2002/2003 Lessons & Practise

[melanieuk]

I had my last lesson of the year today....

2002 last practice

I'll just use smilies to describe how good or bad my skating was.

:) Field moves - I warmed up with them and they were reasonable.

8O Spins - I stayed on spins for ages, trying to copy what I'd seen on the Lussi tapes.
I can do the 5 step entry on the other foot better (for a CCW spin) than I could for my CW direction spin. Anyway, I got the entry ok after several attempts, but it did nothing for centering the spins. I had more luck with centering them doing it my own way. Two things that did help the sit spin was to not toe pick the push-off foot, and to see the free foot leave the ice from over my right shoulder (CW spin).
Unfortunately the camel spins weren't so good, and all hope of ever getting a forward outside one was dashed.

:P At this point, my coach came over for my lesson and started where I'd left off - on the spins.

:roll: The camel-sit didn't have enough ooomph on the change of position. A really poor effort .

:evil: The change foot sit only managed to stay on it's feet ONCE out of the loads I tried. I smacked the long bit below my thumb on the ice....ouch!
When I change feet I must whip round or something because my changed foot just goes from under me.

:lol: For some reason, coach omitted the backspin from FI3.

:D 3 waltz jumps - I had to repeat....she wanted them faster.

:) salchow - toeloop, loop and flip and lutz all worked.

:cry: :twisted: :x :( :oops: Backpivots in aid of the backspin. YAK YUK YAK.
I tried them from RFO3 turn, place front part of Left blade down, and try and pivot my right foot around and back. NO WAY.
I cannot even get my pivoting foot to GO round.
My weight is over the skating foot, so my other leg doesn't do anything - sort of hangs there limp.

Anybody have tips for pivots?

Have a good new year everyone! :lol:

[garyc254]

Went last night for my last skate of '02. The normal "adult only" session was changed for the holidays to a standard public session, but there weren't too many people and everybody watched out for each other.

Also, for one of the few times this year, my girlfriend and I got to skate together. :D Since she didn't have to push her son through homework, she went with me.

Center ice was clear except for one young girl who was extremely polite and careful with her practice. My girlfriend and I worked on a few moves half-heartedly, but mostly just "played" with our skating. It was fun comparing notes with each other. She used to speed skate as a young girl (her dad has speed skated his whole life), but took up figures a few years ago. While I've only been skating a year, we're both about the same level as she seldom has time to practice and I've had many more lessons.

We laughed a lot, groused at our inabilities, tried a few new things, and had fun. My shoulder was sore as I had a visit to the PT just prior to skating and her back was twingie (an old case of sciatica), so we kept our moves to a minimum.

What fun!!!!!!! :D :D

Here's to a terrific year skating in 2003!!!! :D :D

[nutty-ducky]

had my last lesson of the year yesterday!
i am working on my novice field moves, i am not going to be able to enter the test just yet :(
i am also working on my preliminary moves aswell.
i can now do the salchow with the entrance and it is coming along! yippee!
i am also working on in side spread eagles and you have to straighten your legs and it feels as though if i straighten my legs i will fall! also working on an ina bauer just like the spread eagle which feels good!
i can do a 2-foot spin going into a 1-foot spin and it is really good! :D
i have been told by my coach that my forward crossovers are coming along good and i am developing style to them!:D

[sk8er1964]

Originally posted by melanieuk
:cry: :twisted: :x :( :oops: Backpivots in aid of the backspin. YAK YUK YAK.
I tried them from RFO3 turn, place front part of Left blade down, and try and pivot my right foot around and back. NO WAY.
I cannot even get my pivoting foot to GO round.
My weight is over the skating foot, so my other leg doesn't do anything - sort of hangs there limp.

Anybody have tips for pivots?



I don't know if this will help, but...

Try a forward pivot from a standstill with your left toepick in and your right foot on an inside edge position (for a right-handed skater). Push off with your right foot to get some speed going forward. Then while doing the forward pivot, stick your right toepick into the ice and push off with your left inside edge - this will have you going into a backwards pivot at this point. You will then be in a position to come off your right toepick and lift your left foot for the backspin. It sounds harder being described than it really is :??

Had a good adult practice yesterday - the rink I skate at kept the adult noon skate this week and added an all afternoon skate for everybody else - so everybody is happy. Today I have my son the little hockey-skating kid (work is closed) so we'll just go to regular open skate together. We always have fun, and he's been sort-of wanting to try figure skates so maybe today.... he does an almost fully rotated axel in the living room :)

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!!!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Yazmeen]

My last lesson for 2002 was Saturday as we had no ice this morning. Having had to put my elderly and very sick kittycat down the night before, I was not in the best shape that day. :( We played with footwork, and coach was so pleased with what I did she suggested a footwork program for my second competitive program this year!!! :) It would be one minute, ISI Freestyle I, and I have a great piece of music for it, believe it or not, called "Happy Feet!!!" I had given Paula a copy of it a couple of years ago and another of her students used it for footwork.

Also worked with one foot spin and made some DEFINITIVE progress with this. Bumped it up a level with bringing the arms and free foot around better and not bringing the foot in too soon, and got a couple of additional revs a few times. PROGRESS!!! 8-)

I guess in one sense, my grief helped me--I didn't overthink anything, just tried it and let it happen. I guess my kitty was looking out for me, just like he always did. ;)

Happy, healthy, good skating New Year, everyone!!!

Beth

[singerskates]

Last skate of 2002:
My coach had come to the rink with servere back, leg and hip pain. It took her about a quater of the session for her to walk to the side of the boards from the sound room. Felt bad for her. Wondering if she'll be OK the rest of the season or if she might have her skaters switch to someone else being that she said something that she is having a relaps of this desease thing she has. I hope not for her sake and ours. Anyway, I think she'll be off of her skates again on Thursday. The desease she has is the reason she had to stop skating competitively as a teenager and turn to coaching.

Novice skater friend of mine hadn't been on the ice since our Christmas Skating Party. On her senior session she went to warm up a waltz jump and fell flat on her face. LOL She roared about it with laughter in the sound booth before our coach came while the ice was being flooded. On my session she stayed away from the waltz jump and went straight for the axel and double axel. She said she didn't want to hit her face again. LOL Imagine being able to pull off single and double axels and not a waltz jump. ROTFLOL She also just got her skates sharpened and was cutting the ice very deeply. She even fell getting caught in her own rut. LOL

Me, I needed to get my blades sharpened badly. I was sliding all over the place sideways. At one point, I was just coming out of my change edge spiral when I did a RFI op mo to get ready for the flip and on the LBI edge I was sliding out sideways and just about hit the boards. I think either today or right after work on Thursday, I'll be getting my baldes sharpened.

I ran through all my dances. First two were fine. Then I was going to do the Fiesta and found that I kept running into problems running into other skaters space so I had to stop and start over. I also forgot to extend my right arm backwards to change from backwards to forward from the back strokes after the mohawk. I felt so stupid. LOL

Practiced my straightline corner to corner footwork section of my US Interpretive FS and had it going fine with sometimes doing a waltz jump at the end or toe loop or a toe loop/toe loop combo.

But then when my music came on, I was in for a shock. It wasn't my US Interpretive FS music. It was my FS music for which I didn't practice a thing. I just said to myself, "Oh WEll" and just went through it. Everything was fine until my first footwork sequence which I totally forgot and I just stroked though it to the waltz jump. Then I went around to do my change edge spiral like I said above. LOL

The watlz jump was OK but not what I really wanted.
Toe loops were weak as I can get a nice spring in them before turning in the air when I do them right.
Salchows LOL, still suck. LOL
Flip didn't have a chance because I slip on the back end of my MO the one time I tried it in my FS program.

Thinking I'm going to get my sitspin to happen soon. Had a few decent 4 ratotion spins with my right leg extended out to my side. They were centered. Just need to get the right leg to the front and bend the left leg a little more. I can see it coming really soon.

Brigitte

[dani]

Hi everyone! I just had my last lesson of the year. Wow, it has been a really cool year. From the first salchow attempt when I was too scared to try it until now. I have a feeling I have come a ways!

My sitspin is definitely working now. During my lesson I finally did a couple of camels and my coach even had me try a couple of camel change back camels! I didn't succeed ;-)

Towards the end, I asked her when I could test my ISI FS 3 and 4 just to get the patches for my wall. She said, why not now? I tested my ISI 3 but not the 4 because nobody has taught me the footwork sequence yet. The pivot was funny because I have never learned one! She showed me and I did it ;-)

For the last 5 minutes she asked what I wanted to do and I told her combinations. So, she would yell out a goofy combo - my favorite was the salchow-loop-half loop-flip - The first time I did it, I even flowed out! Cool! ;-) After that, I couldn't remember to do the flip until the last time where I forgot the loop. Oh well, at least I had one good one ;-)

My first lesson of the new years is Thursday, I hope it starts off as cool as this one ended!

Happy New Years Hugs to everyone!!!
Danielle

Editted because I forgot the following:
I was so pumped when I posted this, that I forgot to mention that I had developed two bad habits. I have lost my turn-out :-( and I am looking over my left shoulder on my landings! Oh well, I did get yelled at for that! ;-)

[mikawendy]

Originally posted by melanieuk
Anybody have tips for pivots?

I've never done back pivots but would watching partners do death spirals help? The man does a pivot while he holds the lady's arm. He's pulling away from her in a way you wouldn't want to be leaning while you try to backspin, though--you'd wind up leaning into the circle. Are you using enough knee bend?

[melanieuk]

I'm thinking hard here.....
Doesn't the man do the pivot with skating leg in front, with the pick directly behind, whereas I need my skating foot to be at the side, inner side of my right boot parallel to the ice and the picking foot side by side - with space between, obviously.

Sorry not good at explaining things like this.

[sk8er1964]

Originally posted by melanieuk
I'm thinking hard here.....
Doesn't the man do the pivot with skating leg in front, with the pick directly behind, whereas I need my skating foot to be at the side, inner side of my right boot parallel to the ice and the picking foot side by side - with space between, obviously.

Sorry not good at explaining things like this.

You are right.

[melanieuk]

On the ice myself.
Ice nice!

Field moves first. I did them three times over.
Every time I do BO3s with mohawks, I see Lynne breaking her wrist (even though I wasn't there at the time!)


Chainee turns?
Is that what they're called?
I mastered them with a flip today. Not great speed, because you really have to concentrate on keeping the turns straight.

I tried loads of spins the Lussi way, with the 5 steps in, and all the other little tips he gives. Surprisingly got a few good, fast and centred sit spins, but still can't hold my free skate with both my hands yet. I prefer to keep my usual arm position.
The "killer" sit spin will kill me before I ever get it.
Change foot sit spin nearly killed me.
I'm not safe with that anymore, so I left it alone.
All in all, a good skate day! :)

[Yazmeen]

First lesson of the new year, and as we were working on footwork, time to do the dreaded forward inside three turns.

Right went pretty well--left, honestly, its not as revolting and scary as it was with my old skates!!! :lol: I still don't get a good back outside edge on that side after the turn, so we worked on that edge by itself to get the feel of the shoulder and hip position. Little by little, I actually believe, it will come to fruition!!!

In the midst of trying various foot work moves, Paula showed me a choctaw and I sort of got it left to right. Yeesh, outside edge forward on one foot, inside backward on the other--where did they come up with these things!!!! :P

Happy New Year, everyone.

Beth

[sk8er1964]

Lesson was good today - worked on footwork for the new program and on the entries of my problem doubles. I just love my new music, which is great - it took us a long time to find what we liked. It's Mozart - should have started there because just about anything Mozart is ok by me!

Will be so glad to get back to normal schedule - I missed 7 days of practice over the last two weeks due to the holidays. Today was only my second this week, although I did go open skating on Tuesday with my son and about 100 other people. When we got there my son (age 7) looked at the ice and said "I don't think you're going to be doing any axels today, Mom!". I was lucky to find room to do 3-turns! ;) We ended up working on some of my son's hockey drills and by the time we finished my feet were very cold - I don't know how coaches do it 8O .

[Blue Line]

First real skate of 2003 (real meaning I was at an indoor rink with my full-time skates on, not out on the lake that my parents live on in my old pair of skates)!

I cancelled all of my lessons for this week because I am home from school (Coach and club are about an hour away) and because I had my wisdom teeth yanked last Friday and didn't know if I would be up for it. So, I skated at a public session at a local, run-down rink this morning.

Lucky for me, the session was pretty empty. Never more than 10 or 12 people on the ice, and everyone consisted of younger kids (6-8) hanging to their parent with one hand and the boards with the other. Had a ton of fun and was feeling somewhat fearless.

Jumps were unusually high and I went into them going unusually fast. I feel like I'm actually getting some pop out of my toe loop (using the toe pick to "vault" myself into the air instead of stabbing my toe into the ice with all of my might), which would really please my coach. Salchow has improved 150% since changing the entrance from a 3 turn to a mohawk.

When doing a toe loop as the second jump in a combination, I've noticed that my toe pick makes a horrible scratching noise (slowing myself down subliminally?) right before I pick in. Anyone have any suggestions on how to alleviate that? When I try to fix the scratching, I feel like I'm leaning back way too far and get no power into the jump.

My scratch spin is improving at a slow but steady and fairly pleasing pace. I see and feel improvements in it every time I work on it, so it's impossible to get too frustrated.

I came across an interesting thing during my skate. Chatting with a little girl named Erin (who was so sweet and told me that she liked my skating), she showed me a jump she learned in her group lessons. What I thought that I saw was her doing a strange 3 turn entrance and stepping forward into a waltz jump. Erin (all of 6 years old) said that, no, it wasn't a waltz jump but she didn't know the name.

I watched Erin carefully and this is what she did: a left outside 3 turn, after which she picked in with her right foot. Then she stepped forward onto her left foot and did a waltz jump. Erin's coach came to the ice for just a minute later, and she told her that it was a half flip. I definitely don't do my half-flip this way. Is anyone else familiar with this? I question the coach because the rink where Erin takes lessons at does not have a figure skating club or program (just basic skills classes).

[jenlyon60]

First lesson of the new year...

After warming up with stroking, we did CW progressives in a circle in open hold. Followed by back crossovers (CCW then CW) in a circle in open hold.

After that, we did European Waltz. 2 sets of 1 pattern each to the music, both patterns felt really really solid.

Then it was torture time with forward power 3's. Mostly concentrating on the choctaw from the LBI to the RFO, which is a challenge for me to do...mostly because I break slightly at the waist on the back crossover right before hand.

We finished the lesson with coach working with me on Tango Romantica for fun (a much more fun way to work on back 3's than working them "in the field"). I managed a nice fall off the back of my blades doing an LBOI twizzle (LBO change edge to a twizzle).

Separately before the lesson I worked on 5-step mohawk sequence, which is improving.

[Yazmeen]

Blue Line: Erin's jump: That's definitely not the half flip I've learned, and I've been doing a ton of them since I'm competing ISI Freestyle 1 this year and its a required element!!! It sounded fine until you DIDN'T get to jumping off the left toepick and going into a RFO edge!!! It sounds like she's combining "half of a half flip" with a waltz jump. Geez, is there such a thing as a QUARTER FLIP? :P Maybe you could show her a true half flip?

[singerskates]

Skipped going to skating today even though I could have skated on the senior session even though I was late for mine because I went straight after work to sharpen my skates. The roads on the way to Maxium Edge where I get my skates sharpened by Windsor Airport were bad, snow covered and slippery. My van needed skates. My van wasn't heating up and the windshield was full of ice and so were the windshield wipers. With today's 6 inches of snow, after getting my skates sharpened, I decided to stay home. I just didn't feel like driving anymore going 3 miles an hour.

Besides it was my first day back to work where I actually did a 8 hour day on my feet since the operation. Don't want to push it. Sunday will be here soon enough.

At least, when I go into an open mohawk at full speed from my change edge spiral, I won't be going sideways since I got my blades sharped today. I actually be able to hold an edge.

Brigitte

Hmm, it would be nice it there was way too much snow and tomorrow morning the radio said all business are closed. LOL That would be great. OK, I need the cash for the NAAI in Wyandotte, MI. Only got 13 days left to pay the $120 for 2 events in March.

[Terri C]

This was my first lesson and practice of the new year, since my last lesson was on Christmas Eve Day.
We ran through my technical program, since I will be doing a competition in March at the US Naval Academy!
To make a long story short, there's a lot of work to do! My salchow was back to being whippy and the spins, comapred to what I'd been doing before were awful!
We also worked on flip and loop and guess what-- the coach is bound and determined to find a spot for the loop in the program! Why am I not surprised?

[Blue Line]

Originally posted by Yazmeen
Blue Line: Erin's jump: That's definitely not the half flip I've learned,

Phew! I'm glad to know that there wasn't some extra-secret "other" 1/2 flip that my coach hadn't told me about yet! :)

It sounded fine until you DIDN'T get to jumping off the left toepick and going into a RFO edge!!! It sounds like she's combining "half of a half flip" with a waltz jump. Geez, is there such a thing as a QUARTER FLIP? :P Maybe you could show her a true half flip?

I just still can't get over her coach telling her that it was right (or, more accurately, IDing this hybrid jump as a 1/2 flip). Very strange to me. And, yes, next time I run into Erin I'll have to show her a true half flip! :)

[garyc254]

Originally posted by Yazmeen
Geez, is there such a thing as a QUARTER FLIP?

I've heard of flipping someone for a quarter, but not a quarter flip. :lol:

You may have come up with some new jumps.

Imagine: QUARTER FLIP, HALF DOLLAR FLIP, THREE-QUARTER FLIP, SEVEN-EIGHTHS FLIP (remember pieces of eight) , ..... :lol: :lol:

[wannask8]

Most of you know by now that knee issues restrict me to an hour a week of skating, which means just a lesson a month with a few practice sessions between, but I had such a great time today that I had to report on it, plus I thought this might help some other beginners.

F crossovers: Just learned these for the first time last month (4 skating hours ago), but as seems typical, I haven’t really been able to do them CW. Coach pointed out that I was letting my outside shoulder roll back during the cross, pulling me backward (relaxing the shoulder fixed this completely), opening my free foot/hip just before the cross, and placing my crossed over blade on its back end rather than setting the whole blade down. Tweaked those things one by one and – bingo! – I could do the suckers.

BO edges: No, Gary, it is not that they had gone to another dimension; they just plain haven’t ever materialized for more than a second or two at a time, even after trying for months (even for me, this is a while). Coach had me focus on keeping my skating hip forward (keeping hips perpendicular to line of flight). Again, my free hip/foot were also turned out, leaving the knee pointing way outside the circle; closing the foot made an immediate difference. Voila, BOs!

Best of all, I was able to recreate both accomplishments during practice after the lesson, woo-hoo!!!!!

-- wannask8