Out with the Old, In with the New! (practice thread, 1/1 - 1/9) [Archive]

doubletoe

01-02-2010, 12:21 PM

Skate@Delaware

01-02-2010, 12:48 PM

Happy new year! Time for a new thread!

In with the New:
On new year's day, Daisies and I skated a not-very-well-publicized late morning freestyle at the rink where our adult sectionals competition will be taking place. For the entire hour, we shared the rink with just 3 other skaters and two coaches! Awesome!! For once, we had no problem getting our music played. :) My program run-through went pretty well and I didn't seem to have any stamina issues at the end! Oh, except for. . .

Out with the Old:
Unfortunately, my camel spin was MIA, even though it had been in good form just two days before. I could swear I was doing everything exactly the same way. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? :??
Nice when you hit on a fairly empty session! Your camel visited me in the form of a wonderful scratch, but only for one....:roll: But it's a nice way to bring it around!

I had my music playing (started with some of the Transformers soundtrack, then switched to Michael Buble) and it was AWESOME, getting to play what WE wanted (a pair skate team kept switching between some of MB's songs).

Kim to the Max

01-02-2010, 07:18 PM

Out with the Old:

* Outside rockers are still not where I would like them to be.
* Choctaws decided to go wonky today :(
* I think I need to do 2sals with coach again. She has a way of just fixing them...too bad I can't seem to keep up those corrections...oops!
* 2flip still needs a lot of work

In with the New:
* Axels felt better today. I was able to really get up and got a bit more rotation that I have before.
* I actually started trying to pick up my left foot on my 2toe!! I almost landed a few of them, but it was so new that I fell.
* Power pulls haven't left me yet!!
* Headache is finally almost gone!!! If it wasn't gone by Monday I was going to go to the doctor, but my head hasn't hurt all day, so I am hopeful!!

Skate@Delaware

01-03-2010, 08:59 PM

Out with the old: wish the COLD would go away! It was 22 degrees (F) on the way to the rink, I don't know what the wind chill was; I was layered like Ralphie! Wasn't actually too cold in the rink tho, just a bit crowded.

I fell TWICE (Miss Terry NEVER falls, even my coach was surprised). Once on a spin when my blades got tangled together and I fell on my knee (not hard to do they are so boney), the 2nd after I started coming out of a spiral and caught my toe-picks and did a SPECTACULAR BELLY FLOP that knocked the breath out of me and I whacked my left wrist....it's swollen and bruised. I was going to Panera Bread after skating for food, but thought I'd head home for ice (and a glass or 2 or so of wine hahaha for pain relief).

In with the new: Worked on salchows, loops, and sit spins.

Salchows: did these 2 ways-the regular entrance and the other way (back 3's-mohawk-jump). The new way is her diabolical way of getting me to CHECK and drop down in the knee. I love her way of thinking! It's much harder to do it this way I don't care for it but I'll do it because I see the value in it.

Loops: again, 2 ways-regular way she has had me do these (LFI edge, mohawk, jump) and the new way from the 3-turn entrance. Coach wants me to do the loop from both, but to concentrate on the 3-turn entrance (sort of a graduation). I am to also ADD (a graduation present of sorts yay!) Waltz jump-loop which I did several, even managing to remember to keep my free leg in front at times :lol:. Also to add some waltz-backspins.

Sitspin: issues with this (as always) need to snap the free leg around faster and rotate the foot faster, and sit lower.

phoenix

01-03-2010, 09:01 PM

* Headache is finally almost gone!!! If it wasn't gone by Monday I was going to go to the doctor, but my head hasn't hurt all day, so I am hopeful!!

That is hopeful! Headaches are utterly exhausting. Glad you're feeling better.

All New for me today--great practice, counting down the days to test day. If I can stay focused and calm I think I have a reasonable chance to pass this one. It's to the point where the music doesn't feel crazy fast, I have time to think about expression, and actually even enjoy parts of it. I'll be very happy if I just skate it as well as I can, then whatever the judges do, they do.

I'm starting to do the dance version of double run-throughs--2 patterns, 30 seconds to catch my breath, then another 2 patterns--to simulate how it will go on test day w/ partnered then solo.

dance2sk8

01-04-2010, 10:11 AM

In With The New: Got to run through my program a few times over the weekend. It went really well!!! I hope I kick some booty when I compete this year. :twisted: Only had a couple of minor spots that still need tweaking. Trying to figure out if I want a toe loop, toe loop combo or flip jump at the end.

Worked on my backspin a little and am getting more comfortable. Even did a couple of change foot spins. Nothing major though, but I did accomplish this!

Had a blast with my friend Anthony who has been such a positive encourager about my skating. We skated together on Saturday and I was surprised to see him at the rink over a holiday weekend. None-the-less, I got in 3 hours of skating that day. Lovely.

Out With The Old: Dance coach wants me to test two dances. 8O 8O 8O With a partner. ummmmmmm. Don't know if I want to do this. I am super uncomfortable when my coach tries to correct me and my arms. How am I supposed to be comfortable skating around with another person!!!! Ahhh!

PinkLaces

01-04-2010, 12:29 PM

Out with the Old Getting everyone off to work and school this morning after 2 weeks off took longer than I thought. Then in the frigid weather, my car decided that brake light should come on 1/2 way to the rink. It ended up being nothing, but made me later than I wanted to be. Not feeling the love on the jumps this morning. My toe pick is too far off to the side on the flip. I just plain chickened out on the lutz and make them 1/2.

In with the New Spent a lot of time on the footwork part of my program...especially the double 3 into the mohawk. It's coming along nicely. Camel spins were good - amazing how much better you can spin when you don't look at the ice ;)

dance2sk8

01-04-2010, 01:00 PM

...Camel spins were good - amazing how much better you can spin when you don't look at the ice ;)

Oh my gosh you aren't kidding!!! I started to look out and arch my back more, keeping my arms in position and pointing through my fingertips. Holy crap what a difference!!!! :lol:

flying~camel

01-04-2010, 06:59 PM

Out with the old:

Lutzes. Ugh, I am getting so frustrated with this jump! I know its a mental block, I just can't figure out how to break it!

FI-BO 3s in the field. I keep putting my foot down on the LBO 3! Its a good thing I have 4 months to get it clean before my next try on Silver moves!

In with the new:

Salchows. I've been doing salchows since I was 14 but now they actually feel correct and BIG!

FO-BI 3s in the field. I've finally gotten this patter 100% clean 90% of the time, so, by the time I test, they should be 100% clean 100% of the time!

Camels. These have always been a problem for me but I did a couple of nice ones during my last practice as well a few good flying camels!

Overall skating. I can tell I'm building back the muscle and strength I lost while I was sick because I feel like I'm skating stronger and faster overall.

Kim to the Max

01-04-2010, 08:50 PM

Out with the Old:

I have this sneaking suspicion that I will not be passing junior moves in 2 weeks. This may just be early pre-test freak out happening, but my power pulls are getting really slow after the first set (1 inside rocker/rocker, 1 outside rocker rocker). My rockers were slightly better tonight. And my choctaws are ending up 1/2 flat (I hit a clear outside edge, but my inside is slightly flat). UGH!!

Also, coach loves torturing me....had me trying catchfoot spins tonight...

In with the New:

Axels are getting a ton of pop....now I just need to get that last big of rotation...

PinkLaces

01-04-2010, 09:41 PM

Oh my gosh you aren't kidding!!! I started to look out and arch my back more, keeping my arms in position and pointing through my fingertips. Holy crap what a difference!!!! :lol:

I know, right? I also have a bad habit of looking down after I finish a spin to see how centered it was. Coach told me that I have to leave it and forget about it when I'm done :halo:

PinkLaces

01-04-2010, 09:56 PM

I bought on to one of DD's sessions tonight. I don't contract, because I have a meeting the second Monday of the month.

In with the New Really good spin night. Backspin are coming back. I am working on lifting the hip out on the exit instead of swinging the leg out. I managed to do it about half the time. Camels were good and was able to do some decent camel-backspin combos. Sit spins are lower, but having a bit of trouble holding it for more than 3 revs. All those squats are paying off.

Worked on the toe-loop in the combo and was getting some nice height. Loops were good. I am getting braver on the lutz and was able to get 2/3rd around several times.

Out with the Old Flip - I am picking back to far to the side instead of behind. Tried fixing without much luck. I can land it, but my free foot is to the side and not in front.

singerskates

01-04-2010, 11:54 PM

Out with the old:

Was 45 minutes late to the rink, actually half an hour from what I told my coach I'd be there.

Didn't have enough time to change into my figure skating clothes, so I skated in my jeans. Should I say a pair of tight non-stretchy bell bottom jeans. And so.....

Spirals didn't get up as high as normal.
Couldn't bend down unless I'd like a hole in a bad spot/tear.
Sit was some kind of upright.
Was too scared to do jumps for fear of hooking into my pant legs with my blades.

Told coach that I had forgotten everything of my interpretive except for the very beginning because we hadn't worked on it for 5 weeks or so.

In With The New:

Started working on the interpretive with the coach again and will pick up again with him on Wednesday. I at least remembered the very beginning but I spin too fast with the pivots for the music so I have to find a way to slow down. I do a forward pivot first stopping on both of my two pics before reversing into a back pivot and then do a BI23 and then the rest.
Still can do the lung into a broken spin. It's in the program.
Coach has me doing more B3s and 2B3s in my programs now because to me, they are easier than forward clockwise 3s.
I'm even doing Back and Forward Loops as part of my footwork in my interp program.

New Problems Planned by coach:

Coach wants me to do a back Beillman type spiral straight into a half jump thingy ( haven't decided which one yet) but almost all are possible.

And he wants me to do more switching of directions with forward threes ( don't like clockwise 3's much) throughout the program.

Coach would like me to do the forward loops with my freefoot crossing over at the end of the loop. This could take some time.

In With The New (one more time):

Figured out how to stop my right ankle from swimming and slushing in my skate boot ( it was the cause of my right ankle having two pulled ligaments(sp) 3 & half weeks ago in a lesson; ankle still gets sore hours after skating but I can jump without pain now.) after skating today. Got some footpad and cut it to size and taped it to the bottom sides of my lower inside heal on both sides. Tried walk around in the rink lobby and even rolled back and forth and finally wasn't rolling sideways inside my boot. Now to try this at skating tomorrow. Mmmmm? Will this work with my loop, flip and Lutz?

dance2sk8

01-05-2010, 09:08 AM

Out with the Old Flip - I am picking back to far to the side instead of behind. Tried fixing without much luck. I can land it, but my free foot is to the side and not in front.'

Haha! I talked to my coach about my flip that basically fell apart the last couple of weeks. She said that I was doing the same, landing with two feet, and my free leg on the side. As soon as I corrected that and just went for it and focused on landing single footed, it worked. Silly coach knows best. :bow:

Now to be consistent with it in my program. That's the big kick right there.

PinkLaces

01-05-2010, 09:35 AM

'

Haha! I talked to my coach about my flip that basically fell apart the last couple of weeks. She said that I was doing the same, landing with two feet, and my free leg on the side. As soon as I corrected that and just went for it and focused on landing single footed, it worked. Silly coach knows best. :bow:

Now to be consistent with it in my program. That's the big kick right there.

Staying consistent in the program is a challenge.

I have a lesson tonight. Hopefully, we can spend some time on the flip, but probably we will be finishing up the transformation of my test program to make it competitive. We have 1 more spin/combo and jump to put in there.

jazzpants

01-05-2010, 02:22 PM

New:
As in Hackensack, "New" Jersey for the New year. We went in for the afternoon session and it was pretty empty. Just a couple of kids and a coach giving skating lessons in Russian.

2nd Skating Meetup (http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?p=406693#post406693) with dbny and Skittl1321. Met Skittl1321's very nice DH too!!! What a gentleman!!! :bow:

Had really good Indian food! Too bad the waiter threw out the leftovers!!! :frus:

Old:
My overall skating. I skated 4 days in a roll and this was the 5th day in a row. Combined that with hard ice and VERY FREEZING temps and you got one very unhappy lower back skater!!! :( Couldn't do much beyond the salchow. I tried to do loops and flips and basically had no juice left to give. :frus:

Even tried to redeem myself with good sit spins and camels and couldn't do either well enough. :frus:

PinkLaces

01-05-2010, 09:56 PM

In with the New Flip! Flip! Flip! We had just a few minutes at the end of my lesson to work on it. We did some drills with foot position and it felt weird. Coach said "Maybe it feels weird, because it's right." Of course, she was right. :bow: I practiced it her "weird" way and landed several....the right way. Woot! She liked my spins and my 1/2 lutz-toe loop. She also gave me a little woohoo on the double 3 into the mohawk. She put a loop at the end and moved the camel-backspin after. We still have about 20 seconds to finish off. The best news is that she is going to give me lessons on Mondays now(in addition to Tues & Fri). Too bad I have the meeting next week.

DD and I worked on our family spotlight. That was fun. We are about 1/2 through it. That comp isn't until mid-Feb so plenty of time.

Out with the Old Ran through program first thing and was totally out of breath....need to go running.

liz_on_ice

01-06-2010, 09:29 AM

New - first lesson post-injury this morning. It's nice to be back.

Old - core strength and stability are shot to heck. We worked on basic stroking and edges concentrating on keeping my weight at the right part of the blade. I was too chicken even to spiral, things just felt wonky.

New - Coach taught me a figure 8. Fun to have something new to do, and it is exactly the sort of exercise I need right now. Winter coach was a national competitor in the late 50s - she knows figures. I'm happy to finally be taking some advantage of that.

Skate@Delaware

01-07-2010, 07:37 AM

Old: did not skate last night-forgot I had to work :oops: which was just as well...I'm still VERY sore from my splat on Sunday! My abs are so sore, I feel as though I did 100 situps! My wrist is ok-doctor said it's fine although she is not happy about my choice of a sport (haha oh well). My other sport used to be barrel racing-skating is SO MUCH safer (and cheaper, there is no horse to care for).

Will skate on Friday. Can't wait to work on my loop, waltz-loop, waltz-backspin, mohawk-salchow, etc.......

And I see my chiro on Monday (my first day of school, yay)!!!!

New: going to U of DE Saturday for the Nationals Send-Off Show!!!!!!! Anyone in the area going???

dance2sk8

01-07-2010, 08:37 AM

New: Worked on my program yesterday, did a run through and everything went well. Also went over what my warm up will be for competition.

Flip jump! :frus::frus::frus::frus: After the warm up, I, once again, couldn't seem to get a flip jump from a 3 turn like I did before I was injured! Grrr! Some days I have it, others, not so much, like yesterday.

Soooooooooooo, coach says the all famous phrase "humor me and do this - beginning pattern into your waltz jump and replace the salchow with the flip".

I shrug and say "ok".

So, what happens???? LOL! :giveup: I go into my normal pattern in my program and low and behold! I can easily do the flip jump that way! So, I repeat it 6 times, not a problem. So we moved my salchow to the end of the program. Everything, including my foot work is a LOT better since the flip got adjusted. Who knew??? :bow: I worry half my program because of that jump. Now I am so confident and relaxed about it that I am excited to do my run through tomorrow.

Once again, coach knows best.

Old: Still haven't gotten any info on the Wyandotte competition nor has my check cleared that I sent over a month ago. Anyone have any info on what's going on there? I assume the schedule they have up from 2009 is going to apply to this year's schedule. I compete at 8:36am. Yikes! I hope I can sleep Friday night, the 22nd. I plan on staying in a hotel nearby so I am not late and well prepared. Plus, I may want to skate before hand.

Laura H

01-07-2010, 08:58 AM

Had a long post and then lost it, so this one may be slightly more abbreviated!
Started private lessons last night, hopefully on a regular basis (as I joked around with my coach, until I run out of money or she retires, etc., etc.). I'm going to keep taking group lessons just for the camaraderie and ice time (also I get a discount because DH works at the rink). But DS is getting to that age where he is not wanting to do figure skating because "boys don't do figure skating" (umm whatever) and I figure I'll just let him focus on hockey for the time being and *I* will take over his lessons and tackle those FS 4 elements! :twisted:

In with the New: Literally, I "flipped" last night . . . got up the nerve to show coach the flips that I have been working on and they are actually really close - we spent a lot of the time working on the mohawk entrance - it results in a much better looking jump for me but I prefer 3's, and keep trying to automatically do a 3 at the last second, which turns it into a toe loop :frus: but all in all, we were pretty happy with the progress last night. We also worked on some drills for the loop jump - I have actually landed some "baby" ones in the past but have never worked with it under her instruction, so I told her just to start from scratch with me . . . I'd rather take it slow and get it right.

Out with the Old: my only complaint about last night was that I only got to skate 1/2 hour on the freestyle session because I couldn't get out of work on time to do the whole hour. So I spent the whole time in lesson and didn't really get a chance to work on anything else (never did any spins at all!). Oh well, gotta pay the bills somehow, I guess!!

One more thing - comp coming up in March at the rink - told coach I would do it - it's USFSA, so I'll be competing at adult pre-bronze (translation - anything I'm capable of doing, as long as I keep it under 1:40 - since the only things not allowed in PB are things that I can't do anyway!! axel, lutz, flying camel). Working on convincing the other adult skaters that they "NEED" to enter at the Adult 4 level - we looked over the requirements and they are certainly able to do all of those (I really wish the Basic Skills Adult track had more to it - I don't even think there is a WALTZ jump in there!). I may be the only PB skater though - if the other adult skater who is a little more ahead of me, passes her Bronze FS at Sunday's test session.

flying~camel

01-07-2010, 09:24 AM

Old: Still haven't gotten any info on the Wyandotte competition nor has my check cleared that I sent over a month ago. Anyone have any info on what's going on there? I assume the schedule they have up from 2009 is going to apply to this year's schedule. I compete at 8:36am. Yikes! I hope I can sleep Friday night, the 22nd. I plan on staying in a hotel nearby so I am not late and well prepared. Plus, I may want to skate before hand.

The competition organizer sent out an email last night to all competitors about practice ice and said the event schedule would be out soon.

I wouldn't assume that it will be the same schedule as 2009, especially since 2009 was also Adult Mids, so there were more events and more competitors to schedule around.

PinkLaces

01-07-2010, 09:24 AM

PinkLaces

01-07-2010, 09:35 AM

Had a long post and then lost it, so this one may be slightly more abbreviated!

In with the New: Literally, I "flipped" last night . . . got up the nerve to show coach the flips that I have been working on and they are actually really close - we spent a lot of the time working on the mohawk entrance - it results in a much better looking jump for me but I prefer 3's, and keep trying to automatically do a 3 at the last second, which turns it into a toe loop :frus: but all in all, we were pretty happy with the progress last night. We also worked on some drills for the loop jump - I have actually landed some "baby" ones in the past but have never worked with it under her instruction, so I told her just to start from scratch with me . . . I'd rather take it slow and get it right.

One more thing - comp coming up in March at the rink - told coach I would do it - it's USFSA, so I'll be competing at adult pre-bronze (translation - anything I'm capable of doing, as long as I keep it under 1:40 - since the only things not allowed in PB are things that I can't do anyway!! axel, lutz, flying camel). Working on convincing the other adult skaters that they "NEED" to enter at the Adult 4 level - we looked over the requirements and they are certainly able to do all of those (I really wish the Basic Skills Adult track had more to it - I don't even think there is a WALTZ jump in there!). I may be the only PB skater though - if the other adult skater who is a little more ahead of me, passes her Bronze FS at Sunday's test session.

Congrats on the flip! I've been struggling with that jump for awhile and finally seem to be landing them this week.

Keep working on the other adult skaters....that's how I got talked into our club comp in Feb. Some other adult skaters "twisted" my arm. Just doing a spotlight with DD, but we are going up against a Dad/Daughter pair.

dance2sk8

01-07-2010, 10:11 AM

The competition organizer sent out an email last night to all competitors about practice ice and said the event schedule would be out soon.

I wouldn't assume that it will be the same schedule as 2009, especially since 2009 was also Adult Mids, so there were more events and more competitors to schedule around.

I didn't get the email. That worries me. I should have if I am a competitor. Is there any way to call and verify that I made the deadline on time?

Oh snap!!! I forgot to send a self addressed envelope. :( Stupid. If any of you did get that email, can you forward it to me please? flashDveloper@gmail.com. Thank you!

Also, did anyone's check clear for the event? Mine still hasn't.

londonicechamp

01-07-2010, 11:49 AM

Hi

For my Wednesday practice

In with the New
I worked on double 3s, as I find this way is easier for me to practise my back 3s than just doing the back 3s alone.

Did some variation spin with left leg crossed behind the thigh of the right leg. At first felt weird, but after 1 try, looked good.

Did some sit spins. They seemed to be getting lower, though not as low as what my coach would love me to have. I have been doing leg squats at home too. :P

Change foot spin: well, the forward spin and the last scratch spin always good. Needed to work on the backspin.

Salchow: Seemed to get it a bit higher, and the coach wants me to have them. ;)

My forward and backward crossovers are also getting better. 8-)

Forward scratch spin: first one was non existent. However, did a few more of those spins, and managed between 6 and 12 revolutions. Even managed one 16 revolution towards the end of my practice session. :yum: Why does everything seemed to be getting better when I knew I would be leaving the practice session soon. Is that a mind thing? :?: Well, this is way to start the New Year, as my last record was a 15 revolution forward scratch spin on Xmas eve. 8-)

Spirals: Seemed to be okay. I practised them coz the schools have started here in Singapore, so not a lot of people in the rink.

Half loop: still my favourite jump. Likes the feel of it. :D

Out with the Old

Backwide inside pivots: seemed wonky again. :oops:

Backspins: well the crossing part is my most frustrating bit. I can do 3 revolution minimimum on the open leg position. Speed is there. Coach said that coz it is that I did not have my left foot high enough. Anybody knows how to fix this problem? :??

Toe loop: seemed a bit weird. Maybe coz of the overrotation. :halo:

Loop jump: did the move that my coach wanted me to practise/work on before worrying about the full revolution. Jumping is okay, just felt weird.

Having private lesson tomorrow afternoon. Will see what happens and report back again. :)

londonicechamp

dance2sk8

01-07-2010, 12:39 PM

I didn't get the email. That worries me. I should have if I am a competitor. Is there any way to call and verify that I made the deadline on time?

Oh snap!!! I forgot to send a self addressed envelope. :( Stupid. If any of you did get that email, can you forward it to me please? flashDveloper@gmail.com. Thank you!

Also, did anyone's check clear for the event? Mine still hasn't.

I found the contact info for the event! I called and I am entered in as a competitor. They had trouble with my email. LOL! So she sent it to me with my correct address. Woohooo!!! Now I am REALLY excited! Who's all going to be there? Wait...I can start a new thread...doo doo doo. :mrgreen:

flo

01-07-2010, 10:38 PM

Registered for nationals. 8-)

sk8ryellow

01-08-2010, 08:46 AM

In with the new: I landed all of my jumps in my long program yesterday!

Out with the Old: unfortunatly my leg still has a wrinkle in it in my flying camel blah:frus:

Skate@Delaware

01-08-2010, 02:03 PM

Backspins: well the crossing part is my most frustrating bit. I can do 3 revolution minimimum on the open leg position. Speed is there. Coach said that coz it is that I did not have my left foot high enough. Anybody knows how to fix this problem? :??

Toe loop: seemed a bit weird. Maybe coz of the overrotation. :halo:

Keep working on your backspin, they will get better over time. As for your toe-loop, work hard on a strong check to prevent over-rotating. I had that problem as well and for a time, my coach had me demoted back to 3-turns, then doing the toe-loop without bringing my arms in. Be sure to discuss it with your coach to address the problem before it gets out of hand.

Way to go on your scratch spin!

phoenix

01-08-2010, 06:18 PM

New: Well, my last hard practice before the test (unless I sneak one more in tomorrow!). It was quite good, lots of good run-throughs & fixed a problem that had started cropping up on Tuesday. Now just a light practice Sunday & then VERY light warmup Monday.

Also have started focusing on what my goals for this test are: skate fierce and strong, be confident and stay focused & on top of the dance. If I do that, I'll be happy regardless of the result.

Skate@Delaware

01-08-2010, 06:25 PM

Old: worked on some old moves (i.e. stroking, crossovers) they are fine. Skated with some old friends-it was strange skating freestyle with them then leaving when classes where going on. I just can't commit to classes when I need to go home to study; later I will have clinicals at the same time.

New: worked on the new jump entrances
--Salchow: BO3-mohawk, which was harder today, I was hesitating
--Loop: glide-RFI3, and it was nice!
Backspins were good, as were scratch spins. Did only a few sits then moved on to a resurrected program. I need "something" to work on and this is it. Might replace the music with something else, and play around with it, but I need something creative!

forgot to do waltz-loops and waltz-backspins, but ran out of time anyway (actually would have had time but I did chat up a bit with the girls). ;)

liz_on_ice

01-09-2010, 11:03 AM

In with the New - got to quiet am freestyle. ran all the pre-bronze and bronze moves. Did the pre-bronze multiple times, especially the edges. Strength and control return slowly.

Out with the old - you couldn't tell from watching me that I'd passed any of those moves, especially the bronze ones. Those were more of a walkthrough than a serious attempt. :-P

In with the New - my sk8strong training dvd arrived. I'm figuring I can push myself harder off-ice since I'm not at risk of breaking anything, and there is also more time. The on-ice time can be more effective, and I'll be able to progress back to my "real" level safer and quicker. I'm such an optimist. :halo:

singerskates

01-10-2010, 12:54 AM

I only have "In With The New" this time for Friday Jan. 8th, 2010:

Pushed myself through a 2 hour skating session with only a 2 minute break with constant work. The adjustment I did to the inside of my right skate to stop me from sloshing all over inside worked. My right ankle, which is recovering from the ligament injuries that happened 4 weeks prior, held up throughout the 2 hour session. I only had mild soreness about two hours after.

Coach had me warm up a few laps around the rink as soon as I got on and then my lesson began.

First he had me do forward and backward crosscuts in figure eights. That lasted about a minute or two.

Then he had me run through my spins, upright variation, forward corkscrew, forward sit, forward broken.

Most of the time was spent on discovering which turns I could do. Here's the list that my coach will be incorporating into my interpretive program;

RFO3
LFO3
RFI3
RFI MO
LFI MO
LBI 2x3
RBI 2x3
RBO3

Other stuff:
RBI Loop
LBI Loop
LFO Loop
RFO Loop

Stag jump
Split jump

LF Lung (used into sitspin)

Sideway unassisted spiral (free leg doesn't go very high)
LFO Spiral (sometimes use this going into Forward Corkscrew)
LFI Spiral
RFO Spiral
RFI Spiral
LBI Spiral (with and without free blade grab)
LBO Spiral
RBO Spiral

At this moment, I can't remember what else we did in planning for my intepretive.

After the lesson and the coach left I did the following;

Ran through the portion of my interpretive that is done twice.
Then ran through the Fiesta Tango to keep it up until I test it.
And then without warming up my jumps ran through my freeskate program only walking through the loop jump because of it's double jeopardy on my right ankle.

After running through both interpretive and freeskate I sat down for 2 minutes on the bench and heard what another coach was talking about on the back edge setting up for Axels and Waltz jumps as she instructed her students. At that moment, I had an Aha moment and then went back on the ice and applied what the coach said to my Waltz jump. Sure enough her set up got my Waltz jump to be up in the air 2x to 3x as high as it was before. Now I have to control the freeleg on the landing so it stays forward so I can do the loop off it again. Now the only jump I need to get more height on is my Salchow.

Dropped off my left skate to move the blade back to where the coach had it first before putting in the shims on both skates. This should help me to not lean in too much on my forward spins, help me get more revs on my forward camel and to hook my forward spins without cheating the enterances, and make my Flip, Lutz and Salchows better.

londonicechamp

01-10-2010, 09:57 AM

In with the new

Forward crossovers: they are nice and solid, said my coach.

Backward crossovers: I can do them with more speed than forward crossovers.

Outside 3 turns: coach asked me to do both left and right. Apparently, the right is better than the left.

Inside 3 turns: coach asked me to do both left and right. Coach was so happy that I did a nice inside 3 turn on the left leg, and even clapped her hands. :bow:

Change foot spin: did it from proper right leg outside 3s, and then 1 backward crossover, and then the spin. The first forward spin, and the last scratch spin are nice.

Scratch spin: I can easily get anything between 10 and 14 revolutions. Do not ask me how. Most of the time, 9 out of 10, they just happened. I believe that the more I practise and work on them, the more I maintain this standard. :mrgreen:

Salchow: I practised on them. Seemed to get a bit higher in height. :yum:

Toe loop: well, I think they are okay. At least no overotation. ;)

Double 3 turns: my favourite for me to work on my back 3s.

Out with the Old
Backward inside pivots: not my strongest. Still working on them.

Backspins: still working on getting the leg in the open position correctly. Cannot really do them properly, as the crossed feet will automatically drop after 1 revolution. Just need to practice and practice on them.

Sit spin: needs to get down a lot lower, according to my coach. :halo: However, the good thing is that at the height where I am now, the spin is stable, so I can work on trying to get lower. :D

Loop jump: taught from a right foot open mohawk, so the confusion with the half loop is at least gone. Only happened about 3 times during the lesson, and I automatically corrected them. :P Well, now I am learning a proper one, as also landing on the left leg, after the jump. Just feels weird. 8-) Coach said that there is not much height, though the landing and the jump is stable.

Need to practise on 3 turns too.

Complained to the skate school about I was being overcharged for my Wed practice. The skate school lady who booked my lessons said that it is coz for that particular guy, I have to show him my lesson pass (but not to hand it to him as otherwise the guy will confiscate my lesson slip):giveup:, in order to get a student practice ticket. Well, I said that is weird, coz a week ago, the same guy sold me a student practice ticket. The skate school staff and her colleague said that it may be coz that same guy is confused. Oops!!!!!! My $5 is gone, cannot be refunded back. :o

On a better note, I am very likely to start a full time 6 months internship job in about a week's time. This means that I can have my skating lesson on Friday evenings after work, and have practice on Sat/Sun early evenings. Already checked with my coach. She said that she should be alright with my new lesson time, as she can move one of her students forward to cover my current time slot. :D

Skate@Delaware

01-12-2010, 05:11 PM

New: skating today was sweet! Only 3 other people out on the public session; got to work on a lot of things; ice was fantastically smooth!

Jumps: waltz-worked on getting it bigger with reach but I forgot to work on waltz-loops and waltz-backspins; salchows-these were nice, and the new entrance (BO3-mohawk) is getting better (haha not easier); loops-these are getting better

Spins: scratch is slowly improving, tried Query's suggestion of exhaling during to see if that stopped disorientation-nope! Managed to center better (i.e. not travel as far); backspin was good; sit....well I'm trying! Fell a few times hahaha!

Crossovers: worked on extension! Did alternating crossovers and when I push hard and extend, I can do 4 down the rink (I'm slow).

Old: need to work on speed....ran through an old program and man, I'm slooooow!!!! The old bird is slowing down! ;)

PinkLaces

01-12-2010, 09:30 PM

New Finalized and ran through program with Coach today. She liked the salchow loop and footwork section. Camel-backspin was pretty good. Worked on the flip and it is improving. I am landing it more times than not. Coach was happy with progress and the program.

Old Ran through program and I am slow. Coach decided not add a 3rd spin. She is unsure what to add. I have a sit spin-forward scratch and a camel-backspin. Worked with DD on our Family Spot. She was crabby and it was hardly worth working on it.

celticprincess

01-12-2010, 10:05 PM

I'm posting for the last two sessions, that I had the privledge of attending. First, was fortunate enough to make an arrangement so that I can skate for two hours FREE as long as I helped out with learn to skate. Not a bad deal for someone working a budget. And then today I attended lunch skate, because I had a few items to work on from sunday. So here it goes:

Sunday:

New:
-As always brackets are getting more and more comfortable for me.
-Ran through all single jumps at least twice(didn't have a problem with any of them)
-Double Salchow- I'm once again improving my entrance and finally discovered the purpose of my long legs. Oh so if I bend my knees more on my takeoff, I'll jump up higher...(duh, right?) So anyways once I started doing that I had enough air time to concentrate on pulling my arms in and rotating. Still no proper landing, but it's getting closer.
-Split/falling leaf-I'm getting my front leg up and out while my back leg trails a bit...but that may be due to flexibility.
-Sit spins-nice and low with good control
-Sit spin from a lunge entrance
-The ice is much harder in which I tend to skate better on, so thats always good.

Old
-Axel- My attempts were kinda of ehhh...could be better
-First day skating with a group of people in a club in which I haven't skated with in two years....I was holding back quite a bit and unsure of how the sessions were ran.
-Backspin-I tend to lean too far back causing me to fall. Though once I started leaning more forward, I was alright.
-Still unsure of what I should do for spotlight...Im torn between a couple either a Halloween Mix, 'Out Tonight' from Rent, or 'Everythings comign up Roses'..ughhh.

So that was from Sunday! Now the following is from today's practice on the softer ice that I usually skate on.

New
-Scratch spins were nice, centered, and well controlled
-Sit spins were behaving however I wasn't as low as on Sunday
-Broken leg is definately one of my strongest of spins...I love it:D
-My closed hip hair cutter spin...okay so let me explain alittle background. My hips are extremely closed, so it's much more natural to do a bellman more to the side than straight back. In saying that, I closed hip hair cutter is where I simply do that only I can get it to touch my head from the side. But anyways I tried some variations with it and just felt cool doing it.
-Quickly ran through all single jumps..very well as usual.
-Double sals were great! I think I landed it on the correct foot, but touched down a split second after so it's alittle hard to tell. Like I said I get alot more height on harder ice, but these attempts were very nice.
-Ran through artistic 'successfully'
-Created some combos mostly with jumps in which I hope to put in future programmes.

Old
-Crowded ice with a school group.
-Ice got very bumpy towards the end of the session
-Backspins still need work
-Sit/sit initally was great...until I pulled up into a back scratch and down I went.:frus:

I think thats it for now folks! Happy skating everyone:-)