Cautious or Brave? Practice Thread 9/29-10/5 2008

[jskater49]

I guess skating at 6 am on Monday mornings means I get to come up with the titles...I thought of this one during power when I skate forward at full speed, aggressive and the coach blows the whistle which means turn around and skate backward and I skid to slow down to turn and she says "Our goal for you in this class is to turn WITHOUT skidding!" Which means I will need to be brave...

Brave - other than that....this was a great practice session for me. I stayed the whole hour after my power class, lately I've been pooped out and quite 10-15 minutes early. Gee maybe the french toast???

Also having a lot to work on helps. I'm competing my freestyle, artistic and a spins program in about a month.

My half lutz LFO 3 turn, mazurka, half flip sequence is miles better - even the 3 turn into the half flip was really improved. I got so I hold the extention after 3 turn and then step right into the mazurka. I was getting off the ice for my waltz jumps. I prettied up my inside edge hold, LI mohawk, step to RFO 3 turn so I really extended and held the edge. Nothing fancy just pretty.

I felt so brave that when I was working on my artistic, I turned a two foot turn in it into a 3 turn. But I'm supposed to raise my arm during that turn and that's kind of tricky. I will get my coach to help me with that on Friday. And when I did it to the music I became cautious and went back to a two foot turn.

Cautious - well not cautious just not good - I skated the Swing totally to the music but my edges went out the window and was practically skating straight down the sides. I just cannot seem to put timing and edges together. :-(

I'm probably not going to Adult Nationals. It's just too much money and if I'm going to spend the money maybe I'd like to be a little better prepared. I dont' do well testing under pressure and if I try to test the Swing thinking I "have" to pass it to make it to Nationals...that's way too much pressure. And I qualify for a feature in this year's show but it's a week after Nationals and I won't be able to miss a whole week of rehersals the week before the show.

Maybe 2010. Hopefully they will still have solo dance and I'll be further along in dance.

j

[phoenix]

I had a fun practice yesterday. Sunday nights are a quiet session so I can get full patterns in without too much trouble.

Another coach & I occasionally trade 10 minutes here & there--I help her w/ dance & she teaches me spins, which I suck at. But she has a gift for teaching them & I've really improved in a very short time because of her. Last night we started on camel, which I've never done before---and I actually got a couple revs in what she said was correct position! Woo hoo! There may be hope for my spins yet.

[hanca]

Passed level 3 field moves. Hurray!!!! :)

Though I let the nerves take over and managed to skate so badly that I was feeling really ashamed getting off the ice. What my cooach must have thought... :frus:

Does anyone has any tricks how to overcome nerves during tests?

[Skittl1321]

Passed level 3 field moves. Hurray!!!! :)

Though I let the nerves take over and managed to skate so badly that I was feeling really ashamed getting off the ice. What my cooach must have thought... :frus:

Does anyone has any tricks how to overcome nerves during tests?

CONGRATULATIONS!

I understand completely what you mean about having the nerves take over. My PreBronze moves test was a complete disaster. I was cool, calm and collected and then I fell apart with the shaking legs I could barely stand on. I passed, but came off the ice almost in tears.

What seemed to work for me this time around was to get so totally worked up 2-4 weeks ahead of time, and really really freak out. Then by the time the test came around I had already gotten it over with, and had a manageable level of nerves for the actual test- just a high heart rate during the test and a little shaking on the warm up. (Ask my coach- when I say so totally freaked out ahead of time, I mean it. I was flipping out.)

[Mrs Redboots]

Passed level 3 field moves. Hurray!!!! :)

Oh wow, well done! That is huge - I can't even begin to do those 3-turns, and my coach and I reckon I will never in a million years get my knees high enough for the spiral exercise (he says I wouldn't pass level 1 on my spirals, so I'm just thankful that I don't have to!). I have the other two exercises more-or-less passable, though.

Congratulations!

[phoenix]

Does anyone has any tricks how to overcome nerves during tests?

Still working on that, but some things that help for me:

-skate earlier in the day, for about a 1/2 hour (don't overdo it!!)

-test/compete as often as possible, so you're more used to it

-have someone sit & watch you run through your test while you're practicing---for me, that "someone is watching" feeling makes me nervous. Again, so you get more used to it.

-do a big off-ice warmup before your short on ice warm up so your body is really ready to go

-totally agree with Skittl---really go for the freaking out ahead of time!! Sounds weird, but it does seem to work. Makes for a stressful couple of weeks leading up to the test though!

[lskater]

Had make-up lesson with coach yesterday on a public session. Luckily the session wasn't crowded, I even ran-through the moves test.

Brave:
1. Silver Moves ready to test soon. 8-step mohawk sequence is better now that I'm turning my hip out on the mohawk.
2. Gold Moves progress. Double 3's went great today....I'm still doing brackets on the short line, but they're getting consistent....
3. Did a camel-blur spin combination
4. Lutz combo went great!
5. Actually did a straight-line Ina Bauer (only for about 2 feet)
6. Most exciting!!! Did the Rocker-Counter combination (the one from Novice Moves) without putting my left foot down in the middle of it!!!!! I LOVE that move...it looks really cool.....Can't wait until I can do it really fast around the end of the rink.....

Cautious:
1. I'm still putting my arms down on the flip jump...it's driving my coach crazy. I had to do the jump 5 times grabbing my hands in the air and keeping them together through the landing.....uggghhhh
2. Sit spin today was blah.......

Thanks!

Lisa
Portland, OR

[dbny]

Passed level 3 field moves. Hurray!!!! :)


CONGRATULATIONS!

-totally agree with Skittl---really go for the freaking out ahead of time!! Sounds weird, but it does seem to work. Makes for a stressful couple of weeks leading up to the test though!

I'm another one who likes this technique. Imagine yourself out there testing every time you run through the moves. I think in addition to getting the level of nerves down somewhat by test time, you also know that you can skate with those nerves when the time comes.

[liz_on_ice]

cautious - missed my train, and thereby the first twenty minutes of practice this morning

brave - me on my BO3 turns, picking up speed and confidence, spins suck way less, even back spins (not good mind you but much less bad) and it was a middling jumpy morning. Didn't land a loop but getting closer.

[coskater64]

Brave: Learning my new free skate program, since my jumping is limited, coaches focus is on second mark. Needless to say, this will be a very difficult program for me to perform well. Hopefully, I can overcome my lack of jumping prowress with better skating skills.

Cautious: Jr Choctaws, new program at speed.8O

[dbny]

spins suck way less, even back spins (not good mind you but much less bad)

Well, even my coach commented on your good center while spinning last Friday. We were both watching you, and both impressed - even with the backspin. It's better than you think!

[jazzpants]

Passed level 3 field moves. Hurray!!!! :)

Congrats on passing level 3 field moves!!!

Try to concentrate on doing the elements and walking thru what you have to do in your mind and NOTHING ELSE!!! Do NOT think "Oh, this is the real test session!" If you have to bring music to listen to to help you to focus on those elements, do it!

Think of it as another work task that has to get done! You got thru your household tasks before... so think of it as just another household task, KWIM?

liz_on_ice: Are you going to be at our Aviator version of our meetup up in a couple of weeks? (Tuesday late afternoon, early evening or whatever time people can make it?) I would like to see those backspins!!! I have a hunch they aren't as bad as you say they are!!! :twisted: :P :lol:

Cautious:
I am really REALLY sore and my muscles are really tired!!! I barely had enough juice for my lesson tonight.
I was not able to land ALL my loops cleanly, especially towards the time of my lesson (which happens to be towards the end of the hour that I was skating!!! LOL!!!)
I drove my primary coach CRAZY trying (and at first unsuccessfully!) trying to do the new footwork that he just gave me!!! He was like :frus: the entire lesson!!! :twisted: :P :lol:
Playing it safe on the flip combo jump for this comp. I'm just going for a flip-toe loop! I will work towards a flip-loop for AN though.
Brave:
Going for the lutz in my technical program this year!!! YES, I AM!!! (If the flip-loop comes together, it will be a lutz-toe loop. :P ) And yes, I did land a few tonight too!!! :bow:

[Rusty Blades]

After my normal stop at Tim Horton's for a breakfast sandwich .... ;)

Brave: Started the choreography for my new Interpretive this morning. After her initial reluctance, my coach is starting to get into this! 8-)

Let's just say my new program is "strange". One of the young competitive skaters was working on her program when my music was playing and she had to break it off - she couldn't skate for laughing. Nuff said.....:halo:

Cautious: Still have no idea if my ankles/knees/hips are going to allow me to continue with freestyle. Physiotherapist says I need 4 to 6 weeks to build up my quads and it has been three weeks .... only time will tell.

[jazzpants]

After my normal stop at Tim Horton's for a breakfast sandwich .... ;) Were you "on time" or did they chime 'ya for being 5 minutes late today? :P :lol:

Let's just say my new program is "strange". One of the young competitive skaters was working on her program when my music was playing and she had to break it off - she couldn't skate for laughing. Nuff said.....:halo:You know... we will eventually ask you what the new program skating music is... ;)

Cautious: Still have no idea if my ankles/knees/hips are going to allow me to continue with freestyle. Physiotherapist says I need 4 to 6 weeks to build up my quads and it has been three weeks .... only time will tell.Ummmm...you are skating??? Therefore, you ARE building up your quads!!! :twisted: :lol: (Okay, it's not as simple as that! :P You have to stroke around the rink, bending your knees and get a full push on the blade to get the full effect...:halo: )

[Rusty Blades]

Were you "on time" or did they chime 'ya for being 5 minutes late today? :P :lol:

I was right on time! 8-)

You know... we will eventually ask you what the new program skating music is... ;)

Yes, and I am no good at keeping a secret so I will eventually blab! :giveup:

Ummmm...you are skating??? Therefore, you ARE building up your quads!!! (Okay, it's not as simple as that! :P You have to stroke around the rink, bending your knees and get a full push on the blade to get the full effect...:halo: )

That's the idea. Ever since I did a lesson with Elizabeth Manley 3 weeks ago, she got me REALLY "down in the knees" and made a RADICAL difference to my skating - huge improvement in both pwer and "form" - my coach commented that I now look like a "serious skater" LOL! but I found muscles I didn't know I hadn't used..... just going to take some time to figure out whether I will soar or crash - right now I am just sore!

[FlyAndCrash]

This is for yesterday, but hey, that's still this week! :D

Brave: I did a good runthru of my program. I hit all the elements and added some more artisitc stuff. It's working out pretty well, but I am completely out of energy at the end. I'm planning on taping it tomorrow morning with the help of another girl. Hopefully, it'll look better than I think it does. :lol:

Cautious: I had the coach look at my sal-1/2loop-flip seq and she says that I'm landing my 1/2loop forwards about 50% of the time... BOO! I'm working on it and hopefully it'll be fixed soon. If not, I'll need to change that pass into a sal-loop-loop or sal-toeloop-loop. Except I hate toe-loops...

Brave: The coach talked my into doing an axel-toeloop-loop and axel-3turn-axel! It was really different because the only combos I've done with the axel is the axel-1/2looop-flip. I managed both, but they were both super sucky.

Cautions: I have stiff hands... Sometimes they are pretty, but not usually!!! There is so much to think about, that my arms and hands just kinda stay in the basic uphelp position. I guess I need to work on skating with graceful hands and maybe put more gestures into my program. Ugh. :giveup:

[doubletoe]

Brave
Today was moves day, and instead of doing our usual Novice MIF work, I had my MIF coach start teaching me (figure) loops. She started me with back inside loops and by the end of our lesson I had a LBI loop. By the end of the FS session I also had a RBI loop. Now I just need to make the loops bigger, which will involve staying more towards the middle of the blade instead of right on the ball of the blade (a little scary!).

Cautious
I only made myself do one LFO counter (my #1 mental block turn), and the exit was really wimpy. I'm also still sore from the fall I had on Sunday (I got distracted just as I was about to get on the ice and forgot I still had my guards on. Ugh!)


Cautious: I had the coach look at my sal-1/2loop-flip seq and she says that I'm landing my 1/2loop forwards about 50% of the time... BOO! I'm working on it and hopefully it'll be fixed soon. If not, I'll need to change that pass into a sal-loop-loop or sal-toeloop-loop.

My theory about the half loop is that the only reason we all struggle with it so much is because it has the wrong name. I was suddenly able to do it once my coach finally explained that what we call a "half loop" is actually a fully rotated loop where you just land with your left foot instead of your right. Just like the regular loop, you stay backwards with your hips closed and left foot in front of the right shin until you are all the way backwards, then just put the left foot down and extend the right foot way back on the landing instead of landing on the right and extending the left leg way back. You need to check rotation and try to ride the edge straight back just like a regular loop landing, and that will make it much easier to do the flip afterwards (although that is an inherently awkward flip entrance!)

[Bill_S]

Caution to the wind: The morning skate was a power session for the most part. Stroking strongly and aggressively occupied much of the morning, especially after the kids left at 7:15 am to attend school. I had the rink mostly to myself.

In my exuberance, I'm sometimes finding myself in a bind when I'm REALLY down in the knees so far down I can barely muster enough strength to keep from collapsing. It takes a mighty push to keep going. I keep in mind that if I do go down, I'd slide a good 1/3 way down the rink. (That's actually kind of fun in a strange way, but still, I don't want to do that.)

I left with sweat running down my face, soaking wet hair, and looked forward to a shower before I taught my class. (The students would be glad too.)

A young coach here offered to teach me for free, but I declined. By university decree, all of our coaches are college students. I told him that even though educators don't earn that much, I'm still rich compared to most college students.

We negotiated, and he will coach me on Monday mornings... and he will be paid for his work. He deserves that.

[liz_on_ice]

Well, even my coach commented on your good center while spinning last Friday. We were both watching you, and both impressed - even with the backspin. It's better than you think!

thank you - but three revs on the backspin (or to be specific, backspin stage of changefoot) is still only a dream, and I'm not passing FS3 without it. sigh.

[liz_on_ice]

liz_on_ice: Are you going to be at our Aviator version of our meetup up in a couple of weeks? (Tuesday late afternoon, early evening or whatever time people can make it?) I would like to see those backspins!!! I have a hunch they aren't as bad as you say they are!!! :twisted: :P :lol:


I'm not sure, work is upside down crazy these days. I might be going to KC again for a couple of days, so squeaking in an extra day off is dicey.

[dbny]

thank you - but three revs on the backspin (or to be specific, backspin stage of changefoot) is still only a dream, and I'm not passing FS3 without it. sigh.

I am quite certain I saw you do 3, and on the correct edge.

[ibreakhearts66]

I got hurt :( I pulled my hamstring pretty badly yesterday doing Victory/Y-Spins. My coach insisted I was flexible enough. It didn't feel too bad when I was doing it, but I can hardly even walk today. I still skated though :oops: Really, jumps didn't hurt too badly. Axels and double sals hurt (it's my left hamstring), but I didn't notice too much pain in my other doubles. That might have been endorphins starting to kick in, though

Brave
-Had my second lesson with my new jump coach today. It went quite well. He's very picky, but he actually complimented me on my double flip. I also managed a double lutz for him.

Cautious
-I couldn't do anything except for jump today. Just skating around hurt, spinning was out of the question, and my attempts at left footed powerpulls sent me onto my butt (when my hamstring refused to do anything to support my body).

[amcnulty]

This session of classes has been great! There are only 4-6 adults in my class (each week has been different) and we have one instructor with two helpers! It really makes for alot of individual attention.

My forward crossovers are coming along quite nicely. Last night one of our helpers said that my crossovers looked better than hers. Wow! What a compliment:o

We also started backwards crossovers. It took me quite awhile to actually lift my foot. I was suddenly terrified.8O By the last few minutes I was able to do a few. They were definately not pretty, but at least my foot left the ice.

Stopping is still somewhat iffy. I can do it if I really think about it, but if I am just skating and suddenly need to stop, its not going to happen yet.:frus:

[Skittl1321]

Brave Actually made some progress on my camel- what the instructor was saying has finally clicked. I was raising up too early, so I was looping around on my inside edge, and then I wasn't bringing my shoulder and hip "together" so my leg was drifting. I actually did one that meritted a "good"- and another that got a "that's exactly what i was wanting". Of course, I have no idea whether these actually look like camels. I am going to try to tape on Saturday.

Cautious Even though my head is saying "bend bend bend" while I do the three turn, I still end up raising too early. My brain makes all the corrections I'm given, why won't my body?

Very Cautious Why can't I do a backspin? :cry:

[jskater49]

Brave -

One of the girls on my session just on her own commented to my coach about me "She looks so much more comfortable on the ice now!":)

My lessons are usually on Friday but coach is going out of town so I had a make up lesson today. We went over my artistic...we were able to turn a two foot turn into a 3 turn complete with an arm movement. It has to happen very quickly and I get a little behind in the music but I can do it and I think I'll fix it by the time I compete this in exactly one month.

Then I had her help me with my 3 turn before my half flip...what she did was have be glide on the edge a while, do a step behind and then step forward for the 3 turn...I think it just slows me down enough to give me time to set up the 3 turn, it made a big difference. I really feel good about my freestyle program. It's not going to win any points on technical difficulty but it's a very pretty program.

I brought a CD with music I downloaded and played that so I didn't have to listen to all the talking on the radio. Of course it was all music I liked - but I think the other girls liked it too....I enjoyed just skating around, doing turns and spirals and edges to the music.

j

[Rusty Blades]

Not Cautious Enough? Beats me!!! Was pushing some backwards, deep in the knees - nothing I haven't done a zillion times in the past month - and got a pain in my left ankle, inside, between the Achilles tendon and the bone - quite sharp. Came off the ice and couldn't stand on my left foot 8O This is not good! The left ankle is about the only thing that hasn't caused me any pain in the last month! It isn't too bad now - I can walk but with a limp. Will see my physiotherapist after lunch. Gotta be back on the ice tomorrow - got choreography to finish for a new program that will be competed at the end of November.

Getting old sucks!!!! (But not half as much as the alternative!)

[FlyAndCrash]

Brave: I taped my program this morning! Wow... I have really crappy arms! Anyways, I'm posting it on youtube and will leave a link here, so please comment! Any tips or ovservationss are greatly appreciated!!!

Cautious: My spins... They just weren't really working this morning. I didn't do that many because I had limited ice time, but they definately need work!

Brave: I managed an axel today at the end of practice. It didn't feel that pretty, but I landed it.

Cautious: I skipped most of my moves. :oops: I did do cross-strokes, but that was it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJHiC6B02AY

[Mrs Redboots]

Brave: Penultimate couples' lesson before competition so ran through everything in skate order. Was exhausted after! Most things are as good as they're going to get, I think, but one or two minor corrections.

In solo lesson, worked on spins, 3-turns and back edges. My RFO 3 works better than my LFO3 because I have more control of my R knee, I discover.

Cautious: Back edges just fine with a partner, but hopeless solo. I can't get my weight far enough back over my skate. Sigh.

[Pgh.Coach]

Brave: I taped my program this morning! Wow... I have really crappy arms! Anyways, I'm posting it on youtube and will leave a link here, so please comment! Any tips or ovservationss are greatly appreciated!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJHiC6B02AY

Nice job! Your flow and speed are really strong. :)

I don't think your arms are "really crappy" as you put it by any means; however, I'd suggest that you work on holding your landing positions to really finish off your jumps. Extend the free leg more and don't drop the hip.

[doubletoe]

Nice job! Your flow and speed are really strong. :)

I don't think your arms are "really crappy" as you put it by any means; however, I'd suggest that you work on holding your landing positions to really finish off your jumps. Extend the free leg more and don't drop the hip.

Yep, I agree with all of the above! You have nice jumps, and I thought you did a good job on the sal-loop-loop landing. Just try to hold the landing of each of the other jumps for a count of two and it will really show them off to the judges.
As for your arms, you might want to experiment with trying to separate your arms from your shoulders. Not literally, of course, LOL. I just mean trusting that it's really your *shoulders* that need to stay squared and controlled, and as long as your shoulders are in the right place, you can relax and soften your arms, bend them and move them as much as you want. KWIM?

[FlyAndCrash]

Yep, I agree with all of the above! As for your arms, you might want to experiment with trying to separate your arms from your shoulders. Not literally, of course, LOL. I just mean trusting that it's really your *shoulders* that need to stay squared and controlled, and as long as your shoulders are in the right place, you can relax and soften your arms, bend them and move them as much as you want. KWIM?


Thanks for the comments. I think I see what you mean about the shoulders vs. and arms. ANd while my arms aren't horrible, it's the one thing that visible lacks polish when I look at it...

The observation about my landing hip is great too. I always forget about it!

[Rusty Blades]

BRAVO! Good news - not a sprain but tendinitis - back on the ice tomorrow. (Never knew tendinitis could happen suddenly .... apparently it can!)

[Skittl1321]

BRAVO! Good news - not a sprain but tendinitis - back on the ice tomorrow. (Never knew tendinitis could happen suddenly .... apparently it can!)

Glad to hear that you will be back on the ice. I hope you have better luck with the tendonitis then me- I've been battling it in my feet for 14 years (and now I have it in my knees too), and I'd take the sprain any day!

[miraclegro]

CAUTIOUS: First lesson with new MIF/dance coach. She says, "Let's start with something simple" (I am working on Adult Gold MIF). So we pick power x-overs. Hit a toepick on the speed-up/fast part, and PLASTERED myself onto the ice. Thought i had truly broken my back; heard it crack as l landed in a weird way. Turns out, the wind was knocked out of me, but i have MONSTER bruise on one hip, a black (not much blue!) finger, and a stiff neck and bruised knee.

BRAVE (or whatever the 2nd choice was ;)

Went back to the ice today, and did power crossovers, albeit slowly, to be sure, i'll keep the posture UP an think it through more. Did a layback despite the stiff neck! Anything after that was daring and brave i think, b/c it scared me to death!

[ibreakhearts66]

CAUTIOUS: First lesson with new MIF/dance coach. She says, "Let's start with something simple" (I am working on Adult Gold MIF). So we pick power x-overs. Hit a toepick on the speed-up/fast part, and PLASTERED myself onto the ice. Thought i had truly broken my back; heard it crack as l landed in a weird way. Turns out, the wind was knocked out of me, but i have MONSTER bruise on one hip, a black (not much blue!) finger, and a stiff neck and bruised knee.

BRAVE (or whatever the 2nd choice was ;)

Went back to the ice today, and did power crossovers, albeit slowly, to be sure, i'll keep the posture UP an think it through more. Did a layback despite the stiff neck! Anything after that was daring and brave i think, b/c it scared me to death!

Ughhh I took a similar fall a few months ago, also on crossovers. Glad to hear you are (relatively) OK!

[jazzpants]

I had a similar fall on crossovers a few years back! Banged up my knees. Couldn't bend my knees (never mind skate) for about 3 weeks. Not fun.... :giveup:

I had two lessons today. One with my choreographer and one with my secondary coach. Choreographer was first and then secondary coach.

Cautious:
Choreography runthrus are a bit shaky again, mainly b/c I couldn't stretch out my choreography to the point where I can get enough "rink coverage." Did some adjustments today and we'll see if it works.
Lutz attempts. Of course, this is towards the end of the lessons I had with secondary coach. That's b/c....Brave:
My secondary coach gave me some EVILLE loop-loop exercises. First it was loop, then loop-loop, then loop-loop-loop. By the time I was doing loop-loop-loop-loop, I was starting to get a small crowd of people in the FS session watching my torture session that is my lesson. I actually managed to get one loop-loop-loop-loop-loop!!! Kinda ugly, but I landed them clean!!! You better believe there was cheering. Of course, the crowd disappeared when I was tired from trying for loop-loop-loop-loop-loop-loop!!!

I'm telling 'ya... my secondary coach is PSYCHO!!! 8O :giveup: :twisted: :P :lol:

I also got to FINALLY meet my skating school director's "wife." She's in town for ISI Adult Champs to compete in about 13 events (and with a recovering tibula FRACTURE to boot too!!! 8O ) Nice gal!!! A bit out there but that's part of her charm.... :P I like her just the way she is!!! 8-)

[ibreakhearts66]

I had a similar fall on crossovers a few years back! Banged up my knees. Couldn't bend my knees (never mind skate) for about 3 weeks. Not fun.... :giveup:

I had two lessons today. One with my choreographer and one with my secondary coach. Choreographer was first and then secondary coach.

Cautious:
Choreography runthrus are a bit shaky again, mainly b/c I couldn't stretch out my choreography to the point where I can get enough "rink coverage." Did some adjustments today and we'll see if it works.
Lutz attempts. Of course, this is towards the end of the lessons I had with secondary coach. That's b/c....Brave:
My secondary coach gave me some EVILLE loop-loop exercises. First it was loop, then loop-loop, then loop-loop-loop. By the time I was doing loop-loop-loop-loop, I was starting to get a small crowd of people in the FS session watching my torture session that is my lesson. I actually managed to get one loop-loop-loop-loop-loop!!! Kinda ugly, but I landed them clean!!! You better believe there was cheering. Of course, the crowd disappeared when I was tired from trying for loop-loop-loop-loop-loop-loop!!!

I'm telling 'ya... my secondary coach is PSYCHO!!! 8O :giveup: :twisted: :P :lol:

I also got to FINALLY meet my skating school director's "wife." She's in town for ISI Adult Champs to compete in about 13 events (and with a recovering tibula FRACTURE to boot too!!! 8O ) Nice gal!!! A bit out there but that's part of her charm.... :P I like her just the way she is!!! 8-)

At camp, we were doing loop contests (for the control and knee timing). A few of us got up in the 20s. It was exhausting! But it really is a good exercise, I promise.

Cautious
Well actually, for me, this is pretty brave. I actually *gasp* took the day off to rest my injury! Shocking, right? Well, I still went in to teach, but I rescheduled my lesson for friday. My hamstring is a total mess. It's really bad. I've found an Active Release Therapist (I believe that's what Herniated is always recommending) and hope to get a sports massage soon. I don't have time to be this injured!

[looplover]

Jazz that is SO COOL about all of those loops!!!! Congrats!! :bow::bow:

Appropriately-named thread this week for my stuff -

Brave: YAY today I did a camel-sit-backspin (no backsit) that wasn't bad at all! My coach said it was better than I thought, which was cool. I was also able to look up rather than down at the ice and skated more with the music today.

Cautious: Me! Overly so! Today I fell a bit into 'adult skater make sure you get out of everybody's way' syndrome. :roll: Yeah not good as the FS was pretty crowded and I was too cautious, which seriously drove my coach up the wall and prevented me from repeating that spin combo on the next four attempts. So not good. Also was cautious doing a loop at fast speed, but I just have to have it set up. I don't often get to practice them that fast so I have to find a way to get to more freestyle sessions vs. publics.

[liz_on_ice]

Brave - me working on loop and flip - not that I landed either of them, but I'm trying! We worked some more on my loop approach and I've almost got it. A couple more practice sessions and I think I'll have it. He only started me today on the flip. I've got loads of hang time on the half flip, so it's just a matter of convincing myself to go all the way around and land on the right foot instead of left :D

Cautious - it was a jumpy morning, not a spinny one. the pretty spins dbny saw did not appear for coach in my lesson. I did get a couple of good notes to work with that helped though, so onwards we go.

[Rusty Blades]

Brave: The ankle did fine this morning, no problem ..... now the other one is sore! Skating after 55 is like taking the old family car out drag racing - you are sure as heck going to find out what's weak or worn! 8O

Cautious: Wish I had been a little more energetic today! :giveup:

Brave: We did get the next segment of the choreography worked out, made a few changes to the first part, and the program is really starting to "flow". Coach said it looks good and it feels good skating it.

Cautious: I was a bad girl :cry: and snapped at my coach this morning. Her heart is in the right place but sometimes I am just not in the mood to be pushed. Sorry Mel!

[quarkiki2]

In general, I am in a funk about my skating. I'm royally annoyed at myself for nut having the guts to just DO it. There's nothing wrong with anything I'm doing, but because I'm doing it with no guts, nothing is right. If that makes sense.

So I was in a poopy mood going into synchro last night. And then I got impatient, LOL!

Brave: For some unkown reason I was skating fast last night and, because of my poopy mood, I apparently felt the need to address it in every formation (our poor coach). As in "I don't know why I'm running up the back of the person in front of me in the spiral." Answer: I'm pushing into the spiral and the head of the line isn't. And, "Why am I tripping over myself in the block?" Answer: I'm wanting to push on chasses and not everyone else is. So I guess I was just plain pushy last night. I can honestly say that I am nowhere near the fastest skater on the team, but I'm feeling restrained in several spots: the traveling circle (I know I'm in the center, so I can't skate fast because it's not fair to the rest of my line, nor the other ends of the pinwheel, but TRAVEL, dang it!), the spiral line (how do you slow a forward spiral? I'm NOT going to scrape my toepick as that's a recipe for a fall), the spiral line after it turns (again, not scraping a toepick), the straightline footwork (why do the lunges always = slower skating?), and the first part of the block footwork (push on the chasses, grrr!).

Oh, and I am actually capable of doing all of the footwork. I need to work on the step-cross after my bad mohawk and the toepick runs added last night so that I can do them as fast as we're skating, but I'm super-close on both. Yay!

Who knows, maybe pissy = power for me...

[singerskates]

BRAVO! Good news - not a sprain but tendinitis - back on the ice tomorrow. (Never knew tendinitis could happen suddenly .... apparently it can!)

Hope you're better soon. Skating with tendinitis is tricky. You can't push too far. Make sure to ice after skating and then heat and stretch. I hope you're injury free for Adult Canadians.

[singerskates]

Cautious: I was cautious about making my upper back worse so I didn't do some elements.

Brave: But I was brave in the attempt of just getting out on the ice at all since the day before I couldn't move at all I hurt so bad. I couldn't even move my neck from left to right or up and down with out a lot of pain.

Anyway, to give everyone a little smile head over to my Facebook page and read my note. :lol:

http://www.new.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=38697363635

[Rusty Blades]

I hope you're injury free for Adult Canadians.

I will be there, even if it's in a body cast! 8O

[doubletoe]

Cautious
My entire program run-through this morning. Not only was the session crowded with panicking pre-Regionals skaters, but I noticed my right boot was a little loose just as I was being called out skate my program. The result: 3 aborted elements due to traffic, plus one skipped axel and three messed up jump passes because of my boot. Ugh.

Brave
Earned a few karma points for giving up my lesson with secondary coach so she could spend some extra time with a kid who's heading into her first Regionals this weekend. She later brought the girl over to introduce me and thank me, which was really sweet. Then, as I was getting off the ice, the coach of one of the kids who got in my way brought the little boy up to me to apologize, which was also very sweet. If only all coaches taught their students such nice skating etiquette as these two do!

[looplover]

Cautious
My entire program run-through this morning. Not only was the session crowded with panicking pre-Regionals skaters...

Ah, THAT explains this morning's freestyle session...I knew something was in the air - SE regionals are 10/14.

ooh, next week's lesson is going to be a madhouse 8O

[sk8lady]

Brave: Did some dance today for the first time since June--thanx happyskates!
Trying lots of loops--about one in every three is more or less clean--haven't been able to have a freestyle lesson in 3 weeks (since the one where I did my first loop) so I don't feel too bad!
Prez of my son's hockey league cornered husband last night and wanted to know if I would teach power skating. Going from not being allowed on the ice to that in two years makes me feel like I'm busting the glass ceiling!!!!

Cautious: Had to restrain myself when the only rink currently open suddenly posted a big "figure skaters--no jumping or spinning" sign at the door to the ice, forbidding us to practice on public skating ice. I was unrestrained enough so that they sent the new guy out to talk to me and the eventual result is that we can do whatever we want on public skating ice so long as it's not busy (since we're the only ones there M-F this is most of the time). Sheesh. Like it's not a safety issue when kids throw themselves on the ice facedown and slide as far as they can when 60 people are on the ice?????

I HATE SILVER MOVES.
The people who picked the ones for adults are cruel.

[Bill_S]

Cautious: I got in only 1/2 hour skating practice when a fellow adult skater (& dear friend) fell off the back of her blades and hit her head. I didn't see it happen, but her coach did.

She was obviously suffering from a concussion, so rink staff called the squad to take her to the hospital.

Since she lives alone, a number of the adults at the rink pitched in to take care of her dog this evening, to take her car home, and to accompany her to the hospital (which I did). At the hospital, the nurse said that she'd be there a few hours while they do x-rays, etc. and that I should go home and wait for a call from the hospital later this evening.

I'm proud of the rink parents, fellow skaters, and rink management because of the way everyone pitched in to help.

[sk8pics]

Since she lives alone, a number of the adults at the rink pitched in to take care of her dog this evening, to take her car home, and to accompany her to the hospital (which I did). At the hospital, the nurse said that she'd be there a few hours while they do x-rays, etc. and that I should go home and wait for a call from the hospital later this evening.

I'm proud of the rink parents, fellow skaters, and rink management because of the way everyone pitched in to help.

That's great that everyone helped out. The same thing happened when I broke my ankle, with the biggest accolades due my rockstar coach, who stayed with me in the hospital for hours.:bow: And plenty of fellow adult skaters (and some coaches) visited me over the weeks I was laid up, helping me with food, laundry, and taking care of my cats. They were all awesome! And I will be forever grateful.

[RachelSk8er]

Brave: Got the axel back to where it was in August (before I stopped working on them to focus on a competition, test sessions, etc)....actually they're better because of the off-ice work I've been putting in at the gym. They're up, they're rotated, just gotta quit two-footing or touching down on the landing. Need to drive the knee up more to get the height to give myself enough time in the air to get the R foot down and L foot out of the way. I was going into them with much more speed and the takeoff feels pretty comfortable now. Maybe tomorrow will be the day!

Had my first actual lesson on the Blues today. Worked with my coach to fix the choctaw, so far so good, the partnering will get more comfortable with some more work. Hopefully I can knock this one off soon since I already have a pretty good solo and it's one of my favorite dances. If I can pass it by January, it means I will be able to compete it at ANs instead of the horrid, stupid "silver tango of death"! (I'd rather do the Viennese than the silver tango...am I sick in the head? Don't really mind partnering the thango much, but I HATE soloing it.) :)

Spins were actually also pretty good today, did two really nice laybacks with fast rotation. Didn't spend a whole lot of time on spins but also cranked out a decent camel-sit and a pretty good back camel (got almost 5 revs!). One of my goals is to get more height on my jumps (been doing a lot of work off-ice to help that) and did a few nice, high but controlled loops, flips, toe-half loop-sals, and sals.

Cautious: Lutzes. Working with my coach on my takeoff so as not to flutz...made some changes which right now feel really darn awkward but once I work that out they'll be much better.

Annnnnd they hiked up our ice rate (so $11 now for an hour session, $20 for a 2 hr session.....it was $10 and $18). I know that's not by a lot, but in light of everything else going up, it's still annoying. Although they used to not let us do half hour increments, it was either 1 hour or 2. Now they will let us do half hour increments, which helps me a lot. I guess that's a decent trade-off. An hour before work isn't always enough for me to get in everything I want to work on. However, I usually don't have enough time to get in 2 hrs before I have to be at work.

[liz_on_ice]

Got to practice and try to apply all my notes from lesson, with middling success.

Brave - I'm sooo close to landing a flip - I landed a couple on one foot to a dead standstill, suggesting I was a bit underrotated. Loop isn't quite as close, but not far. I practiced lots and lots of spins - dbny noticed a couple of things my coach also told me, which makes for a good reminder. I struggle with keeping my skating hip from jutting out, even when I'm thinking about it I really can't feel that it is out there. I finally remembered coach's instructions to keep the free knee up forward and tension on the inside leg muscle and that helped loads on both forwards and back spins.

I played around with some crazy spin entrances, just for fun - and it was way fun! I had some real success with forward LO spiral into forward upright spin - one of them wound up one of my best forward spins yet, how weird is that? Next I tried RBO spiral into a backspin, but that didn't work too well. A winner turned out to be RBO spiral into B03 turn, then step into forward spin on the left foot - pretty cool.

Cautious - committing my fragile body to that flip, I could just do it so easily if I weren't a chicken.

[LilJen]

Cautious: Indeed. I wasn't feeling so swell yesterday but thought I'd go skate anyhow because maybe it would make me feel better. NOPE!!! Half "flip" took on new meaning when I pitched over my toepick on that one. Well, anyway, as the day wore on I felt worse and worse, and I was up most of the night with fever/chills, strong aches & pains, and a very sore throat. . . :giveup:

[dbny]

LilJen - feel better soon!

I practiced lots and lots of spins - dbny noticed a couple of things my coach also told me, which makes for a good reminder. I struggle with keeping my skating hip from jutting out, even when I'm thinking about it I really can't feel that it is out there.

Next time I'll bring my phone on the ice and video you so you can see it. That might help. Also, stand in front of a mirror at home in what feels like the right position, and you will see the hip jutting out. Then you can fix it while looking, and note what each position feels like.

Cautious:
My confidence was sapped this week after an adult skater was injured last Sunday. I skated on Wed only because I went with a friend. During my lesson today, I was moving along fine in the pre-Bronze three turn pattern, when I suddenly lost all confidence and could not do the next FI three - just gone like air out of a balloon.

Brave:
Finally felt better today for my lesson. FO threes are getting checked pretty well at the shoulders now, but free hip is coming around a bit too much. I think I'm driving my poor coach crazy with this business. We tried something new today, which is to focus on pressing the inner thighs together, and it does help. If I can get in some practice on it this week, I think I may finally nail those FO alt threes on the line. DH videod me and I spotted the problem on the FI threes, which is not checking so much as losing it on the rotation after the turn when heading back to the line. Should be able to fix that one without too much trouble. Continued with spinning CW today and did a few decent ones in my lesson, with coach commenting on how much more stable I am in that direction and how I just get my weight right up onto the correct spot and keep it there. I even began CW BO pivots, and they weren't so scary as I had expected, although I did almost go over the left side twice.

[Morgail]

Cautious:
Ugh. Grr. I hurt. I have two pulled muscles. One has been hanging around for a while - it's near the top of my right hamstring. The muscle feels tight, and then (if I stretch it) feels as though it's catching.

And, a couple weeks ago, I had a weird fall on a camel. I landed on the insides of my knees, almost in the middle splits...except I can't do the middle splits. So, aside from some ugly knee bruises that are still healing, I pulled a muscle in my left inner thigh. Cursory internet research indicates this is a groin pull. I thought it was getting better, but suddenly when I was working on camels this morning, it really started hurting. Camels and flying camels were out of the question...the only jumps that didn't hurt were waltz and axel. I mostly did moves and dance (which don't hurt).

I've spent the evening alternating my heating pad from right hamstring to left inner thigh. I suppose the only way to let these things heal is to lay off the spins and jumps and intense stretching, and stick with Moves and dance, as well as doing some light stretching and strengthening exercises.

It's just frustrating. I always seem to end up with some kind of injury this time of year.

Brave:
-My coach commented that my power circles and slide chasse pattern are passable. :D
-Also, I've gotten much braver on the axel. I feel like I'm going for it more than I have been.

[ibreakhearts66]

Cautious:
Ugh. Grr. I hurt. I have two pulled muscles. One has been hanging around for a while - it's near the top of my right hamstring. The muscle feels tight, and then (if I stretch it) feels as though it's catching.

And, a couple weeks ago, I had a weird fall on a camel. I landed on the insides of my knees, almost in the middle splits...except I can't do the middle splits. So, aside from some ugly knee bruises that are still healing, I pulled a muscle in my left inner thigh. Cursory internet research indicates this is a groin pull. I thought it was getting better, but suddenly when I was working on camels this morning, it really started hurting. Camels and flying camels were out of the question...the only jumps that didn't hurt were waltz and axel. I mostly did moves and dance (which don't hurt).

I've spent the evening alternating my heating pad from right hamstring to left inner thigh. I suppose the only way to let these things heal is to lay off the spins and jumps and intense stretching, and stick with Moves and dance, as well as doing some light stretching and strengthening exercises.

It's just frustrating. I always seem to end up with some kind of injury this time of year.

Brave:
-My coach commented that my power circles and slide chasse pattern are passable. :D
-Also, I've gotten much braver on the axel. I feel like I'm going for it more than I have been.

I so sympathize. I currently have a 2nd degree hamstring strain, no fun. You're doing the right thing with the heating and the light stretching. You might want to see a doc if you are able to though, so that you can do some physical therapy for it. Even minor muscle pulls can turn into chronic injuries. Plus, there's always a slight chance of an avulsion fracture when you injure the top part of your hamstring. Very slight, but since you mentioned catching, not impossible. More likely, though, is that the pulled muscle is swelling slightly, which is making it catch. Try icing the top of your hamstring.

Ok, my practice.

Brave
-Well I managed to skate. My left hamstring is a total mess, but I had a moves lesson. It didn't go too too badly. I couldn't do left powerpulls, and 3turns and even just pushing off the left hurt, but it was manageable (note:I went to the doc, and he said it was ok if I skated, as long as I took it very easy and iced afterwards).
-2lutzes were awesome! I skipped axel, double sal and double toe because they involve my left leg too much, but double loops, flips and lutzes were ok. The 3 turn into the flip hurt, but it wasn't too bad. Loops and lutzes were basically pain free. I did a few clean 2lutz 2loop combos! Not a lot of speed, but the rotation was complete.
-Had a few epiphanies in moves. One of them was on the back crossover perimeter stroking. My coach said to think of drawing a "C" with my free foot after the 2nd push of the crossover, and it made the pattern SO much better. Also, she got me to keep my butt up in my back power pulls, and while they've always been pretty good, they got MUCH faster and MUCH easier. She was yelling "YEAH! YES YES YES!" from across the rink :oops:

Cautious
-Ugh have I mentioned my hamstring is a mess? I saw a chiro who does Active Release Technique, and it helped a lot, but it's still very painful and tender. It looks like it's bruised a liiiittle bit, and the chiro noted that it was swollen. I'm so frustrated with myself. I knew the limits of my body, but let my coach convince me to do something my body couldn't :frus::frus::frus:

[RachelSk8er]

Brave: Had a good day at the rink! I skated 3 hrs, instead of my usual 2 on Saturday mornings (maybe that means I just didn't work hard enough during the first two hours)? I think the hard work I've been putting in at the gym to fix my leg muscle imbalance that's causing my knee issues is starting to pay off! No knee pain at all today.

Spent the first 35 min working on my moves test. Despite not having a lesson on it since sometime last winter, it's really not too bad. The rocker patterns on both feet are good, the power pull-quick rocker pattern overall needs more speed but it's pretty good on my L foot...on the R I kind of get stuck on one of the turns and don't get the second turn in fast enough (bringing my hip around too much). Choctaws are getting better, still not edgy enough to pass BUT if everything else is strong, I might be able to slide on those.

Also worked a little on the Blues, focusing on the things my coach and I went over yesterday, and that's getting better (I think). The solo feels comfortable.

As for freestyle:
Axel attempts good, still having trouble getting my L leg out of the way and therefore I'm landing on two feet or touching it down. My friend (who coaches Saturday mornings) had a few minutes in between students so she took a look at what I'm doing (since my coach wasn't there) and the problem is that I'm not getting over the R side enough. Tried working on that a bit but I was starting to get tired and put them away for the day so as not to get frustrated.

I am also not over my R side enough on my loops when they are not done as the 2nd jump in a combo, which is probably why I hated them so much...but I fixed that (did some REALLY good ones), it was an easy fix, and now they aren't so bad. This will probably help axels, too.

Generally all my jumps were higher :) I did one flip that just felt like it launched!

Sit-change-sits started off BAD (as in toppling over when I went the back sit) but by the end of the 3rd hour, where I mainly worked on spins, I did some nice ones, even in my program! Still need to get lower on the back spin but that's coming along. At least it looks more like a sit than a back squat (I think).

Also cranked out a few nice camel-sits, laybacks, camel spins and back camels!

Lutzes are getting better. I worked on the changes my coach and I made to my takeoff yesterday and it's not feeling quite as awkward, and I eventually pulled off some true lutzes (not flutzes)! They weren't the most beautiful but they were at least on the correct edge. Also did a few in combo (lutz toe and a lutz loop). I have to do a lutz toe in my program, which kind of annoys me, since I've already used up my two loops (solo loop and flip loop). REALLY don't like toe loops in general, they just feel like I'm not really doing much of anything because I don't need much effort (putting in too much effort gets me overrotated). They're good and all, I just feel like I *should* be doing something more...i.e. like a double.

Worked on my silver program (putting the end part that I took out for Buckeye and then changed for my silver test back together), fixing a transition and re-working the ending. Ran sections and it's all coming together nicely. Even put the axel in and was doing it when I ran it, granted I wasn't landing it cleanly but at least I'm getting used to it being in my program.

Needless to say I'm EXHAUSTED!!!!

[Skittl1321]

Cautious I need a goal. Its tough to practice with nothing specific to work for. I've done nothing but Bronze moves for 3 months, and I'm not starting silver moves yet, so I need some sort of practice plan. Maybe I need a program?

I couldn't jump at all today- I was freaking out and not leaving the ice. So I couldn't even try to practice those it was going so badly.

Also going badly- backspin. :( Another skater told me it looked like I was on the verge of getting it. HAH I've been on the verge for months.

Brave I taped my camel today (it's on the youtube link) and while it's not good, it's pretty good for the amount of time I've spent on it. I almost get 3 revolutions, and my leg is good. The video shows me that I really need to keep my upper body down. I'm not sure how to do that though- since so much of my though is pulling my shoulder to my hip, and that pulls my upper body up. Any tips?

Also did some laybacks and sit spins in group lesson. Well "tilt hips lean back" not really lay backs. I have no idea what those looked like though. They felt fine, and I've stopped watching my leg in the layback position. Also no clue where my sit spin is in relation to the ice, but it also felt good.

[celticprincess]

Oh boy, I am exhausted, sore and still really winded from...Im not sure why. Probably sickness coming on:x

Brave: -Brackets in combo with double threes are definatly getting sooo much better and steadier. Though I need to try them alittle more with speed, but I'll take it.
-Scratch spins are still there.
-Sit spins were alright. I have a tendancy to bend my leg while getting it forward and then straighening it. When I try it like that, they're normally really good.
-SPIN OF THE DAY GOES TO :bow:Back sit:bow: YAY!! For some reason I was doing some really nice back sits and then pulling into a back stratch and then out. I had about three good ones which is a BIG thing for me.
-JUMP OF THE DAY GOES TO :bow:double salchow:bow: YAY!! Now keep in mind Im not landing it all the way. However it is sooo close that I could taste it. That has definatly improved since last week.
-Axel attempts..not bad. I keep dropping my left leg and it hits the ice in the mid jump. I need to jump alittle higher. My coach thinks I could easily land it very soon.
-Flip was behaving today..so I have to nod in approval to that as was lutz and loop. My coach also wants me to do start trying double loops. I can do 1 1/2 revolution so...thats better than nothing I guess.
-Ran my 'Evolution' showcase programme and got tons of compliments...so I guess thats a keeper.:lol:
-Also my flying broken leg spin was really behaving. I got alot of air a couple times and held onto the spin...then tried to change it into a sit spin and well...that didn't work out.
-Had a very good off ice lesson in which my coach wants me to start trying THREE doubles 8O. One of my fellow skaters replied with 'what did she have in her coffee'. That is until i told her that my coach has been saying this for a long time.


Okay now onto the bad stuff...

Cautious: -I kept getting severly winded and feeling dizzy and borderline naucious. That was majorly effecting my skating. When I was about to do my programem I said to one of my friends 'If I die in the middle of it, be sure to scrape me off the ice". Lovely right? But after the programme I did dramaticly sit on the ice due to extreme exhaustion and woosiness. At times I honestly couldn't breath. Even during silly things like moves or skating around the perimeter. Like I said it may be due to sickness approaching, but it was not pleasant at all. When I told my dad he was like 8O
-Camel spins were making me really mad. I kept going on my freakin toe and getting caught up. :frus::frus::frus:
-Backspins despite the fact that I can do a nice back sit. I kept leaning back on my blade and falling on my butt. Nothing serious..just need to lean forward alittle more.
-My programme run through was actually rather bad. I didn't land any of my jumps, messed up alot of it and nearly fell a couple times. Though I did end with the music and I have a very good idea of the choreography. :roll:
-Now my chest still burns alittle and swallowing isn't normal, so I really can't place what happened, but it's still bugging me for some reason.

So not a bad session, I really can't say I had any 'pretty falls' or even random ones. They were just all sort of stop and drops. And they were playign really fun music like 'Disturbia', "Calabria". "shadow of the day" and plenty of others so that made practicing fun.

[coskater64]

Well I am 1 year out from my hip resurfacing and 2 years out from the 8 hour hip arthroscopic surgery, after 2 1/2 years I am finally able to start working on jumps again slowly. Strangely enough, my skating coach is the person who makes me stop, she realizes that hip surgery number 3 will mean I will never do another axel and I will be lucky to dance and do moves. (ibreakhearts 66?? Hello)

Brave: I did 5 axels in the harness, first time doing them in hinged boots and first time in over 2 1/2 years, also managed several very nice flying camels with minimal - medium speed, almost 3 years since I have done those.

Cautious: Coach didn't let me do any more axels, she wants all 5 perfect, only 4 were good this time. Once they are good on the harness we will slowly start doing them slowly on my free skate pattern.
Doing Killian full speed is very scary wall is very close, testing it next week, ekkkk!:twisted:

[RinkRat321]

cautious:
was sick today so everything kindaaaa was awful

brave:
got lots of compliments on my spins today. i dont know why, they weren't very good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b_u1rgzBDI from practice

[Pgh.Coach]

Brave: I was just offered (or rather begged to accept) a second coaching position at another rink today! I would be teaching groups of high level skaters, MIF (at all levels), dance (at all levels), and choreography, and there's the potential for gaining more private students. I'm like, 99% sure I'm going to accept. I just need to look into things a bit more, but I have plenty of time since this wouldn't be until early November. My main things are the pay and making sure this position wouldn't interfer with my coaching obligations at my current rink with my private and group students.

[jazzpants]

Brave:
Got Silver for my ISI FS 3 Artistic event. Actually I was tied for second with another lady!

Cautious:
I have seen the videos that my husband did take of me. Needless to say, I was very disappointed in my program. I did not cover the ice (and my choreographer is gonna kill me for this!!! 8O ) My crossovers and spirals were also crap too!!! (My secondary coach is gonna kill me too!!! 8O ) My back pivot has gone South for the Winter! :frus:

And to top off the craziness going into the event... even though my primary coach did my hair, my choreographer was supposed to put me out on the ice for my event. Problem was... choreographer was at Centrals 50 miles away and he had car trouble and is waiting on AAA to get to his car!!! He said he was calling my primary coach to put me out instead. Lucky for me, I got to my primary coach, (since I know he not that great at checking his voicemail!!! :twisted: ) and he quickly agreed to put me out. (Brave man! He hasn't even SEEN the program yet!!!) 8O :lol:

I also realized that I have to take some drastic measures to make sure I get in enough practice for Skate SF. We'll see if I could make it happen!!! 8O

Brave:
It wasn't ALL bad!!! I got some speed going. I got the timing of the music down. I did NAIL the loop jump and my "halfway down" mushroom spin wasn't that bad either. Most importantly, I got the ARMS down too for the most part. From far away it didn't look like that bad of a program.

One of my best friend (non skater) from junior high school and her husband came to watch me. (Her husband was a classmate in the computer science dept. computer lab.) This best friend has seen me skate before... WAAAAY back when I was a kid!!! She said she hasn't seen me skate since then and she definitely agreed that I looked much better as a skater now than I did as a kid. One of the male competitors in ISI FS 3 (not in my event) was also a fellow skater of mine when I was a kid too (he was a 30 something year old when I first skated with him. NOW he's in his 60's!!!)... so it's VERY NICE to have that part of my past still with me after all these years! :bow: :bow: :bow:

[Mrs Redboots]

All sounds good, Jazzpants, and congratulations on your Silver.

Brave: We skated this morning and ran through everything we need for this afternoon.

Cautious: The nerves have kicked in. Why did I think this was a good idea?

[liz_on_ice]

wheee - loads of skating this week, it feels grand! Sat night sessions are getting to the unmanageable season. Fortunately sunday adult night at Parkwood should be starting up shortly.

congrats on the silver jazzpants!

[dbny]

Got Silver for my ISI FS 3 Artistic event. Actually I was tied for second with another lady!


CONGRATULATIONS!

[*JennaD*]

cautious: my coach wants me to test my skills this November8O8O8O and they still need TONS of work.......

brave:All the double sals I landed yesterday were 1/4 turn cheated!!! No more of the ugly 1/2 turn cheated ones....AND I even had 3 CLEAN ones but I couldn't hold on to those landings and then fell...haha

I did my Kilian with my dance partner WITH music yesterday...the first round was very very ugly but it got much better once I calmed down...so overall I had a positive dance lesson yesterday :)

[Stormy]

Brave: Spent a lot of time of spins this morning. I've been working on three different combinations. 1. Flying camel to back upright (keeping free leg out), whip back in to back camel position, then jump-back sitspin. It's tough but fun. 2. Camel, layback, back sit. I've been having trouble transitioning to the back sit from the layback. I cannot do a plain layback at all and it's easier from a camel spin. 3. Back camel, back sit, forward camel. I've been getting better going from the back sit to the forward camel and this is a combination I'd like to eventually put into my program.

Jumps were ok, did 3 good axels, but double sals are two footed again. Sigh!

[techskater]

Brave:
Got Silver for my ISI FS 3 Artistic event. Actually I was tied for second with another lady!
Brave:
It wasn't ALL bad!!! I got some speed going. I got the timing of the music down. I did NAIL the loop jump and my "halfway down" mushroom spin wasn't that bad either. Most importantly, I got the ARMS down too for the most part. From far away it didn't look like that bad of a program.


Congratulations! Sounds like all around a pretty good skate!

Brave: Off topic, but my first North American Dog Agility Council trial yesterday and today with my Aussie (my other trials were in school fun matches). Run #1 was horrible with my dog getting an "E" (elimination) for ::erm:: eliminating on the course (thank goodness it wasn't poop) :frus:, but it got progressively better from yesterday's very first run - 8th in the next, 5th in the next, 3rd, 3rd with a qualifying time and clean run, and 2nd with a qualifying time and only 5 points of faults (knocked bar) in the last run before the rain dumped all over and I decided to leave before the last run I signed up for (tunnels). After her very first trial, she is 1/2 way to her first NADAC title in Regular with 15 Qualifying points! :D If I could apply this level of focus to my skating, I would be unstoppable! ::LOL!::

[Thin-Ice]

Cautious:
My confidence was sapped this week after an adult skater was injured last Sunday. I skated on Wed only because I went with a friend. During my lesson today, I was moving along fine in the pre-Bronze three turn pattern, when I suddenly lost all confidence and could not do the next FI three - just gone like air out of a balloon.


This is such a GREAT description... it's what happens to my lutzes sometimes. I THINK I'm going to do one.. then my brain just starts yelling at my body to "STOPPPP!!!!!!" -- and I have to tell my coach we're done with lutzes for the day.:roll::cry:

[RachelSk8er]

Brave: Spent a lot of time of spins this morning. I've been working on three different combinations. 1. Flying camel to back upright (keeping free leg out), whip back in to back camel position, then jump-back sitspin. It's tough but fun. 2. Camel, layback, back sit. I've been having trouble transitioning to the back sit from the layback. I cannot do a plain layback at all and it's easier from a camel spin. 3. Back camel, back sit, forward camel. I've been getting better going from the back sit to the forward camel and this is a combination I'd like to eventually put into my program.

Jumps were ok, did 3 good axels, but double sals are two footed again. Sigh!

It's usually easier to hit the layback from a camel because your leg is already back where it needs to be...my plain labacks travel and go all crazy and all sorts of awful when I'm not careful getting the leg back slowly and correctly.

I really like Suzie's camel-broken leg-layback where she has her free leg at the perfect angle in the broken leg and all she needs to do is rise up on her skating leg to the layback (and doesn't move the free leg at all). It looks so pretty when she does it. Tried that and yup...not so pretty.

[Skate@Delaware]

Congrats, Jazzpants!!!!
this is for sunday...
Cautious: I toppled a bit on a spin and sort of hurt my back during lesson, so I was a bit more cautious than I've been lately because I didn't want to hurt more. It sort of un-did the massage I had Friday night (which enabled me to sleep all night long pain-free).

Brave: Worked on moves this lesson, no jumps. Spins. But the real kick was doing crossovers and really stretching out the free foot, getting a good "rip" with my blade, and actually feeling less scared.

Worked on jumps after lesson and believe it or not, i am friends with the (hated) toe-loop and got enough air on one, a little girl asked if I was going to work on my double-toe soon!!! yeah...in my dreams! Not likely I'm just glad they are solid and not waltzy.

[Mrs Redboots]

Cautious: We had a competition to forget! It was beautifully run, everything went smoothly, it was lovely seeing our friends, but.....

First of all we got stuck in the traffic jam from hades going out of town, and a journey that should have taken a little over 90 minutes took over 4 hours. We missed our first class entirely, and only just made the second.

In which we skated so badly that I'm surprised we got as good marks as we did. Our Dutch Waltz was fine in the warm-up, but we tightened up in competition so it was small and slow - and, go figure, the only dance of the day we weren't last in! Our Riverside was hopeless - went way out of time and couldn't get back. Next class up, known as the Zimmer trophy, was just us against one other couple who are a little better than we are, and we duly came second, but it was gratifyingly close - our Canasta Tango was a little flat, and I think we went out of time in the first sequence, but the second was okay. Prelim Waltz best we've every done it, and we garnered a lot of compliments on it, although one of the judges was very rude about it afterwards.... but he did say the other couple were just as bad! Anyway, we were pleased.

Free dance went well - in that company, we never had a hope of coming other than last or Not Last, and as it turned out, we were last. I don't actually mind, as the couple who just beat us - rivals from our rink - are beautifully together, much more so than we are, and they deserved it. We skated well, though, although as always we went too fast on the step sequence (why can we not reproduce that in practice?) and had to hold the spiral/drag at the end for too long.... but still.