Bouncy or flat: 10-17 February 2008

[Mrs Redboots]

Bouncy: Really good session today. Coach2 was inspired to suggest we practice the start of our step sequence across the rink, using the goal line as a placement, and it made all the difference! Plus I was actually able to do the steps with some flow (if no speed, as yet)! Bet I can't do them on Tuesday, though.

Flat: We had to wait outside for the coaches to arrive (they could have warned us they weren't coming in until 07:15!). And then it got insanely crowded, and there was a nasty smash which may have resulted in someone leaving the ice with a cracked rib. This meant the ice got used very quickly, and I am worried that my beautiful flowy mohawk/crossover/step to forward was a result of slowish ice.

[black]

Bouncy: Forward sit and camel spins are taking shape - yay!!

Flat: Nothing; the sun is shining - yes siree, today: life is good. :)

[sk8_4fun]

Bouncy Managed a couple of half decent cross-toe spins today and the blues choctaw is coming along even if only on one side for now:??

flat Its half term hols so no skating for 9 days :(

[looplover]

Bouncy: I felt today was going to be a great skating day! I have concrete things I need to work on! I was ready!!!!!!!!!

Flat: I got to the rink and found out they no longer have that public session on Sundays.

*deflates*

Oh well...won't have practiced before my lesson tomorrow morning. But, I've been practicing twizzles in my living room, if that helps, and when my downstairs neighbor goes out I'll try to do a lutz.

:??

[Helen88]

Bouncy:
Good day! Spirals are always improving, as are crossovers (though I still need to bend more...). And something clicked today with the edges, dunno what, maybe it was my arms, but they suddenly seem so much easier. Started working in waltz-jump/spins again today...waltz jump was a little flat, but spins are definitely improving (so they were non-existant before but that's not the point :P)

Flat:
Took another nasy toepick fall on a spiral, resulting in a very swollen knee and two bruised elbows. But I'm proud of my battle scars :)

[Skate@Delaware]

Bouncy: had a good skate at my competition today.

Flat: my music was started too early so I got a re-skate....I felt as though I could have skated better...but I did well. for my last (and only) competition of the season.

I have big plans for next season!!!

[SkatingOnClouds]

Bouncy
2nd day in a row the morning public session contained only figure skaters and the ice was nice! Yay.

I actually centred some basic upright spins, which have been missing in action for a few weeks. Did a decent change sit, and my camels are gradually coming back again.

Flat
Loops. After getting loops happening from any jump the day before, this session they just didn't want to get off the ice, which usually means I'm tired.

Backspins. Aargh! Coach says they are getting better, but the tracings don't lie.

Lutzes. I was actually landing some of these a few weeks ago. Then I got fixated on fixing a weird double change of edge in the entry. Should've left it alone, I was taking off from the right edge.

Bouncy
Public holiday, husband will be home with child and says it's okay for me to go to class session tonight. Skating 3 days in a row always feels like a treat. Of course, coach always works the group hard so I know I'm gonna hurt tomorrow, but I also know it's really good for me.

[Kim to the Max]

[Flat]

We were bumped from our usual rink to the other rink today. That ice is hard and yucky, and it's really cold.

Lutzes were NOT happening. I was doing them wonderfully last week! What happened?!?

Axel was crappy today...couldn't get off the ice...

[Bouncy]

Moves continue to feel good but I don't want to get too confident until I talk to coach.

I bit the bullet and signed up for the ice show here on campus...what am I thinking?!? 8O :roll: 8O :roll: I will just do my test program for practice...although, I am debating trying to pull something together to the cover of "Do You Believe in Magic" by Aly and AJ....

[kander]

Bouncy: Skated two 2 hour sessions this weekend. Feel like dying, but in a good way. Reconstructed axel getting more consistent. Rotational mojo still there.

Flat: Could barely move the second session. Started popping jumps about half way through. Spins were very inconsistent.

[jskater49]

Bouncy My swing rolls are getting very swingy and even some growling edges.

Flat Still two footing the transistions.

Bouncy Actually getting around with some revolutions with my one foot edge entry scratch spin. Of course they are slow as molassis, and I still don't seem to be able to bring my free foot round in front, but I am getting my arm around.

Flat Didn't have a lot of energy in power class and didn't really feel like trying for the suicides at the end. But I did complete them even though I was a lap behind everyone else and they were on to stretching.

Oh and we got to do chasses around the circle instead of pumps and I enjoyed that and was able to keep up pretty well.

j

[Rusty Blades]

Neither/Both: Today was supposed to be my day to face my fear of falling. I got all padded up and headed out to throw my jumps around on open ice - the same jumps I can do fine and fearlessly along the boards.

Well I discovered it isn't fear of falling that has been inhibiting my jumps.

Long story short; normally when I am skating, my mind is 1 to 3 Seconds ahead of my body - when I set up a jump along the boards, my mind has landed it before my body has done the takeoff. When I move the jump out away from the boards, the visualization isn't there - it's like looking into a void 8O

Now I just have to figure out why ........ :roll: It must have something to do with the boards providing a straight horizontal line in my peripheral vision - something that is missing at centre ice.

Geez I am WEIRD! :giveup:

[Sessy]

Rusty - try jumping along a line. That's the only way my lutz and salchow ever worked.


Bouncy
- Empty session (me and 2 hockey guys), no doubt due to the extremely good weather, so I got to practice MIF. I tried to practice it smiling, too.
- I think one of the biellmann spins might've been lifted over my head, and it certainly was centered.

Flat
Knocked my left knee on the ice HARD for the second time in 2 weeks. And considering I have pretty weak knees, that's soooo gonna hurt tomorrow.
THE FLU! FOR THE FREAKING THIRD TIME! GIMME A BREAK!!!!! :( :( :(

Something inbetween: My camel spin.
I can do that exercise with the glove in the crease between hip and thigh without a problem, I dare you to pull it out, it's jammed up there. I can even *spin* that way. I'm square. I'm not dropping my left shoulder. I'm not rushing the edge. After making sure I had all of that, suddenly I could look up on the camel, instead of down, like the coach wanted me to (previously, if I looked up, I couldn't get into it at all). However, now not looking up causes me to nose-dive and bang my knee. :frus:
I think I'm gonna pad that one up too.

I also discovered that while all of my blades were still sharp, the forward part of the left inside edge wasn't. Which might explain some very specific problems with skidding/wiping out I've been having recently, so I turned them in to be sharpened again today. It makes sense that this part would blunt first, with all the spins I've been doing I guess.

[dbny]

Rusty - try jumping along a line.

That's exactly what I was going to say! Here's another approach to try. Reduce the size of the jump to a mere hop, and then try just slightly away from the boards. Keep it very small to build up your confidence away from the wall. For waltz jumps, use a marker to draw a take off curve from the wall to the blue line, and a straight line from the other side of the blue line. Now do a T push from the wall, following your curve, and jump across (only just across) the blue line.

[Rusty Blades]

Thanks gang but I just suddenly realized WHY my orientation isn't there on open ice.

Ever since I stared skating again 2 years ago, I have tended to skate along the boards, out of the way of the higher level skaters (and previously the little Kamikaze kiddies) so the boards became my point of reference (for horizontal and vertical) and that became my comfort zone. I simply have not spent enough time "out in the open" to have developed a good sense of the vertical on open ice. That also explains why I had so much trouble doing simple 3-turns on my home rink last year - NO BOARDS = no familiar reference!

If that's the case, I simply need to spend more time mid-rink to improve my orientation. I guess that means I have to learn to be a bit more assertive about claiming my space on the ice instead of yielding to everyone all the time.

[looplover]

If that's the case, I simply need to spend more time mid-rink to improve my orientation. I guess that means I have to learn to be a bit more assertive about claiming my space on the ice instead of yielding to everyone all the time.

Absolutely - don't yield - my FL coach said the only way to get respect from the kids is to stand your ground (literally) (I used to yield every time, all the time)

Bouncy: A lot today! OK sorta. My coach raised the bar really high, which is good - I'm suddenly learning a camel-sit (um and a camel). I got 2 revs on a camel and was at least able to move my free leg into the right position for the sit, though I certainly wasn't sitting or even squatting...skating leg was a little bent, lol. Almost landed a lutz on one foot a couple of times. Did some double 3s and twizzles. Landed almost all loops. Did one pretty good sit spin. Feel pretty good about skating lately. When I realized I couldn't afford it and refused to give it up, I think my love of the sport began to outweigh my frustration over not getting some things, which in turn is making me progress.

Flat: Well, my mental flip problems are back, but I hope not for long. How dare they return. Two footed every one, sometimes landed on left foot. :frus: Despite enthusiam for lutz, did not do it. Both of these are in my program now and I'm competing in April, but I remain optimistic. 8O

[jazzpants]

Rusty Blades: You are NOT weird!!! I had the same problem with the loop jump for the longest time. (Same with the flip too for that matter...)

What I would do... Do it near the wall... then GRADUALLY move further away from the wall but still face the same direction as you would when you're at the wall. Keep doing that and sooner than you know it, you're away from the wall! :P

BTW: I started the flip 3 weeks after getting the loop and I got the flip on that very first lesson too (yup! The same method too!!!) TWO for the price of one!!! KEWL, huh? 8-) :P :lol:

Of course, this didn't apply to the lutz, b/c I've never tried a lutz near the wall... so that took a while for me to get. Of course, the axel is coming up for me soon, but I'm afraid of trying it anywhere, even near the wall. Boc boc boc... :lol:

[Rusty Blades]

Absolutely - don't yield - my FL coach said the only way to get respect from the kids is to stand your ground (literally) (I used to yield every time, all the time)

I was just realizing that myself! Although I don't skate with kiddies anymore - I skate an early morning competitive session - I still yield even when I shouldn't be yelling - like last Friday - I was in lesson, skating my program to the music, had just set up my long spiral when a (20-something) skater skated backward right into my path without looking. Instinctively I broke off and yielded - I shouldn't have! - I should have hollered at her. (Her coach is a very high level and very senior coach who also has the habit of skating into traffic without looking.)

I guess I am still very apologetic about my skating.

[deannathegeek]

Bouncy: I start classes up again this week-Footwork & Freestyle 1 on Wednesdays; Footwork, Freestyle 1 & Power Skating (low) on Saturdays. Also able to squeeze in time on my lunch hours on Tuesdays & Fridays. I love working near the ice skating rink!

Flat: My husband doesn't like me spending so much time at the rink. He thinks I'm being obsessive. Personally, I think he just wants me at home to do the chores & take care of the kids :x

[quarkiki2]

Bouncy: Not me. I'm so fatigued from dealing with my bottle-striking baby (she eats all night so she doesn't have to take a bottle at daycare) that I'm so NOT skating well.

Flat: Also not me. Too much hips and belly on me still. Grrr!

Didn't get to the rink in time to practice for myself on Saturday. Taught group lessons (Snowplow) and took a low freestyle class myself. Worked very hard at rising in the knee on almost-a-scratch spin. Did some waltz jumps at the board, got yelled at (well, challenged) for doing them at the boards. Although I got off the boards when we worked on 1/2 flips and salchows. i just detest the waltz jump. Truly. I hate it. Much better with toe assist jumps, I so prefer the 1/2 flip and 1/2 lutz... I can land a flip off-ice and expect to land that before I land a toe or salchow. But I'll at least try the toe and salchow off the wall. But not that stinkin' waltz jump.

[looplover]

had just set up my long spiral when a (20-something) skater skated backward right into my path without looking. Instinctively I broke off and yielded - I shouldn't have!

I know what you mean, I totally would have done that too. In fact I still yield all the time, I'm sure way too much, partially because I'd rather not crash into anyone!

[peanutskates]

bouncy it's half term, I watched youtube skating videos anda bit of ice princess, and so I arrived at the rink absolutely HIGH with energy, totally ready to SKATE!! and everything was brilliant.
Jumps
toeloop is really good, the takeoff was correct.
loop - I finally understood the whole bend an jump principle and they were so high!
I landed the FLIP!
Jump combos
today I did loop/loop, toeloop/loop, salchow/loop, toeloop/loop/loop and toeloop/loop/toeloop

Spins
I did a really fast sitspin at the beginning of the session, and good ones after that.
Backspins were wonderful!
My camel spin is also coming along nicely.

Twizzles are greaaat!!!

Program is also very nice, it's finished now, and I'm just perfecting it.

I also practiced level 1 Field moves today, and they were quite good (edges+spirals)

there was nothing flat (except a few flip landings, lol!) and I'm hyped about skating on wednesday now!!

[Terri C]

Only skating a hour per practice this week to rest my achy pinky toe and not deal with this week's going to be mobbed freestyles.

Bouncy:
Toe didn't hurt at all today. Replaced my skate laces last night, my skates feel good. Had a okay run through of my artistic program.

Flat:
Got cut off by a tot doing back edges during my last part of my program.

[SkatingOnClouds]

Flat:[/B] My husband doesn't like me spending so much time at the rink. He thinks I'm being obsessive.

:lol: yeah, mine too. Personally I think mine is just jealous. Tonight we are discussing our financial situation, and how I spend too much on skating. :roll: Guilty as charged.

But more Bouncy:
Skated last night, good class, always a tough workout which takes me out of my comfort zone. And I finally had to admit that.. Flat: the real reason I don't skate fast is that my technique, especially on turns, is not good enough for me to do much at speed. I can skate fast, sure, just can't do anything from speed.

Flat:
Felt awful this morning. Too much red wine last night after class while arguing finances with husband. Stressful morning, daughter's first day back at school for the new year. Bouncy: so of course I went skating. After a while I started feeling a lot better, even most of my spins were centring (8O ). Didn't jump much, but what I did was okay. Seems I have finally slayed my flip demons.

Extra Bouncy: I managed to do something I could never do before, and that's always a good feeling!:D From a back crossover swing into a back outside 3 turn followed by a forward inside 3 and another back outside 3, while keeping the free leg out, and using deep knee bend & leaning into the back edge to initiate the turn. I am not sure if they would be called twizzles exactly, but coach wanted me to do them to help my loop take off. Not only did I do them on my take off leg, I was able to do them on my left leg. Any clockwise turn on my left leg is a real achievement for me! So I feel very bouncy about that.

Flat: back to the real world. After getting to skate 4 days in a row, tomorrow I go back to work and see what sort of mess there is for me to clean up. Oh, and that little chat with my husband about finances tonight:roll:

[Mrs Redboots]

Rusty - I totally second, or is it third or fourth by now, the suggestion of doing your jumps along one of the lines - you'll find you can orient yourself with the line, just as you could with the wall.

As for me:

Bouncy: The steps were still there! Yay! I was really surprised. Of course, when we did the thing to the music, the Mohawk was cheated, but I still got some flow, and the coaches (both of them!) were complimentary!

We also worked on a rocker, and on the lift.

Flat: Which has made me ache like anything, and I'm also really tired! Was having trouble with my posture in my solo lesson - find it really hard to skate backwards, especially on an inside edge, and keep my shoulder-blades together. Coach1 said "Relax your shoulders!" but what he actually meant was "pull your shoulder-blades together". I can feel when I do it, but can't sustain it. Yet.

[coskater64]

There was no one on the ice Monday morning so I had an hour long figure lesson. Even though I have a scribe my forward figures are huge!! My backward outside figures are very good for size and the center, well it is very neat and needs work on the stepping down of the blade placement. I did work on my outside loops the left outside is good the right outside is getting better. Figures are very taxing and difficult but I do find I get lost doing them, I was very surprised when I looked up and it was an hour later.

Did silver and gold moves, finally got RBO bracket to work, its a good bracket but still not as comfortable as the LBO bracket.

Rockers done at speed are nice but still not as deep as before.

:lol:

[Rusty Blades]

Bouncy (I think): Having finally figured out that my "mental block" against doing jump on open ice resulted from spending nearly all my time skating within 8 feet of the boards (to stay out of the way of "more advanced" skaters and Kamikaze kiddies) I started today's session with the resolve to keep everything (sans jumps) along the rink centerline as much as possible - yup, sure feels different! Upright spins, sit spins, footwork, everything in mid-rink. (Even head coach noticed and chuckled with approval.) I am sure, once I make centre ice "familiar territory" things will get a lot better.

Flat: In lesson we worked on the Freeskate program some more. Coach was disappointed that I decided to withdraw it from Sunday's competition but I just don't have much faith in it yet (even if I miraculously had my two jumps by then).

In program run-thoughs, I only had ONE good run-through - the same two skaters who cut me off on Friday cut me off again TWICE, then their coach stepped out in front of me just as I was setting up my jump sequence parallel to the boards :frus: - three program aborts caused by the same skaters and their coach! :evil: :evil: :evil:

You know those air horns that work on a can of compressed air, the ones you often hear at football and hockey games that are REALLY loud? Can you get those small enough to fit in a pocket? I just might be able to make a point. 8O

[Sessy]

Rusty blades, try a "bag stealing alarm" or whatever it's called. It's basically a box the size of a matchbox with a pin in it. The box goes in your inside pocket or other tight and secure place, the pin has a wire attached to it which goes to your purse. Somebody tries to steal the purse, a 110 decibel alarm goes off and only stops when the pin is re-inserted in the box. I used to have one, and I expected 110 decibel to be loud, however, I was completely shocked by just *how* loud that is. Significantly louder than a fire alarm. Apparently a taking-off fighter jet in close proximity causes 120 decibel... So you might wanna practice putting the pin in and out without batteries, or with earplugs, unlike me.

You can get them here at dollarstores (eurostores) occasionally, or other thrift shops, online and in some gift stores too. They work off 2 AA batteries.

[icedancer2]

Flat - NOT the ice at my main crappola hockey-rink, that's for sure! The ice was better than it was last week because apparently they got the zam fixed but still pretty crappy for doing figures and really not at all flat -- it's like being on a bunch of hills, - up, down, up down - and that's not just me!!!!

Bouncy: Getting the knee action on the BI3 and the FO3 is getting better on that figure. Working now to get the centers more even and circles-size more even. Hey - maybe if I can do this figure I will seriously think about working on my 2nd figure TEST and not worry about those silly Adult Silver figures anymore!

THAT would be an accomplishment.

Liking the new MK dance blades that I put on a month ago - the ones I got on ebay for about $50. They are more stable than my old ones and just feel better all-around. Still working on speed going into and out of turns, but it is starting to feel better, so - yea!!

[Morgail]

Flat:
-4-5 inches of snow & ice prevented me from going to my session this morning. Now I have only 2 more practices before testing8O

Bouncy:
-I love snow!!!!!:D

[Bill_S]

Flat: I haven't skated in two weeks because of flu. This has been a MEAN one, and I'm still not over it.

I have to photograph the competition at our rink on Saturday, so I'd better be healthy enough for "rink air" by then.

Bouncy: My back pain has lessened in the meantime. It shouldn't be a problem for me once I get back from the flu - I hope.

[cough, cough - HONK, sniff, sniff]

[Skate@Delaware]

If that's the case, I simply need to spend more time mid-rink to improve my orientation. I guess that means I have to learn to be a bit more assertive about claiming my space on the ice instead of yielding to everyone all the time.
I used to do the same thing...hanging around the endzones so I would be out of everyone's way and apologizing when I was in the way...then I realized HEY I PAY JUST AS MUCH AS THEY DO FOR THE SAME ICE and I'm paying the THE WHOLE FRICKIN' SHEET!!!!
In program run-thoughs, I only had ONE good run-through - the same two skaters who cut me off on Friday cut me off again TWICE, then their coach stepped out in front of me just as I was setting up my jump sequence parallel to the boards :frus: - three program aborts caused by the same skaters and their coach! :evil: :evil: :evil:

You know those air horns that work on a can of compressed air, the ones you often hear at football and hockey games that are REALLY loud? Can you get those small enough to fit in a pocket? I just might be able to make a point. 8O
You could YELL an even louder "EXCUSE ME" in a MOM-type voice when you are skating and keep on truckin'...eventually they will yield :twisted: when they realize you mean business!

[doubletoe]

You could YELL an even louder "EXCUSE ME" in a MOM-type voice when you are skating and keep on truckin'...eventually they will yield :twisted: when they realize you mean business!

Or yell, "Program!" so that they are aware that YOU are the skater skating her program. Sometimes skaters in lessons don't look up to see whose program is on, so they don't know who that one person is who has right of way over them in their lesson.

[tidesong]

rusty blade congrats on getting out more on center ice!! You'll get better than me in surviving in those rinks since I won't have practise fighting for space with higher level skaters here.

[Kim to the Max]

[Flat]

So cold outside and that translated into a cold rink :( so cold that I couldn't feel my toes for an hour and a half :( yuck!

Axels were not jumping today...I so need to clean my house so that I have room in my living room to jump :) but, I hate cleaning :(

[Bouncy]

Finally saw coach...no lesson, but we briefly talked about when I'm going to retest...not on the 29th like I originally thought (which is okay, now I don't have to worry about getting someone to hold the duty phone that week), but on March 16th. Which is again right after a week of duty for me, but that is also spring break for us, so I'm going to break some rules :roll: and take the phone more than 15 minutes away from campus... Now I need to ask coach what I'm testing...if it's just moves or if it's both moves and freestyle...I can't wait for my lesson on Friday :)

Did a program run through and it wasn't horrible :) I missed my camel spin, but did everything else...the ice was cruddy, so the chasse and crossovers into my spiral were shaky, but that's not the norm...I even did the scratch/back scratch!!

My other singles were were nice and big, and my lutz was even decent....

[sk8tegirl06]

Bouncy: My first lesson in almost 5 weeks! I have a recognizable sit spin, though coach wants it lower. I have a fast, centered scratch spin. I have speed yet control and flow on some jumps. I will be competing, it is not a question of if, just a question of when. I started back scratch spins and restarted loop jumps, against the wall I think I might have squeaked out a tiny loop...before the zamboni driver came out :x

Flat: Not much, coach made me attempt a camel spins again...not such a good idea. Other than that it was the first day of classes for the new semester.

[Skittl1321]

Bouncy I got to skate again! 2 weeks early!
Flat My knees only made it through 5 minutes of forward stroking before they were upset with me.

So I went and put icy hot on them and ran through forward and backward crossovers, and those weren't so bad (guess I don't get the knee bend I need there...)

Then I taught my LTS classes and that went well. Problem- the main element we work on is dips, in both of the classes I do, although I can DO dips- I'm really not supposed to do anything that works the outer quad- which is the muscle you use for them. I tried to demonstrate as few as possible.

Afterward I was feeling up to taking the freestyle lesson so I did and the instructor knew I hadn't skated in 2 months and couldn't do a lot. While the class worked on half flips, I did the silver 3 turn pattern. My turns are not even close to the tops of the lobes, and were a bit wild with the free leg, but I'm happy to say that I haven't lost them! Even the back inside ones were still there. After working on those for about 10 minutes my right knee was starting to hurt, so I moved to left brackets- it was the only thing I could think of that didn't use my right leg :) Then the instructor asked if I could do waltz jumps, because I land on my left side, and I said sure- but apparently the one I did was really bad, because he told me that it clearly looked like it hurt to jump. It didn't- but I was really shaky having not tried in 2 months.

Then we moved onto half lutz entrances, and those went pretty well. We did them from really fast edges- so I couldn't have jumped even if I wanted to. We were supposed to be doing 2 foot up and down jumps, but even those hurt after a few, so I just worked on setting up the edge.


But overall things went great. I saw the synchro coach as I came off the ice and said "Look! I got skates on!" and I intended to skate Wed synchro- at least a bit.

So I went home, super excited, told my husband all about how great the lesson was (even though stroking was NOT great) and we got ready to go out to meet his friends for a post-seminar (they're all grad students) celebration. As we are going to the car, I miss the last step on the stairs and fall and twist my ankle. I am SO mad at myself. My knees are finally on the rebound so I can skate again and I go mess up my ankle! I couldn't walk last night, but I can today- it's just a constant dull ache now, so hopefully it was just a minor ouch, and nothing I have to care about. But, I doubt I can do synchro today :(

Stupid stairs.

[jskater49]

Not bouncy - My back crossovers, which is a good thing - we want smooth crossovers, not bouncing! Still need to keep my heel down, I tend to go up on my toes on one side...

Power 3s - I'm still forcing the turn just the littlest bit but when I really concentrate on stretching my arms ...coach says to work on that and we will have what she calls "a real move" - which means passable.

Then I worked on my spin entry. Sigh. I just keep rushing it, I just can't seem to trust it to hook on it's own.

j

[quarkiki2]

Jessi! Quit being a klutz!

Seriously, I hope your ankle feels better...

[jazzpants]

Jessi, watch your last step! It's a doozy, as you figured out!!! :P :lol:

Seriously, rest that ankle and hope you feel better!!! We'll get excited for 'ya!!!

Nothing bouncy today... all flat!!!

Remember the old saying for me that the first few flips and loops are good and from then on it's progressively worse!?!?! Well, my secondary coach doesn't seemed to care about that and made me do my flip jump over and OVER and OVER and OVER again... There were some moments of glory, but for the most part they felt heavier and heavier and heavier... and I felt like I was rushing thru the jump towards the end too. I wanted to tell my secondary coach "This is it! I don't want to reinforce bad habits b/c I'm tired!" but believe me, she probably wouldn't let up on me anyway. :giveup:

And then I took off my boots and the inside ankle bone is hurting like hell. Actually it's been hurting the last few times I've put on my skates, so I think my boots need to go into repairs! Next Tuesday, I'm gonna get Harlicks to go in and replace the padding on the ankle bone. I also think that I might want to get the tongue padding replaced too b/c they feel like I'm not getting enough support too.

[kander]

Hey Jazz,

I've found that when jumps get worse and worse it's because you're usually tired. I have found that my success rate goes up quite a bit the longer I rest between attempts. When you're on a lesson coach usually makes you do them rapid fire. I agree about not reinforcing bad habbits. If it isn't working let it alone. There will be other days!

Regarding boots, the ankles usually start to hurt as the boot starts bending in one direction or the other. It's a form of breaking down. The support is still there, but the boot doesn't fit right.


Remember the old saying for me that the first few flips and loops are good and from then on it's progressively worse!?!?! Well, my secondary coach doesn't seemed to care about that and made me do my flip jump over and OVER and OVER and OVER again... There were some moments of glory, but for the most part they felt heavier and heavier and heavier... and I felt like I was rushing thru the jump towards the end too. I wanted to tell my secondary coach "This is it! I don't want to reinforce bad habits b/c I'm tired!" but believe me, she probably wouldn't let up on me anyway. :giveup:

And then I took off my boots and the inside ankle bone is hurting like hell. Actually it's been hurting the last few times I've put on my skates, so I think my boots need to go into repairs! Next Tuesday, I'm gonna get Harlicks to go in and replace the padding on the ankle bone. I also think that I might want to get the tongue padding replaced too b/c they feel like I'm not getting enough support too.

[kander]

Bouncy: Everything was clicking tuesday night. It's rare when both spins and jumps are good. My rotational mojo is still coming back. I did a long, fast sit spin just before I got off the ice and some young lady said it was "beautiful". :) A guy can never hear enough of that. :) :) I'm also looking forward to this saturday when I go to WonderCon at the Moscone Center then walk over to the Yerba Buena rink for a skate. Two of my favorite interests in one afternoon!

Flat: I lost my gloves again for the umpteenth time. This time I bought a six pack at walmart which should last awhile. I'm also guessing that my thursday morning session is going to be a letdown (like usual) from tuesday night.

[jazzpants]

I'm also looking forward to this saturday when I go to WonderCon at the Moscone Center then walk over to the Yerba Buena rink for a skate. Two of my favorite interests in one afternoon!Which afternoon session are you going to? I might join 'ya...

I'll get some Bunga Pad nubs to go over the bone area so it will cushion whatever is pushing on my ankle bone. That should solve the problem 'til I get my boot fixed...

[Muskoka Skater]

Wednesday Night

Bouncy: everything!!

Flat: nothing!!

I had an amazing practice last night!

[quarkiki2]

Bouncy: Our team had a great practice last night. We're coming along on our new LP -- only about a minute left to choreograph and what's already done is going well. We added a circular footwork sequence and all of managed to get it in the first practice -- and that's a first, LOL!

And then wqe ran our compulsory program and, with the exception of a few glitches in footwork that DIDN'T result in falls or people out of place, we hit everything for the first time ever -- came out of the circle into the block both times we did it AND hit the scary fast pass-through both times -- we even managed to get in line for the straightline footwork on time -- ALL of us... WOW!

We all got off the ice happy and no one was frustrated -- that's the way to end a practice! Yippee!!!


Oh -- my coach DIDN'T laugh when I told her I was thinking of entering our rink's competition in the ISI Interpretive event -- she thought it would be the perfect event for me. As did the other coaches who skate on our team. So, I guess it's a done deal -- Quarkiki will take the ice alone for the first time in April... gulp....

[deannathegeek]

Bouncy: First day of class yesterday-I did a mazurka for the first time and feel pretty groovy about it.

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.

[Skittl1321]

Bouncy: Our team had a great practice last night. We're coming along on our new LP -- only about a minute left to choreograph and what's already done is going well. We added a circular footwork sequence and all of managed to get it in the first practice -- and that's a first, LOL!

And then wqe ran our compulsory program and, with the exception of a few glitches in footwork that DIDN'T result in falls or people out of place, we hit everything for the first time ever -- came out of the circle into the block both times we did it AND hit the scary fast pass-through both times -- we even managed to get in line for the straightline footwork on time -- ALL of us... WOW!

We all got off the ice happy and no one was frustrated -- that's the way to end a practice! Yippee!!!


Oh -- my coach DIDN'T laugh when I told her I was thinking of entering our rink's competition in the ISI Interpretive event -- she thought it would be the perfect event for me. As did the other coaches who skate on our team. So, I guess it's a done deal -- Quarkiki will take the ice alone for the first time in April... gulp....



YAY! I'm glad the practice went well. I really want to get back on the ice- I'm so scared about the mohawks in both programs, I NEED the practice on that, and then just being able to DO the programs. Walking through last night made my ankle not happy though. Hey- at least it's not my knees.

You're going to be GREAT in the interp event. No requirements, just skate and make it look pretty- you can do that!

[Debbie S]

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.Oh, my goodness! How awful! You may want to speak to the skating durector about that - that's totally inappropriate for any human being (and we're talking about an adult here!) to say to someone else.

I guess I was lucky that parents didn't pay much attention to me, and my group lesson instructors were good about giving equal attention to all students in the class.

Congrats on the mazurka!

[Skittl1321]

Bouncy: First day of class yesterday-I did a mazurka for the first time and feel pretty groovy about it.

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.

YAY! for the mazurka- those things are HARD!

I would also mention the skating director what that parent said. That is absurd. You're paying just as much for those classes and deserve to be there- don't give up, and don't cry. If she feels so entitled she can put her daughter in private lessons.

[BatikatII]

Bouncy: First day of class yesterday-I did a mazurka for the first time and feel pretty groovy about it.

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.

Deanna - sorry to hear someone made such an uncalled for remark. Try to ignore the nasty skate moms - there are plenty of nice ones around.

If she makes any more comments try the line - "well maybe I wont' be going to the Olympics but then neither are 99% or more of the kids here. I don't think my few minutes of teacher time are going to be affecting anyone's future!"

Congrats on the Mazurka - though as a UK skater I have no idea what one of those is!!!!!

[Rusty Blades]

Flat: About ten minutes into warm-up this morning, I had just started doing forward edges when I felt a sudden sharp pain in my left ankle 8O (behind and below the boney point in a vertical line). I hadn't even started cross-overs yet! There was no "pop" or anything (like when I sprained my right ankle in August '06) - just a sharp intense pain.

I took my boot off, massaged and warmed the area for a bit thinking it might be a muscle cramp and tried skating again - the pain was still there and quite intense every time I tried doing a FLI edge. :frus: Something wrong! Rather than risk doing any serious damage this close to Nationals I packed up, limped away, and went straight to my physiotherapist who was good enough to fit me in right away. :bow:

Not Quite Bouncy but not Flat: She said it is very likely a muscle strain and it was good to have it seen to so quickly. A few sessions in physio and I'll be as good as old (not "good as new" - I am too old for that! :roll: ) I might have to take it a little easy on the left ankle tomorrow but I should be back to (ab)normal by Tuesday. Hopefully all that has been lost is one practice session.

I have never hurt myself on anything strenuous but the "easy stuff" bites!

[Isk8NYC]

A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.
Don't you dare cry or leave! Shame on her for being so selfish. Don't reward her by wasting any more time worrying about her or her children.

What's the difference between you and adding another kid to the group?
You pay the same money, so it's just an issue of more height and better attention span!

Don't bother to discuss anything with her in the future. I'll bet her daughter doesn't pay attention, so she's looking to place blame on others.
If she says something like that again, tell her to talk to the skating school director.
S/he'll set her straight or sell her private lessons.

Anyway, if you stay in, maybe more adults will join group lessons. Then, you might have an entire group to skate with that will be more supportive.

[Rusty Blades]

..... A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher......

WHAT A CROCK OF SH##!!! If her kid needs more attention she should get off her lazy a@@ and get her kid in private lessons with a full-time one-on-one coach!

[deannathegeek]

Thanks for the support! I'm not crying, I just feel like it. It's been a long time since anyone said something harsh like that to me for no good reason. At least I have the support from the kids in class-they all like me, and I even had a 6-year-old helping me with my RBO and LBO 3-turns (which I can now do kinda well).

[Sessy]

That's ridiculous, deannathegeek, that b.... needs some duct tape for her mouth! Any student in a group class who is worse at something than the others will get more attention from the teacher and the age shouldn't matter. Unless, of course, the mom would like to imply that her kids are the 2nd and 3rd worst in the class? Which means that whether you leave or not doesn't matter, cuz they simply don't have the talent to do well despite their age.

*sigh* you know now I really feel like smacking that mom.

[jskater49]

Bouncy: First day of class yesterday-I did a mazurka for the first time and feel pretty groovy about it.

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.

Are you serious!! You tell her your money is as green as hers and you'll probably still be there shelling out $$$ to support skating long after HER daughter has gotten tired of skating and is doing something else.

J

[Terri C]

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.


That skating mom can fry her A$$ for all I care!! As someone else posted maybe Jealous Skating Mom should sign her Little Darling up for privates if she wants her Little Darling to get more attention. :evil:

[Kim to the Max]

Bouncy: First day of class yesterday-I did a mazurka for the first time and feel pretty groovy about it.

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.

Deanna,

Congrats on the mazurka :)

On the other point....some people are just so insecure that they need to bring others down to feel important. One of my favorite sayings that my first coach practically beat into my head is, "Don't get mad, get even." Next time you have a lesson go out there and show them that you pay the same amount of money, have as much right to the ice time and to the attention of the coach as any of the other skaters in your group. You got this far, try not to let one small minded person stop any further progress you will make.

[Helen88]

Deanna I hope you're feeling better :) It's horrible when you get things like that shot at you.

Flat:
Just about everything. Some boroughs have half term this week, so the rink was busy, full of people who wouldn't look where they were going, and didn' care about getting in anyone's way. An argument blew up between the head coach and some guys in hockey skates because they wouldn't move for a girl in a lesson. Resulted in them closing the public session ten minutes early because they wouldn't get off the ice.

Didn't do any spirals, didn't want to risk falling on my knee again. Edges were okayish, slow because of the ice. Waltz-jumps were pathetic. Three-turns were pretty useless too. I was tired, in a bad mood, started snapping at people. Not a good session :frus:

Rolling Uphill:
Spins are just about, slightly, almost, hopefully...


...getting there :)
Got three revs. on my one foot a couple of times. Fell and slipped off a few, but that's not the point :P

[deannathegeek]

Thanks to all of the support here, I'm pretty much over it-even laughing about it. My whole day has gone from flat to bouncy thanks to you guys!

[vesperholly]

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.
Wow. What a (rhymes with witch).

[Morgail]

Thanks to all of the support here, I'm pretty much over it-even laughing about it. My whole day has gone from flat to bouncy thanks to you guys!

I'm glad you're feeling better about it. She's probably just jealous that you have the guts to get out there and learn. I'll bet she secretly wants to skate but is too afraid to try it, so she settles for putting you down to make herself feel better. Maybe you'll inspire some of the other (nicer) skating moms to give lessons a try too:)

For me:

Bouncy:
-dances! I'm feeling good about them, but don't want to feel overconfident and mess up tomorrow.

Flat:
-Moves. Well, not really flat. I'm just stressing that I don't have enough time to fix all the little things I want to before tomorrow. I'm most nervous about making loud toepick noises on the back cross strokes, stiffening up on the power pulls, forgetting to stand up straight on the left back outside 3s (when I hunch, I can't hold the exit edge), not getting enough room to fit in all the 3s, and forgetting to bend my knees & get a good check on the outside mohawks (if I don't do that, I end up on inside edges or flats).

Okay, just saying all that made me feel better:lol:

I keep telling myself that it's okay if I don't pass these the first time. I've only been back on the ice for 2 1/2 months, and these moves aren't exactly easy. I'm looking at it as an opportunity to learn what elements I need improvement on, and what elements I do well.

[xofivebyfive]

bouncy: I pass my driver's test!! I am now a licensed driver! I turned 17 on Monday and my dad took me to the DMV and even though I didn't parallel park right, the instructor knew how nervous I was, and I was so cautious the entire time, so he passed me and told me to practice parking. I did it perfectly like 10 times over the weekend.. but I was just shaking so much(which we found out later was due to taking me off of a certain med, so I was having a withdrawal).

and I got 7 rotations on a camel spin, my new personal best!

and I am scheduled for 2 private lessons at ISCC(international skating center of connecticut) camp with.. Melissa Gregory! yes, the Melissa Gregory. I am so pysched.

Flat: I've been really anxious and shaky for the last week. I thought it was because I was nervous for my driving test but that was Monday and I passed... so we figured out that it was from stopping my Ativan, so my mom got a new prescription and I'm being weaned off it it. But because of that, on Monday I felt like I was wearing boots made out of cement, I could barely do crossovers. It got better each day but I'm still not back to normal.'

and I just realized that I won't be able to do spring track because I still have my IV. dang nabbit.

[looplover]

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.

8O 8O 8O 8O 8O

That is horrible!!!!! Don't let this horrible person get you down - she's probably jealous, really. Wow, I just can't believe people sometimes.

[doubletoe]

Thanks for the support! I'm not crying, I just feel like it. It's been a long time since anyone said something harsh like that to me for no good reason. At least I have the support from the kids in class-they all like me, and I even had a 6-year-old helping me with my RBO and LBO 3-turns (which I can now do kinda well).

Thanks for sharing that because it made me really think about what I'd want to say if anyone ever said something like that to me. . . I think it would be,

"If I get off the ice, then who's going to show these kids that there's life after 40?"

(. . . 'cause you know it ain't gonna be the MARTYR skating mom!) :twisted: :lol: :lol:

[coskater64]

I would just ignore that woman...:roll:

[jazzpants]

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.That skating mom is just JEALOUS b/c she's too lazy and too CHICKEN to get her own @$$ out there to skate. If she's so concerned about her precious little darlin' getting more time with her teacher, maybe she should go and SPEND the money on private lessons with the teacher instead!!! :twisted:

Yeah, I had a similar thing happened to me way back when *I* was in skating school (this is YEARS ago, BTW!!!) A skating mom asked me if I was married and if I had kids. I said "Yes I'm married but no kids." (NOT that's ANY of their business :roll: , but I have nothing to hide... :P ) Said skating mom then says "Why don't you go and have a baby with your husband and let your daughter skate for you then?" I said "WHAT?!?!?! And miss out on ALL the fun myself!?!?! Are you CRAZY!?!?! 8O " They NEVER challenged me after that! (I think these days the skating parents actually like me being around. Playmate and babysitter on the ice... :P )

And I'm willing to bet on it their precious little daughter is off doing God knows what instead of figure skating now... And guess what? I'm STILL SKATING!!! Not only that... but COMPETING in skating now!!! So THERE!!! :twisted: :P

GEEK POWERS UNITE!!! :halo: :lol: (I'm a software engineer too...)

On that note...

Bouncy:
Loops are better today. Primary coach is happier with my flips. I'm landing them more consistently. Then again, it's probably b/c I'm not tired and doing a SLEW of them for 15 minutes and am expected to do MORE of them!!! (Hint hint, secondary coach!!! :P )

Flat:
I come in to a HUGE SLEW of KIDS skating. 120 skaters!!! WTF!?!?! 8O (Luckily, not many of them went going thru the middle.)

I am having trouble landing loop-loops today. I got some gel pads to cushion the ankle bone area and it's STILL hurting. I'm definitely going to take these purple puppies in for repairs and see if they can do something about it on Tuesday.

Back sits are bad too. Partly b/c of the boot but mostly b/c of me! :giveup:

[mikawendy]

Definitely bouncy: While at the rink Wednesday for a lesson, I saw one of my friends land a BE-YEW-TIFUL double loop, nice height, good rotations, run out on the landing. Not the first time she's landed it, but it was really pretty. She said she did a few like that in the session, but her coach didn't see them.

Also bouncy: in lesson, was working on getting the salchow to jump "through" instead of just knee up. (I have the same problem on the waltz jump--knee goes up but I don't have a whole lot of travel "through" on the jump.) Trying a "split salchow" worked for me--I didn't get a split position but got the feeling of the transfer of the weight from takeoff leg to air to landing leg. It felt completely different. Whee!

deanna--That woman is not worth your time (or anyone else's). Rest assured you have as much right to be on that ice as anyone else who paid for the group lessons.

[Kim to the Max]

[Bouncy]

Didn't skate yesterday (had to judge a talent show at work :) ), which I'm thinking helped me have a really good day today. Spins were strong and fast, jumps were BIG including lutzes, I landed a few axels (still a bit cheated, but closer...I could feel myself pull my legs in). Did some double sals for giggles...gotta' work on the leg position for that one...

[Flat]

Program was okay...messed up a couple of the jumps, but then did them again afterwards as they are choreographed in my program and they were fine...don't know why it doesn't happen when the music is on...

[Bouncy]

Moves again felt good. Concentrated on getting a good extension on the back double 3s, as that was one of the comments the judges made...

Lesson tomorrow...feels like I haven't seen coach in forever...hopefully I skate okay tomorrow...

[dbny]

Deanna - I keep thinking "Maybe she's too old, but you sure aren't!" :lol:

Flat - Got an email from my coach that the rink where I have my lessons will have school groups totalling 200 kids tomorrow. She left it to me about my lesson, but DH skates then also, and doesn't want to deal with the crowd, so we'll go elsewhere and I'll have no lesson for two weeks (holiday the following week).

[kander]

Bouncy: Finally landed a decent toe loop in my thursday lesson:) I've been doing it everywhere but there. Spins were better than normal for a thursday morning. One of the regular skaters at the thursday session skated in the 4 Continents and made past the qualifying round!

Flat: Still having trouble with the loop. I'm starting to get frustrated with my reconstructed axel. I'm doing everything right except landing it. I keep bailing out on the last 1/2 turn and end up landing on two feet. On the plus side, the jump is big (coach said I should be doing a triple 8O )

[Sessy]

(snip)

Yeah you can tell from the skating videos, you looked a little low on energy but you did still look like you were totally in control so there, you'll be okay. Sucks about the iv still being in your way though.
And congratulations on your driving test!!! LOL on the driving test I passed I didn't have to parallel-park, thank God, cuz frankly for me it's like my camel spin, I think I can do it, then at the most inappropriate times, I suddenly can't. Parallel parking sucks.

Though apparently it can get worse. Roomie of mine went to Aruba couple of years back and apparently, the way they park there if there's not enough room is like, give the car in front of you a gentle push with the bumper, give the car in the back of you a gentle push with the bumper.... When you come back, cuz everybody parks that way, your car is bumper-to-bumper with the cars around it again, so... When you wanna get out again, same principle, push forward, push backward... 8O 8O 8O

[Sessy]

Brrr I hate the flu. Tell me, how can somebody have the stomach flu first, and then the real flu three times from mid-december to mid-february? Well you can if you're me...
Though one of those times was probably strep throat.
Stupid doc says there's nothing he can do about it either. Cuz oooohhh it's a virus. *sigh* And I've had it for over a week now and I still feel like a puddle. ANyway I think I'm going skating tonight anyway, though I'll probably end up going off ice halfway through the (group) lesson.


Also, it took me a FREAKING HALF A YEAR of not jumping to get my ankle to stop hurting, 1,5 weeks ago I had physiotherapy , he had me jump on a trampoline cuz that wouldn't tax the ankle so much and it wouldn't hurt, and now it's STILL HURTING!
That while i was doing only quarter-rotation on the trampoline and I can do half-rotation and even salchow on ice without it hurting afterwards (at least, not after less than five jumps on a day and enough rest or so).
Of course now the physiotherapist is on holiday. How convenient!!!


Ughhhhhhh...................

[Mrs Redboots]

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.
What a cow! At our rink, most mornings, there are far more adult skaters than kid ones - often I've been one of the youngest on the ice at 54! You tell her you'll hang up your boots when you're in your eighties, not before....


Rolling Uphill:Yes, you have to at your rink! I've never known a rink with more up-and-down ice.... ours is bad enough, and there was a bit of a slope today, but yours is worse!

bouncy: I pass my driver's test!!Oh, brilliant! Wish I'd done mine when I was your age (actually, you can't in this country, you have to be 17 - and 18 where Sessy comes from!) instead of just two years ago!

LOL on the driving test I passed I didn't have to parallel-park, thank God, cuz frankly for me it's like my camel spin, I think I can do it, then at the most inappropriate times, I suddenly can't. Parallel parking sucks. Tell me about it! Luckily I didn't have to do it on my test, either - only reversing round a corner (which I'm not very good at and think I got a minor on) and turning in the road, which I'm very good at, or was then! I've actually forgotten how to parallel park, but never mind....

Now, to skating! Although I'm not sure I could have learnt to drive before I learnt to skate; I failed my test twice, the last time when I was six months pregnant, and gave up for 25 years!

Bouncy: Nothing spectacularly bouncy; just another practice.... fun, though.

Flat: Spins weren't working. Couldn't get some of the choreography we've been asked to work on. Rocker dreadful, but again, partly because we've lost the choreography leading into it. Everything else okay, but overall a pretty blah practice. Still, good exercise!

[deannathegeek]

Deanna - I keep thinking "Maybe she's too old, but you sure aren't!" :lol:


I hope I'm not considered old-I'm only 30!!!

Bouncy: Payday AND tax refund in one day!

Flat: Still not enough to pay all the bills...

[Rusty Blades]

With my ankle injury yesterday, and only 6 weeks to Nationals, I was REALLY worried about how this would effect my skating. My ankle was quite sore by the end of the day but I had a LOOOONG sleep and it felt a bit better this morning.

Flat: It didn't take long in warm-up however to realize that I was NOT going to be doing any left inside edges without pain.

Bouncy: Surprisingly, everything else was not bad. Since I am "1/4 crippled" at the moment :roll: I thought I would try some jumps counter-clockwise instead of clockwise. Reversing the Waltz jump was easy, though I tend to land with my right leg a bit stiff. Reversing the Toe Loop feels a little strange but it will simply be a matter of getting used to the timing. In lesson I did a reversed Waltz for my coach and she was surprised - she said it had a LOT more height than my CW Waltz but she is hesitant to make a major change so close to Nationals.

We worked on my Freeskate program some more and coach seems quite relieved with the progress. Next week we will go back to the Interpretive and try to finish the choreography.

Hopefully by then my ankle will have healed and I will be able to do LI edges again.

[LilJen]

Bouncy and Flat: Practices mixed this week--spins good on runthrough yesterday (yay!) but jumps wonky and off-balance. Hopefully it will all come together tonight & tomorrow as I am off to a comp. Flat: Totally, stupidly jittery and nervous. Woke up at 4ish am today and didn't sleep much after that. Of course, part of it was that I was nervous for Jeff Buttle & Jeremy Abbott at 4CCs and anxious for both to do good programs. . .

[Clare]

Flat:
-CW forward crossovers, which have never been great, were awful this morning, all toepicks and wonky shoulders. Shocking!
-Having to leave for work when I would so much rather have stayed at the rink!

Bouncy:
-Total opposite of last Friday's lesson thankfully! Got my PMA back and got revenge on my back crossovers for deserting me and making me cry last week :D. They were so much better today and I'm relieved to know that I can do them when I don't allow my fear to get the better of me.
-Change of Edge, rapidly becoming this big geek's favourite thing.
-Gave the Dutch Waltz a bash with Mr Redboots and, as suspected, my timing is dreadful...the positive side? I managed not to kick him over!

[Terri C]

Bouncy:
Went to the smaller rink in town today, because my rink only had freestyle this morning and I was bound and determined to skate pain free today after my appointment with the podiatrist, which I did.

Very few people on the afternoon freestyle too.

Flat:
Sound system was not working so great there and it being a smaller size rink, did not run through program. Will be fine for Sunday.

[dbny]

I hope I'm not considered old-I'm only 30!!!
Not even implied! The stupid mom may think you are too old, but then, we know how stupid she is!


Hopefully by then my ankle will have healed and I will be able to do LI edges again.

Rooting for you!

Bouncy:
Because my lesson rink was swamped with kids today, we went to a small outdoor rink in the same area instead. It cost us $12 each to skate for 2 hrs, because we are not county residents, but it was worth it. The weather was glorious and the rink is in a park next to an artificial pond with visiting waterfoul. Very strangely, one end of this rink is lower than the other, and the wind was blowing so as to speed one up on the downhill and slow one down on the uphill. The music was great for skating, with a mix of tempos and volume never too high. The ice was clear with tracings beautifully visible. I hit some good, centered one foot spins, and am definitely making progress on the backspin, though I still haven't managed two revs. FI threes were best ever today, and I skated the Prelim alt FI three pattern with no touchdowns until the very last turn, and with that little quarter turn before stepping forward, so as to get a good push onto the next FI edge. I just generally felt very smooth and graceful, and got some compliments from other skaters to that effect. Nearly fell off the back of the blade twice. Once on F power pulls and once on something else. This would normally have spooked me, but today it didn't. Ah, the wonders of skating outdoors!

Flat:
Darn L side of the Prelim power threes has gone south again! I'm struggling with all of it, whereas two weeks ago, it was well controlled and picking up speed. I think the tilted ice and wind factor did not help me any today. Of course, when an adult skater friend asked to see it, I skated it pretty well :roll:.

[Bill_S]

I hope I'm not considered old-I'm only 30!!!


Heh...I should skate at your rink so that the dain-bramaged mom can see what REALLY OLD and WRINKLED and TESTY looks like!

She'd be glad to see you again after I got done with her after a comment like she made. I don't suffer the mutterings of fools kindly.

Maybe it's being a male skater in a mostly female world that's toughened me to all sorts of remarks - remember the "Boy Named Sue" song?

[Rusty Blades]

Maybe it's being a male skater in a mostly female world that's toughened me to all sorts of remarks - remember the "Boy Named Sue" song?

LOL! Good one Bill.

At 58 and crazy enough to be skating, if she had made that remark to me, her cheek would still be stinging.

[slusher]

In lesson I did a reversed Waltz for my coach and she was surprised - she said it had a LOT more height than my CW Waltz but she is hesitant to make a major change so close to Nationals.

.

I'm sorry to hear about your ankle injury, but it's cool that you can jump both ways. I can jump both ways up to a salchow because I'm a natural lefty but the majority of my learn to skates are righties, so I do it "their" way as not to confuse them. I think it's a neat talent. It didn't help me when I had knee problems because then instead of the take off leg hurting it was then the landing leg so I was hobbled no matter what.

Interesting though that it's better, maybe you're naturally ambidextrious? Don't wreck your other ankle though! Take care of yourself.

Bouncy:

On the same topic, the choreographer asked me to do a RBI spiral, it's one that I've never done, I don't think ever, even for a test, and surprisingly it's one of my best spirals. I wouldn't have known unless I tried.

Flat:

The rest of the program 8O Spins are just spinning down the toilet @@@@@@

[Kim to the Max]

[Flat]
Completely sucked it up at the show I skated in tonight...fell on my flip/loop, hardly was able to do my camel, screwed up the footwork, and had a hard time getting my leg up for my spiral 8O yuck... However...I do have a good number of excuses :) 1) I had already skated 1.5 hours, with a 45 minute lesson 2) when I first got on the ice before the show started, I fell and hit the left side of my butt, and it is still hurting tremendously, 3) I skated toward the end of the show, and I wasn't the best about keeping myself warm...

But, I did it, and that's all that matters!

[Bouncy]
Had a good lesson with coach. However, sometimes things just tend to not happen when she is around...at least today they showed up in my program when they didn't show up... We also reworked the footwork in my program...hopefully this third time around it works better...

But, [Flat]
The things that didn't show up, coach made me do, and do, and do again until they happened... :giveup:

[Bouncy]
Coach is running my test papers by one of the judges for an upcoming test...so we will see...I am really at a point where I am soooooo DONE with the intermediate moves...I'm getting bored...but, I think we are going to try to test both my moves and freestyle on March 16th....

Coach had the BEST quote tonight...one of those things you could only say to an adult and never a kid...I won't repeat it here because you never know who the audience is, but believe me, it had me laughing....

[coskater64]

Because we have a huge hockey tournament starting ice was very limited. This was the first time I have skated with more than 5 people on the ice, there were about 15 and I was doing moves from preliminary - through senior, so I felt bad for anyone trying to figure out what I was doing.

Luckily no one died, my camel spins look horrible, I can't straighten my right leg quick enough so that needs work, sit and layback are much better, oddly enough back camel is better than front since left leg straightens better.

Several very cute little girls 6-8 y/o going 1 mph doing bunny hops and practicing programs almost collided at super slow mo speed. We all watched...it was cute. Amazingly everyone made it through the fs session.

[Skate@Delaware]

Or yell, "Program!" so that they are aware that YOU are the skater skating her program. Sometimes skaters in lessons don't look up to see whose program is on, so they don't know who that one person is who has right of way over them in their lesson.
I'd forget what to yell....when I was running through my programs way back at the beginning...I used to yell 'MOVE' :twisted: but it was my daughter and her friends in my way. It became my "signature yell" at the rink...I typically yell out an "excuse me" and I do mean YELL (I got lungs).
Bouncy: First day of class yesterday-I did a mazurka for the first time and feel pretty groovy about it.

Flat: A skating mom actually told me I was too old to be taking classes and I should leave so the kids get more attention from the teacher. I wanted to cry-still do.
I'd would have told her "you got jokes" and laughed in her face and mentioned something about not sitting on my big butt!!!! don't let her get you down. There are those that do and those that don't-never confuse the two!!!!

Congrats on the mazurka!

[stacyf419]

Bouncy: Complimented by coach on my vastly improved twizzles and yay! my LBI spiral's looking good, so gives me a bit more variety in my program.

Flat: I've been off the ice and on my back essentially (back injury) for 2 weeks and yikes I cannot believe how much endurance and toning I've lost!!! I could barely make it through a 1:35 program today - was exhausted and my legs felt like spaghetti, and my jumps are stinko. I vowed to build back up and be back to speed next week. Now I'm lying on the sofa in a pained stupor. I feel very bummed out, and I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that everyone has bad days.

[Skate@Delaware]

totally skating related, although I'm not on ice today....
Flat: I went online to get tickets for disney on ice-Princess tour...they are in the local area. ALL the good seats are sold out and have been since day 1 (I suspect tour groups/youth groups grabbed them up). So I called, about the ADA/wheelchair seating...since you can't buy them online and I will be recuperating from surgery and will be limited in walking (will more than likely be wheelchair bound at this time).

those seats SUCK! they are way in the back. None are rinkside! Why do they do this?????

so, screw them, I'm not going. It was just a thought to pass the time.

Might go to a flyers game instead....I can sit almost on the rink there!!!!

I did not skate Wednesday night, as I was sick with bronchitis/sinusitis. No lesson. Which also meant I did not put in my time sheet for last week (I always wait until Wednesday to do it).

Bouncy: I had a message on my phone from the new program director-she wants to touch base with all the instructors/coaches and see what they'd like to incorporated next year. How they'd like to see the programs headed, etc. I have never been asked for my input. Which is really cool. Cause I found out the rink has not paid for my membership into PSA, or as a professional member of ISI or USFSA (um, they were supposed to-so I'm on the books as nothing more than "helper" which means nothing professionally).

[Bill_S]

I did not skate Wednesday night, as I was sick with bronchitis/sinusitis. No lesson. Which also meant I did not put in my time sheet for last week (I always wait until Wednesday to do it).



I hope you don't have what I had. I've been off the ice for three weeks because of a MEAN case of bronchitis/sinusitis.

I was at the rink today for the first time in almost 3 weeks. I was there from 8 am to 2 pm, but in my capacity as the photographer for our competition. Not exactly the best way to return to ice for a recovering sick person.

BTW, anyone here ever use a Neti Pot to clear their sinuses? It sounded rather bizarre to me when a co-worker suggested that I try one after week-2 of my illness. It IS strange, but WHOA, does it ever clean out sinuses!

Also, are there any Charleston, WVa skaters or coaches on this board? I was REALLY impressed by the skaters representing that rink in our competition today. Perhaps I'll try skating there sometime to try it out.

[icedancer2]

BTW, anyone here ever use a Neti Pot to clear their sinuses? It sounded rather bizarre to me when a co-worker suggested that I try one after week-2 of my illness. It IS strange, but WHOA, does it ever clean out sinuses!


I've tried it but can't get past that feeling of drowning. BUT my husband LOVES his Neti pot. I use an Aloe/Saline nasal spray and that also does wonders for me. I used to suffer with sinus headaches and relied on "Advil Sinus" and other drug-related remedies - now I find the aforementioned nasal spray does the trick and no more drug-related side-effects! Yea!

I will probably try the Neti Pot again someday, though - so glad the "conventional" medical world has caught up with this simple and natural treatment.

[deannathegeek]

I'd would have told her "you got jokes" and laughed in her face and mentioned something about not sitting on my big butt!!!! don't let her get you down. There are those that do and those that don't-never confuse the two!!!!

I have no room to talk about the 'big butt' thing-when you have a baby, the last 10 pounds are the hardest to lose. After 4 kids, it's really added up.

Bouncy: Claire passed her ISI Pre-Alpha and I passed my ISI Freestyle 1 this morning!

Flat: Hubby's still not talking to me. Not really flat, since I don't really care to talk to him right now anyways. Still a good day!

[looplover]

IBouncy: Claire passed her ISI Pre-Alpha and I passed my ISI Freestyle 1 this morning!



Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bouncy: omg I actually have a legit back scratch spin, wow! Psyched about that. Did a decent front scratch to back scratch today. It even got pretty speedy toward the end and I'm able to exit it now without putting my foot down. Did some ok loops today, and almost had a good flip but it fell short for reasons to be discussed in the flat section. Can do a fast twizzle on RFI, a really bad one LFI.

Flat: My sunday practice public session no longer exists at this rink so I went to their Saturday one, which was packed with kids (birthday party, kids from LTS). So I had to look down all the time to avoid the small herd (some of whom where doing back spirals without looking). To avoid sticking that right back into muscle memory I left early. Looking down messed up my flip jump which would have been a decent one otherwise, had a good pop. Oh well, it was better than nothing and since my downstairs neighbor is out I practiced loops, flips and lutzes on my carpet.

Attempted camel spin again and I don't know if it should go in bouncy or flat. Two very slow revs again and then went off the toe. :??

[Skate@Delaware]

I have no room to talk about the 'big butt' thing-when you have a baby, the last 10 pounds are the hardest to lose. After 4 kids, it's really added up.

Bouncy: Claire passed her ISI Pre-Alpha and I passed my ISI Freestyle 1 this morning!

Flat: Hubby's still not talking to me. Not really flat, since I don't really care to talk to him right now anyways. Still a good day!
Well, when I first started skating, I had about 90+ pounds of baby fat to lose...from my first baby and she was about 16 years old by then!!!! Skating helped get rid of it.

Congrats on passing those tests!!!

Don't worry about the hubby thing. Sometimes mine goes for DAYS without talking to me and I don't even miss it; but we've been married over 19 years....so it's almost refreshing! :twisted:

[RinkRat321]

Bouncy:
2loops
Axels
Flying sits

Flat:
laybacks! ugh they're SO bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFm2FwlrGjg from today

[dbny]

I found out the rink has not paid for my membership into PSA, or as a professional member of ISI or USFSA (um, they were supposed to-so I'm on the books as nothing more than "helper" which means nothing professionally).

If you are not at least a paid instructor in a USFS Basic Skills program, then you are not insured. It only costs $7.50 to register as a Basic Skills member (student or instructor). Tell the skating director that you will pay it yourself because you need that insurance. I'm surprised that they let anyone even "help" without coaching insurance of any kind. I've never heard of a rink or school paying for PSA membership, but more power to you, if they will do that. You would still have to pay for your coaching insurance.

BTW, anyone here ever use a Neti Pot to clear their sinuses? It sounded rather bizarre to me when a co-worker suggested that I try one after week-2 of my illness. It IS strange, but WHOA, does it ever clean out sinuses!

I've been using one for about the past 3 weeks. I used to just snurfle warm salt water up my nose to do the same thing, but with ears blocked, that can't be done, so I bought a neti pot. I really think it's what finally unblocked one ear. Still have one to go :cry:.

Claire passed her ISI Pre-Alpha and I passed my ISI Freestyle 1 this morning!


Congratulations to you both!

[kander]

Flat: Today was a total bust. I got all the way to Moscone center to the convention only to find out I had the wrong weekend!!:frus: So I skated over at Yerba Buena and it was so crowded I had to get off the ice to change my mind (rim shot). There wasn't room to do anything, but I tried squeezing a couple fast waltz jumps in and I scared the beejeebers out of this little kid.

Bouncy: One of the coaches I've never met came up to me after the session and complimented my on my spinning. So did this little girl. At least I got an ego boost out of the session.

[SpaMama]

BTW, anyone here ever use a Neti Pot to clear their sinuses? It sounded rather bizarre to me when a co-worker suggested that I try one after week-2 of my illness. It IS strange, but WHOA, does it ever clean out sinuses!
.

My kids just started using it and I swear are addicted. One has been plagued by allergies for years. She was amazed she could finally breath after using it. I asked how long it has been since she has been able to breath like that and she said 11 3/4 years! (no coincedence that that is her age!). The other one has had a bad head cold and LOVED it. I will definitely try it with my next cold!

Spamama

[Sessy]

BOUNCY:

Sit spin, camel spin, 1 foot spin, scratch spin are working. At least, when I get angry. But not too angry, cuz then I fall off the right back inside edge on the xo'vers extrance.
Now if I could only practice the change-foot... Well, fysiotherapy on thursday we'll see what he says.

Also, the cw waltz jump that I'll be putting in my programme (cuz I still can't jump but need a jump in it if I wanna compete with it) is apparently starting to look "great!". It doesn't feel great though, I mean sure it goes high and I kick through but I feel like a michelin man in the air and I land all scratchy but hey it's cw.

[Sessy]

My kids just started using it and I swear are addicted. One has been plagued by allergies for years. She was amazed she could finally breath after using it. I asked how long it has been since she has been able to breath like that and she said 11 3/4 years! (no coincedence that that is her age!). The other one has had a bad head cold and LOVED it. I will definitely try it with my next cold!

Spamama


How do you do that?

[Terri C]

Bouncy:
I got third in my Artistic event today at a local competition. I was also calmer when I did my program than I was when I tested Bronze free in December.

Flat:
Watched the video that one of the skating parents was nice enough to film for me when I skated on my digital camera and ay,yi. yi- I have some major work to do here. On to Easterns....and JumpinJack Flashing my way through JWe's rink!!

[Clarice]

Bouncy: I passed my Cha Cha and Preliminary Figures today! Whee for me! I'm pretty sure I'm the first person from my club ever to even attempt a figures test.

Flat: Well, the edges on said figures. I have a long way to go before I'll be able to pass the First Test. (The judge said my figures were very neat for my level, though!) :D

[Morgail]

Congrats to everyone passing tests and doing well in competitions! :D

Bouncy:
-I LOVE skating after I've passed a test. All I do is fun stuff:)
-I played around with sit spins, trying to lower both my forward and back sit. I even tried some shoot-the-ducks (which was just funny! I'm sure my rear was sticking way up in the air! :lol: ). Then I tried doing back sits from a back spin entrance. Not very successful, but it was fun!
-Worked on the tricky, footwork parts to my program.
-Did some good back scratches.
-Worked a little on double 3s.
-I have something that (I think) resembles a twizzle. Yay!

Flat:
-Rink didn't bother to zam after a hockey game went over. Ice was icky.
-Session was really crowded, so I couldn't work on camels. I did a few at the start of the session that weren't too bad.
-My quads hurt already from all the sit spin/shoot-the-duck work! I'm gonna be in some pain tomorrow.
-I think the tongue on my right skate is broken down, or getting there. I have to keep relacing it.

[Mrs Redboots]

Bouncy: I passed my Cha Cha and Preliminary Figures today! Whee for me! I'm pretty sure I'm the first person from my club ever to even attempt a figures test.

Flat: Well, the edges on said figures. I have a long way to go before I'll be able to pass the First Test. (The judge said my figures were very neat for my level, though!) :D

Congratulations!

[Laura H]

Finally got to catch a group class on Saturday morning with the jump & spin kids . . . both of my kids have been sick (mono, plus other assorted upper respiratory *crud*) and it has been very hard to get away to the rink! 8O

And then I *tried* to go to a public session Sunday morning with figure skating DS, but all he did was complain the whole time, so we ended up leaving early and it was sort of a bust. :frus: Anyhow, here's the rundown:

Bouncy: Saturday lesson was fun . . . other than the fact that the other "kids" at my freestyle level were not very motivated!! When the coach says, JUMP, I keep doing so until she says to do something else . . . at some point I realized I was the only one jumping!! But waltz jumps were awesome . . . I finally realized that all this time, on the step forward before the jump, I have a bad habit of dropping the hip of my free leg and letting my leg turn out . . .which makes it next to impossible to "kick through" . . . because my free leg is wanting to go "around" instead . . . with conscious effort to keep my free hip "up" as I go up into the takeoff . . . works **MUCH** better! :roll: And the instructor asked ME to show one of the other students a toe loop . . . I was quite excited to know that this jump is now good enough to be *recognizable* and actually help another student!! LOL . . . the other girl was a teen and we actually did work together on some of the jumps while the instructor was working with some of FS 1 students . . . this girl had really nice height on the waltz jump but was REALLY unstable on the landing because of not getting a solid check on the landing . . . her arm just kept on pulling her around, and out of control. Whereas I can LAND a waltz jump perfectly, just can't get a lot of height, so we were a perfect match to work together . . . :P !

FLAT: I was all excited to go back and skate public session on Sunday but DS really dragged me down . . . he just wasn't in a "skating mood" :roll: and arrggh I was getting so irritated with him! And although there weren't many people there, so many of them were freestyle skaters that it was sort of hard setting up jumps, so I tried spins and . . .

BOUNCY: WOW!! the forward scratch is really ON right now . . . I managed to pull off some really nice, long, controlled CENTERED ones while DS watched . . . I even got a "thumbs up" from him which is really rare! But

FLAT: still gotta figure out the sit spin . . .I have gotten really good on those on the spinner off ice, but I'm doing something *different* on ice, and I'm not getting my weight over my center for some reason. WHich really makes it impossible for me to relax and sink into a good "sit." Will have to think about that and play around a bit on ice and see if I can figure out what's going on.

BOUNCY: whoa, all of my effort on stretching/flexilibity exercises is REALLY paying off with spirals . . they are so much more stable and high (and fun!!).

[quarkiki2]

Congrats, Clarice! I totally love the cha-cha.

[Kim to the Max]

For last night since I was way too sore and broken to do anything...

[Flat]
While dodging one of the coaches who was demonstrating footwork to a skater (I was trying to the the CW power 3's for Intermediate moves), I ended up in the path of someone doing her program and we collided :( I fell straight on my left wrist and left hip, which now hurt like nothing else...they are better than they were last night though... Luckily, the skater I collided with is about my size, so while it sucks and now I'm bruised, at least no one got really hurt like if it was one of the little skaters who skates on the ice with us. I just feel bad because I am usually so aware of where I am going and others...plus, she is testing her novice free and senior moves today :( I really didn't want to mess her up...

[Bouncy]
Did a clean-ish program...the only thing I had to go back and re-do was my scratch/back scratch which just didn't feel right.

Lutzes were actually jumping most of the time...

[icedancer2]

Bouncy: I passed my Cha Cha and Preliminary Figures today! Whee for me! I'm pretty sure I'm the first person from my club ever to even attempt a figures test.



Congratulations on the passes - glad to hear someone else is doing figures! [But I suspect many of your club members have taken/passed figures tests unless you club is very new!]

[Clarice]

Congratulations on the passes - glad to hear someone else is doing figures! [But I suspect many of your club members have taken/passed figures tests unless you club is very new!]

We're 13 years old, and I've been a member since the 2nd year. Nope, nobody's ever registered a figure test from our club. The coaches have taken them, of course, but none of the skaters ever have. It's been Moves in the Field for us from the beginning. No one here, including the test chair, had ever even seen a figure test until now. The judge walked us through, so now we know what to expect.

[icedancer2]

We're 13 years old, and I've been a member since the 2nd year. Nope, nobody's ever registered a figure test from our club. The coaches have taken them, of course, but none of the skaters ever have. It's been Moves in the Field for us from the beginning. No one here, including the test chair, had ever even seen a figure test until now. The judge walked us through, so now we know what to expect.

Wow, that is great!! I forget how long it's been since figures were tested regularly - as I get older the years just kind of run together.

I think the last time I saw a figure test on a test session was about 4 years ago at one of the area rinks - it was an Adult Silver figure test. I took my Adult Bronze with a single-panel judge during a quiet freestyle - we just roped off the end and I took the test. I think that was in 2004.

And who knows when we will see another one?

[deannathegeek]

Flat: I went to the rink to practice yesterday, but it was too crowded to really do anything.

Bouncy: The mean skating mom was there skating with her kids-and I got to see her fall on her butt several times :lol:

[Skate@Delaware]

Flat: I went to the rink to practice yesterday, but it was too crowded to really do anything.

Bouncy: The mean skating mom was there skating with her kids-and I got to see her fall on her butt several times :lol:

did you skate by her and suggest that she take some lessons, hmm?????

Oh, wait a minute, she would be TO FREAKIN' OLD FOR LESSONS, RIGHT???? Well, maybe her little darlings could teach the old lady a few things... :halo:

[Thin-Ice]

Bouncy: I passed my Cha Cha and Preliminary Figures today! Whee for me! I'm pretty sure I'm the first person from my club ever to even attempt a figures test.

Flat: Well, the edges on said figures. I have a long way to go before I'll be able to pass the First Test. (The judge said my figures were very neat for my level, though!) :D

CONGRATULATIONS on passing your figure test! Very cool!!