Sandcastles or Sand Dunes: 7/7-7/13

[Skating Jessica]

Sandcastles: Both my coaches (and a few of my skating friends that were there this morning) freaked out over my engagement ring. My Russian coach said, "It's just so white...well, not white. I don't know how to describe it!" LOL, I think she meant "sparkly."

Axels were big and good, as were 80% of my double sals and double sal-loops. Again, the major problem with the double sals is my arms in the landing position, which I already know needs work.

Double toes were pretty decent surprisingly. Well, not the ones I stopped myself on, but the rest--the ones where I let my upper body move through along with my legs--felt really good and easy. And, easy is always good, LOL! ;) My coach thought I was finally going to land one [cheated] today, but no such luck.

Sand dunes: Double loops were disasterous. I have so many issues, not so much on the take-off, which my coach said is fine, but the part where I suddenly freak out and break out of the jump early. I feel like someone is hurling me through the air...that someone being me, LOL! :roll:

And, don't you know that the one day I forget my CD case at home...or in the car...or in the garage (I'm not exactly sure where, but I'll find it), my coach was willing to start putting my program together. Go figure. Now I'm going to have to wait until 7/21 to start working on it since I'll be missing next week's lesson because I'll be in Niagara Falls.

[flo]

Fun title.

But...sand dunes aren't bad, they're essential. They are the great protectors of the shoreline. You have the first line of protection, the beach, then the primary dunes, which are unvegetated. Behind them lay the secondary dunes, larger and vegitated with beach grasses. If you ever want to buy/build a beach house, never build in front of the secondary dunes. Many people make this mistake and see their houses washed away. Also one end of a beach will be naturally building and gaining land, while another will be losing land.

Anyway - Sand Castles: Have been having a great time with pairs and will hopefully start choreography soon.

Sand in the suit: dropped a shelf on my foot. Laws of physics must dictate that items dropped on feet always land with the corner on your foot.

[Skating Jessica]

Yes, sand dunes aren't necessarily a bad thing; they're just not as pretty to look at as sandcastles are. But now that you mention it, I definitely like Sand in the Suit as the new alternative for the not-so-great things. What do you say we switch it up: Sandcastles or Sand in the Suit. 8-)

[*JennaD*]

hahahaha sand in the suit is very fitting :)

Sand in the suit: I didn't do nearly enough axels today....I wanted to do more at the end of the session but I was too tired...oh well, I'll have to practice them extra tomorrow :P Also, my double sal was cheated..

Sandcastles: I worked on double toe and double flip in my lesson today and my double toe actually (somehow!) got better! I took some bad falls on it but I'm getting the hang of the rhythm of it and what to do in the air lol so it's getting there :) My double loop was also really good today! I got lots of distance on it because I apparently went into it kinda open and then pulled in tighter in the air and so I flew pretty far :) it was really cool lol

Also, my coach complimented me on my skills and how far I've come along with them in 2 weeks compared to the speed I normally progress in skills (very...very...very....very slowlllllllyyyy...they do not come easily to me lol)! :P

Now I've just got to convince my coach to let me test my dance next week...:twisted:

wow i used a lot of smilies i nthis lol

[dbny]

Sand in the Suit:
Woke up sick this morning (running to bathroom, etc) and still feel pretty bad. I don't want to miss my lesson tomorrow, so I'm hoping to wake up feeling good, if weak.

[Debbie S]

Yuck, dbny, I hope you feel better soon!

Castles: Passed Silver MIF tonight! Only took me 4 tries, lol. And after I finished my test, I was convinced there was going to be a 5th. But 2 of the judges passed me. Truthfully, I skated better the previous time, when only 1 judge passed me. I wasn't expecting to pass the FO-BI 3's, b/c my RBI 3's are pretty inept (I was hoping the judges would just mark my spirals over and call it a day - lol). But my normally reliable FI-BO 3's weren't working, either.

In the end, I didn't pass the 3-turns, but I passed the other moves and the 2 judges who passed me marked me over on the spirals and power pulls.

So I never have to practice the 8-step again! Yippee!!!! :D

Dunes: I better figure out how to do RBI 3's if I ever want to pass Gold MIF. And I also need to figure out how to not let my nerves get the best of me. Any suggestions? :oops:

[jcookie1982]

Congrats DebbieS!!!

[Thin-Ice]

Castles: Passed Silver MIF tonight! Only took me 4 tries, lol. And after I finished my test, I was convinced there was going to be a 5th. But 2 of the judges passed me. Truthfully, I skated better the previous time, when only 1 judge passed me. I wasn't expecting to pass the FO-BI 3's, b/c my RBI 3's are pretty inept (I was hoping the judges would just mark my spirals over and call it a day - lol). But my normally reliable FI-BO 3's weren't working, either.

In the end, I didn't pass the 3-turns, but I passed the other moves and the 2 judges who passed me marked me over on the spirals and power pulls.

So I never have to practice the 8-step again! Yippee!!!! :D

Dunes: I better figure out how to do RBI 3's if I ever want to pass Gold MIF. And I also need to figure out how to not let my nerves get the best of me. Any suggestions? :oops:

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know that feeling of "uh-oh -- going to have to do it again:(" and the relief and surprise of finding out two of the judges think you did ok. That's very cool!

[Terri C]

CONGRATULATIONS DEBBIE!!!

Skated yesterday morning at my alternate rink. Had a good attempt at sit/change sit combo as well as the back to forward scratch combo.
Rink was a bit crowded, so didn't try program.
Primary coach has e-mailed another coach in our area to see if they have time for lessons for me. We shall see.

[Skating Jessica]

Sand in the Suit: All Argentine Tango for the entire lesson! Agh, I seriously thought I was going to go crazy! My coach is being extremely picky about expression and technique, which she hopes that I pass over on (as usual) since my expression is a little eh. :roll: I now have choreographed head movements (look left on the progressive-chasse, the last edge of the second progressive, and one of the RFO 3-turns). LOL, honestly now: who gets choreographed expression in their dances?! :P

I'm also unable to test [my Gold dances] in August because there's no Gold panel judges available. Bummer. :(

[looplover]

Yuck, dbny, I hope you feel better soon!

Castles: Passed Silver MIF tonight!

AWESOME!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!:bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow:

[Thin-Ice]

Sand in the Suit: All Argentine Tango for the entire lesson! Agh, I seriously thought I was going to go crazy! My coach is being extremely picky about expression and technique, which she hopes that I pass over on (as usual) since my expression is a little eh. :roll: I now have choreographed head movements (look left on the progressive-chasse, the last edge of the second progressive, and one of the RFO 3-turns). LOL, honestly now: who gets choreographed expression in their dances?! :P


People who pass the Argentine Tango have expression choreographed into the dance... it's just the skaters who score ABOVE on expression don't make it look like "my coach told me to look here now... and now I will turn my head because my coach said to....":D

[FlyAndCrash]

Congrats Debbie on your Silver Moves!!!

Sand in Suit: On my night contract, my coach banned me from jumping because I was not very incontrol during my group lesson... I didn't think I was that bad. I just managed to do an out of control 2sal, she saw, and banned me from jumping. And since spinning wasn't really something I felt like doing (having a layback lesson will do that to me... I HATE LAYBACKS!!!), I spent most of the 50 mmin contract doing moves. I, in general, do not enjoy moves.

Sandcastles: I worked mostly on my double 3's. They are doing fairly well, and I don't look like I'm going to constantly fall over. I also did a few sets of decent crosstrokes.

Sand in Suit: I HATE THE 8-STEP!!! With a passion. Maybe I can get my 3turns to be good enough to make up for my terrible 8step. Not only is it boring to work on, I'm not that good at it...

[jazzpants]

WOO HOO!!! Congrats on your Silver Moves, Debbie S!!!

http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/musik/a030.gif http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/musik/k015.gif http://www.cosgan.de/images/kao/musik/c035.gif

You are definitely inspiring me to start working on those now!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

And since FrankR is rarely on skatingforums, these days....

http://gymgossip.com/Smileys/Kustom/beatit.gifhttp://gymgossip.com/Smileys/Kustom/billiejean.gifhttp://gymgossip.com/Smileys/Kustom/georgemichael.gif


Dbny: Please get thee to a BED and REST THYSELF NOW... and get thee better soon!!! That's an ORDER from "Doctor Jazzpants" here... :evil:

[dbny]

Passed Silver MIF tonight!

BIG CONGRATS, DEBBIE S!


Dbny: Please get thee to a BED and REST THYSELF NOW... and get thee better soon!!! That's an ORDER from "Doctor Jazzpants" here... :evil:

Thanks for the get well wishes, Debbie, and the "Doctor's" orders, Jazz. Woke up feeling much better and managed to eat a light breakfast and drink some ice tea (too hot here for hot tea). Canceled my lesson today, though, but will go to evening session to give a lesson (much easier than getting a lesson :lol:.) Hope to be able to practice tomorrow.

[doubletoe]

Yuck, dbny, I hope you feel better soon!

Castles: Passed Silver MIF tonight! Only took me 4 tries, lol. And after I finished my test, I was convinced there was going to be a 5th. But 2 of the judges passed me. Truthfully, I skated better the previous time, when only 1 judge passed me. I wasn't expecting to pass the FO-BI 3's, b/c my RBI 3's are pretty inept (I was hoping the judges would just mark my spirals over and call it a day - lol). But my normally reliable FI-BO 3's weren't working, either.

In the end, I didn't pass the 3-turns, but I passed the other moves and the 2 judges who passed me marked me over on the spirals and power pulls.

So I never have to practice the 8-step again! Yippee!!!! :D

Dunes: I better figure out how to do RBI 3's if I ever want to pass Gold MIF. And I also need to figure out how to not let my nerves get the best of me. Any suggestions? :oops:

CONGRATULATIONS, DEBBIE!! (Whew!)
You're right; those BI 3's will not go away until they have beaten you into submission, LOL! The one thing that helped me the most on the BI-FO 3's on the Gold test was to wait until I could see the spot on the circle where the second turn would be before doing the BI3 turn. So on the RBI-RFO double 3's, I'd push off onto the edge at 12:00, start rotating my head & shoulders to look outside the circle at 1:00, then look over my right shoulder and wait until I could see 5:00 before doing the RBI3. That made the RBI3 happen right at 3:00, with a deep enough edge to make it feel easy. Oh, and ankle bend helps a lot! ;)

[Isk8NYC]

Haven't posted on one of these in a long time.

Sandcastles:
Back spins were dead-on centered - I could feel the "sweet spot" perfectly. I even managed a few pathetic attitude back spins without falling over too much.

Waltz jumps were slow but pretty and high. Salchows were comfortable for some strange reason.

Spiral patterns - solid. If I were to test, they'd pass.

Sand Dunes:
Let's not talk about the &*(%^& threes-on-the-line. lol

My blades are really dull. My forward spins aren't great, although I managed three laybacks today.

Figured out that my Loop and Flip are definitely out of whack because I'm not keeping the body in alignment.

It was great to meet up with TiggerToo today and lust after her skates. lol

[Isk8NYC]

Sand in the Suit:


Woke up sick this morning...
Get well soon!

Passed Silver MIF tonight!
CONGRATULATIONS!

[dbny]

Oops! Misread above post and thought I was being congratulated for waking up sick :roll:. Thanks for the get well wish!

[Rob Dean]

I haven't posted one of these in a while either.

Sand in the suit: Got back from a week's vacation, during which I was at least able to skate regularly at a club near my parents' house, and had a lesson Monday morning in final prep for the Willow test I tried last night. Ugh. Couldn't do anything I can usually do, let alone anything I usually have trouble with. My real life is in serious disarray at the moment, and it's leaking into skating. I sent my coach a note after the lesson to discuss the idea that there would be no more testing until some real world balance is achieved again. So, it was no surprise when the test came back as a solid panel of retries. At least it was a (mostly) different set of problems noted than the previous try, and an average of about .1 higher. :roll:

Sand castles: Tomorrow's lesson should be pressure free, and we'll switch and work on different things for a while...

Rob

[momsk8er]

Congrats Debbie S. Great accomplishment!

Sandcastles - spin is back this week! yeah! Did a great sit spin today, centereed and long. Just need to get down a bit lower. If I tell you my spin is lost again, tell me to watch what my left hand is doing. If it is waving wildly at the bleachers, that is probably what is wrong with my spin. Not so much a blade issue after all (although I'm not totally convinced that it doesn't still need a little nudge to the outside still).

Loop is tiny, but there.

Sand in suit - ick I hate that about the beach. The last time we went my dd had about a pound in there when she got changed (and then it ends up on the bathroom floor of course). Trying sal from a mohawk. I need to come to a screeching halt before I jump. I expect that's not the right way to do it. How do you get spring if you don't have the momentum of the 3 turn? or at least the edge? Do I need to get more on an edge after the mohawk?

[jskater49]

Congratulations Debbie!

Sand in the suit (Since I LIKE sand dunes)

Skating without my dd today. Gonna have to get used to it but I did not like it ONE BIT!

This is for you Mrs. Redboots- I worked on my back crossvers...tried picking up my foot...I can pick up my foot - I can hold the back edge, that's not a problem, but when I cross it over and set it down I just lean so far forward...I cannot seem to keep down in my knees and sitting back.

So I worked on just keeping my back straight and really big pushes.

Sand castles - back edges from Bronze moves -- I have a problem getting my left free leg straight back and not out to the side which gets me off the edge and off pattern. I tried really hard to think about streching it back....and I was on pattern anyway.

Concentrated on making sure my free foot touched my ankle before every step in the 5 step. Couldn't always did it but I can at least do it before starting a new step...so at least I can show the judges I'm thinking about it...

j

[Skating Jessica]

This is for you Mrs. Redboots- I worked on my back crossvers...tried picking up my foot...I can pick up my foot - I can hold the back edge, that's not a problem, but when I cross it over and set it down I just lean so far forward...I cannot seem to keep down in my knees and sitting back.

So I worked on just keeping my back straight and really big pushes.
j

I don't mean to offer unsolicited advice, but in addition to keeping your back straight and trying to bend your knees (both of which are great for helping crossovers), perhaps you can also try to focus on bending your ankles, too. That should help you achieve a comfortable position that feels like your sitting back in a chair. Think of bending ankles, bending your knees, and sitting deep down in a straight-back chair. Even if you can't get that position in the actual crossovers, sometimes standing at the rink windows (if you can get a reflection of yourself) helps you see and feel what the position looks like. Eventually it'll transfer to your actual skating. :)

[vesperholly]

Don't worry, SkatingJessica, "unsolicited advice" is practically the motto of this board. ;)

[jazzpants]

Small sandcastle:

I got down a little bit lower. Actually, a lot lower now. In fact, my secondary coach says that it was "too low!" 8O She doesn't need for my sit spin to be at shoot the duck level. So we'll see if there's a "in between" for me.

Sand Dunes:
I can't maintain the spin for long. I get down for about a 1/2 rev. and I would go SPLAT on the ice. I've discovered that I need to lean forward a bit from the tummy to get a bit more leverage on the balance so I don't end up on the back of the blade. And oh, yeah, need to bend my ANKLES more too!!! LOL!!! :twisted: :P :lol:

I also can't seemed to turn my foot out to save my life. More work for my skating personal trainer to work on, unfortunately. (And this one is PAINFUL to do. :cry: )

No choreography today. My choreographer had some "family issues" to deal with and can't make it. Hope he's okay...

Another small sandcastle:

For the secondary coach to see that I am really trying to go down lower b/c I'm splatting on all my attempts. Those of you that are afraid to fall on a sit spin -- let this big chicken (pointing to self) assure you that the fall itself is NOT bad AT ALL!!!

[looplover]

For the secondary coach to see that I am really trying to go down lower b/c I'm splatting on all my attempts. Those of you that are afraid to fall on a sit spin -- let this big chicken (pointing to self) assure you that the fall itself is NOT bad AT ALL!!!

I second this! I'm trying to do the same thing and having the same result...but as frustrating as it can be, at least you just kind of tip over and you're there on the ice without freaky injury. Maybe that's what it's like for the tots when they fall...:mrgreen:

[Terri C]

For the secondary coach to see that I am really trying to go down lower b/c I'm splatting on all my attempts. Those of you that are afraid to fall on a sit spin -- let this big chicken (pointing to self) assure you that the fall itself is NOT bad AT ALL!!!

Did your coach jump up and down and dance when you fell? Last summer was the Summer of the Splat Spin for me and my coaches cheered every one I fell on!! I can second that the fall is not bad at all.

Sandcastles:
Talked very briefly with prospective new Secondary Coach this am. He was very happy to hear that I work 10 minutes away from the other rink he teaches at. While that rink is closed for renovations, it will be reopened next month.
Also got to skate on a busy freestyle session with lots of high level skaters this am. I actually like that- I feel "pushed" on those sessions.

Sand Dunes:
Need to get this head case issue with the flip over with pronto! Will ask Primary coach for help with this tomorrow on lesson.
Had a bad headache today- so bad that I skipped the gym for a afternoon nap!

[NoVa Sk8r]

For the secondary coach to see that I am really trying to go down lower b/c I'm splatting on all my attempts. Those of you that are afraid to fall on a sit spin -- let this big chicken (pointing to self) assure you that the fall itself is NOT bad AT ALL!!!As a coach used to tell me: "If you're working on the sit spin and not going home with a wet bottom, you are not working hard enough!" :P
I cannot thank her enough for challenging me to the "how low can you go" sit. :)

[LilJen]

Out of town but nervous as heck about some elements of testing coming up in a month, so. . . . skated in Burlington, VT, today. Mostly empty rink (yay!).

Sandcastles: PB 3-turn pattern is getting better. The 3s are getting less jumpy, scrapy, forcey, whatever and smoother. Dutch waltz seems okay although I'd like my swing rolls to be deeper. Can regularly correct problems in waltz 8; the goal is now to NOT HAVE those wobbles and bobbles!

Sand in the suit: WHAT is my problem with spins? I think I have warped my mind on these or something because what the heck. No progress at all and certainly not ready for a FS test (3 revs on 1 foot? heck no). Must ask coach to send me to the rink's spin doctor or something. Also: canasta tango pattern is yuck. I don't seem to generate the power to make the pattern get all the way down the rink, so it's too short, so I end up off pattern. Yeah, my partner can get me there but I shouldn't just rely on him. . . .

[jskater49]

I don't mean to offer unsolicited advice, but in addition to keeping your back straight and trying to bend your knees (both of which are great for helping crossovers), perhaps you can also try to focus on bending your ankles, too. That should help you achieve a comfortable position that feels like your sitting back in a chair. Think of bending ankles, bending your knees, and sitting deep down in a straight-back chair. Even if you can't get that position in the actual crossovers, sometimes standing at the rink windows (if you can get a reflection of yourself) helps you see and feel what the position looks like. Eventually it'll transfer to your actual skating. :)

Yea, I know the drill. Easier to say it and know it than to do it.

j

[dbny]

. . . skated in Burlington, VT, today. Mostly empty rink (yay!).


Could you tell me, please, which rink it was and which session? DH & I are going camping not too far from Burlington and are looking for ice. We'll be away for 3 weeks and I would like to skate once a week. We also have Lake Placid and Plattsburgh as possibilities. I hate to travel 40 min to an hour for just skating - will do it, but it would be nice to do other stuff too and make it an outing.

[RachelSk8er]

7/9/08

Sand Castles: Back camels were ok today (4 revs consistently). Only tried one sit-change-sit and the back sit (which I suck at) was ok. Did what is probably my best layback ever. Axel attempts ok--still chickening out, one day I'll snap in and get the last bit of revolution I need...still only getting around once and landing forward but I certainly have the height and my takeoff technique is very solid. I went ahead and put it in my program where it's going to go so I can get used to having it there. I feel like once I get over the initial fear (getting close) and let myself just rotate, I'll have them consistent, since it's really all in my head. Also (first time ever) attempted double toes, for whatever reason 1.5 revs on these are no big deal because I was getting around enough to land forward without really putting in any effort. Once I get my axel back I'll more seriously concentrate on these. I've never worked on them with my coach so I don't want to get myself into too many bad habits.

Sand dunes: I still just really don't enjoy spinning!

[TiggerTooSkates]

It was great to meet up with TiggerToo today and lust after her skates. lol

:mrgreen::D


I feel so cool now... (blushes) - Isk8NYC wants my little Riedell toebar thingies. I, however, aspire to your Klingbeils.


It's very neat to meet someone from the board!

[katz in boots]

Sand Dunes

Alas, most of my skating. My right (landing) knee just isn't getting any better, which means I can't jump, do backspins (not that they were any good anyway:roll:) and lots of things hurt. As soon as I explained I don't have private health insurance (long story), physio dropped arthroscopy ideas, and resorted to cold & hot packs. No diagnosis, no prognosis. Looks like I won't be doing much in he way of jumps & spins for a long time.


Sand Castles
Well, the only real bright side is that my knee injury has prompted me to work on dance instead until I can jump again. Which prompted me to apply to our Association to become a trainee coach. Been thinking about it for a while cos I will need an Elementary (Oz test level) pass to qualify as a coach. Since the now insist on sit spins being almost bum on ice to pass Elementary free skating, I am aiming for Dance.

Whole new world of pedantic little technical details to come to terms with. Looking forward to starting training as a coach though. And at least it is keeping me from getting too down about having to put my free skating on hold for now.

[sk8lady]

Small sandcastle:

For the secondary coach to see that I am really trying to go down lower b/c I'm splatting on all my attempts. Those of you that are afraid to fall on a sit spin -- let this big chicken (pointing to self) assure you that the fall itself is NOT bad AT ALL!!!

The problem with my sit spin isn't the going DOWN part---it's the getting back UP afterwards!!!!!

[Skittl1321]

I typed a long journal post, so I'm not going to redo it, but here's the gist of things.

Sand in the Swimsuit: Very frustrated with synchro. Our team is very low level, so it shouldn't be this frustrating, but since I struggle so much with turns in the CCW direction I am constantly struggling with synchro. It's even more frustrating because during the summer we are just working on new things and skating slowly- and I still can't do it! The things we do CW, or non-turning, I'm just fine. I don't want to give synchro up, but I hate coming home with the "I should quit skating, I suck" feeling.

Also, on Tuesday my toe-loop was taken away. I'm just cheating it too much to count.

Stupid rink told me blades would be here Tuesday, and they aren't yet. I don't know how much of this is their fault, how much is Jackson's fault, and how much is just their rep's fault. But I'm getting really annoyed. Next Tuesday is the cut off and I'm just going to cancel the order and buy the first blade I find in stock at a pro shop. My chance of testing is getting slimmer and slimmer every week I'm not used to new blades yet. My old blades have no chance of holding up until the end of August, so that's not a possibility.

And my group lesson instructor is going to be traveling to competitions for the next two weeks with his elite skaters, and his lessons tend to be week highlights- so I'm really sad about that. (Though really cheering on his skaters- it's cool to see local skaters climb the ranks!)

Sandcastles: I'm not sure I'm making progress on my camel spin, but I'm getting 2 revolutions and it feels good. We did stars yesterday and on my strong side I think I get the idea. I need a coach to look at them and work with me on them, but that might be a fun thing to learn well. My group lesson coach complimented me on a good spin- while he wasn't coaching me. So that means he just happened to notice it while doing other things. That really made me smile.

[Helen88]

Sand in the Suit:
Busy public session today :evil: and the ice was terrible. I wish I could get over my fear of being in everyone's way, but that's what's putting me off skating on week day patch. I don't feel like I'm good enough yet.

Castles:
After about the 600th try, I did a really really good, 3-rev one foot spin, with entry/exit and everything. I got straight off the ice after that lol.

Jumps were okay I suppose...I'm convinced I'm pre-rotating my toe-loop too much but I've only just started it really so I'm sure it'll get sorted out.

[jazzpants]

Buried 6 Foot Deep in the Sand :evil:

Looks like I need to revisit THIS thread (http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=26786)!!! I am still having issues with going really fast on both forward 3's and back 3's. I think part of the problem for me is that I have not figured out how to get my arms and torsos in the right speed consistently to the point where I don't have to think about it. I see this in the FO3's after doing a couple of fast forward crossovers, particularly on my weaker sides. (In my case, it would be my LFO3's) I have the same issue on my RBO3's too...

And on top of that, just before my lesson, I fell and slide on my left hip. Nothing too bad (I was able to get right back up and skate again) but it made me quite anxious and cautious for the rest of the session. Primary coach, of course, was unsympathetic about it. :roll: Was actually quite surprised when secondary coach piped up and said that yesterday I took at least 5 falls on sit spins.

I know. I know. At my stage I should be able to take like 20 falls like those, get back up, do this again and NOT think about it!!! Unfortunately, I'm 1) not a little 12 year old kid anymore, 2) sometimes just throwing a skater to do something is NOT the way to solve things, 3) even though I'm braver now on the ice, I'm still a big chicken (boc boc boc...) and 4) that fall REALLY DID HURT, compared to the sit spin falls I took yesterday!!! 8O

No sand castles!!! Well, okay, my choreographer is back in town to work on the group number for the Club skating show this weekend. We'll have our lesson next week. (Barring any more emergencies, of course...) And I look forward to seeing the Club show too!!! (Kim Navarro will be in the show!!) :mrgreen:

[kimberley801]

Sandcastles:
I had less ankle pain today since I loosened up my laces a teeny bit. Yay! My salchows were springy today. I know some people count in their heads when they do a salchow to get the timing right. Today for me, it was "One...two...spring!!!" and it totally worked. :D Waltz jumps are getting more air and stronger landings.

One Tuesday I got to go to the rink with my sister-in-law who used to skate when she was younger. We skated around for a little bit and it was fun to have her there.

Sand in the suit:
Spins. I am now officially declaring that I am a jumper and not a spinner. I keep sratching that *bleep* toepick!

[*JennaD*]

Sandcastles: My double salchow is really coming along this week! It's still a bit cheated but it's muchhhhhh better than it was this time last week! lol

My double loops were also good today...I THINK I landed one clean!!! I was getting a lot of height and distance on all my attempts so it's possible...either it was clean or I just came out of it so fast that I didn't notice the cheat lol

Sand in the suit: I realllllyyyy need to pull in tighter in all my jumps to stop cheating them!!! I was cheating my axel today which was really frustrating :frus:

Also, my dance lesson was ok but not that great...and test day is next week, so I may not be testing in the end...:roll:

[Terri C]

Sandcastles:
Primary Coach cannot stop gushing over how much I've improved in the spin department. Had a halfway decent attempt at sit change sit today.
Am figuring out program layout and transitions for new program. My first competition as a Bronze lady will be in late September. Read: need to start working on program now!!

Sand Dunes:
Loop jump, why do you dissapear on me during lesson time?

[flying~camel]

Castles: Passed Silver MIF tonight! Only took me 4 tries, lol. And after I finished my test, I was convinced there was going to be a 5th. But 2 of the judges passed me. Truthfully, I skated better the previous time, when only 1 judge passed me. I wasn't expecting to pass the FO-BI 3's, b/c my RBI 3's are pretty inept (I was hoping the judges would just mark my spirals over and call it a day - lol). But my normally reliable FI-BO 3's weren't working, either.

In the end, I didn't pass the 3-turns, but I passed the other moves and the 2 judges who passed me marked me over on the spirals and power pulls.

So I never have to practice the 8-step again! Yippee!!!! :D

Congratulations! I just failed attempt #1 on this test, but I'm hoping to get a 2-judge pass on attempt #2!

ITA about the 8-step! I'm looking forward to the day I don't have to work on it anymore (until I take Juv moves, that is)!

[momsk8er]

Sandcastles - had a lesson yesterday. First totally freestyle lesson in a long time. Told coach I am not taking a lesson on moves for a while, let me work on them and I'll come back a month before the test and he can adjust. He didn't quite like that idea, he wants to check in every now and then. But we agreed to focus on freestyle for a couple of months. Worked on spins. Coach was happy with backspin progress. Worked on doing the sal from a mohawk, and worked on loop. I think there was some progress made. Coach showed me how to curve the edge around after the mohawk on the sal so I don't get stuck. Coach wants me to not be up on my toe too soon for both the sal and the loop. Good things to work on. I'm happy.

[Debbie S]

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone!

Told coach I am not taking a lesson on moves for a while, let me work on them and I'll come back a month before the test and he can adjust. He didn't quite like that idea, he wants to check in every now and then. I can understand what your coach is saying. When I was working on the Bronze Moves, there were long stretches (like several months) when I didn't have any lessons on them (not completely of my own choosing) and I picked up a lot of bad habits practicing them on my own that took a while to fix. I would recommend having your coach look at them on a regular basis, if not every lesson, then maybe every other.

[Terri C]

Before I post anything else, I feel the need to start with a general on ice safety announcement:
Ladies, please, please, PLEASE do not wear bobby pins on the ice!! When they slip out of your hair and onto the ice, it can result in some pretty nasty falls!!

Sand Dunes:
Toward the end of my session, I hit something on the ice and fell face forward. I got up, brushed myself off and went over to my soon to be Secondary Coach to reassure him that I was okay. But as soon as I got up, I saw the reason behind my fall.... a bobby pin!
Other than that, I was just plain tired today- I skated like 5 days in a row while I was on vacation this past week and out of the 8 days that I was off, I only took 2 days off the ice.

SandCastles:
Yes everyone, you've read right. I'm going to be starting with a new Secondary Coach in August!!

[phoenix]

Sandcastles: My whole lesson was on the Viennese Waltz today, since that will be one of my AN solo dances (yay!!). I knew the steps but had never had any lessons on it so he spent the time cleaning everything up & making tweaks to the pattern. By the end, I felt like I understood it well enough to practice on my own, and he agreed. It was fun to work on something new too.

Sand in the Suit: I was fairly impressed with my little self for putting together what I thought was a reasonably respectable Viennese for the first time working on it....after all, it's gold level & I'm only through 1 of my pre-golds. However, when I made a comment of "Well, I have until April, it ought to be pretty pulled together by then," His only response was, "We'll see."

Hmmm, maybe my little self isn't all that impressive after all....:oops:

[Mrs Redboots]

Sandcastles: Back on the ice. My back crossovers were dire in the warm up, but I did them again later and did a very nice figure 8 of them, starting with clockwise! Many other exercises went well, especially if I remembered to bend my knees!

Sand in the suit: We were very picky with ourselves on the Canasta Tango (there's a Recreational Ice Dance League match on Sunday, and we'll either skate that or the Swing Dance, or even both!), but the issues are relatively minor compared with our Swing Dance issues. Oh dear.... why can't we skate properly in waltz hold when Husband is going backwards? It's both of us - I don't track properly (not too sure how, if I'm honest, but I think I know what I'm doing wrong), it's hard to keep my posture right (and when I do, I toe-push), and I don't think Husband's back edges are quite all they should be. When doing exercises, I could have sworn we were overtaken by several snails and tortoises!

[jazzpants]

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone!

I can understand what your coach is saying. When I was working on the Bronze Moves, there were long stretches (like several months) when I didn't have any lessons on them (not completely of my own choosing) and I picked up a lot of bad habits practicing them on my own that took a while to fix. I would recommend having your coach look at them on a regular basis, if not every lesson, then maybe every other.
I have the occasional lesson with my secondary coach ever so often lesson on Silver moves. It really depends on her mood though. :P But b/c of that, I am officially practicing Silver moves now... (My latest "toy" to play with are the 3's in the field. I want to get control on these so I can start really pushing on those back power 3's and whatever exercises primary coach throws at me :roll: )

Okay, one sandcastle from yesterday... the Oakland rink (and all the other Shark Ice Rinks) are reopened again and I have more room on the ice again!!! :mrgreen: (Not that I don't enjoy seeing these folks, but NOT these folks AND the SF rink folks TOGETHER IN THE SAME RINK AT THE SAME TIME!)

ThinIce: You probably won't read this 'til later but... is your rink where your coach is a lot calmer now? Are they back to "taking it (the fights) outside" like they do at the saloons? :lol: :P

One other small sandcastle is realizing that HEY!!! Not too long ago, I couldn't even DO back power 3's and by that I mean that I got the general gist of where the power comes from now and am moving continuously instead of just stabling thru it and slowing down to a dead crawl!!! That's progress, I think! :mrgreen:

[Rusty Blades]

I haven't been posting recently because every day has been the same.....

Sand in my Shorts: My Summer School session has more than a dozen little kiddies .... not getting much done .... every time I set up to do something, a little one skates into my space .... or a coach & student take up residence where I was working. Trying to work on back outside edges, trying .....

[liz_on_ice]

castles - nice jumpy practice, got some air on a few sals. Thanks to a cool drill dbny showed me, I actually turned a RB03! 8-) Now I have to do the left side.

dunes - the quarter-sized blister on my landing heel. :cry: I'd forgotten my socks and decided to skate anyway au natural. Barefoot skating is so not for me.

While I actually did one or two decent backspins, my forward spin is totally MIA

[ibreakhearts66]

Sand Castles
I got to skate today! I'm back on the ice :) My leg didn't really bother me at all when I skated. It did swell up pretty nicely afterwards tho.

Anyways. All of my jumps were there. 2toe felt really nice and light. I think I landed all of my 2loops. I also landed a couple of 2flips.

Spins were nice too. I got like 5 compliments on my flying camel :o

I saw doubletoe too! We didn't skate together, but said hi in the parking lot.

Sand in the Suit
I kept overrotating 2sals. It was really annoying.

I tweaked my back on a layback. I guess my leg was too high and my back too far back for my flexibility (or lack thereof).

I think I need to shell out for new skates. Again. My Klingbeils are just far too stiff. I 've had 'em since September, and no signs of breaking in. No crease, and it's still really hard to bend. I'm thinking of going back to Harlicks. For a 120 pound skater working on 2axel and starting triples, would you guys suggest High Tester or Finalist strength?

[dbny]

I think I need to shell out for new skates. Again. My Klingbeils are just far too stiff. I 've had 'em since September, and no signs of breaking in. No crease, and it's still really hard to bend. I'm thinking of going back to Harlicks. For a 120 pound skater working on 2axel and starting triples, would you guys suggest High Tester or Finalist strength?


Before you get new boots, why not call Don and tell him about your problem. He will most likely take the stiffness down a notch for you free of charge. BTW, I don't think I've ever seen creases in Klingbeils. It doesn't mean they are not breaking in or even that they are not breaking down. I know several elite skaters who wear them, and their old ones that they use for coaching don't have creases.

Sand Chalets:
Finally got back to some of my own skating after being sick early this week. It was shocking how much strength and endurance I had lost from one day's inactivity/fasting. OTOH, today I was able to apply myself a bit, just with exercises and figures, and things went rather well. My FO figure eight tracings were closer than ever before, with most being within 4" (3" required for passing a test.) Was still able to do FO and FI threes, although a bit stiffly. I'm encouraged because I feel that I just need a few hours on the ice to be back to where I was, as opposed to a few weeks.

Sand in the Suit:
I've got a very heavy work day tomorrow, and quite a few lessons booked for Mon - Wed right before I leave for vacation on Thurs morning. I need to find time to practice before my own lesson on Tues afternoon, and make time to finish up vacation preparations.

[ibreakhearts66]

Before you get new boots, why not call Don and tell him about your problem. He will most likely take the stiffness down a notch for you free of charge. BTW, I don't think I've ever seen creases in Klingbeils. It doesn't mean they are not breaking in or even that they are not breaking down. I know several elite skaters who wear them, and their old ones that they use for coaching don't have creases.



My only problem with that is that I don't wanna be without skates lol. I meant to send em back while I was off for surgery, but forgot. I live in los angeles, so I feel like I'd be without them for a long time.

[Mrs Redboots]

Sand in the suit: Not a good skate day today - everything just slightly "off". So didn't stay on the ice for long, especially as we have a recreational match tonight.

Sandcastles: Having said that, I did the best LFI3s I've ever done! And Coach2 was impressed by our swing dance, saying that technically it's improved enormously.

[Helen88]

Sand Castles:

Good lesson today, learnt a lot. Improved my cherry and salchow, and learnt some combinations. And started on a loop!!
Step sequence was much improved apparently, and - dare I say it - I think I MIGHT be getting to grips with a spin!! ;)


Sand in the Suit:

Took a couple of falls on my salchows...my knee was hurting yesterday, and it hurts even more now. I think I've twisted it.

[looplover]

Sandcastles: My done-correctly new toe loops are consistently done correctly! Now I'm working on making them bigger, which is not easy. This is supposed to be the easiest jump? Hm. Anyway one of my attempts was larger than the rest. Maybe it's all in the timing. Have been trying to do sit spins with the free foot correctly turned out and today was better than it has been, I did a couple of revolutions that way though I don't think it was very low. Also worked on BI threes for silver moves and my RBI ones are not bad at all now...when I do shallow lobes...

Sand in the Suit: But can't do shallow lobes for silver moves. Still glad I can do the three turn at all.

Can't get any speed on the camel and so I only do maybe 1.5 revs.

Was about to do a flip and some kid skated wildly across the rink and ended up right behind me. And that was the end of that...mental block back in full force. :frus:

[jazzpants]

Sandcastles:
Did pretty well today on ice. Landed everything I set out to do pretty much, even the lutz!!! Camel was better today too!!! And the sit? Well, it could be lower but it's low enough now that I think the coaches should be happier.

Sand Suits:
But obviously I was aiming for a much lower (close to shoot the duck) spin and I still can't hold it that low yet... but, I am trying for it still.

THAT back power 3's. Can do it... but it's CURVED IN after the back 3's. This tells me that I'm not doing this right. It should go more out instead of this teeny tiny circle I'm making instead. If I could get this, it's going into my interp program (and probably my technical as well too.)

BIGGER Sandcastle:
I just came back from our yearly(?) Adult Nationals Viewing party. I've been to these viewing parties for years (like at least since 2001?) The BIG difference this year? I BROUGHT MY VIDEOS (DVD's) from ADULTS NATIONAL!!! I finally can be part of the "show and tell" with all the other adult skaters at my rink!!! :mrgreen: :bow:

[LilJen]

This is for my practice Friday (who, me, behind?). Got in some pretty decent practice. The 3-turns are getting less scratchy and less hoppy and smoother (yay!). Played with spins a good deal; tried all kinds of different things. . . (sand in the swimsuit) but they still suck!! I guess seeing the pathetic loopy tracings on the ice is amusing in a sick kind of a way. . . :giveup:

[Thin-Ice]

[QUOTE=jazzpants;370705] ThinIce: You probably won't read this 'til later but... is your rink where your coach is a lot calmer now? Are they back to "taking it (the fights) outside" like they do at the saloons? :lol: :P /QUOTE]


I LOVED this image... the saloon brawls between parents and kids in our usually quiet lobby.

Actually Friday was still crazy.. but there's always hope for this week to calm down... I think part of it was also people getting ready for Red, White & Blue competition at Vacaville last weekend and testing at Ice Oasis on the 25th.

But thanks for the update.. I may feel more sure on my unsteady knee if there are fewer out-of-rinkers there.:D

[quarkiki2]

Sandcastles: Well, finally - 10 months post-partum - I am starting to feel like I'm over my blades again. I still have nowhere near the power I did pre-Violet, but I am starting to not feel like I'm a disaster on ice. Worked by myself in practice to hold th hip of my free leg higher when on one foot. My hips are so loose that by lifting my leg, my pelvis will tilt down towards the ice by some 45 degrees or something. So I worked on basic forward edges to think about picking the hip up and not the foot -- logically, if the hip goes UP, so will the foot as my legs are the same length... This seemed to help me get more of my weight over my skating foot with not quite as much effort. Will try with back edges next week... I really need need need to be doing off-ice core work, but that's not gonna happen until I stop using my lunch hour to nurse Violet.

Practiced back crossovers with a smooth transition between feet as the goal. CW feels great, CCW feels like it needs work yet. Forward progressives felt pretty good and I think I was a little less noisy? Maybe...

Group Lesson: Jessi and instructor and I had fun just trying stuff. Practiced stars more -- now I can do them leaning, but not with the high leg kick. I remind myself that the leg really isn't going all that high for me, so I really need to concentrate on the bending into the camel position instead of even thinking about the leg -- I think mine goes up high enough without effort. Did some spirals, including an unintended FO to FI change edge. I am confused why I'm struggling with these as they used to be so reliable and steady, but I don't want to lean from the waist at all on these, either. I think this also goes back to core strength. Don't even want to try backwards spirals -- not surprising as I dislike skating backwards, LOL!

Did some fun footwork-y things and those went better than expected -- particularly back-three mohawk, back-three. I'm usually a CCW skater, but the LBO3-step LBO3-step sequence worked better than the RBO3 sequence. Was able to do about 5 - 6 turns in a row before momentum got the best of me. Also did some weak LFO3, LBI3 double threes. Not cheated per se, but the LBI edge wasn't held much longer than a blade length -- though the tracings were clear that it was a double three and not a twizzle.

Sand in the Suit: not me, but Milo. Poor little guy has just turnes three and is trying to give up his nap. As a result, he's been a whiny bear of a boy the last week. And, for the last two skating lessons, he's been glued to my side and not wanting to participate. I tried turning him over to another instructor because he's much less likely to pout if he's working with a "not-mommy" adult, but he wanted to get off the ice. So I let him. At three, I'm not sure he's ready to understand the whole "Stick with it until the end of the session because you said you wanted to do it." DH and I are discussing stopping the group lessons and maybe just skating for fun and as just the two of us. He's young and I'm not pushing him to train for the Olympics, so I'm OK if he just wants to march around the ice with me occasionally.

[jazzpants]

The problem with my sit spin isn't the going DOWN part---it's the getting back UP afterwards!!!!!
Well, unfortunately, that's *MY* current problem too!!! Well, at least in MY "shoot the duck" position. :lol: :lol: :lol:

(Awwww... poor Milo...)

ThinIce: You probably won't read this 'til later but... is your rink where your coach is a lot calmer now? Are they back to "taking it (the fights) outside" like they do at the saloons? :lol: :P
I LOVED this image... the saloon brawls between parents and kids in our usually quiet lobby.

Actually Friday was still crazy.. but there's always hope for this week to calm down... I think part of it was also people getting ready for Red, White & Blue competition at Vacaville last weekend and testing at Ice Oasis on the 25th.

But thanks for the update.. I may feel more sure on my unsteady knee if there are fewer out-of-rinkers there.:DSo here's the question: is Charlie the sheriff... or the bartender behind the bar? (Given what I know of Charlie... I say the BARTENDER!!!) :twisted:

Yeah, I forgotten about Red, White and Blue... between the 75th Anniversary skating show and the AN viewing party (where BTW, I was VERY PROUD to finally show my very FIRST AN videos -- until I saw my botching up my sit spin in the technical FS video AGAIN!!! THEN I wanted to hide!!!) http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/images/smilies/yikes.gif http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/images/smilies/slinkaway.gif

[Thin-Ice]

Well, unfortunately, that's *MY* current problem too!!! Well, at least in MY "shoot the duck" position. :lol: :lol: :lol:

(Awwww... poor Milo...)

So here's the question: is Charlie the sheriff... or the bartender behind the bar? (Given what I know of Charlie... I say the BARTENDER!!!) :twisted:

Yeah, I forgotten about Red, White and Blue... between the 75th Anniversary skating show and the AN viewing party (where BTW, I was VERY PROUD to finally show my very FIRST AN videos -- until I saw my botching up my sit spin in the technical FS video AGAIN!!! THEN I wanted to hide!!!) http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/images/smilies/yikes.gif http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/images/smilies/slinkaway.gif

Actually Charlie's the "silent stranger". He's staying soooo far away from all of that and I'm sure he's glad they'll be going back to their rinks. In fact, he thanked my coach for commenting to a couple of the "not-from-here parents" that "We don't have that kind of behavior in our rink. If you must do it, go out to the parking lot." Of course he thanked her out on the ice.. where none of the parents could overhear him. I think that's called a self-protection move.. since he's around the rink a lot more hours than my coach.

I'm so glad you were able to show off your first AN videos... and don't beat up on yourself for the sit spin. It just gives you room for improvement for AN 2009! Wouldn't you hate to think you did everything perfectly the first year out.. and then couldn't match that standard the next year? I sometimes go back and look at my first couple of skating tapes when I'm really feeling frustrated.. and realize even on my worst days now, I still look a lot better than my first couple of years... and that evidence of progress helps me get over those "Why did I ever think I could skate?" days. 8-)

[jazzpants]

Actually Charlie's the "silent stranger". He's staying soooo far away from all of that and I'm sure he's glad they'll be going back to their rinks. In fact, he thanked my coach for commenting to a couple of the "not-from-here parents" that "We don't have that kind of behavior in our rink. If you must do it, go out to the parking lot." Of course he thanked her out on the ice.. where none of the parents could overhear him. I think that's called a self-protection move.. since he's around the rink a lot more hours than my coach.SMART MAN!!! VERY SMART MAN!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

I figured that he would be the bartender b/c the bartender knows everything that's going on b/c he's there all the time and talks to the skater and the skater's parents but otherwise stays out of things (b/c bartenders just listen. They don't take sides!) I also see him ducking behind the counter during the slug out and having a quick whiskey nip before ducking a flying chair coming towards him. :lol:

But yes, the "silent stranger" fits him well too! ;)

Yes, I am very glad the rinks are reopened again! I like the calm open space! And I don't have to freak out trying to dodge all the other fast moving skaters there. (Though admittedly both coaches know that if I'm pissed off enough that I'm perfectly capable of moving fast and getting around them. That's explains why primary coach is always try to piss me off. :twisted: )

I'm so glad you were able to show off your first AN videos... and don't beat up on yourself for the sit spin. It just gives you room for improvement for AN 2009! Wouldn't you hate to think you did everything perfectly the first year out.. and then couldn't match that standard the next year? I sometimes go back and look at my first couple of skating tapes when I'm really feeling frustrated.. and realize even on my worst days now, I still look a lot better than my first couple of years... and that evidence of progress helps me get over those "Why did I ever think I could skate?" days. 8-)
Yeah, but I had the sit spin prior to AN!!! That's why I'm :frus: about it. But point taken on the worst days part. (I think I was also getting used to skating on that patch of ice too. It was weird... I was told that the 1980 is a dream to skate on... "smooth like buttah" I was told! I got there and it was HARD and BRITTLE!!! 8O I guess the timing of repainting the ice and then rebuilding the ice patch didn't help either, huh? :P (And thankfully, I knew NOTHING about the wasp nest while I was skating on that patch of ice and that none of the wasps got near us then. Ignorance was definitely bliss at that time. :bow: )

[Thin-Ice]

Yeah, but I had the sit spin prior to AN!!! That's why I'm :frus: about it. But point taken on the worst days part. (I think I was also getting used to skating on that patch of ice too. It was weird... I was told that the 1980 is a dream to skate on... "smooth like buttah" I was told! I got there and it was HARD and BRITTLE!!! 8O I guess the timing of repainting the ice and then rebuilding the ice patch didn't help either, huh? :P (And thankfully, I knew NOTHING about the wasp nest while I was skating on that patch of ice and that none of the wasps got near us then. Ignorance was definitely bliss at that time. :bow: )

It was too bad you didn't get to skate on the really good 1980 ice so many of us had been expecting. I know what you mean about it feeling really brittle and hard. I skated my Interp. over there without having had even one practice on it.. so during my warm-up I was adjusting to the ice -- and then realized I had laid out my program the wrong direction! I fixed it in my head during the event... but maybe next time we're at Lake Placid you'll get to feel the REAL 1980 ice!!! See you soon, I hope!