SKATING LESSONS/PRACTICES: 4/7---4/14

[SandraD]

Just starting the thread. Thought we might try it as we did before; one week at a time. We can always change to every two weeks or once a month.

This coming Saturday will be the last chance for me to skate until the Fall. Since I have not been on the ice of ages, who knows what will happen? Anyway, it WILL be fun! :)

Oh, I do plan to wear boot covers in order to insure they do not get scuffed. :wink:

Sandra

[melanieuk]

:lol:

[u:6cbdfad59a]Monday[/u:6cbdfad59a]

[color=red:6cbdfad59a] I was on the ice for 8.30am, and shared with 5 others, plus one coach.
Apart from the Coach, I am the oldest on the ice by far - oh and it's my birthday today too! 8O [/color:6cbdfad59a]

[color=blue:6cbdfad59a]
Today I ran through the elements I need for my next test.

Starting with figure of 8 of crossovers:
CCW forwards crossovers
CW backwards crossovers
CCW backwards crossovers
CW forwards crossovers [/color:6cbdfad59a]

[color=green:6cbdfad59a]Then onto loop and flip, which were ok. :lol:

I was determined to get the flip-toeloop, as it gives me endless problems/frustration.
The problem lies with the toeloop, in that it likes to [i:6cbdfad59a]cheat[/i:6cbdfad59a], by turning on the toe pick. :oops:
Around 70% of the time, I can do it right, but when I add more speed, or try to do it in combination with any other jump, it crumbles. [/color:6cbdfad59a]

[color=red:6cbdfad59a]On to the next one, the [b:6cbdfad59a]parallel spin,[/b:6cbdfad59a] which is as elusive as any of the other spins (apart from sits/uprights).
Can you believe it? Nearly all of them were passable - the ones that weren't were aborted on the 3 turn.
They were given to me for my birthday. :D

My step sequence is, as usual, the worst - and yet it's the thing I practise least. :?
[/color:6cbdfad59a]

[color=darkred:6cbdfad59a]Two left, and that's the sit spin and backspin.
The sit spin shouldn't be a problem to pass (she says :roll: ) but the backspin is a hit or a miss, and would have to be executed far away from the judges in the hope that they miss me actually skating the backspin on an [i:6cbdfad59a]inside[/i:6cbdfad59a] edge. YIKES.
It's not [i:6cbdfad59a]always[/i:6cbdfad59a] on a wrong edge, but most of the time it's either on the [b:6cbdfad59a]back[/b:6cbdfad59a] of the blade, the [b:6cbdfad59a]inside edge,[/b:6cbdfad59a] or rocking back and forth all over. :evil: [/color:6cbdfad59a]
[color=indigo:6cbdfad59a]
I did the minimal amount of Field Moves today. They also will be tested one century when they are testable.
The ones I find difficult are the RBO3s with mohawks, on a largish circle.

No axel attempted today. I have a lesson tomorrow, so I might [i:6cbdfad59a]have[/i:6cbdfad59a] to do it!
I'm not that bothered about it anymore (she kids herself) and would rather have a backspin or a fast parallel, than go breaking my old face on the axel. :twisted: [/color:6cbdfad59a]

[melanieuk]

[u:df08a1bcf9]Tuesday[/u:df08a1bcf9]
[color=blue:df08a1bcf9]
Here I am again! :)

I've not got a lot to tell. I forfeited my lesson, because Coach was quite busy with the kids, and I wasn't skating great either.
:cry: Call it avoidance tactics if you like! (axel avoidance).

I've decided to go for the axel - at some point - after I get crash shorts.
A pity there are no chin crash pads! :roll:
[/color:df08a1bcf9]
[color=red:df08a1bcf9]The parallel spin I had yesterday seems to be waning today, although I managed a few.
I think I need my blades sharpened again. Surely it's not been 6 weeks already?
[/color:df08a1bcf9]
The backspin remains impossible.
Can anyone tell me how to spin on the right part of the blade? Where should I push down, where should I lean (if any) and how do I keep my heel up, without rising on to my toepick and going splat forwards??
[color=indigo:df08a1bcf9]I'm having tomorrow off and I'll skate on Thursday.[/color:df08a1bcf9]

[Dustin]

I may have to do it daily because I have a bad memory ;)

Today: VERY GOOD DAY!

I was hungry before I got on the ice and sometimes when I am hungry I get lightheaded. I hate skating like that, but it works. I don't think, I just do what my body tells me to do and that seemed to work today.

Started warming up, no falls on anything. When I got a 2 lutz, I landed a good one with my hand down but it was very high. I landed a few good 2/2s and then went on to 2 axel. I landed a few, but they were cheated, but still better than I have been in the past week.

Next I moved on to 3 sal. The first one I tried I landed CLEAN. It was so weird because it felt so perfect on the landing and everything. I didn't even try, I just went into it and landed it!

Next was 3 toe. I landing 1/4-1/2 cheated, but at least I was landing.

My spins were also very good, sit spin was extra fast and not wobbly (I go down VERY low and sometimes that makes it wobbly).

Next I did my program. I landed my 3 sal (1/4 off), 2 lutz/2loop, 2 axel, 2 toe/2toe, popped my 2 loop into a single and stepped out, 2 lutz (really shaky and hand down), 2 flip (solid). Very good program compared to the past week because I have been having a LOT of trouble even landing my doubles that were consistent. :)

[Figureskates]

Passed Basic 8 officially today which means I am now fully immersed in the wonderful world of Freestyle 1!!

Next goal is to have a pretty solid half flip and Salchow before I go to Lake Placid in August...

[melanieuk]

Well done Figureskates.
I know what it's like to pass the tests!
:o

[lisabelle]

i pulled a muscle or something and can't do loop jumps. i know i should really just stay off the ice for a couple weeks but i have made myself stop jumping for a while so i'm settling for that. but it's a good thing because now my spins are catching up with my jumps. my scratch spin is ok, but my sit spin is pretty good, and my camel is getting way better. i pulled off 3 revs on monday woo hoo. and my backspin is getting there, i can do it but it's sooo slooow. i am going to work on moves i think in my lesson so hopefully i can test more than one level when i can (finally) get to a test session this summer.

[SandraD]

Congratulations, Figureskates! Lisabelle, I'm so sorry about your injury. :(

Well, just spoke with my new skating buddy, Jenny87, and we finalized our plans to drive to Baton Rouge, LA to go skating this Saturday. I'm really getting excited. My major concern is finding the darn rink. The last time, a map was used and we still have difficulty locating it.

We are probably going to be something to see! Jenny is learning and I have not skated in ages. Therefore, my report will probably be a hoot! Forget thoughts of reading about crossovers, jumps, etc. Think in terms of how long yours truly managed to stay upright as compared to sliding on the ice. The rink will probably not have to use their Zamboni after I leave. UGH

Well, bye until Saturday night.

Everyone, have fun skating! Please keep reporting as your posts are so enjoyable to read. :D

Sandra

[Schmeck]

Figureskates, congratulations! I'm on Freestyle 1 as well - it's a lot of fun, except for the beginner scratch spin, which I do not get at all! :x

Of course, I've had no lessons for almost a month, because it's all been devoted to show practice! Only three more weeks before I totally embarrass myself in front of the whole club, yippee! :lol:

Sunday night I was late getting on the ice, so I had to catch up to my group right in the middle of the program, sigh... We did 4 run throughs, there are 5 jumps in the program, and I managed to do 1 out of the 20 attempts. :( Of course, I'm so uptight about the blasted bunny hops that I wiped-out on big time a few weeks ago that I have to play catch-up for the rest of the program. And I thought this was supposed to be fun?

Anyways, Icy (my 10 yr old daughter) and I went to public ice yesterday, so she could teach me how to do a toe loop again. Of course it is the cheated version (see melanieuk's post above about turning on the toe pick) and I can only do it about a foot away from the boards, not in the center of the rink, but it's geting there. Good news is that my waltz out of back crossovers is fine, and my ballet jump kind of happens :wink:

Hopefully, the skate gods will smile down on me April 27th. I'll be requesting some major prayers for that night as well!

Schmeck, proud founder and President of the Headbangers/Klutz Club

[melanieuk]

[color=red:c7d018dd93]
:o

I didn't feel that good about all my skating this week, but this is my first lesson this week, and I got on quite well with it.

The skating gods have let me keep the parallel spin that they gave me for my birthday. At least I can do the minimum revs required for the test anyway! :roll:
Apart from the step sequence, I passed my (imaginary) level 3 elements test today, complete with backspin that would just have scraped through!
Even the flip-toeloop got an OK. :)

Coach said I have "so much height" on the loop. I must ask her if she meant "for an adult", or just "so much height"!
Loops were always my best jump, and I got good height on them when I was a kid, so maybe it's stayed with me.
Anyway, I said I was making way for another turn in it, and she agreed there would be time for one. But that's as far as the double jumps conversation went! No double loop. :?
In fact not even an axel. Coach didn't ask for one. She must know I can't face it. (Smacked face!) :oops:
[/color:c7d018dd93]
[color=blue:c7d018dd93]The Backspin - from FI3 turn entry.
I must, must, must hold the FI edge longer and it must be a deeper curve - mine was only a slight curve before and I was turning it too soon.
That's what coach tells me is wrong with it.
I feel what's wrong with it is the fact that I can't spin on my left foot in the right place on the blade.
Anyway, she's the Coach with 24 years of experience. 8O


The steps.
The steps need so much work. I get half way through it (or less) and I forget what I'm doing, or I've lost the arms, or my body's away the wrong way.

Coach threatens me with figures. I say I'm all for figures if it means the Quads go! Not that I'll ever see a triple let alone a quad.
I'd prefer to see [b:c7d018dd93]massive double jumps[/b:c7d018dd93] (in both directions) than a quad.
Half the time you can't see the 4 turns of a quad anyway, or if it's cheated, unless you have Slow-Mo - so what's the point? Anyway, I digress.....

A quarter of the ice is permanently out of bounds at present as the roof is being overhauled. [/color:c7d018dd93] :roll:

[melanieuk]

[color=blue:6ed2d6457d]
Not a good skate day. Three days off is enough to make me forget the feel of the ice.
The spins were all to pot, none centred, and all wild. :cry:
The loop and flip were ok, but I didn't do any other jumps.
The field moves are not improved either.
[/color:6ed2d6457d] :roll:

[melanieuk]

[color=red:d321d02f55][u:d321d02f55]Tuesday[/u:d321d02f55][/color:d321d02f55]

[color=blue:d321d02f55]A much better skating day. It seems my balance was somewhat "knocked off"!
I got the spins back that I couldn't do yesterday.
I was really happy with the lutz I did - first time! 8O
When I do the lutz right, first time, I tend to leave it there.
Maybe I should try more with it when it's going well.
I have the negative thought process, when I'm skating well, not to [i:d321d02f55]push it[/i:d321d02f55], for it can only get worse. :roll: [/color:d321d02f55]
[color=green:d321d02f55]One friend had me doing lutz- step forward into a waltz-loop. Of course [i:d321d02f55]he[/i:d321d02f55] was doing lutz, followed by [b:d321d02f55]axel[/b:d321d02f55]-loop!
This was last week, and I haven't tried it since!
[/color:d321d02f55]
[color=indigo:d321d02f55]I'm having a day off skating tomorrow - I should really go since Monday was such a waste of space for me, but I'll go to the gym instead for an hour.[/color:d321d02f55]

[melanieuk]

[u:9ae597ab6e]Thursday
[/u:9ae597ab6e]
[color=red:9ae597ab6e]Everything went well in the lesson, until the axel.

First I did loop, then loop-loop.
Then flip, then lutz - all OK first time!
Then the programme, which was ok apart from not exiting the sitspin in the right direction, leaving me a 1.5 seconds behind at the end.
However this is something, since I usually don't even get through it without major errors!

The axel was just not there. I can't even jump the thing now. All padded up with nowhere to fall. 8)
Something's happened to the take off. :(
Coach reckons we might have to bypass the axel (temporarily), for the 2salchow, and she thinks the 2 salchow will help me get the axel (back).
The parallel spin was ok (surprisingly), but towards the end, after my lesson, I must've been trying too hard, and I lost it! :?

On to the backspins. Yuk. :roll:
I got one or two, but they feel even worse than I was doing them before.
Coach assures me I'm feeling it right, and I just have to get used to it. I don't know why anyone calls it a "sweet spot" because it doesn't feel sweet to me!
I also continue to freak out at the speed when I try to pull in, so I pull out! Coach thinks this is funny and just tells me to do it slower, or get used to it!

I tried the steps and think there might be a bit of hope there. I need to add on a BI3 somewhere, preferably at/near the end. 8O

[/color:9ae597ab6e]

[lisabelle]

camel spins are good! and the rest of my spins are crap.

jumps are ok, i'm just kinda not doing loops for now. oh well. flips are great until i mess one up and then they all go to heck. am starting to land lutzes though! been breaking down waltz, sal, and toe to get ready for axel/doubles. yay.

cut music and will learn program next week.

[melanieuk]

[color=green:8027146613]Despite it being a Monday - usually a bad skate day - I skated reasonably well.
I didn't have a lesson.
The changes of edges are ok. They're still slowing up a bit at the end, but I hope it's still flowing enough to count.
The FI3s are better, but still a bit scratchy. Am I to blame the Coronation Aces for this??
The BO3s on the left foot are better. Slightly.
The FO3s are grivvy (a mix between the 2).
The grivvy spins were the parallel, sit and backspin. Some were ok, but nothing exciting.

The loop, flip and loop-loops were ok today.
The lutzes also seemed better, or at least a bit higher.
Spirals were reasonable.

Most of the BO3s on right foot were grim. Some were ok, but not reliable.
I need to practise these A LOT, but hate them.
Also (remaining) horrendous is the flip-toeloop. Hate the cherry on the end!
I need to do more of those too.
Not enough time on the ice.....an hour.



[/color:8027146613]

[melanieuk]

:lol: [color=green:affeb12e74]
Nothing much to report over yesterday and today.
The thread title is out of date! :) It makes no difference as my posts all sound the same! :roll:
I'm still falling on the change foot sitspin. Must be doing something wrong, but can't stop doing it! :oops: [/color:affeb12e74]