Newbie or Oldtimer: Lessons/Practice Thread May 11 - 17 [Archive]

quarkiki2

05-12-2008, 08:43 AM

OK, this thread is in honor of my almost-three-year-old, Milo, who skated for his first time ever on Saturday morning, yay!

Newbie (me): It was out first dance lesson! And much fun. Worked on some technical stuff, then progressives, forward chasses, swing rolls, cross rolls, and cross strokes. Progressives and chasses were pretty good, need more knee bend (of course...). Found myself stepping not-quite right on swing rolls, though the rest of the roll wasn't too bad. Cross rolls feel great when I'm crossing mt right over left, and suck wind on the other side. Same with cross strokes. I think this means I need to practice my CW progressives like mad so that I can feel more comfortable with the strike and slide motion.

Newbie (Milo): Well, it took much persuading and bribery (he could ride the helicopter coin ride if he put the skates on), but after fifteen minutes of cajoling, he got the skates on and marched all over the padded bench area playing follow-the-leader with me until I marched him over to his "class". The "class" consisted of two other parent/tot combos, one of whom is on his third or fourth session and one, like Milo, who had never gotten on the ice before. Plus me and Milo and two other instructors. I signed him up for parent/tot as I figured I'd be teaching the tot class anyway, so he'd be in my class no matter what.

He was fine until the lead instructor said. "Let's get on the ice!" He let out a wail and refused. Well, I knew that once he got out there, he'd be fine, but he wasn't going to take those first steps on his own. Please, before you think I was forcing him to go -- he was so excited about the lessons and learning to skate that he was asking me every morning all week if it was Saturday. Anyway, I just picked him up and skated out about 8 feet and stood him up. I said, "OK, buddy, we're out here now. If you want to get off the ice, you'll need to march over to the door." He decided that wasn't worth his effort and stood there for a while. Until mommy "fell" and brought him down to the ice with me.

Old Timer: (Milo) Poor mommy just couldn't get up no matter how hard she tried, so Milo showed me how to do it a couple of times before he did the sweetest thing EVER and, standing on his two little skates, he offered me his hands and said, "Here, mommy, I'll help you get up!" And we were in like Flynn... By the time the last 15 minutes of the 30 minute class were up, he was marching by himself without my hands, picking up beanie babies from the ice, grinning ear-to-ear and generally charming the heck out of the other coaches. That's my boy!

Old timer: (Me) Group lessons started with jumps. I managed a few waltz-steps away from the wall (with coach's hands, so still not entirely on my own). Moved on to half-flips. Did a really putrid one (in my book), but coach was watching and called it "Hey! That was a jump! Good -- move on to whatever other jumps you're working on now." So I practiced 1/2 toe, 1/2 lutz, and 1/2 loop. I thought for a second about trying a full toe, but noticed that DH, Milo and Violet were arriving for Milo's lesson, so I hopped off to help him get skates on.

Hopefully, he'll remember the END of the lesson next week when we try again. The most fun was that daddy and Violet were standing at the boards cheering for him -- Violet was grinning ear-to-ear and squealing watching us on the ice. I'm so dang proud of him!

Skittl1321

05-12-2008, 08:55 AM

YAY! I'm so glad Milo skated... I meant to ask you that. I wasn't sure if you'd be able to get him into the skates- but he wasn't being nearly as 'no way, I'm not doing this' as some kids I see at the rink. You definetly didn't force him. Sorry to hear you forgot how to stand up ;) good thing Milo was there to help you! Marching all on his own by the end of the class, and getting beanies- he's a natural!

doubletoe

05-12-2008, 02:58 PM

Aww, what a smart mom! Good job, both of you! :bow:

jskater49

05-12-2008, 05:53 PM

Well it was back to lessons after a week off after our show. Back to the old Bronze moves.

5 Step Mohawk

Well I think we are getting into old-timer territory. We actually did not have to work on the mohawk itself--she was more concerned that I get step #3 right on an outside edge and start getting that baby around the circle...and get my arms passed and head turned in time - I tend to drag that out and get off time. She had me just practice back edges on a circle to get that better.

Then since we were talking about back edges...on to the back edges. On this move the edge is fine - but my crossover is too small - I need to make sure I put my foot down facing the wall, not sideways like I tend to do....

Then 3 turns. She said my 3 turns are beautiful...but and I'm sensing a patter - the crossover...actually I was leaving out the push after the roll over

She also said a year ago she would have never believed I'd be doing mohawks the way I am now...so I guess there's been some progress

jskater49

05-12-2008, 05:58 PM

OK, this thread is in honor of my almost-three-year-old, Milo, who sakted for his first time ever on Saturday morning, yay!

Hopefully, he'll remember the END of the lesson next week when we try again. The most fun was that daddy and Violet were standing at the boards cheering for him -- Violet was grinning ear-to-ear and squealing watching us on the ice. I'm so dang proud of him!

Watch out - paying for two skaters will kill ya!;)

j

ibreakhearts66

05-13-2008, 01:30 AM

Newbie
My body was definitely on strike today. I had a lesson, and she just wanted to see my preliminary moves. Crossovers were fine, but I did them with so much power that I was wiped out by the end. Then I went to do the spirals, got to the second half of the pattern (the inside edge spirals) and my leg said "NO WAY!" We skipped those due to my leg and went on to the power 3s into backcrossovers. I was so tired by the second half of the pattern, that I couldn't even do the RFO 3s properly, and effectively collapsed on the ice.

Caught my breath, moved on to jumps. 2loops were not as good as usual. I'm still adjusting to my new blades and the height they give me. I still sometimes pull in just as tight as I used to, but when combined with increased height and flight time, it translates into one overrotated 2loop.

2flip. Oy. Timing was totally off. My arms were going way too fast. After a few falls, I got up, and immediately sat back down as my heart went into an arrhythmia. Coach comes over, the episode passes, we talk a couple of minutes so I can rest, and then go back to the jumps. 3 or so jumps later, another episode. It was at this point she told me to go sit down.

But those 2 episodes within minutes of each other convinced me I need to go back to the cardiologist. At first, I was only have the episodes a few times a year. I've had about 4 in the past month (2 within minutes of each other).

And I think I'm finally catching the cold that has been ravaging Los Angeles. My sinuses are so clogged and burn horribly. Hopefully it's just a cold, but it is more likely the dreaded cold.

Oldtimer
After my lesson things got better!

I took it easy for a bit until I was pretty sure my heart had totally calmed down. I spun for a bit, and did some really good back camels. I'm now able to get really good speed going straight into a back camel.

Camel-change-camel was nice too.

Decided to work on death drops a liiiittle bit. They're far from good, far from even recognizable I think, but still way better than they used to be.

As I got more tired, my jumps got better (probably because I didn't have the energy to overrotate them!). Did some good 2loop2loops.

In the last few minutes of the session, I did some good 2flips. I was able to slow my upper body down and get the feeling right. I didn't land the ones at the end of the session, but the timing was right (which was all that really mattered)

Skittl1321

05-13-2008, 07:19 AM

I actually skated Monday! I always mean to, but never do.

Newbie: Boots hurt my feet badly. I need something with an arch support. The rink has GREAT deals on Jacksons- but I'm not sure if Jacksons are best for me (I'm in them now. I don't know if it's a bad fit, or the brand isn't right.) The nearest pro-shop is a few hundred miles away. Getting fitted is not an easy thing. I also really need new blades, but I want to have an idea if I'm going to be getting larger boots, so I can order the blade so that it will fit it too. I need the blade now, but can't afford the boots until Christmas. I hate skates.

Rink was really crowded with a school group. Usually no one is there on mondays.

Oldtimer: Well, kind of. I practiced the things we learned in the dance lesson and they went better. I have NO knee bend and need to get the skates sharpened if I want an outside edge. But in the progressives and the cross rolls I was able to hit the ice before moving it over. YAY. Swing rolls I'm still leaning forward a bit rather than bending, but during the cross rolls I was able to keep my chest up better.

CanAmSk8ter

05-13-2008, 08:31 AM

I actually skated Monday! I always mean to, but never do.

Newbie: Boots hurt my feet badly. I need something with an arch support. The rink has GREAT deals on Jacksons- but I'm not sure if Jacksons are best for me (I'm in them now. I don't know if it's a bad fit, or the brand isn't right.) The nearest pro-shop is a few hundred miles away. Getting fitted is not an easy thing. I also really need new blades, but I want to have an idea if I'm going to be getting larger boots, so I can order the blade so that it will fit it too. I need the blade now, but can't afford the boots until Christmas. I hate skates.

I have really high arches, and with an over-the-counter arch support my Jacksons are great. I don't know if there are brands that naturally have better arch support, but if the Jacksons fit aside from the arch problem, you could try getting one at the drugstore to put in. When you get a chance, it would probably be worth double-checking that you're in the right size boot, just because if the length is off, the arch is in the wrong place and that could be part of the problem.

Isn't having weird feet great? :giveup:

Rusty Blades

05-13-2008, 09:02 AM

Newbie: Still recovering from one MISERABLE COLD! Spins still weren't working though they were better than last week. Footwork resembled a drunken nag in hobbles 8O Turns were ..... what turns? :giveup:

Oldtimer: (You called?) Forward edges were great and FXOs were DYNAMITE! Back edges are starting to smoke and I am within spitting distance of BXO's.

FlyAndCrash

05-13-2008, 09:43 AM

Newbie: I hate hate hate hate hate... hate hate hate footwork!!! Arg. It's making me really frustrated. At the beginning of my lesson today, we did push outside pull inside thingys that just were not working. I felt like an idiot. Then we did the back strokes and the best I could do was "handicapped." :giveup: Ugh, and don't even get me started on my program footwork. At least my mohawk slide is working (kind of...).

Oldtimer: I managed to do a runthrough of my program and we added another part.

Newbie: My spins were off today. And my jumps. On my backspin, I need a better lift out instead of a swimming leg... and the swimming leg has traveled to ruin my jumps! Ugh, today was just not a good day.

Oldtimer: I have a set test date for my prejuv free: June 27! Yay!

Mrs Redboots

05-13-2008, 10:04 AM

Newbie: My bloody skirt fell off!!!! Right in the middle of our warm-up, one of the other skaters suddenly shouted out, and when we looked, there it was sitting in the middle of the hockey circle. So I had my husband, Coach1, and this other skater (also a middle-aged man) all wetting themselves with laughter while I tied it back on again! Luckily I was wearing a long T-shirt, a long jumper AND black magic knickers to hold my tights up so I was totally decent..... all the same....

Old-Timer: The actual skating went well! Ran through everything as it was the penultimate lesson before the Mountain Cup (the coaches are away for the next week).

Skittl1321

05-13-2008, 10:16 AM

Morgail

05-13-2008, 11:23 AM

Newbie: My bloody skirt fell off!!!!

EEK! But just so you know it's not only you- a few weeks ago I pulled my pants about halfway down my bottom when I caught my blade during a backspin.

:oops: I would've died!

Newbie:
-Flips were off today. Loops were tiny.
-Camel-back camels weren't happening. Back camel by itself seems much easier.
-Still having problems checking LBO 3 at speed. I can do it fine in the double 3 pattern, but when it comes to the slide chasse pattern (and I'm going much faster), I can't seem to hold the check.

Oldtimer:
-Lutzes were good after I thought about jumping up rather than around. Salchows were decent.
-Spins were good. The last few back camels I did actually felt like spins rather than a big loop on a deep back outside edge :o
-Dances were okay.
-Moves were mostly good.
-Did FI brackets that were suprisingly decent :D

Rusty Blades

05-13-2008, 11:37 AM

My bloody skirt fell off!!!!

Trust our very own Boots to steal the show!

BAW HAW ha ha!

Mrs Redboots

05-13-2008, 11:50 AM

Trust our very own Boots to steal the show!

BAW HAW ha ha!
If I hadn't been almost the only woman on the ice.... not quite, as Clare was there, but she was down the far end doing Interesting Things, and no other woman had yet arrived!

Rusty Blades

05-13-2008, 12:09 PM

That's ok Annabelle, I KNOW I will pay for laughing in our Scrabble game ;)

FlyAndCrash

05-13-2008, 12:30 PM

Sorry about the wardrobe malfunction. :lol:

That reminded me of the final night of the ice show this year. Two girls stripped off their skirts (they were wearing a leotard and a side tie thing on their hips) before skating out for the finale. The two coaches holding open their curtain skated over to us after they went out holding their skirts laughing.

vesperholly

05-13-2008, 07:06 PM

Old-timer:
Oh, I had an awesome moves lesson today. I'm starting to think that I might actually be able to pass SENIOR moves this year. Seems like just yesterday I was struggling to pass Intermediate. Whee!!!

My coach told me to think about opening my shoulder, but closing the hip on the inside double 3s/outside double rocker pattern, going into the rockers - and it worked! I actually did the whole pattern with speed and steady turns. I usually nose-dive. Spirals were so-so and I didn't get to the circular step (lucky me).

I videotaped a couple double loops. They're definitely looking like doubles, but I'm still about half a rotation short and falling. I wish my double sals were as good! :P

Newbie:
Flying camel has become very hit-or-miss on the jump. I did one really great one, and all the others were tippy and weird. Silver Tango continues to struggle, though my coach thinks I will be test-ready this summer.

RachelSk8er

05-13-2008, 09:07 PM

EEK! But just so you know it's not only you- a few weeks ago I pulled my pants about halfway down my bottom when I caught my blade during a backspin. They would have come all the way off if I didn't just fall immediatly when I realized what was happening. And i just had tights on.

When everyone used to wear leotards with wrap skirts when I was a teenager (we were not allowed to wear pants, we had to have on a dress or some sort of leotard/skirt), the skaters' eqivalent of depantsing someone was to sneak up and pull one of the ties on their skirt so it would fall off. I always made sure mine were double knotted. Ahh good times!

Kim to the Max

05-13-2008, 09:35 PM

[Newbie]
Counters...forward ones are okay, it's the back ones (hmmm...I'm sensing a pattern here...first the back brackets, now the back counters?). Forward ones I am putting my foot down on the edge before the outsides.

Bracket/choctaw (both patterns that include those)...getting better, but I still need a lot of work on these :(

Axels...they just were not good today...still close, but I didn't work on them all that long...when I fall on them, I am pretty close to fully rotated, but when I actually land on one foot they are horribly short....it's something to do with me opening up and not staying in for that last 1/2 rotation...

Double Sals...did a few of them, but then I started dropping my right shoulder, and needed to stop...

[Oldtimer]
Laybacks were pretty good today.

I am actually working on double sals again :)

I have my new skates in my possession!!! Picked them up on Friday, but I haven't skated in them because I want to make sure that I have the time to both skate and break them in on a given day....I will probably end up trying to do 3 sessions a day once I get back from vacation next week....one session to break in the skates and another 2 sessions to skate in the old skates :)

dbny

05-13-2008, 10:19 PM

Newbie: My bloody skirt fell off!!!!

I really needed that :lol:, Annabel! I'm not laughing at what happened, but at your very droll description of it. Thank you!!!

Quark - Congratulations on turning Milo into a little skater on his first try!

Oldtimer:
Since I'm going to miss my lesson both this Friday (younger DD is graduating college), and next Friday (will be at PSA Conference), I asked coach if she minded my having a few lessons with a different coach, and she said it was fine. Although I felt a bit shakey, as in too much coffee, and a bit tired, it was overall a very good lesson. We started with FO threes, and I got a teensy bit closer to fully checking them (Zeno's paradox, anyone?). FI threes on the line were surprisingly good, with only one toe tap on the R. My temp coach then asked if I wanted to do waltz threes, which I've never done before. To my surprise, we started with FI's. This is a FI three, push to BO edge, step to FI edge again. FO's were what I expected, and coach added a flourish with the arms when stepping forward. Prelim power threes were better than usual, meaning not so slow and more secure on the threes. Coach had me deepen the 3-turn exit edge, which was fun. Ended with spins, which was nice, as this coach has a slightly different approach to my current coach, which of course, is the main value in having another coach once in a while.

Newbie:
Just did not feel as secure and solid as I wanted to, and so was tentative throughout the lesson. Discovered that I've been scraping a bit on the Prelim power threes, R side on the step forward. I was really surprised by that, and will have to pay close attention to see if I repeat it. Hoping it was a glitch today only. I HATE scraping. Felt tired after lesson and did not stay long to practice. It's really hard to get to bed early when DH gets home from work after 11 PM!

mikawendy

05-13-2008, 11:08 PM

Newbie: My bloody skirt fell off!!!!

Tee, hee! That happened to me one time! Thankfully, I was wearing a thicker pair of Mondor skating tights, in black, over my leotard, as if they were leggings. Also thankfully, no one skated/fell/tripped over my skirt as it lay on the ice before I retrieved it. 8O

singerskates

05-13-2008, 11:26 PM

Newbie: Missed skating yesterday because I just can't seem to decide what my new program music will be. I looked through and listen to hundreds of pieces of music and wasn't sure what I felt I should use for freeskate. Made it to the rink with only a half hour left and then decided to just drive off and go to the library to look up music. Found 3 CD's that are possibilities. Today I missed another day of skating to accompany my husband to purchase a Corvette in the States. Called my coach yesterday ahead of time to let him know that I wouldn't be at the rink today.

Oldtimer: Spent all day with my hubby. Haven't done that for a while since he's been working a lot of 7 day weeks. Husband got the Chevy dealer to lower the price of a black 6 speed standard 2002 Corvette with only 15 000 miles on it down by almost $3 000. Coached called me when I was back in Windsor around 9 PM eating supper in a Wendy's to tell me that he can't make it to the rink where I skate on Wednesday but that I'll get a full hour lesson on Friday. Yikes. I'll be good and tired on Friday but I think I'll be getting a lot done.

Mrs Redboots

05-14-2008, 06:20 AM

Newbie: Arguably should have gone with my instinct not to skate today; after a poor night's sleep, was very tired and, after 30 minutes' skating, realised that it wasn't happening and if I carried on, I'd injure myself.

Old-Timer: Having said that, we did have an excellent run-through of our compulsory dances before I got too tired!

Clare

05-14-2008, 07:11 AM

Newbie:
-Seriously lacking in energy/motivation this morning, had an ok lesson but then did nothing beyond that so gave it up and got off.

Old Timer:
-Wasn't too miserable about today's wishy washy skate as I had a really good session yesterday morning- lots of work on cross rolls and closed chasses (aka scary little buggers).

-Did a fairly ok Rhythm Blues this morning so it wasn't all bad.

-Mrs Redboots' skirt stayed on ;)

Skittl1321

05-14-2008, 07:34 AM

Yesterday wasn't a good skating day.

I got to the mall about 45 minutes before LTS started, so I went to Target to buy insoles. There is no way that my foot and an insole can be in the boot at the same time. So that's a no go. But I put them in a pair of shoes I wear a lot to work and they fit great.

Did about 20 minutes of skating. Progressives are improving, cross rolls are maybe even good, swing rolls not so much. Went into a spin and immediatly popped something in my leg. My PT pulled my quad on Monday while stretching me, so I took that as a cue to get off the ice.

Taught classes that are comically small and have 2 instructors so I didn't do too much because the other instructor was doing fabulous, just helped a few kids out a little.

My lesson- started with crossovers in a figure eight. Had a fall on forward ones- just caught my toepick and slide far. It was a good fall though, as I was able to fall on my hip, and not face plant, and there was good slide to it. So I was fine and went on my way. The problem with forward crossovers is I'm changing on a real strong inside edge now, instead of 2 foot transition. My edge to change has me going so fast that when I start the left side I can't keep up. I'm not a very balanced skater.

Then we did back crossovers, and our instructor had us widen out stance and really step toward the circle. My body position was probably wrong, but the crossovers felt fantastic. Started working on one foot transitions here- those are hard!

Then we moved to waltz 8s. Mine were okay. I haven't worked on them since last summer, but the other girls hadn't learned them yet. After a few tries they were pretty good. I was trying to get the parts to be placed evenly on the circle (something I was never very good at during PB moves)- and I leaned too far back on a back outside edge and went down hard. I fell on my hip (which is quite sore today) but in kind of reverberated up my spine and my neck popped really hard. That was enough for me to end the lesson. I might have been able to skate- but I would have been shaking hard enough that I probably would not have done well. The thought of breaking my neck again is enough for me to act like a wuss and leave a lesson. I told the instructor that I was fine, but I was done for the day. Today my neck is really sore, much more so than the hip I fell on- it's like all the muscles near it reacted by getting as tense as humanely possible :(

I'm not sure I'm going to take a lesson next week. In an effort to get us off our toepicks our instructor has asked us to wear hockey skates. Honestly- the toepick isn't the main difference in the hockey skate- it's the rocker, the complete lack of a tail, and the fact that only a very small portion of the blade touches the ice at a time. Not to mention- the blades are going to suck because we'll have to use rentals. I guess I can see why he might want to do this, but I really don't see the value, and I haven't worn a rental skate in 15 years and don't really want to after seeing how they are maintained. So any other instructors want to weigh in? Is there actual value in this? Or is it just going to be an exercise in me trying not to die?

Isk8NYC

05-14-2008, 08:27 AM

Y'know, it sounds like you have skate problems moreso than a lack of balance. Just reading the reports, it sounds like there's something wrong. I'm not sure that a lesson on hockey skates is going to solve anything - you're already slipping off the heel backwards, lol. Just MHO. I do think you should get a "skate checkup" though - I wonder if your last sharpening changed the profile?

momsk8er

05-14-2008, 12:19 PM

I agree, that much falling on edges is likely not simply a balance problem. Not unless you have balance issues off the ice, or you are really, really pushing it.

Oldtimer: A coach (not mine) who saw my loop jump today told me I have a good loop jump! Whooo hooo! I have thought this jump was sooo impossible for so many years. I am just delighted (jumping up and down here) that I'm finally getting it.

Bronze moves feeling mostly good. Endurance is an issue while skating them fast and one after another. I hope I have enough wind to get through the test. It takes me 5-7 minutes to do the 5 moves, so that's kinda like a long program, no? Hopefully the judges will write a lot between moves so I have some time to breathe.

Newbie: My dd taught me 8-step mohawk sequence on Monday. I can do it, but not really sure I'm on an outside edge as I step down in the mohawk - more like an inside edge to a quick outside. I imagine I'll have to clean that up. I'll have plenty of time, as the back 3s are going to take a while to perfect. Can't do the inside ones at all yet.

Spins are still messed up - maybe my blade placement isn't quite right yet.

Skittl1321

05-14-2008, 12:39 PM

Well the skates did need a sharpening- so I gave them to my sharpener last night. But I've never fallen off the edge, just skidded and wobbled (like I did last Saturday).

I don't have balance problems off ice- but I really think that fall was just leaning too far back, a one time deal- however the blades are old, and very worn down- and I'm like the 4th owner, they might just be too far gone and it compounded the issue.

Terri C

05-14-2008, 12:45 PM

Old timer:
Took my Bronze freestyle test today for the seventh time (4 retries before Adult Moves and IJS and 3 retries after)

Newbie:
I PASSED!!!

Skittl1321

05-14-2008, 12:50 PM

Congratulations Terri! That's fantastic! Your perseverance is inspiring.

Mrs Redboots

05-14-2008, 12:51 PM

-Mrs Redboots' skirt stayed on ;)

Hmph. I will not tell you what I said when I read that. Suffice it to say, Husband is now roaring with laughter again....

And it's true - it did stay on!

jcookie1982

05-14-2008, 01:16 PM

Congrats Terri!

singerskates

05-14-2008, 01:20 PM

Old timer:
Took my Bronze freestyle test today for the seventh time (4 retries before Adult Moves and IJS and 3 retries after)

Newbie:
I PASSED!!!

Congratulations! Now tear up that PreBronze (PrePrelim in Canada but no test for it.) Card and fill out the Temporary Adult Bronze Card as you'll soon move up to Adult Silver.

ibreakhearts66

05-14-2008, 11:01 PM

Newbie
Getting to the rink was a disaster. My friend was supposed to drop me off at the bus at around 1.30 or 1.45. Didn't happen til 3. I finally got on the bus at 3.15, and it was PACKED. It took another 20 minutes or so to get to the rink, and then I had to change and get on my skates. Oy. Finally got on the ice at about 3.45, so it was filled with beginning, skating school skaters. Hectic.

The first part of the session was so irritating! I would be double gorgeous jumps, even some good 2loop2loop combos. The second my coach looked over, even if I didn't know she was looking, I would be splattered across the ice.

Oldtimer
Frustrations aside, I skated pretty well. My 2loops were HUGE. They felt like they were the biggest they've ever been. I even landed 2loop2loops with a fair amount of consistency.

Spins were nice today too. I got several compliments on my camel-change-camel and camel-jump-camel.

I also did some really nice 2sal2loop combos. I'm usually better at 2sal2toe, but decided to go for some 2s2loops. My coach even saw one! I was at the other end of the rink (which was a victory in of itself, as I am a neurotic jumper who always jumps in the same spots), landed a good combo, and heard "good job!"

I landed the BEST double double combo I've ever done toward the end of the session. It was a 2sal2loop, the timing felt perfect, just up-down-up-land. The 2loop took no effort to land. It was really cute, actually. One of the younger skaters (I've known her since she was 2 and she's basically my little sister), looked at me land it, stuck her lip out at me, looking all sad, and skated away. When I asked her what that face was for, she said that she always falls on the second one. Her face was just so cute. Then I proceeded to do another combo and caught my heel on the landing of the 2loop.

2flips are still hanging on. When I control my arms, they're perfect. Granted, most of the time I DON'T control my arms and they turn into totally wacky jumps. But still.

aaand, I GOT A PROM DRESS!

Thin-Ice

05-15-2008, 02:59 AM

Bronze moves feeling mostly good. Endurance is an issue while skating them fast and one after another. I hope I have enough wind to get through the test. It takes me 5-7 minutes to do the 5 moves, so that's kinda like a long program, no? Hopefully the judges will write a lot between moves so I have some time to breathe.

When I judge this test it usually takes about 7-8 minutes. And the guidelines for test chairs say to allot 12 minutes for the Bronze MIF test. So don't worry about racing through the moves. Remember, you paid for this private ice to test on. Use your alloted time to show off what you've been working on and skate to the best of your ability when it's your turn to test. That doesn't mean take a long time between the moves.. but if it makes you more comfortable, you CAN go back to the boards, talk to your coach for a couple of key words on your next move, have a drink of water or get a tissue and wipe your nose between each of the moves. I certainly wish a lot of testers would slow down just a little bit between moves so I CAN write down everything I want to say about their individual elements.

When are you thinking of testing? Good luck!

Thin-Ice

05-15-2008, 07:13 AM

Not sure how I should categorize this.. so I may have it backwards...

Newbie: My knee has been bothering me since returning home from AN. Doctor says I have a small tear in the cartilage next to my knee cap. Soooo... I have to cut down my practice time, just two days a week and they can't be consecutive, and no more than an hour on the ice at a time.. although he'd prefer it to be just 30-minutes. Also, no jumping, turning or spinning at least until my appointment next week. I also have exercises to do 3 times a day, must wear a wrap on my knee, take pain medication everyday (I don't like to take drugs) and he sent a physical therapist with me to the athletic shoe store around the corner to get "very supportive shoes, not that junk you're wearing right now". He says if I religiously follow his instructions, I could be as good as new in about a month. If I don't, I could further injure it and would probably need surgery and have to take a minimum of three months off. I don't know if that's a scare tactic or not, but it's working! And it sure feels weird to have all this "extra time" this week, since I'm not driving to the rink everyday. (My lesson rink is 2 hours away from home, my "closest"/practice rink is only an hour away.) On the other hand, I'll still be going to the rink a lot starting this weekend, I just won't be skating: announcing a local (90-minute drive) competition Saturday, judging at my club's home ice on Wednesday, judging at my lesson rink on Friday, judging seminar on Saturday, then judging a four-hour test session at my practice rink the following Tuesday.

Oldtimer: At least I can still skate some! My coach and I are doing choreography on a new Interp. program now.. so mostly I'm standing on the ice watching her play to the music, and telling her "I don't do bunny hops" and "Sure, I'll work on that spin... when I'm allowed to spin again". My head now knows what parts of the program go with parts of the music... I just can't do it (yet) -- especially the footwork!

BatikatII

05-15-2008, 07:49 AM

Had a lovely skate day today and am finally feeling happy again after being the subject of some extremely nasty, illogical and unreasonable behaviour and comments by a former friend. I realised that if some people are so sad they can only get their kicks by hurting others, then that is their problem and not mine. They will have to find someone else to do that to now, as I am no longer going to give them the pleasure of being upset about it.

The day was made even better by the fact that an 'old timer' friend of mine from way back turned up at the rink unexpectedly with exciting news of her new baby and with the intention of returning to regular lessons which will be the same time as one of mine so will get to see much more of her I hope.

My programme went really well too so all in all a really enjoyable skate session.:D

Helen88

05-15-2008, 01:03 PM

Newbie:
Not much ;)

Old Timer:
Everything!
There was something about today that felt good. So I got on the ice promising myself that I wasn't going to stress about stuff...if I wanted to jump, I'd jump - and if I didn't, I wouldn't force it. And it worked.

3-jumps felt amazing...higher, more secure...I guess I was just thinking about them too much! And I got comments on how my posture looked good too.

And I finally remembered why I skate. Because when I get on the ice, I have to put everything else out of my mind. I have to focus - there's no time for my mind to wander into bad stuff. It's a totally positive, relaxed mental state. And when I got into the car I hit a low and everything came rushing back but for an hour, I was really happy. It was great :)

Isk8NYC

05-15-2008, 02:08 PM

Newbie: Everything hurt today - every joint, every muscle. But I dragged myself to the rink and skated anyway.

Spins are getting better, but my layback isn't staying centered. Really need a sharpening as well as another adjustment on my right blade.

Jumps were junky, probably because my joints are so stiff.

Oldtimer:
Five Step Mohawk sequence is a blast! I know I'm stepping wide, but I'm enjoying the flow.

Spiral sequences, even change-edge, were very good. My arms still get sore and tired after doing the inside spiral sequence. Have to go back to double patterns of those.

Skated a few partnered drills and dances with a friend; Dutch Waltz was very good, but I'm spazzing out on the Canasta Tango. Something about that first progressive/chasse' is driving me zany. I keep doing too many steps followed by a slide chasse' which leaves me on the wrong foot. Grrr. Have to try again later.

patatty

05-15-2008, 04:01 PM

jazzpants

05-15-2008, 04:48 PM

Congrats, patatty on your GOLD MOVES!!! Can't wait to get that Gold Pin on 'ya huh? ;)

My laugh of the week...

Newbie: My bloody skirt fell off!!!!

Then the next day...
...
-Mrs Redboots' skirt stayed on ;)

http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/frech/d030.gif http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/frech/d030.gif http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/frech/d030.gif

Too, TOO FUNNY!!! :lol: (Now you know why I wear JAZZPANTS!!! Of course, I've had my share of "wardrobe malfunction" too... :oops: )

Newbie:
Today is... WALTZ JUMP DAY with primary coach!!! Geez!!! It's like I've never done a bloody waltz jump today!!! I have no lift on the jump. I probably will eventually need a lesson with secondary coach to get back my waltz jump again. (He wants nice HIGH waltz jump and kick thru...)

We did a bit of technique fixing on the salchow and toe loop. Needless to say, I need to spend SOME time on the toe loop. Same with the sal and the flip too!!!

Oldies:
Loop jump seems to now be my best jump... Go figure, given my history with the loop jump. :roll: :P

doubletoe

05-15-2008, 04:53 PM

Newbie: My body is feeling pretty beat-up lately, and my axel keeps coming and going. This always happens right before a competition.

Old Timer: I passed Gold Moves today!!! I can't believe how nervous I was though. I couldn't breathe and my legs were shaking the whole time. Somehow I made it through, but my coach told me it was just about the worst she has seen me skate. Oh well, it was good enough for the judges, so it's good enough for me!! All three judges passed me too - one of them had me .3 above and one was .4 above, so maybe my nervousness didn't show as much as I thought it did.

Wow, that's fantastic!!:bow: Now that that's checked off the list, you can focus on your axel (it's probably just been jealous and wanting attention)!

Oldtimer:
This morning was the most cherished 20 minutes of my week: my lesson with my secondary coach! I skated my program for her and she gave me some big compliments on my axels and also my overall skating (in the past month I've had a 90% success rate landing the two axels in my program, but I haven't done many run-throughs in our lessons). The real music to my ears was when she said I completed the change of edge on my spiral within 1 meter, so I should still be fine under the new 2009 rules (it was borderline when we were working on it last week). One other thing I'm happy about is that I seem to have had a breakthrough on the reverse sitspin entry in the past week. The pancake variation is pretty easy for me as long as I can get into the back sitspin, so there's a big payoff for fixing it!

Newbie:
The flying camel is getting better, but it's still not where it needs to be. I also messed up both my flip combination and my lutz in my program run-through this morning because my right boot suddenly got loose in the ankle right after my first flip. Aarrgh.

Terri C

05-15-2008, 06:45 PM

Newbie:
Today is... WALTZ JUMP DAY with primary coach!!! Geez!!! It's like I've never done a bloody waltz jump today!!! I have no lift on the jump. I probably will eventually need a lesson with secondary coach to get back my waltz jump again. (He wants nice HIGH waltz jump and kick through)

Hey is this a West Coast to East Coast thing- my primary coach had WALTZ JUMP DAY with me too. This was after greeting me with "Get out here Bronze Lady" and asking me the one question the coaches at the rink wanted to know- did I drink all three bottles of beer. For the record no I didn't.

There's also more too. I did get my sitspin lower now that Primary Coach is going to really really push for it. My free leg position in the camel is pathetically atrocious. I also now have to train my waltz jump from a standstill position in order to get more of the height.

Needless to say, the transition from Pre Bronze to Bronze is going to be a interesting one.
Oh and my right ankle has been cranky since yesterday afternoon- I think I twinged it on my test.

NoVa Sk8r

05-15-2008, 06:52 PM

Old Timer: I passed Gold Moves today!!! I can't believe how nervous I was though. I couldn't breathe and my legs were shaking the whole time. Somehow I made it through, but my coach told me it was just about the worst she has seen me skate. Oh well, it was good enough for the judges, so it's good enough for me!! All three judges passed me too - one of them had me .3 above and one was .4 above, so maybe my nervousness didn't show as much as I thought it did.Wasn't it you I saw at Cantiague this afternoon working on gold moves? If so, they looked great! :mrgreen: (Especially since that ice surface is on the small side).

Rusty Blades

05-15-2008, 07:12 PM

BUSY!

Old Timer: A friend of mine from out of town was in for a couple of days to partner the young girls for Dance tests. We went out for dinner and had a WONDERFUL time!

Newbie: I didn't get home until WAY late - on the go from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. yesterday and was DEAD on the 7 a.m. session this morning.

Old Timer: Took the day off work to volunteer at Test Day.

Newbie: There was 4 hours between morning practice and the start of Test Day. Tried to nap in my truck .... semi successful.

Old Timer: Played Ice Captain all afternoon. It's fun taking it easy and watching others work their tail off and battle nerves :twisted: (I know, I am MEAN!)

kander

05-16-2008, 12:34 AM

Newbie: The ice on tuesday was super brittle. I must have left more than a dozen holes in the ice all the way down to the cement.8O Although I'm landing them, my axel take offs have been getting crappier. I had a major wipe out on a salchow in lesson today. I crashed and rolled over like a car wreck. Coach thought I killed myself.

Old Timer: Landed a really good toe loop in lesson today. Spins have been inconsistent, but I've managed to do at least one or two great spins of each type each session over the last week.

kander

05-16-2008, 12:37 AM

singerskates

05-16-2008, 01:30 AM

Oldtimer: Got my Creative Dance "Tango Flamenco" going twice even the part where I speed up double the speed with the same steps I did the first 2 and half times around. Just need to get the end to have more punch but then I haven't really worked on the ending with my coach. I've just been faking the ending.

Waltz jump was alright but not as high as I've done in the past.

Salchow was solid today.

Toe loop only had one time that I slipped picking in with my free toe.

Loop jump was oh so close. Just have to get my freeleg to stay up until I've rocked from the toe pick on the landing to my back edge.

Spiral Sequence has improved. I now can start my sequence earlier so that I can cover more ice. I'm always counting during each position in my spiral sequence. First position is the 1st part of my change edge spiral done as a RFI catchfoot (Beillman type). The second part of the change edge is a normal RFO (need to somehow keep up the speed). Then I'm doing a couple of BX to a LBI catchfoot spiral into my Salchow/Toe combo. I don't know if this will translate to my new freeskate. I'm going to use the soundtrack "Ever After A Cinderella Story" writen by George Fenton.

Newbie: Finally doing up my skates all the way up but I've lost some of my knee bend. Because of this I didn't get a nice low sitspin like I had last week when I was still skating with the top hook not done up. I'm wearing toe spacers in between my big toe and the toe next to them on both feet. I'm finding that I'm getting a little too much outside edge and I haven't adjusted yet for it. Makes spinning feel weird for now. I've downloaded so many songs on my hard drive in my laptop that I'm running out of room just looking for freeskate and interpretive music for my programs.

patatty

05-16-2008, 05:02 AM

Wasn't it you I saw at Cantiague this afternoon working on gold moves? If so, they looked great! :mrgreen: (Especially since that ice surface is on the small side).

Hi NoVa, yes, that was me. I felt good during practice, but I was a mess during the test. If I ever want to take Intermediate moves, I have to learn to control my nerves. It was nice to meet you there. See you Saturday!

Mrs Redboots

05-16-2008, 07:07 AM

Old Timer: I passed Gold Moves today!!!

:bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow: wow... congratulations and respect!

For me:

Old-Timer: Worked on the free dance and all the bits that didn't work on Wednesday are working now.

Newbie: Still unsure of our start on the Canadian cha-cha; meant to work on it after Husband had left but - er - didn't.

looplover

05-16-2008, 09:49 AM

Old-timer: hmmm...my RBI 3 turn is now larger than a dinner plate.

Newbie: I worked exclusively on the silver moves 3-turn patterns today, and they are so far from passing! In fact at one point my left shoulder was heading for the ice and my right shoulder the roof. I have all sorts of upper body weirdness and I had to laugh. Also need more power - I find it hard to do these BI turns with any power. So, practice, practice, practice needed (which is hard to do when you only skate once a week. I'm giving up HBO and am looking into what else I can cut). Won't be able to test these moves the next session at this rate, but I still hope to in the fall.

Kim to the Max

05-16-2008, 09:51 AM

FlyAndCrash

05-16-2008, 10:17 AM

Oldtimer: I had a decent practice today that was much better than the one I had on Tuesday. Maybe because there was no footworky stuff at the beginning of my lesson today... Anyways, After I tightened my skates, my jumps were okay and my camel came back from the dead.

Newbie: I'm late with my program music. There is a long intro that we haven't choreographed yet, and I just seemed to always start late after it! :giveup: Hopefully it will work better next week.

Oldtimer: I was able to hit all my elements in my program! Well, at least all the jumps, my choreo is off with the music/forgotten, but at least all the important stuff is there.

Newbie: After run-thrus of my program, my coach and I started working on FS6 stuff again starting with the spins... I just *love* spins... For some reason, my trasition from sit to back sit is just gone. I can do both, just not together. Maybe it's because I haven't worked on it for a LONG time. It's been two or three months, if not more.

Helen88

05-16-2008, 12:27 PM

Old Timer:

I had another really good skate today! A group of girls from our PE group went up there this afternoon as a reward trip, and I stayed on after most of them had left. Things were working really well today...I always seem to skate better when there's stuff to worry about that I want to forget...:giveup:

Newbie:
Most people weren't very impressed with the things I could do...so yes, my 3-jump's kinda puny and my spirals weren't very high because I was in jeans...but honestly, I showed them my step sequence - 'is that it?'. I'd like to see them try it...

Old Timer:
Someone told me I made my landing positions look really nice and easy :D And everyone was strangly impressed with a one foot glide...

Oh! And I managed to get one girl, who was clinging to the barrier at the beginning, to skate in between me and someone else. I was so proud of her :)

doubletoe

05-16-2008, 02:14 PM

[Newbie]
Been working on starting to break in my new skates (Harlick Finalists with Pattern 99s). I commented to my mom that I had forgotten what a PITA breaking in skates was...I've skated in them for about an hour total, mainly just stroking and doing crossovers. The change in blade is significant (old skates had Comets...I feel as if I am forced to have better technique with the new blades...because the toepicks aren't there as a safety net....) and I can feel it when I switch back to my old skates. I think today I'm going to skate the entire hour and a half in my new skates, but I really want to break these in the right way, which, according to Harlick means 5 hours skating lightly in them (no jumps and spins) and then after that being more aggressive.

[Oldtimer]
While my axels are not "perfect" yet, they are getting so close.... I keep saying that :( but it's true!! I just need that AH-HA moment!!

I bet your new blades will help your axel takeoff a lot. Since Comets are so flat, it's probably harder to roll up over the rocker to the toe and take off straight up off the pick, but that will be easier to do on the new Pattern 99's. Just point your toes hard on takeoff and you'll spring straight up! :) Come to think of it, I landed my first clean axel not long after getting new blades with a rounder rocker. . .

Oldtimer
I completed every element in my program this morning, including both axels and the flying camel. Also had good lesson with my primary coach on takeoff technique for double toe and double sal. I ended up with a perfect double toe takeoff (now I just need to do another rotation in the air instead of doing a toeloop-loop) and we also figured out what I've been doing wrong on the double sal takeoff. I may be ready to get that 2Sal back now. . .

Newbie
Rushed the transition into the pancake position on my combination spin and got fewer than 2 revolutions in position as a result. Also tried lutzes from the traditional back crossover-glide entrance and was a total spaz. I haven't done them that way in ages!

Kim to the Max

05-16-2008, 02:23 PM

I bet your new blades will help your axel takeoff a lot. Since Comets are so flat, it's probably harder to roll up over the rocker to the toe and take off straight up off the pick, but that will be easier to do on the new Pattern 99's. Just point your toes hard on takeoff and you'll spring straight up! :) Come to think of it, I landed my first clean axel not long after getting new blades with a rounder rocker. . .

I hope so! I can feel that these blades are much faster as well... I just want to be able to do it NOW and not have to break in the boots....oh well, that's the price I pay :) It will happen soon.... I'm so impatient....

And yes, it is hard to roll up and jump straight off the pick on the comets because there is nothing to roll up on!

doubletoe

05-16-2008, 02:24 PM

I hope so! I can feel that these blades are much faster as well... I just want to be able to do it NOW and not have to break in the boots....oh well, that's the price I pay :) It will happen soon.... I'm so impatient....

And yes, it is hard to roll up and jump straight off the pick on the comets because there is nothing to roll up on!

Oooohhh. . . I can feel that axel on the way. . .! :D

Kim to the Max

05-16-2008, 02:33 PM

Oooohhh. . . I can feel that axel on the way. . .! :D

I think my coach will pee her pants when that happens...and I think the other coaches will throw a party...I think they are sick of seeing me being sooooo close, yet soooooo far.... Coach has already thrown a tantrum like a 2 year old because I am so close....

jcookie1982

05-16-2008, 07:54 PM

Today was my first day back on the ice after a year off and having a baby, and surprisingly, it went really well. At first I just spent some time stroking round the ice. After about 10 minutes of that, I did some forwards and backwards crossovers, which came back to me pretty easily, so no problems there really, except the back crossovers were a little bit scratchy. Three turns were another story. The forward outside three turns were ok, but definitely not great, and the inside three turns were horrible. Will definitely need to work on those. I was a little scared to attempt mohawks at first, but they were still fine. I got about 5 revs on my two foot spin, but my one-foot was non-existent, even though I did some pretty good spin entries from back crossovers. Forward inside and outside edges on a line were a little rough, but I blame that a lot on the fact that my blades were in serious need of a sharpening, and I was skidding on the edges. The back outside edges were great, but I'm going to need to put some serious practice into the back insides. Did a lot of good waltz jumps, some half flips, and some teeny tiny toe loops and salchows (pretty much just walk-throughs.) I'm so glad that I won't have to start over from scratch, and now I'm even more excited to be skating again.

Kim to the Max

05-16-2008, 10:50 PM

[Oldtimer]
Skated the full hour and a half in my new skates....

[Newbie]
Didn't do any jumps because I really want to take my time breaking these skates in to do it right...But, did some serious work on moves (and did some refreshers on some previous moves - 5 step mohawk and 8 step mohawk). Felt comfortable enough in the boots/blades to work on the novice moves as well...counters are going to be the equivalent to brackets, I think...maybe just the back ones....

I also did some spins...just scratch and some back scratch spins, just to figure out where to spin on the blades....because of the difference in rocker, spin entry is a little different...on my old blades I would grind against the toepick, with this, I feel as if I can't do that, which is probably a good thing because then I won't slow myself down as much...

I can't wait to start jumping in these...but I've only skated in them for 2.5 hours and Harlick recommends 5 hours of lighter skating, and then progressively starting to work on jumps again (their web site has different information...4-6 hours with only the bottom 2 hooks done, then another 4-6 hours with the bottom 3 done, then finally jumping)...but I want to jump NOW!

I'm glad that I didn't change boots today...I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the blades now....

Limited skating next week due to a vacation (well, not really a vacation...I'm visiting a friend who just had a baby and helping with their 4.5 year old)...we'll see if I might be able to make it to the rink on Saturday of next week to visit with the folks from West Michigan...

techskater

05-17-2008, 05:13 AM

singerskates

05-17-2008, 05:28 AM

Newbie: Need to clean up my CW crosscuts forwards and backward so that they look neater for testing. Need to stretch my back crossing leg in position 4 times a day to stretch out my hip joints to help with my crosscuts, especially CW.

Need to get more speed in my spiral sequence so that it will fit within the time frame of the music. I also need to change which hand grabs my skate blade on the RFI catchfoot of the change edge spiral. I've been using my right hand to grab the left skate blade but I'm thinking that it somehow twist my body weirdly and somehow makes my skating foot's blade skid on the ice slowing me down before getting to my second part of the change edge in the spiral sequence. Need to pop up my freeleg higher and faster after letting go as I'm changing edge to the RFO spiral so that my freeleg doesn't go below my hip at any point.
Need to wear my skates inside the house more to break those boots down enough so I can bend as much as I need to for testing (Friday was the third day that I did my skates all the way up since I bought them. Wish they would have had a boot that was an in between stiffness between the Jackson boots I have now and the ones that are one step down from what I have now. Those would have been just right for me.

Oldtimer: Showed off in front of coach that I could do my change edge spiral without touching down anymore. Did all my corkscrews fast and dizzying (sinus troubles because of allergies). Almost down far enough with all the hooks done up on my skates during sitspin. One of my camel attempts had 2 rotations but I never got my head down. Yup leg was in the right place but it looked like a combination of an attitude spin and a camel spin. Loop jump fully rotated and landed on one foot with just a slight touch down 3 or 4 times. Getting close to clean. Soon I'll be cleaning up my flip and lutz. Cleaned up the backward steps in the Fiesta Tango including the cross and the closed Mohawk was clean. Did a stag jump straight into a RFI catchfoot spiral with no steps in between right from the stag jump. Did the same with the split jump too. Coach wouldn't try it. LBI catchfoot spiral now has speed and a good curved edge finally.

Curious? What level would the following spiral sequence be with the freeleg being just 20 degrees above the hip with all positions held at least up to 4 one thousand? RFI Catch foot CE to RFO let go of skate blade open mohawk 2 RBx to LBI catch foot spiral covering the full ice pad on definate edges ( no flats) in a serpentine pattern? This is what I'm striving for at the Adult Bronze/Silver level in my freeskate and interpretive programs. I'm trying to get that 3.4 in CPC (COP [ISU], IJS [USA]) for my spiral sequence as the jumps in Adult Bronze and Silver are worth next to nothing.

doubletoe

05-17-2008, 11:53 AM

Curious? What level would the following spiral sequence be with the freeleg being just 20 degrees above the hip with all positions held at least up to 4 one thousand? RFI Catch foot CE to RFO let go of skate blade open mohawk 2 RBx to LBI catch foot spiral covering the full ice pad on definate edges ( no flats) in a serpentine pattern? This is what I'm striving for at the Adult Bronze/Silver level in my freeskate and interpretive programs. I'm trying to get that 3.4 in CPC (COP [ISU], IJS [USA]) for my spiral sequence as the jumps in Adult Bronze and Silver are worth next to nothing.

It would be level 4 until June 1, and level 3 after June 1 (after June 1, the variety of edges is a requirement for level 3 or 4, but no longer a level-raising feature). That's assuming the following: (1) the catch foot positions are called as difficult variations by the technical specialist at your competition (if the entire free foot is not higher than the head for 3 seconds, it might not get credit); (2) you are counting correctly (Counting to four-one-thousand from the moment you think your free leg is above hip height might not actually be 3 seconds in position); (3) the change of edge is completed without the free leg dropping below hip level, and, after June 1, the change of edge must be completed within 1 meter.

Skittl1321

05-17-2008, 01:58 PM

I seem to have forgotten how to skate. I had yet another bad fall today- once again catching my toepick (while trying to check a back inside 3 turn). At least I'm not catching them while doing stroking. It has been confirmed by a coach that while I scrape my toe picks on almost everything I DO NOT toe push.

Anyhow- the fall was at the very end of class and was bad enough that I couldn't get up on my own. I bumped the side of my knee and I just couldn't get it straight. A coach helped me to a hockey box, and I tried to breathe deeply so as not to cry. A friend came over to check on me, and her hug made me start crying, but then we started laughing and that made me catch my breath well enough that I tried the low freestyle class. It still REALLY hurts. I hate falling in singles- synchro falls are always so much better because I'm moving fast enough that I slide.

Okay skating report:
Just got back my skates. I need new blades NOW. These ones are completely shot. Rather than having that "new sharpening" feel to them they just felt completely off. I have totally lost my backspin. I skated for about 45 minutes during freestyle. Mostly stroking, progressives, crossrolls. Spins and jumps were so frustrating so I barely did any.

Specialty class was nice today (except the fall). We worked on field moves. Started with crossovers in a figure 8. The left side forward is SO difficult now that I am getting strong pushes. I do each side of the circle in 3 pushes (I remember when thinking getting down to 5 was impossible) but I'm so unsteady with that power. The right side is getting good. Backwards felt great- not as scratchy as normal, but scratchy. Got told to turn my palms down- guess that's going to be another one of those things to remember to do differently on Tuesdays than Saturdays. I kind of like them up- I feel like I'm channeling Kristi Yamaguchi and it makes me think to take a big wide step like a figure skater. I don't really know if she holds them upward though.

Did power 3s next. I got complimented for staying on the axis, but not much else was said about it. We did them "synchronized" which made it impossible to build up power, because I had to stay with the counts, which weren't getting faster- but then the instructor admonished us for dragging our toe picks which slowed us down. Urgh. Maybe he was just counting what the people nearest him were doing, rather than acting as a metronome. 3s in the field were my downfall- literally. I can do them on the back outside, but not on the back inside. My knee looks like it has a second knee cap- it has a huge red/purple bump on the inside.

Freestyle was next. I took low freestyle and we started with scratch spins. I was getting 8-10 revolutions, but the problem was I could count them really well- I was traveling insane amounts. Then we worked on inside edges, and I moved on to cross rolls.

Also taught girl scout groups and that's always fun. Now I need to go ice my knee. Stupid toepicks and stupid back inside 3 turns.

Kim to the Max

05-19-2008, 02:11 PM

A couple things, Kim -
I am on my fourth pair of Harlicks and I start jumping as soon as I feel I can lace the third hook without pain (lace bite, blister, blood...). Usually for me, it's day 2 (hour 2), and I usually have a lesson that day which means Axels and doubles. I have never prematurely broken down a pair of skates or broken them in funny, and for those that know me on this board, they know I am hard on boots. Their suggesting is more for kids that us.

For the back counters (well, all the counters actually), think about riding the edge on a diagonal towards the turn versus coming across the circle. This should eliminate any change of edge before your turns and if you check properly afterwards, voila! Perfect counters, every time.

Thanks for the suggestions!!

With the boots....I am just wary because my previous pair of Finalists (my 2 or 3rd pair) broke down in just about 6 months...I bought them before I stopped skating and never broke them in....then came back with a vengence last September and needed new boots in March...don't know what I did...:oops:

My forward counters are getting better, but back turns always give me issues at first...I will just need to work on them some more...but I will test out your suggestion :)