Diamond Necklace or a Pebble in your Shoe: March 27 - April 2

[cassarilda]

I cant believe no-one has done this yet!!! I certainly hope that means you are all practising so hard you have no time to be reporting ;)


So, for my first ever training report post, I have chosen the following:

Like a Diamond Necklace/Ring or whatever piece of jewellery you want ;)
OR
Like a Pebble in your Shoe??

For me?

Pebble in my Shoe:

I haven't been skating for a whole THREE DAYS!! Im DYING here!!!!!! I probably won't be be skating until Friday either... :frus: :frus: :frus:
Hubby has been told to stay off the ice for a week, by our chiropractor... so he cant skate for a few more days.. and of course, that means he wants to go skating NOW, just cos he cant :roll: :lol:

Diamond Necklace (cos Ive already got a diamond ring 8-) )

Nothing so far.. but my bruises are getting better! :D
And I got to do my first report thread! :)


Ok.. everyone else.. I want updates from the past few days as well to catch up!

[NickiT]

Diamond Necklace
Had my first lesson in a little while today as my coach is back from her holidays. All my jumps were good and my coach videoed my camel-sit with her mobile phone so that I could see for myself that I CAN do a decent camel-sit. Needless to say the first one I did which she didn't video was better in that I held the camel for longer, but I still managed a good one for the video so now I know that I am getting my body down and my leg up on that camel.

I ran through my programme today and am glad I did a few run-throughs last week in my coach's absence because I pulled off a clean programme and even got the timing spot on.

Pebble in Shoe
I showed my coach my new found skill of camel-back sit and of course messed up, but did manage a few. Not as good as they were last week when I was working over and over on them though.

Nicki

[Mrs Redboots]

Pebble in shoe: Some kind of virus. No skating for me this week! However, I have reached the stage of feeling relatively okay so long as I don't try to do anything, so maybe by Friday I'll be back on the ice. I certainly hope so - I'm going stir-crazy!

Diamond necklace: Husband had our lesson yesterday as a solo; he decided not to work on his programme (he normally has private lessons with Coach2), but to go back to his Dance Moves instead. He came home really pleased about them, as Coach1 said that they would probably be testable before the deadline! I gather even his Level 5 Moves were quite good, but he won't test those - we want to get a full level 4, both of us, before moving up any higher (above level 4 you have to go into the Intermediate category at competition - roughly Bronze-Silver in US terms - and we aren't ready to do that yet).

[NickiT]

Pebble in shoe: Some kind of virus. No skating for me this week!

Hope you're feeling better soon Annabel.

Nicki

[BelleOnIce]

Pebble in Shoe- Not getting to skate again till Saturday!

Diamond Necklace- At last session my jumps were ok but more importantly I got my layback nice and centred with a good arm and leg position together!! Normally its one or other!! Plus flying camel I get good jump and spin at end, again its normally one or other!!

Plus I have one other - Diamond Ring- cause since the last time I posted, my boyfriend popped the question and proposed when we were in New York so I know have my diamond ring!!!

Christy

[Isk8NYC]

How wonderful, Christy! My best wishes to both you and your fiancee'!!
(Everytime I use that word, I think of Seinfeld.)

Pebble in Shoe:
My spins are definitely not centering since I had my blades sharpened.
Have to get to the rink for a good freestyle session to figure out what's wrong.

Diamond Ring:
I did a Mazurka, just to demonstrate for a student.
Now I remember how much I hated them 'back in the day.' Same hate, different year.
At least I didn't fall.

Cut music and did runthroughs for two students' show programs.

[BelleOnIce]

Thank you Isk8NYC!! It seems weird calling him that but I am sure I will get used to it!!

Christy

[Mrs Redboots]

Plus I have one other - Diamond Ring- cause since the last time I posted, my boyfriend popped the question and proposed when we were in New York so I know have my diamond ring!!!

ChristyHow lovely for you! I hope you will be very happy.

[Terri C]

Congrats on your engagement, Belle!

Pebble in the shoe:
Took Bronze moves for the first time today and got a retry.

Diamond necklace:
Despite not passing, my coached told me I skated better than they thought I'd do!
Will start back on new freeskate program next week!

[sk8pics]

Aw, sorry to hear that Terri. Did you gain any particular insights from the judges' comments? Anything else you'd like to share?

Isn't always kind of a backhanded compliment when the coaches say you skated better than they thought you would? :roll: My spin coach told me last week, "I never thought I'd see you spinning like that!" and I was kind of, well, gee, thanks, I guess! He didn't mean anything bad by it, it's just funny.

[jazzpants]

Thank you Isk8NYC!! It seems weird calling him that but I am sure I will get used to it!! And by the time you get used to calling him your fiance, he'll be your husband then!!! :P (Guess how I know this??? :P :lol: ) BIG Congratulations!!!

[BelleOnIce]

And by the time you get used to calling him your fiance, he'll be your husband then!!! :P (Guess how I know this??? :P :lol: )

Yeah, I never even thought of that!!

[jazzpants]

Took Bronze moves for the first time today and got a retry.
AWWWW, man!!! I'm so sorry, Terri! Yes, do share your test notes!!! We all want to learn from this...

Meanwhile...

Pebble in your Shoe:
Forward Power 3's: Had to try and fix choctaw to RFO edge now! But I'm not complaining, b/c that's my spin entry and THAT needs fixing too!!! :twisted: Definitely needs work again though. GRRRR!!! (I thought I fixed it too!!! :frus: ) I had a problem with a raised free hip and I'm supposed to practicing dropping the hip so the hips are level and then it should make it easier for me to turn out on that choctaw. So far so good... Have to keep practicing it though, make sure it stays fixed.

Diamond Necklace:
Forward Power 3's: Looks like the fixes on LFO edge is holding!!! (Whew!!!), so definitely time to move on.

[jazzpants]

Yeah, I never even thought of that!!Yeah, just tell your fiance that you're gonna train yourself to call him your husband now so there's no adjustment period after you two get married!!! :twisted: :P :lol:

[Rusty Blades]

Pebbles: The last of the winter sessions wrapped up last Sunday and the spring session doesn't start until Monday - I AM GOING INTO WITHDRAWL! 8O

Diamonds: (<--- Note: More than ONE! I wish!!!....) I found a personal trainer in my rural area who is used to dealing with "older adults" (like me), and people in sports. Who'd'a thunk . . . . :roll:

I NEED ICE!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[sunshinepointe]

1. Congrats Belle!
2. Hope you feel better Annabel!
3. Hope everyone is doing well at Nationals!
4. Sorry about your Bronze moves Terri - at least you skated your best! Kick their butts next time!
5. My story:

First lesson with the new skates!

I made sure I got to the rink super early to get used to them. Surprisingly, they didn't feel as strange as I thought they would. I remember with my Jacksons it took a bit of time before actually stepping on the ice felt natural. I warmed up with a bit of everything, but I noticed that everything I did was sub-par. I decided to just do a mish-mash of stuff to warm up - jumps, spins, stroking, footwork etc. I noticed a little discomfort in my arch again so I'm going to have to get some sort of arch support. No biggie.

Coach showed up and I was actually taking a siesta, trying to locate a bandaid to place on the top of my boot for a mild rubbing problem. She inquired about the skates and I said that they were fine, but I needed the arch support. I told her I heat molded them two nights ago and also showed her the rhinestones I added to the back of the skates. They're barely noticable but I feel better knowing they're back there lol. She thought they were cute too. I'll have to post a picture :D

She went to put on her skates and I worked on 3 turns in isolation - I didn't feel comfortable doing the whole pre-bronze pattern. The 3 turns were so jumpy and scratchy that I figured there was no sense in working on them in the pattern when I couldn't do them by themselves.Coach came over and told me that I'm leaning too far forward after the turn and we worked on correcting the upper body to avoid the scratchiness on the exit. By the end of it I had definitely gotten the feeling for the 3 turns again (they're not where they were though). I will say that the <em>quality</em> of the turns is better. The edges are much nicer and they don't feel as forced - don't know if its the blade, the good sharpening or the support of the boot or maybe it's just me being extra careful of edge quality. Regardless Beth says that despite them not being "good", she can see where they'll be better than they were in the old skates once I get used to the new boot and blade.

From there we moved onto forward perimeter stroking and my CW crossovers are just AWFUL. I couldn't settle over the right outside edge to save my life. CCW is not so bad. The stroking itself was slow, hesitant, scratchy...I just didn't feel good doing it and coach commented that it looked extremely tentative. I told her it looked tentative because I was being tentative and she really encouraged me to use better extension and try to feel more confident. I did, and it worked to some extent but it's just not quite there. :roll:

After the perimeter stroking disaster Beth asked how I felt about doing some jumps. I told her I was fine jumping and she said that she'd rather work on jumps than work on moves in the field where we're just going to spend time correcting things related to the boot/blade break in. So, she had me do some waltz jumps, salchows, toe loops and loops. Before we moved on to loops she asked if I wanted to do loops or learn footwork and I said why can't we do both? So after loops she showed me a pattern from the Novice moves in the field test. I can't remember what it's called, but it's the one with the Backwards Perimeter Crossover Stroking with a LBI3/RFI3 crossfront pattern thing (and the opposite way). I was actually pretty decent at it, which is surprising because I didn't really ever work on BI3's, just BO3's. I will say that I had NO kind of flow or speed doing it, but the pattern did not seem that far out of the realm of possibility so maybe one day I'll be able to do the Novice moves test lol.

We chatted for a while at the end of the lesson and she said "You know, you're doing REALLY well for skating in brand new boots and blades. I thought we'd spend the entire time just stroking around the rink so this is definitely a pleasant surprise!" That made me feel pretty good about myself, although I commented that it stinks that I've had a temporary regression in my pre-bronze moves. Then she commented that I really am very close to being able to take the test and by summer I'll be over-ready. I mentioned that I didn't want to just pass, I wanted to be able to do the moves well - maybe I'm expecting a lot out of myself since I know that no one is perfect but I'd like to have my moves to as close to perfect as possible. She said not to worry because the test is pass/fail and I should concentrate on my Bronze moves where it REALLY matters to do well....but I mean, if I can't do the basic stuff in pre-bronze, how on Earth will I be able to do the Bronze moves? I read that so many good adult skaters get stuck on the Bronze moves for years. I've looked at the Bronze moves patterns and they're not challenging to get in terms of basic concepts, but to do the moves well enough to pass...I can only imagine that the better off you are at doing the pre-bronze elements you are the better chance you have at passing the bronze test when it comes around. So while I'm really shooting to take the test in the summer I don't want to ever be so cocky as to say "well I can pass now so why wait?" if I'm not really ready to pass with flying colors. Am I being too obsessive and crazy over a pass/fail test?

[beachbabe]

diamond necklace: my nicely centered and long scratch spin since getting my spinner. Started to land my double toe.

pebble in my shoe: stupid back inside and outside 3's are still scratchy. Having trouble landing my axel again. I thought i had it down, so avoided practicing it much because I hate it. big mistake...now its gone and i faled about 15 attempts at it yesterday...not good.

[Debbie S]

So while I'm really shooting to take the test in the summer I don't want to ever be so cocky as to say "well I can pass now so why wait?" if I'm not really ready to pass with flying colors. Am I being too obsessive and crazy over a pass/fail test?As a coach in my area (flo's and mikawendy's coach, actually) put it, a pass is a pass. Most coaches do recommend that you be over 100% prepared, b/c nerves (esp if it's your first time testing) can knock you down a notch. So I would say that you're right about wanting to be so prepared that you can do the moves correctly w/o hesitation.

That being said, though, don't get so hung up on how much you want to pass by - and w/ Pre-Bronze, all you'll get is a circle around either "Pass" or "Retry". No point values are given so it's impossible to discern how much you passed by. The judges will probably write both positive and negative (well, more like constructive criticism) comments on your papers - don't get too hung up on those - the point is to remember their suggestions as you work on the next level of moves and strive to improve your skating. Truthfully, at the Pre-Bronze level, even the best test will have constructive criticism on it b/c at that level, everyone has room for improvement. So don't obsess about "flying colors" - if your coach thinks you're ready, go for it.

[e-skater]

Pebble in the shoe:
Took Bronze moves for the first time today and got a retry.

Diamond necklace:
Despite not passing, my coached told me I skated better than they thought I'd do!


Terri, you can feel good about skating your best during your test. Now you will have feedback to build on, plus experience for next time. Very proud of you for putting yourself out there and having a decent skate, whether you got a "retry" or not! That's quite a compliment from your coach as well! :)

[mikawendy]

Congrats on your engagement, Belle!

Pebble in the shoe:
Took Bronze moves for the first time today and got a retry.

Diamond necklace:
Despite not passing, my coached told me I skated better than they thought I'd do!
Will start back on new freeskate program next week!

Sorry to hear about the retry, Terri! I hope the judges' comments are useful. And have fun with your new freeskate program. What's your music? (Or is it a secret?) :D

[tidesong]

pebble in your shoe:
Bruised my knee falling on an attempt at inside edge back camel
confidence for double toe loop just still not there
fell on attempt at back spiral with split position
constant falls on attempts at new sit spin positions (some were pretty fun though hehehehe)
Cant go up on my double loop attempts!
Too tired to fight the crowd to work on a proper lutz... the opposite direction from other people thing is just... :frus:
Double salchow still inconsistent :(

diamond necklace:
landing (f)lutz-loop-loop and flip-loop-loop from footwork
Axel is still there, thankfully

[figure_skater]

i skated today... :D
after a month...
(ie:read- how long off the ice thread if u didnt know)
anyway

the good-
-sit, scratch, and camel spin were amazingly better. makes me want a break more often. (maybe not)
-learned rest of my routine

the bad-
-i still cant jump yet
-i skated today even after the doctor said 1 1/2 weeks longer. o well.

the ugly-
-my speed. it died.
-everyone else i know at the rink took this month as a pass me up some levels.
-im so used to favoring one side of my foot now that when i got back on the ice my foot was like wayyyyyyyyy on an inside edge. yah. took me like a 1/2 hour to skate normally on it. ugh.

but i skated again!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!

[NickiT]

i skated today... :D
after a month...
(ie:read- how long off the ice thread if u didnt know)
anyway

the good-
-sit, scratch, and camel spin were amazingly better. makes me want a break more often. (maybe not)
-learned rest of my routine

the bad-
-i still cant jump yet
-i skated today even after the doctor said 1 1/2 weeks longer. o well.

the ugly-
-my speed. it died.
-everyone else i know at the rink took this month as a pass me up some levels.
-im so used to favoring one side of my foot now that when i got back on the ice my foot was like wayyyyyyyyy on an inside edge. yah. took me like a 1/2 hour to skate normally on it. ugh.

but i skated again!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on getting back on the ice, Figure Skater. I daresay it's often the case that after an enforced period off the ice due to injury, we fret about how things will be when we get back, and invariably our skills are still there and often stronger than ever.

As for being back on the ice before the doctor says, I think as long as you feel ready then that's fine. When I broke my ankle I was told it would be 6 months off the ice but I did very well with my physio and was back on after just three months. Same with my broken wrist. Was told to stay off for a month after the cast came off but I stayed off just a week and I never did tell the doctor I'd actually skated three times in the cast! I think we know our bodies and capabilities better than any doctor.

Keep up the good work!

Nicki

[SkatingOnClouds]

Pebbles: = enough to turn a garden bed into a rockery.

Skated so badly last night, nothing seemed to be working right.
Today I'm off work with a horrible cold, so I guess that explains last night.
Coach couldn't come last night, probably the same cold.
My boots hurt too. After a day at work I think my feet must swell, because they're fine on weekends.
So I'm feeling miserable and discouraged.

Diamonds: I did a pretty fast scratch spin, (or cross-foot as we seem to call them here). For the first time I stopped being a wimp, didn't worry too much about whether it was centred, and allowed myself to go as fast as possible. Got some real speed and got my arms up above my head. And even better, someone actually saw it and cheered me!

[Skate@Delaware]

Man, I had this typed up before but accidentally closed the window and lost it......

This is for last night's session:

Pebble: sit spins still suck! I'm not balanced correctly and either go back on my heel or sideways. I need to re-cut my music and add 10 seconds because I'm allowed 1:40 and I need it to finish..... I'm tired today because we ran through the footwork sequence a lot (LFO spiral-drunken sailor/windmill-RFO spiral-3 turn-2 back crossovers-RBO spiral into my next jump sequence). It runs diagonally across the rink from one corner to the other (it's a serpentine).8O My laces kept coming loose, even after I double-knotted them :??

Diamond: Worked on FO mohawks-much improvement! Learned 3 things I was doing incorrectly: not opening up my shoulder, not placing the new skating foot at the heel of the other foot, and not extending the free foot behind. Once these were accomplished, I could mohawk! AND with speed! Scratch spins were really good-did one that was 13 revs!! I was so dizzy I had to lean against the boards. Coach emphasized holding the exit position to lesson disorientation (the spin is just before the footwork).

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the routine, coach is also...just need to get on track so I don't run out of music!

[Skittl1321]

No diamonds here. I don't know if I should even bother adding to the thread.
I haven't been able to skate this week, and won't be going skating tomorrow. My foot is much better from last week (the test is tonight at ballet- but I think I should be good to go) so I should be able to go skating, but I have been running a fever all week and am busy with work, I can't justify going skating and coming in late.

But group lessons start next week and I'm thrilled!


Congrats to the poster above on your engagement! I still call my husband my boyfriend and we've been married over a year. I never called him a fiancee... it just seemed silly (we were engaged for over a year just didn't want to call him that).

Oh and I guess I have a non-skating diamond. My sister had a baby yesterday, so I'm a first time Aunt. She lives in a different state, but I get to go visit in 2 weeks... wonder if there's a rink nearby ;)

[Skate@Delaware]

Check out www.arenamaps.com (http://www.arenamaps.com) and see if there is one where she lives (or close by).

Congrats!

[sunshinepointe]

Well, my ankles are definitely hating me at the moment. I had an extremely productive time at the rink, but I had to cut it short because of the pain from my boots rubbing my ankles. I definitely need bunga pads or something like that - I don’t want to use thick socks again and I don’t think trouser socks will cut it. So my left ankle is raw and bloody, the right is just a little raw. Nothing some neosporin and a band-aid can’t fix.

Aside from that the lesson was great! I warmed up with some stroking and Beth was again yelling at me for not getting over my edges. Arrrgh. It seems like it’s such a silly/easy thing to get but yet somehow I’m completely incapable of doing it. I do notice that when I look at my reflection in the boards my stroking gets better but if I’m left to my own devices it’s total garbage. Grrr.

We went into waltz jumps straight away. I really learned a lot about the waltz jump in the lesson as well as afterwards when an experienced skater came over and assisted me through the jump. By the end of the session I actually felt like I made progress with the jump for once. Here’s to hoping that what I learned sticks - I’m getting sick of having a crappy waltz jump. How on Earth will I ever do an axel if the waltz jump barely leaves the ice?

We moved on to salchows and I was having trouble with my 3 turn exit. After some work we got it to do what it needed to, but the jump wasn’t travelling out much so I was assigned homework for it.

On to spins - I did a decent scratch spin and Beth couldn’t say much other than watch the first position, which I ended up getting a tip for later from another skater who danced. We moved on to backspins and she fixed two little things - the entry needed to curve more and the hip needed to be more open and viola! Instant backspin. Granted it was slow, and sloppy, and travelled but it was a place to start. On these blades/boots I can actually feel the sweet spot quite easily so I was pleased.

Again I was complimented on my proficency with my new boots and blades. In fact the guy that mounted them for me said he can tell I’m skating better only after a handful of hours logged in. I just need to address the rubbing issues and let the boots soften up a little more and I should be good!

[sk8guy71]

diamonds
Wow, what a positive 2 hour practice for me today. I bought some orthodics for my skates and I can tell a *world* of difference. I feel so much more steady and secure in my new skates. I finally got my backwards swizzles today! Granted, they're not completely consistant yet, but I did manage to swizzle my way across the rink a few times quite steadily. Also, my 2-foot turns came back in full force today with the quietest of turns. I was even doing them with some speed, too! My 1/2 swizzles (which were never that good) started to come together today. They're not the strongest in the world, but I'm starting to get the feel for them. I also managed a couple of one-foot glides today. I didn't get to work on them as much as I'd intended because the rink of chock full of kids from private Christian schools (when, typically, the noon period is virtually deserted as I'd expected). I couldn't help but laugh when, after I my first successful 1 foot glide, these 3 little boys just stood there with their mouths open. They thought it was the coolest thing and kept asking me how I did it. I thought it was funny because there were other freestyle skaters there doing *way* cooler things, but they loved mine because it was like a ninja. :lol: And I think I finally have the beginnings of a backwards wiggle! It ain't the smoothest of wiggles (and my toe picks kept grinding as I did them), but I did get the right backwards motion going. I'm realizing that my key problem is that I'm trying *too* hard -- I'm trying to force the skates to move with too heavy a touch when I should simply let them glide softly and then guide them in the proper directions with simply body movements. I also met several other skaters today who introduced themselves to me and chatted with me at various times. What fun today!

pebbles
Because of all the kids (and runamuck teenagers) at the rink, I probably spent more time dodging other people than I did actually practicing. It seemed like every time I set myself up with the preparation to one-foot-glide, someone rugrat would dive right in front of me and I'd have to abort. After a strong 2-hour session for me, I was getting ready to make the 45 minute drive home -- just as all the kids were leaving and the rink was emptying out. :roll: Oh, well. :lol:

[skatingdoris]

Pebbles:
horrible patch session really busy full of LTS kids who can barely stand up on skates :frus: , ice was in awful condition felt like skating on concrete top it all off with blades that wouldn't cut butter (must ring sharpener:roll: ) = not a totally productive 2 hours with a few exceptions..

Diamonds
he he, i did a back spin :D soo happy, two revolutions and a decent exit. however only managed it once so probably a fluke:)
did a few good toe loops with a bit more height and better take off than usual.

will take my skates to be sharpened, looking foward to having edges again

[Skate@Delaware]

We went into waltz jumps straight away. I really learned a lot about the waltz jump in the lesson as well as afterwards when an experienced skater came over and assisted me through the jump. By the end of the session I actually felt like I made progress with the jump for once. Here’s to hoping that what I learned sticks - I’m getting sick of having a crappy waltz jump. How on Earth will I ever do an axel if the waltz jump barely leaves the ice?

We moved on to salchows and I was having trouble with my 3 turn exit. After some work we got it to do what it needed to, but the jump wasn’t travelling out much so I was assigned homework for it.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. My waltz jumps are low and I've been really concentrating on bending and jumping UP... The salchows are getting better-coach has had me hold the 3-turn (in and out parts) for 2-3 counts before jumping. It's really hard to hold it checked like that but makes for a nice jump when I can.

Hope your ankles get better! (have you tried makeup sponges as padding?)

[sunshinepointe]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. My waltz jumps are low and I've been really concentrating on bending and jumping UP... The salchows are getting better-coach has had me hold the 3-turn (in and out parts) for 2-3 counts before jumping. It's really hard to hold it checked like that but makes for a nice jump when I can.

Hope your ankles get better! (have you tried makeup sponges as padding?)

My waltz jumps aren't low per se, in fact some times they get really good height, but they just don't extend OUT because I'm too chicken to extend the free leg all the way through. So I'm basically jumping in place lol. A guy at the rink helped me get past the fear of swinging through today (I was afraif of falling backwards), so now it's a matter of the strength to get a really good swing. I can do a great off ice waltz jump - great split, extension, height - but on the ice I clam up. Now that I feel more secure with my entrance edge and take off the jump is a lot less scary. It's funny that I'm so, well I WAS so terrified of a little half revolution jump.:roll:

With the salchow my coach had me do the same thing today, but the exit on the 3 kept scratching so I really needed to pull the upper body back. Again though, the jump goes up but not out. Sigh. :giveup:

I actually used makeup sponges in my skates before the last ones I had because I had problems with rubbing. I'm going to go back to that for sure - cheap and very cushioney. Do you use medical tape to keep them in place? Bandaids would tend to rub off I'd think...thoughts?

[beachbabe]

diamond necklace: landing my double sal and toe consistently. Got in a couple of double loop attempts today, and landed them about half the time, double footing alot.

pebble in my shoe: went to a public today, b/c a friend called and said it wasnt busy. o it wasn't busy. But for like 5 hours they didnt resurface the ice once, not once.

still can't get my axel back, I'm underrotating a half turn and when I do rotate I two foot it. Fell on one attempt and have a huge lump bruise under my kneee, the size of a tomato.

took off my skate to find that my blister was bleeding, thats what i get for skating every day on spring break.

yea, i got home not in a good mood.

[Rusty Blades]

A Diamond: My coach found me 2 hours of ice time for Saturday so I get one more shot at RFXO before spring skating school! And I made myself a butt pad - backward skating here we come!

Pebbles: Ignore the lumps in my tights!!! 8O

[BelleOnIce]

Skittl1321- Congrats on being and auntie!!! I have two neices and a nephew and I spoil them so much!

[2loop2loop]

I don't normally post in these threads but I've had a good week, so here I am.

Diamonds: I finally seem to have exorcised my double toe demons. For years I have absolutely hated this jump and been afraid of it, despite having no problems with the other doubles and everyone saying that it should be easy for me. Over the past few months I have forced myself to work on it and in the past week something has clicked in my brain and it suddenly seems so easy. I'm kicking myself that it took so long! I also managed to land some 2sal-2toe combinations - the first time I've been able to put a double toe as the second half of a combination. Double loops on the end have never been a problem but I've always been too chicken to go for the 2toe.

I've also done some work on the entry to my 2sal which has made it much bigger than before so I have been working on some triples and making good progress. I've done a number now where I have made the rotations and actually felt the landing foot underneath me but been unable to hold it, in my experience bad triple attempts are just a blur until you fall, so I think being able to find the landing foot is good progress. I just need to hold it now and I might get this jump (not bad for someone pushing 27!).

Pebble: Mountain Cup is looming and I haven't even begun my programme. Better get crackin'.

John

[Mrs Redboots]

I don't normally post in these threads but I've had a good week, so here I am.

Diamonds: I finally seem to have exorcised my double toe demons. For years I have absolutely hated this jump and been afraid of it, despite having no problems with the other doubles and everyone saying that it should be easy for me. Over the past few months I have forced myself to work on it and in the past week something has clicked in my brain and it suddenly seems so easy. I'm kicking myself that it took so long! I also managed to land some 2sal-2toe combinations - the first time I've been able to put a double toe as the second half of a combination. Double loops on the end have never been a problem but I've always been too chicken to go for the 2toe.Well done, John - I shall look forward to seeing it!

Pebble: Mountain Cup is looming and I haven't even begun my programme. Better get crackin'.At least you have an Interp, assuming you'll base it on what you did at the Broadgate thing!

[2loop2loop]

At least you have an Interp, assuming you'll base it on what you did at the Broadgate thing!

Yes, just with half the time and 10 times as much ice :lol:

John

[Skate@Delaware]

Sunshine:
The makeup pads are usually inserted under socks or stockings. If you wear tights, you can use medical tape to stick them down and it doesn't leave too much sticky residue-they may shift though.

My coach tells me to go out-your jump needs to go up and you need more speed. It's a matter of moving out of my comfort zone..... For the salchow, to hold the exit of the 3, I've found that really getting down in the knee (like a jump landing position) helps bunches, then you are in better position to spring up. Same for the waltz before it's jumped-down in the knee and then go up. Once I started doing this-my jumps started covering ice.

Someone at the rink recommended I spend time doing off-ice jumps. I'll take his advice because I need all the help I can get!!!

[SkatingOnClouds]

More pebbles: I have a horrible cold, and have to miss skating today. :cry:
The way things are going I will probably have to miss tomorrow's session as well. I hate missing a minute of skating.

I suppose the diamond is that it might give a niggling hamstring strain a chance to heal.
And the chance to regain some perspective.
Sometimes I forget I am 46, fat, unfit, and have only been skating maybe 6 months after a 20 year break. I put too much pressure on myself to get it right straight away. Need to remember I do this because I love it.

[Skate@Delaware]

Pebble: I was a bit tired tonight AND trying out my new contacts. My eyes were sort of dry until I hit the rink. Out on the ice they were fine. Jumps were weird because of the contacts. Might take some time to get used to them while skating-kept trying to push up glasses that weren't there :roll:

Diamond: Spins were GREAT!!!! Did some that were FAST!!! And CENTERED!!! And, in class, got some more tips that helped* and ALMOST had the sit-spin!!! And CAMEL**!!! WOO-HOO!!!

*go low, like a lunge, leave the free leg behind then when the spin flips (3-turn ish) the free leg comes around...when that happens, flip the heel over so the toe points out. All this helps to bring the free leg in closer to the spinning leg-it worked!!

**enter like a scratch, but arms make a swimming motion then assumes a spiral position-I'm to look at the left arm; when it hooks, rise up on the spinning leg. At least this time I didn't pitch forward as much and my free leg actually was in the right position.

[Mrs Redboots]

More pebbles: I have a horrible cold, and have to miss skating today. :cry:
The way things are going I will probably have to miss tomorrow's session as well. I hate missing a minute of skating. Poor you! I sympathise, after this week. Still, I'm feeling well enough now that I shall at least try to skate tomorrow, and because of other commitments later in the morning, it'll only be an hour, anyway.

I was a bit tired tonight AND trying out my new contacts. My eyes were sort of dry until I hit the rink. Out on the ice they were fine. Jumps were weird because of the contacts. Might take some time to get used to them while skating-kept trying to push up glasses that weren't there :roll:Been there, done that, but it really does help! And as you found, ones spins improve instantly and dramatically! At least, most people's do - mine, of course, didn't!

[Skate@Delaware]

Annabel:
My group coach skates in contacts and also says that for some reason, the rink air keeps them from drying out too much. She also said because I don't have the distortion from frames, that my jumps will take a bit of practice to get where they were.

And having allergies kicking in doesn't help. Had to take them out this morning, put in allergy drops, clean the contacts and plop them back in---much better!

Then I had a thought-if my contacts mess me up one day and I have to skate with my glasses, I'm in trouble because they are bifocals!!!! Yikes! So, I'm keeping my old glasses in my skate bag "just in case" of problems. Sheesh!

Ok, back to sewing (costumes for Wizard on Ice)........and no chocolate in the house (helps me sew);) !

[Rusty Blades]

Diamond: Finally got back on the ice! I picked up 2 hours of casual ice to stretch my legs before Spring Skating School (Monday). Considering I hadn't skated in a week, it didn't go too bad.

Pebble: I must be coming down with something. By the last half hour I was a "space cadet" (light headed). Had a nap and plan a lazy day tomorrow so hope to be back on my game for Monday.

[Hannah]

ALL PEBBLES!

I hurt my knee last Sunday, and the pain didn't stop after a day, so I decided not to skate (or run up or down stairs, etc.) untill it stopped hurting. Then I went to my group lesson (just to watch!) and skated (because I'm dumb). 8O

So I told myself no skating until my knee is pain free for two days. This is the first day. I'm going nuts. Is it possible to be addicted to skating? I guess there are worse things... :roll:

Actually, one diamond. My new skates will be here soon, and I'll be able to skate in them! :D

[Rusty Blades]

Is it possible to be addicted to skating?

Hi, my name is Dianne and I am a skat-a-holic.

:roll:

I told my coach I was going into withdrawl last week (hadn't skated in 5 days) - she found me casual ice for today - she understands! :D

[beachbabe]

pebble in my shoe: went out on the ice today and it was soo soft, i felt like i never really did warm up. it was like the management forgot to turn on the cooling system. I took off my jacket before I even started warming up. Tried a couple of spins, and i was literally drilling myself in to the ice. whne they resurfaced it, it took 25min to fully harden. so yea, didn't exactly get much spinning practice in. It was hard to do even things like 3 turns...the second i leaned in to the edge the blade was like digging in to the ice and i couldn't get out of it. horrible...even hockey ice is better.

diamond: i got some really pretty fuzzy white gloves, love em. yep, thats about it.

[cassarilda]

wow... about time I wrote in this! :D

Diamonds: not much really....

My forward crossovers still suck but are sort of there
My backward crossovers didnt disappear which was nice, but they still arent great.
My mohawks and my 3-turns are lovely
My teacher reckons my turn out is very good (probably helps that Ive danced since I was 3yo)
I was playing around with extending into a 3-turn and bringing the free leg forward and ended up doing a spin!!! :lol: of course my husband wasnt watching and I couldnt properly replicate it again :roll: :frus:


Pebbles:

Landed on my problem knee again (left one) JUST as it was starting to heal fully...
Im getting frustrated because Im not doing things consistently enough for my liking
There are too many people in my class... and we are contained to a small area, so forward crossovers, where all I want to do is push and extend, I cant because I'll either run into someone or kick someone! :frus: :frus:
The ice is SHIT, you can see the sand AND the pipes down one end... and someone accidently stuck their blade through the ice again... luckily this time they missed the pipe.... I just wish someone would make a new rink NOW, or at least fix this one up!!! :cry:


Oh and it was very funny today... I have a friend who is scared of falling, and when she does she usually lands on her hand/wrist... so I practised falling with her today!! :D :D One other girl didnt believe me when I said I was practising falling... until she witnessed us doing it!! :lol: it was good fun :)

Hubby skated today, and helped out a few of my mates which was good... after he helped me with my backward crossovers :D We had one of the older ladies come up and ask if she could join in on the lesson!! :D

It was a good session, but my skating could be better.

ETA: I forgot one last thing... After the session a bunch of my skating friends followed me up to the carpeted stretching area and I ended up taking an impromptu class in basic stretches to help with flexibility and turn out. I was very good and made them do it softly, and I am in no means a qualified teacher, but they wanted someone to show them some basic stuff, so I did :) None of them have ever done dance or major sports, so I did know a bit more than them about stretching.. I think they got a good experience out of it which is good :)

[AW1]

Diamonds
My daughter and my cousin both competed in their first ever competition yesterday. My daughter came first, and my cousin came 2nd in their respective levels. Both were thrilled and had such a great time.

Pebbles
I didn't go skating today because my daughter had a bad accident while playing and cut the end of her toe off, right from the top of her toenail around. Luckily we went straight to the A&E ward at the closest hospital and they were able to re-attach it and said blood flow seemed okay and it should heal nicely on it's own. However, it means that she can't skate and, at the start of school holidays, I wonder what that means for me!!?? :frus:

[SkatingOnClouds]

Back on the ice today, probably shouldn't have been as it looks like I may be heading for bronchitis. Cleaned my sinuses out a treat though.

Diamond: I tried putting a think cork heel lift under my insoles to change my centre of balance. I am sure my old Altamura boots had higher heels than my Grafs, thought it might help. It immediately made a big difference to finding my spinning point on my blade.
Pebble: still couldn't actually centre my spins.

Diamond: tried loops from crossovers instead of an inside 3, worked better.

Pebble: still can't work out why I cannot do flips! I fall every time. Under rotated, picking to the side, I don't know. Used to be my favourite jump once upon a time. :frus:

Diamond: great to be on the ice again. Sure I only missed one session, but that is one session too many for me.

Pebble: nasty fall. I was only doing a simple one-foot spin, but my blade stopped dead, and that was it. Fell heavily on my left buttock, right where the leg bone meets the pelvis and it really hurt !!! Still hobbling several hours later. :cry:

[Mrs Redboots]

Then I had a thought-if my contacts mess me up one day and I have to skate with my glasses, I'm in trouble because they are bifocals!!!! Yikes! So, I'm keeping my old glasses in my skate bag "just in case" of problems. Sheesh!Mine, too, are bifocals. If I can't wear my contacts for any reason, I just do without - quite often, at competition, it's not that I long to get my skates off, it's that I long to take my eyes out!

Diamond Necklace: Back on the ice! Still a bit weak and wobbly, but at least I had an hour on the ice, and was able to potter around for a bit. With Husband, we ran through the Swing Dance and the Cha Cha, and did a Dutch Waltz when the relevant music was on. And then we walked through our free dance, just to make sure we could remember it!

Pebble: Coach2 is down with this bug, so Husband couldn't have a lesson today. He did practice, but needed help with his parallel spin, which another skater was able to give him (he was wondering - does any UK skater know - why we talk of parallel spins, but refer to flying camels! It's like we call a toe loop a cherry flip, but tend to talk of double toe loops, not double cherries...). My spins weren't working very well, and I didn't really feel I had the stamina to run through my programme. Besides which, I want the coach to look at it.

I think I'm now getting a cold - don't you hate these bugs that sneak up on your immmune system while its attention is elsewhere? Plus I didn't sleep last night.... am now exhausted!

[Skate@Delaware]

Pebble: woke up with a headache, I'm blaming the contacts and the fact I was 3 years overdue for an eye exam.....

Diamond: spins are still good and I'm so close to getting an actual sit spin! Got my routine today for Ms. Gulch (Wizard). It's pretty simple-I'm concerned about the bicycle....8O

[Isk8NYC]

Pebble:

I'm incredibly weak at jumping now. It's a shame: my loop and double loop jumps used to be awesome, but now I'm actually a little afraid to jump. Well, practice will help, if I can find the time.

Diamond:

The rink was empty and all of my students cancelled/went no show at the last minute. So, making lemonade out of lemons, I skated. (I think skating for free is the best perk of teaching!)

Actually skated very well: figures and MITF were great. I really like doing back power pulls and the forward ones were much stronger.

Best of all, I CAN SPIN AGAIN! I don't know why I was struggling, but a few practice spins and I nailed them again. One of the rink guards was really impressed and came over to ask "How do you do that?" Told him it was physics.

[jazzpants]

Diamond:

5 step mohawks are slightly better.
Landed ONE loop and ONE flip
Got in good practice on the other moves element about a half hour before the end of the public session. Should see how fast I fly on those perimeter back crossovers these days.Pebble:

Didn't land ANY loops or flips after that.
DOH!!!! My scratch spins are traveling from San Francisco to New York Gotta fixed that!!!
Still fixing choctaw to RFO for power 3's. Part of the problem is that I also need to do a good back crossovers too.
Need to go see chiropractor for an adjustment. My LFO spirals are suffering badly b/c the left hip is hurting and it feels uneven. Same with LBO edge on the back crossovers to BO edge move. :roll:

[aussieskater]

Told him it was physics.

ROFL! Did you tell him to go watch Cutting Edge 2 to get the physics?? :D

[Mrs Redboots]

One of the rink guards was really impressed and came over to ask "How do you do that?" Told him it was physics.
When my husband was having trouble with his parallel spin yesterday, I told him to go and ask one of the other skaters, who I knew would explain how she did it. And she pointed out what he was doing wrong - to do with body part placement (isn't it always!), and he said, "Ah, it's physics!"

[Isk8NYC]

ROFL! Did you tell him to go watch Cutting Edge 2 to get the physics?? :D I asked him "Didn't you see Ice Princess?"

[sunshinepointe]

This is for yesterdays (Sunday) skate

Lots and Lots of pebbles/gravel/dirt/mulch

So I'm not one for being anywhere on time to begin with so when I realized that I was not a half an hour early to the rink but rather a half hour LATE ...it really put a damper on the day. I figured I would skate some of the afternoon session too to make up for it but then...

I had used the makeup pads and tape and such to cover my blister, but obviously I didn't wrap everything good enough. My ankles (left side in particular) were already throbbing, but when I did a waltz jump I felt pain even MORE than I did before. I bailed out of the jump, looked at my left ankle under the pad - the scab ripped off and there was blood all over. Nice. I wasn't able to do too much else the rest of the session so I just toughed it out and working on stuff using my right foot predominately - namely loops, toe loops and backspins. I wasn't able to focus on anything though so really the session just seemed like a waste and I went home after the morning session wondering why I just didn't sleep in.

Diamond chip

Thoughout it all, I DID work out the issue I was having on the Novice moves footwork thingie, namely blade placement on the cross in front to then do the BI3.

When I got home I cleaned my wound very well and my boyfriend scolded me for not wearing more protection in general when I skate, stating that almost all pro athletes that do "explosive movements" wrap their feet and ankles so he devised a system for me to help my ankle boo boos AND give me more arch support. My boyfriend rocks :mrgreen:

[sceptique]

April, 2

Diamond

It was my first skating anniversary - exactly 1 year ago I took my new skates to my first group lesson and started from forward swizzles.

Hence, I had to make this day remarkable, and so I did: I landed all singles, from walts to lutz, in front of both of my coaches, at least twice. :D

I did have "to have all singles in my first year" listed as my goal, but I never thought I would actually do that!
Surprised.

Spent most of practice putting together all sorts of combos: waltz - loop - toe, toe loop - loop, waltz - flip etc.
Had almost as much fun as a year ago when I did my first swizzle! :lol:

Pebble

I wish my spins were half as good as my jumps! I have a feeling that my upright spin haven't progressed much in the past 6 months; sit spin is on and off. The only thing that sort of looks good is a backspin, and if the things stay this way it may soon be better than the forward one... or it will hit the same plateau. Still waiting for the magic moment when it all will come together and I will finally get a nice, fast and centered spin (not either fast or centered!).

[beachbabe]

diamond: spins were pretty good, my backspin is starting to actually improve b/c i'm spending alot more time working on spins right now. Double toe and double sal are still there. Axel is coming back, I land it about 75% of the time now.

pebble: double loop is just not there. Practiced with coach and still havn't landed any. Foot work was crap, I caught my blade and cut my finger on dent in the ice. No biggie but i lost 5 min of skating while i hadta put the band-aid on and had to do an extra freestyle jsut to finish my lesson.

[Skate@Delaware]

Diamond Necklace: Last dance class of the season! Went pretty well. Dutch waltz (again).

Pebble: at the end of class, I did a great imitation of a zamboni because my toepick didn't get picked up....got my knee and elbow. All I could say after I stopped laughing was, "TOEPICK" :lol: What a way to go!

[aussieskater]

I asked him "Didn't you see Ice Princess?"

blush, blush (unfortunately, my "blush" smilie has disappeared into the button marked "more", which sadly fails to do anything, even when pressed with malice...)

You're absolutely right. I confess that I watched both of them back to back and mixed up where the physics came from...

[Rusty Blades]

Oops! Wrong thread.