everything else is good.

Cool Spell: Foxtrot, that stuipd mohawk just can't get it soft enough for coaches liking. Free dance, oh my achin' back, if I wasn't sway backed to begin w/ I am now. If I arch anymore my ribs will become more pronounced than what little figure I have. But, they are fun for the most part, pair spinning is really different. Everyone should try it.

la

Skate@Delaware

08-02-2005, 02:22 PM

sk8er1964

08-02-2005, 04:51 PM

But I don't really like hot weather...... :roll:

Me neither. ;)

Heatwave: I haven't been skating much this summer because of work, however my coach and I started off ice sessions about five weeks ago, and they are really helping my on-ice doubles. I feel like I'm actually going to own some by next AN. Getting my doubles back has been a multi-year struggle for me.

Two weeks ago he had me try an axel-double toe combination off ice, which I surprised myself by landing. Decided to try some on ice today for the first time, and after about 5 attempts I managed to land two in a row! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: I think they were no more than 1/4 cheated! Then I landed two double loops later. Yippee!

Cold front: Coach is on vacation, of all things, and I can't tell him or show him until next week. :evil:

sk8er1964

08-02-2005, 04:53 PM

Heat Wave
Also I wish there were more adult skaters. The competitive teenage skaters are so serious... I'm sure I was the only one out there enjoying myself and smiling when i went splat :roll:

Yesterday one of my young skating friends asked how I could be so darn cheerful about falling over, and over, and over again. I suppose, though, that my double falls don't hurt half as much as his triple falls!

jazzpants

08-02-2005, 08:15 PM

Heat Wave:

Sit spins, scratch, attitude and backspins are decent enough.
I landed ONE stinkin' loop and one stinkin' flip jump...
The moves part of the artistic program seems to be getting better!
Cool Spell:

The crowds!!! Just couldn't do any moves tonight!!! Darn college kids!!!:frus:
Had several attempts at Chinese spirals and couldn't do them to completion. (Again, the crowd got in the way...)
Lutz attempt was iffy today. The rest of the loop and flip landings were toe tapped. :frus:
Didn't bother trying for a camel... (i.e. I did two attempts and decided to quit while I'm still behind...) :twisted:

luna_skater

08-02-2005, 09:12 PM

I'm guessing the Heat Wave is supposed to be the positive this week...but I am so sick of the heat here, it's going to be my negatives. :) A Cool Spell would be HEAVEN right now! So...

Cool Spell: Flips have gotten pretty solid. Toe loops are actually fun now, since I've worked on the new entry. I love the feeling of getting that really solid pick, and popping into the air! Backspins are thisclose to existing. 8O Still not quite on the sweet spot, but I was actually spinning backwards instead of forwards for once!

Heat Wave: Strange situation at the rink tonight. I was on a 1-hour open session. There is a test day this Friday, but for some reason they tested a few kids tonight...on the session. :?? A judge was there, and evaluated the kids being tested while we all just skated around them. The testing skaters were told to watch out for US, because it was our session, not theirs. I found the whole thing just bizarre!

As for my actual skating...been off the ice since Thursday, and it took a bit to get my feet under me. Waltz's didn't feel so hot, and it took quite a while to get comfortable with my forward spin.

sceptique

08-03-2005, 06:22 AM

Heat:

My 4-month anniversary: started skating on 2nd April this year.

Took a couple of days off to attend a choreography workshop. Really liked it. It reminded me why I wanted to take up skating in the first place: because of creativity, expression as well as athleticism. Skated with a bunch of more advanced kids - the coach said: "Do the best you can and see how it goes". 99% of the exercises turned out to be something I never tried before, but it wasn't as bad as one could expect. Backward edges were pretty good, even with "creative" arm movements thrown in. Didn't replace consecutive 3-turns with cross-rolls, as coach suggested for us "beginners", and almost got them. I'm sure I'll nail them next time. Spinning around while walking on my toes was the climax! Kept thinking "this is suicidal" but still managed almost a full circle round the rink. Also had a go at trying jump approach and landing, without actual jump yet, and some sort of quasi-salchow, which a half- rather than a full turn. Ufff! Could barely walk up the stairs to my bed. Was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Before the workshop had my usual lesson and was told that I'm having the first patrt of my Skate UK Gold Star Passport test next Saturday. Nothing major - my coach will check my spiral, two-foot spin, bunny hop -> lunge and waltz jump. Lunge was a bit tricky on Saturday (again, never tried it before!) so I went home and did a few PNF stretches. My splits are still a good foot off the floor, I got about two inches lower, but it helped my lunges a lot. On Sunday I prowdly showed my husband the scrapped side of my boot - which means I'm now gliding with my boot on ice, not my blade.

Cold:

I really need to start working on my speed. It's not that I can't go faster, it's the fear. I notice that as soon as I pick up the speed to what feels like "unsafe" level, I slow myself down. When I go across the rink, I start braking at about quarter line. I need to try to skate more agressively next time or maybe do more footwork drills focusing on speed, not precision. Need to think about it....

rf3ray

08-03-2005, 06:52 AM

HOT After 6 weeks of doing crappy forward and backspins today. I realised what I was doing wrong, so today is a HOT day ;-)

COLD Prolly just the ice is cold, tried Hydroblading today at the rink and did some good ones :-)

Mrs Redboots

08-03-2005, 08:56 AM

Heat: Better skate day than yesterday. Wouldn't be difficult! Worked on free dance with Husband, then had my lesson. It's Alexandra Palace night, so didn't stay on the ice. Back cross-rolls are really beginning to happen now - they are still not good, "But so much better than they were!" said the coach.

Cold: Part of our step sequence isn't working, and what would make it work would be a pirouette, but you aren't allowed to pirouette in a step sequence in ice dance! Ah well.... Think I know what we can change to make it work, will have to try tonight if I get a moment. Still very stiff & sore. Can't do back cross-cuts to save my life.... partly because it hurts if I try, and mostly because I can't do them anyway. Kept losing my posture when focussing on other things - still can't do everything at once! I know I'm skating better than I was, but it does seem that I get nagged at more about posture these days. Coach says it's because when I was fat, my bad posture wasn't so noticeable..... oh well.... And he keeps saying "relax your shoulders back!" but if I relax my shoulders, they don't go back!

dbny

08-03-2005, 11:32 AM

I'm with Mrs. Redboots on the Heat wave thing!

Cool Spell
haven't skated for a month, but finally, on vacation in the Adirondacks, we went to Plattsburgh and skated last Sunday. I had only skated with my new orthotics twice before my recess, so when I got on the ice, I promptly caught my toe pick and very nearly planted my face. Between the month off and the orthotics,t was like learning to skate all over again

Heat Wave:
The public session was empty! Only a dad with 5 yr old daughter and one other adult skater, whom we met last year. Also, the hour session was extended for another half hour until a hockey player showed up for the public "sticks & pucks" session. Happily, my three turns have not deserted me, but I didn't really work on much.

When I get home next week, my goal is going to be to get to a rink three times a week, no matter how early I have to get up or how far I have to trave. Wish me luck :roll:

NCSkater02

08-03-2005, 07:35 PM

Heat Wave: I've been 2-footing my half-flips since I started back from the broken ankle--we fixed it today! :D I knew I was doing something wrong, but not sure what it was. Coach saw it and fixed it immediately. Now I just have to remember it the next time I skate.

Cool Spell: The rink was trying to order new boots and blades, size 9 3/4, instead of just new blades. :roll: I've been trying to find out if they were ordered for a week or so. Hubby asked for me last week and was told "if she hasn't been called, they haven't come in." He called someone else today and got the scoop. He'll call tomorrow and get the blades ordered. Geesh....I could've gotten them from Rainbo ages ago and had them mounted already. :frus:

pennybeagle

08-03-2005, 10:58 PM

Cool spell:
Well, I decided to have another go at the Gold moves (before the rule change)...especially since I was going to be doing the Hickory Hoedown for the test session anyway. Ugh. Big mistake. This time, I fell and crashed into the boards on the FI-BI 3 pattern (the novice move, going CW, on the second end pattern). Got so shaken up and embarrassed that my legs were shaking during the brackets (not good). Then, I was asked to re-skate the novice pattern. Fell again, in pretty much the same spot. Failed test, no question about it. :frus:

So...maybe third time's the charm at Peach?

Heat wave:
Well, my jumps and spins have improved, after not working on them seriously for about 2 weeks to concentrate on moves and dance. Landed a double sal, double loop (quarter turn cheat), axel-loop, and axel out of outside spread eagle. Flying camel feels great. :)

Of course, when I start *working* on the spins and jumps again, they won't be as good...such is the law of skating, right? :giveup:

TaBalie

08-03-2005, 11:32 PM

Cool Spell:
Have had a stomach flu since last Friday and am so weak since I have been unable to eat. I was feeling overly confident on Monday, so rather than just pay for each practice session as I walk on (which I have been doing) I idiotically bought a full weeks worth of freestyle sessions (Mon - made it 20 minutes, Tues - made it 15 minutes, Wed (today) skipped it entirely...). Tomorrow I HAVE to go, I already canceled my private lesson on Tuesday so I must have my lesson tomorrow. I just hope I have some more strength so I can take advantage of the ice. Paying for ice and missing it makes me :cry: My new skates, with a total of maybe 7 hours on them, are still giving me major cramps ARG.

Heat Wave:
I have the 2 hour Jump Clinic with Elvis Stojko this Saturday. At the very least, I will at least stand on the ice and absorb LOL ... But I hope to be feeling better by then so I can take advantage of this opportunity!

Mrs Redboots

08-04-2005, 06:29 AM

Hope you feel better soon, Natalie!

We had our usual monthly session at Alexandra Palace last night. For once, the ice there was atrocious - undulating, uneven, and the bottom end was unskateable and had to be coned off. Which impacted everybody's speed, especially mine! The class started off on a good note. We were told to do perimeter stroking:

Coach: "For those who are feeling strong, 4 strokes per side; those a little less strong, 6. The rest of you...."
Skater (no, it was not me!): "Thirty-seven?"

Collapse of the entire class..... Incidentally, I managed 5 strokes one side, which pleased me. We also worked on clockwise perimeter stroking, and a simple exercise of chasses and swings, which she made us do clockwise, too. And back crossovers in both directions (yuck!), and back chasses and swing rolls. And then the level 4 and 5 Dance Moves, which I'm still struggling with, although I'm beginning to manage the level 4 3-turn exercise (an American Waltz 3-turn followed by a back crossover, then you repeat on the other foot). Only not when we did it to music..... Which was when one of the coaches, showing off to the Zamboni driver who was barracking from the side, skated straight into the barrier and fell over, to loud applause and cheers from the class!

Husband managed to fall over three times during the course of the evening; once in the lesson and twice in the social dance. AND he dropped me when we did our free dance in the interval! Not badly - but he didn't hold the lift and let me down in a controlled fashion!

I didn't feel I skated well - kept losing my posture and finding I was all hunched over. Sigh! And my tailbone still hurts, and the muscles around it feel almost in spasm, which didn't help. It's feeling a bit better today, but then, I haven't skated yet!

flo

08-04-2005, 08:21 AM

Too cool: skated last night and had lots of fun teaching pair elements. I was showing a male friend how to do a throw waltz, and wanted him to get the "assisted jump feeling" so I threw him. It was lots of fun. Also a female friend of mine can throw me into a great throw loop.

TaBalie

08-04-2005, 02:54 PM

Thanks Mrs. Redboots - I feel 100% better today! :)

More heat Wave:
Today, my feet didn't hurt at all! 8O I have been having foot cramps that make me want to amputate my feet every single time I skate, and today... Nothing! I am more in shock than anything. Let's hope those cramps stay away! :P

kiwibabe

08-04-2005, 03:10 PM

Cool spell Had lesson yesterday, coach suggested I would not be ready to do the program for the competition in October but could try the competition in February. Have had this silly fear of falling over the last couple of weeks and really haven't been able to do much on the ice since then. Also no ice time until Monday as there is an ice hockey tournament all weekend.

Heatwave The coach did suggest that I go in the competition doing edges/stroking which involves:
Forward Stroking & BackwardStroking – 1 circuit of each around rink perimeter withcrossovers at each end
Forward Outside Prelim Edges – full Length of rink

Which I can do but I'm a bit confused about the exact body positions I have to be in, doing all of the above in order to be competitive. Any suggestions would be great.

Mrs Redboots

08-05-2005, 05:25 AM

Heat Wave: Discovered the main reason my tailbone hurts is wearing jeans - yesterday I wore a skirt and it was fine, today, going down to the rink in my jeans, it was really sore! Once I got into practice-kit it was okay again! So now I am home, I've changed into softer trousers!

On the ice, had a good run-through of my free dance with Husband. We have made a couple more changes.... does anybody ever have a programme that doesn't change from one practice to the next? We also had an opportunity to do a Golden Skaters' waltz when the Junior couples were practising their Westminster (it is the same music).

Cold Spell: Didn't get a chance to do the Riverside Rhumba, either with or without the music. Didn't do very much once Husband had left. Although I did work on various dance moves. My cross-cuts are still awful, but the cross-behinds are getting better each time I practice them. Worked on the level 4 3-turn sequence, but am having trouble knowing when to shift my weight. A friend, who was watching, told me I was rushing too much.... sounds familiar?

The Ice Demon

08-05-2005, 05:47 AM

Heat Wave (I would love a heat wave, it's freezing here but not so cold that we have enough decent snow for skiing) :cry:
Tried a new stroking/dance class on Wed. Some good stroking practice for me. Skated into public session afterwards and had a ball.

Cool Spell
Dance class involved a lot of arm movements and coordination, which has always been a deficit of mine! Coaches Comment: "You look like you're swimming!" :roll:

Very Cold Spell
Got to rink for my favourite session of the week - Fri afternoon and they'd cancelled it for hockey without telling anyone. I was furious. :evil: :evil:
Went for my first run in a while and it looks like I may be getting over my shin splints, cross fingers.

Have to wait til Tues now for my next skating fix. :cry:

aussieskater

08-05-2005, 06:51 AM

Heat wave (in our midwinter, that has to be good) - at last, an "aha" moment. They've been few and far between the past few months, while I've been trying to master back cross-rolls and get the timing right (among other things, like holding the edge and pointing the toe and ... you get the drift). My coach told me last night that the correct count is not "behind, behind, behind", but rather "push (off with the other foot), push, push". This changed the emphasis in the timing and eureka, I had my "aha" moment.

Icy spell - definitely icy. Two days ago saw me fall (from a virtual standstill, doing nothing much at all) backwards onto the bony part of the hip. Where were the hip pads I never wear? In my skate bag of course. I spent some time sitting on an ice pack (to the amusement of my friends), then sat on another ice pack for an hour that night. It helped. A little. The bruise coming out is colourful to say the least, and somewhat larger than the palm of my hand. I can't wait for the whole bruise to appear, because then it'll stop hurting. That's the theory anyway.

blue111moon

08-05-2005, 07:01 AM

Heat Wave: Besides the temp in the rink, which was not a good thing since the ice was soft and it took the Zam guy extra time to resurface after the hockey group before club ice? Skatingwise for me everything was good. It was another hot spin night - camel worked, sit was fast and centered and I was averaging 6 revs on backspins with most of the spin on the right part of the blade. :D

Jumps were pretty good too, although I'm still two-footing that darned Flip! It's so irritating!

We spent most of the lesson on footwork and spirals, because the ssion wasn't crowded and I didn't have to keep watching out for little kids so I could concentrate on what I was doing. Change edge spiral is getting really big.

All in all, a good lesson.

Cold spell: besides the flip, not much. I'm having some trouble with my left boot - there's a spot in the heel that's pressing on my Achilles tendon right above my heelbone - and last night it was really painful. I have to call my skate guy today and see if there's anything he can do. If not, then I'm going to have to forget pointing my toes on that side. :giveup:

Skate@Delaware

08-05-2005, 10:34 AM

Heat Wave: Only 2-3 sessions left before home rink opens (you can tell me to shut up now). Had a nice session yesterday (Thursday) that almost didn't happen as they couldn't find the key to the zamboni. Worked on some 3-turns, crossovers (sort-of fast), spirals, did a few back spirals, and then waltz jumps (which rocked). Tried a few backspins but only got 1/2 revolution (ha ha ha).

Cold Spell: spins, where are you????? I forgot to bring my camera so no video proof that they suck, so no video analysis from you guys :cry: I didn't hunch my shoulders, didn't look down, bent deep, stepped out with my foot pointed out and still no dice!

Even my daughter was stumped and she's usually my harshest critic... :giveup:
Today, I did look at video taken last fall during classes of jumps and spins and I have improved overall, although Thursday my spins weren't even as good as they were last fall (the entry has improved and overall stiffness is not as severe now).

PS-I was thinking before about changing my blades from Coronation Comets (which I still love) to Coronation Aces because my spins have disappeared all summer. However, I have decided to wait until I've been back at my home rink and have been back in lessons and had some coaching sessions. I probably have been slipping in some bad technique that we have not noticed. And the ice at my home rink is softer than my current "host" rink so spinning and jumping is somehow easier at home. Plus I don't really want to spend $$ on blades right now, I'm saving $$ for other things, coaching sessions, test sessions, son needs braces, van needs A/C job, etc.

jazzpants

08-05-2005, 11:27 AM

ALL COOL SPELL!!! :frus:

Well, I'm definitely NOT gonna test in Sept!!! Good thing I didn't turn in my paperwork yet!!!

I was stressed this week b/c we have a HUGE number of skaters in the FS session b/c it's summer and the competitive skating season is happening and all. (Never mind my car problems and finances and all...)

Added to that, I'm still dealing with a good handful of issues that needs to be fixed if I'm every gonna feel comfortable at testing the Bronze moves. I got the sense at that point when my primary coach says "Test in Sept and see what happens anyway!" that my coach wants to see where I'm at on the moves again. But I've put my foot down and said I don't want to test 'til I'm ready! PERIOD!!!

I already have the laundry list of things I need to work on too based on feedback from previous lessons. (No hopping on the FI mohawk, Stronger BI edges on the alt back crossovers, back XOvers on the end patterns (my current #1 nemesis), better timing and extension on the 5 step mohawks and BO edge on the back crossovers to BO edge move, power 3's on one side needs to be faster on one side and less "wild" (swingy) on the other.)

I'll wait and see what happens once school starts again and I could get in some much quieter sessions again. I may tape myself soon to get a sense of where I am... so I'll know whether I'm close enough to test or not.

luna_skater

08-05-2005, 11:58 AM

Heat Wave: I think I can confidently say that my flips are now consistent! Some are better than others, but I only bail maybe 1 out of 8 attempts. The attempts I don't bail on are always one-footed, so I'm satisfied! Toe-loops feel great, and sals feel good, too. And, drumrolllll....I had a good backspin day! *faints* I've stopped rolling to the inside edge, and am getting a few centered revolutions. I chicken out a bit when I start to pull in, but that will come...my biggest obstacle was trying to stay backwards instead of always falling forwards.

Cool Spell: Lots of little ones on the ice last night, which made it hard to do a lot of jumps (older kids are better at getting out of the way and watching for others). Didn't do any lutzes, because my set-up takes up too much ice and there was no way I could dodge that many people! Had kind of a crappy forward spin day. :( Waltz's felt off, too. No more skating till Monday now!

slusher

08-05-2005, 02:43 PM

Cool spell:

I have an injury so am afraid to do anything that I might possibly fall down on, which is most everything because I skate all out and falling is just part of that. Soo.... we did dance again. Not dance patterns, but stroking in holds, progressives in hold, chassees in hold, oh they're so fun in waltz hold when we get off on the wrong feet, and a nifty little exercise, crosscut, chassee, hoooolllldddd, push, around the circle. I quickly realized that my basic dance skills (ahem) need lots of work and I've let my conditioning lapse over the summer. So, yet another humbling moment courtesy of figure skating.

Heat wave:

My son (of all people!) complimented me on my spirals, said they've gotten better. I must remember to take him to publics with me more often.

babeonblades

08-05-2005, 06:27 PM

cool spell:hmm probably the fact i can't do dance or skills, dance becasue my coach is working and skills becasue i wasn't allowed to sign up for it becasue my parents don't understand what it is hehe

heat wave: ohhh soooo great was working today on everyhing and i just didn't feel comfortable jumping and spinning then i my lesson and i land my axel on one foot albeit i cheated a lil but still i have been working on it forever and like always put my foot down on the landing and then i did my flip double loop combo and stuck the double loop landing and i started the combo 2 days ago soo crazy. then my double salchow i landed on one foot yay although it was an ugly landing like my knee bent almost down to the ice but hey i landed it. so i was happy today oh ya the thing that made this all great was my parents actually saw me do it now they know what im doing

Mrs Redboots

08-06-2005, 08:26 AM

Well, I'm definitely NOT gonna test in Sept!!! Good thing I didn't turn in my paperwork yet!!!I know that feeling - just you wait and see, next week, everything will suddenly come together and your papers will go in, no question! It's what's known as "The darkest hour is just before dawn"... skating, I've found, is Like That. I'm at that stage now, pre-competition.... hoping to goodness it will all come together on the day, which isn't for another fortnight.... but not much ice the week before it. Oh well....

But I'm quite sure that next week you'll be posting that it's all fine. We need you to take that test - you are going to Dallas next April, no?

samba

08-06-2005, 09:09 AM

sceptique

08-06-2005, 03:44 PM

Hot Hot Hot

1. Yes! That definetely was a toe loop. 3 of them in a row, to be exact; the forth one ended on my right bum cheek that still hurts from one of earlier falls, so I decided I had enough fun for the first try.

2. Passed my Skate UK Star Bronze test. This is a "liner" programme between Learn to Skate and first standard test.

Chill Pill

Couldn't get a good grip of BO 3-turns that Marina (my coach) have shown me today. Keep loosing balance after the turn. Rrrr....

1st attempt at spins with "proper" entry. End up all over the place, but by the end of sessions eventually got some consistence and even managed a 1 meek rotation. I usually keep this stunts to public sessions where I don't look like a total rookie. Lots of work for tomorrow.

Can't find a music piece for my first programme! Don't want anything too slow and lyrical, but at the same time not sure if I can yet skate to my favourite piece from "Chicago". Maybe someone has any ideas what a good beginner's music might be?

tidesong

08-06-2005, 04:06 PM

Heat wave
Landed double salchow twice and it wasnt a... how did I land this double salchow it was a I know what is going on double salchow :)
Landed plenty of axels, although technique must be off since I cant seem to land it on wet ice... and by the time the ice dries I'm landing it but not sure if its because the ice is dry or if after a few tries I actually do it better
Still working on double toe... I think I got the idea right this time lol... hope its the one thats going to work... at least I dont slip off my picking toe anymore with the way I am doing it now
Flying camel is wonderful.

Cool spell
Flying sit was better last week, but I fell on my left lower leg and it hurt to jump and land on it so it wasnt as good this week.
Layback is the same same same, I cant seem to get it lower... so frustrating.
I think my lutzes are flutzing away like crazy.

jazzpants

08-07-2005, 12:37 AM

Heatwave:

Had a good moves session today at my weekend rink.

The cutsie group number where I have to wear this bright red dress for the Fire & Ice show is completed and the cement is hardening.

Cool Spell:

I'm subbing for an injured friend today on another group number. Sad that I wasn't chosen for the number, but I am an understudy in case she doesn't heal in time for the show. (It's okay though. I really should concentrate on Bronze moves...)

My moves practice session was too short!!! I had an appt. with a car dealer... 50 miles away from the weekend skating rink!!! 8O

Mrs Redboots

08-07-2005, 04:48 AM

Well done, Sceptique! :bow: Some of those "Star" skills can be harder than Level 1 Bronze.....

Cold spell: Penultimate couples lesson (unless I can squeeze one in one teatime) before the Scottish championships. I do wish I felt more ready! Our free dance feels awful just now, although we did do one reasonable run-through in our lesson. Lifts went pear-shaped, even the chassé before the lift wasn't quite right.... At least we have ice next week!

And I still can't do back cross-strokes to save my life.... I wish my body understood what to do. And doing the continuous 3-turn exercise from level 4, I can't find where to change my weight. Sigh.....

Heat wave: We didn't do anything with our compulsory dances in our lesson, but the Junior couples are working on their Westminster before squad camp, so we were able to do the Golden Skaters' Waltz to the music, and felt we did it fairly well. But I kept having to force myself more upright, I don't know why I can't stay that way automatically. We did a good Riverside Rhumba, even if not to the music.

My back cross-rolls are improving! Not good, but they are beginning to have more flow than they did.

Mrs Redboots

08-07-2005, 08:47 AM

Skate@Delaware

08-07-2005, 09:04 AM

Oh why do we look at videos? We've just looked at the videos of ourselves at the Mountain Cup and of me doing my Interpretive at a couple of competitions in this country. Right now, I feel like withdrawing from all of the competitions I have lined up....

All the same, we are better than last year - but oh, the amount there is to correct! I don't dare watch the video of the US pre-Bronze dancers doing the Fiesta Tango and Willow Waltz at Adult Nationals - they were so much better than we are.... how depressing is that! Oh drats, Husband wants to see it.....
Because we like to torture ourselves!!! I occasionally pull out the video from jump & spin class from last year....it's awful! Good for a laugh! I'm so stiff and not bendy and my waltz jump hardly clears the ice..... :frus:
Of course, I'm taking video next Sunday of some jumps and spins.....I'm due for some more torture....

Terri C

08-07-2005, 10:11 AM

This for the remainder of the week, since my last post on Monday.

Tuesday:
Had lesson with primary coach, where the first question was "Do you have your CD for Interpretive with you?". To make a long story short, I've decided to do a program that was my mother's favorite for Interpretive at Peach and the program music was on cassette. Two weeks ago, the tape player at the rink got a little hungry and ate the sole copy of this program, thus Coach having to re-cut the music. Went to give the CD to secondary coach last Tuesday and opened it to find no CD, just the case. So, I finally got it right this time.
We worked on a five minute competition warmup for the freeskate, then did the program, where everything happened but the ending backscratch. So, coach and I worked on that segment over and over and over, as well as backscratches by themselves.
Then went on to moves, where we worked on the 5 step mohawk- was told for the upteenth time to extend longer in order to get on a edge!

Thursday:
Had lesson with secondary coach. Did a near perfect runthrough of the free, missing the backscratch again! :frus: . Then listened to the re-cut version of my Interp program. While it was a little different, I made the choreography work and added some transition movements to the program. Had 5 minutes remaining in lesson afterward where we worked on the aggrivating backscratch!

Saturday:
My home rink doesn't offer freestyle on Saturdays, but a rink 45 minutes away does, so I went there yesterday morning. The rink had a training camp with Johnny Weir and Melissa Gregory and Dennis Petukhov this week as well as a show on Friday night, so I thought that the freestyles would be quiet. Wrong! I walked in and saw Melissa and Dennis giving lessons,and well I figured I'd met enough big wigs in skating, so I set to work right away.
Just being on the ice with them was cool enough for me and no folks, I did not get autographs or pictures and there was no sighting of J.We.

sk8pics

08-07-2005, 01:50 PM

Uh, I'm not sure whether this is a Heat Wave or a Cool Spell, maybe a bit of both... My coach liked my music cut for my new interpretive program and we started working on it today. Yikes, it is going to be hard! We just played with some footwork possibilities. Mostly it consisted of him saying, "Can you do this?" and me trying, not too badly all things considered. Kind of like the verizon commercial where they guy says, "Can you hear me now?" over and over. Anyway at some of it I was all 8O 8O and other parts were more :frus: :frus: as I would think I had done it right and he'd say, "Almost!" sigh. Actually one part was fun with some tappy things and arm-flinging ;) although I can't remember it exactly now. He wants to finish choreogrpahing it in about a month, but we'll aim for the Ashburn competition for its debut, rather than Halloween Classic, because it's just going to be too challenging!

Happy skating everyone,
Pat