Depressing/uplifting - lessons/practices 5-12 January 2003

[Mrs Redboots]

First time back on the ice for a fortnight, due to this wretched throat/chest infection. Still coughing nicely, and the cold air in the rink didn't help.

Depressing Almost everything! Could barely move for coughing, so spent most of my practice working on turns and figures. Not good. Mostly out of practice, I think.

In our lesson, we had to work on "togetherness": forward stroking in Kilian hold and in reverse Kilian hold, then chasses in waltz hold, and then swing rolls in waltz hold. And finally cross-rolls in Kilian hold, which we hadn't done before.

After the lesson, a Foxtrot was being played, so Robert and I decided to do a Prelim Foxtrot, focussing on trying to stay together. Did we succeed? No!

Uplifting: It was great being back on the ice, however poorly we skated, and however bad the ice surface. Which wasn't much worse than it normally is on a Sunday, to be fair.

And when we did cross-rolls in Kilian hold, our coach said they were "much better than he thought they'd be". High praise.....

Overheard: Another coach to his pupils: "Don't swing your bottom around like a French tart!"

[Yazmeen]

Technically, this was yesterday, but I'll put it here as I'm not skating today.

Ended up having a surprise lesson yesterday as my coach couldn't teach me this coming Tuesday as usual.

Prozac time: The LFI3--AT FIRST. We really got down to working on it and it was its usually crappy self at first--BUT, then I found out my constant problem was that after the turn I was going onto my flat, not the BOE. With some work, I FINALLY got a backward outside edge. It has no real flow yet, but coach says its actually the best I've ever done because I finally found that elusive edge. Ahh, a bit of progress...

Lift me UP!!!: OK, pardon me if I get obnoxious here, but the rest of the lesson was beyond first rate. We did some waltz jumps and she decided we'd go on to toeloop. Now, I've never done a real one out of the harness which was on my old skates. This was Mercer, the semi-outdoor rink, so no harness. She went through it and I tried it. I didn't think I did it right--but when I looked at Paula, she had this wierd look on her face. Turns out, I not only did a proper toeloop, it was a bigger jump than my waltz jump!!!! :D She looked stunned, I was stunned! We did a few more to coordinate the arms better, and a few were sideways, but for the most part, they were pretty much spot on, and I was JUMPING, not stepping. So coach looks at me and says, "OK, hotshot--you want to try a salchow?"

Now, I had a very weak salchow with my old skates, scratchy, not really a jump. Once again, she demonstrated, and with this one, I remembered the basics more so than the toeloop, so I did the three turn, swung around and jumped and landed. I looked at Paula, she throws her hands up in the air and says "I can't take this--WHERE DID THESE COME FROM???? I thought I'd have to teach you these all over again from the beginning and it would take several lessons, but no, you do them right away!" I did a few more, all with a good jump, all landed cleanly.

At that point, I told her if she even mentioned a loop jump, I was leaving...

Me and my big mouth...next lesson we're going to try the jumps out of crossovers and "I think you're ready for combinations, we'll try a waltz toeloop..."

She also brought up...BACKSPIN!!!

8O And showed me how to do a twofoot spin and lift the other foot to start a backspin...like I said, me and my BIG mouth!!!!!

Major grins!!!!

Beth
8-)

[JDC1]

Haven't skated in over a week due to hockey tournaments hogging the ice and the holiday.

Depressing - not being able to practice 3 turns, too crowded and too many jumpers. Also how weird it felt to jump after not skating for over a week.

Uplifting - when I finally do spin properly I am going to be FAST, I tried spinning on one foot and sit spins and they were fast if not pretty. Spirals were good and waltz jumps finally felt normal by the end of the session. Still getting used to freestyle sessions, we had lots of double jumpers and one triple jumper and lots of end to end jumping so it was really a challenge getting comfortable and practicing my spins so I'm proud I did it and am becoming more comfortable being out there. Still can't do many jumps because of my knee. :(

[mikawendy]

Depressing: got all bundled up to go skating outside this morning (during the first hour, when it's not crowded and the ice is good). Hustled down there to find... that the rink was opening an hour late. Argh. So I went back home to get ready for lunch with a friend. I'll try later when I get home.

Uplifting: My lesson and practice yesterday were great!!! Still having trouble with FI3s. Beth, I can sympathize. My LFI3 only exists in theory! :O But everything else was good--I worked on ballet jumps in lessons, back crossovers were great, and my instructor asked to see my one-foot spins, and I just kept going around and around and around.

LFI and RFI closed mohawks are coming along nicely, too.

My instructor also asked me to have my blades sharpened to a deeper hollow--to go from my current 5/8 to 1/2 inch. So that's why I was all bummed out to not be able to skate to test out my newly sharpened blades....

[Debbie S]

Depressing:

Started the next series of lessons yesterday. I'm now in (USFSA) Freestyle 4. We practiced all skills except the sit spin. The loop jump is TERRIFYING! I think it's a combination of fear and a lack of leg strength, but I can't seem to get up into the air. I found myself putting my left foot down as I turned (I'm CCW), which basically made it a non-jump. I just can't seem to get up and turn - anyone have any suggestions?


Uplifting:

We practiced the required spiral sequence (FI and BO spirals w/ a FO mohawk in between). It seems like the FO mohawk is really a FI mohawk and then a change of foot to be on a BO edge (am I right?). I had the worst problem getting my back spiral to be on an edge and not a flat. My instructor told me to lower my inside shoulder a little more.

Power FO 3s were fun - actually, my instructor taught them one way to us (just the regular turn and then a push-off w/ our opposite foot), and then the skating director of the rink came over to assist, b/c my instructor had both Freestyle level 3s and 4s, saw what we were doing, and went over to my instructor where they proceeded to have discussion/friendly debate over how to teach power 3s. After they reached an agreement, the skating director came over and informed us that he (instructor) had taught us the "first part" of the move, and that she would show us the rest. She had us do a transition bet. turns where we would shift our weight bet. feet going backwards and do a back crossover before stepping into the next turn. She explained that this is the way MITF tests are done. I'm glad she's showing us that way, if I do decide to test.

Then, the instuctor showed us the setup and execution for the loop jump and asked her to stay with us and "make sure no one does anything crazy with it." LOL! We also practiced toe loops and salchows with the level 3 group. Skating director stayed and gave us tips on our jumps - a kind of instruction by committee.

JDC1 - I've found that if I use the center of the ice for spins in freestyle sessions, most of the other skaters seem to avoid me - unless they're doing a run-through.

[melanieuk]

Originally posted by Debbie S
Depressing:

Started the next series of lessons yesterday. I'm now in (USFSA) Freestyle 4. We practiced all skills except the sit spin. The loop jump is TERRIFYING! I think it's a combination of fear and a lack of leg strength, but I can't seem to get up into the air. I found myself putting my left foot down as I turned (I'm CCW), which basically made it a non-jump. I just can't seem to get up and turn - anyone have any suggestions?


Are you approaching it from CCW back crosscuts?
Or the RFI 3 turn way?

I'm assuming it's with crosscuts.

I do 3 crossovers...on the LAST crossover, while left leg is still crossed in front of my right, I prepare for the jump.
I keep my left hand straight in front of me, nice and firm, with the right arm firmly behind me, both at waist height.
I bend my knees deeply and SIT on the the middle to back of the blade. Don't raise up on to your toepicks or lean forwards.
You're still sitting back, on bended knee...if in doubt bend them both a little more. It is the right leg you are jumping off from. Feel the right blade and its edge. It's on a deep outside curve/edge now, ready to lift you up and round. It actually starts to turn and you should feel that it's time to go up as there is nowhere left to go! Use your left thigh to lift you as you spring off your right leg.
The loop is only about 3/4 of a turn if you examine the tracing, as the first (almost) quarter is turned on the ice before you lift up.
As you jump up - I stress that you must jump up, and not try and force the rotation around, as you will throw your weight out the circle and fall over - scoop or roll the right arm into your chest and bring the left one in to meet it. Ask your coach which way they want you to bring in your right arm - some say scoop, some say roll, some say a mixture of both. Whatever you do though, don't drop either shoulder. Keep your hips and shoulders parallel - don't let your shoulders go ahead of your legs.

I'm afraid it's just trial and error to get the timing of the loop, and it's landing. Try and keep your torso lifted and straight throughout.

If you have a cushioned flooring with plenty of space, I really recommend you practise this off ice to get the feeling of the weight over the same side throughout, and the landing.

[icenut84]

I know those tips weren't posted for me, but thanks for the loop descriptions Mel. :) I might print that off.

This is for Saturday just gone. My first skate this year, and my first skate since 21st December. I was a bit rusty, and my cold didn't exacly help my balance or motivation. :)

Uplifting:

Forward and backward cross rolls were pretty good, especially backwards. Step sequence.

Waltz jump fine, salchow and toe loop surprisingly good. Did them both pretty well on the first go, which I really wasn't expecting, and each time was fine too. Still not brushing my head on the ceiling, but I didn't have a whole load of motivation.

2 foot spin was ok (a couple at 5 revs I think, no more than that). Got a couple of 1 foot spins ok, including the entrance, which is improving.

Pivots good, all 3 turns good, mohawks good, also did outside mohawks both ways (rarely practice them and RBO-LBO aren't usually that great but they're fine now.)

Depressing:

Spins. Despite a few good(ish) ones, the majority were pretty rubbish. I thought as soon as I cracked the entry I'd be ok, but the spin itself still isn't very good. I did have a cold though, which probably didn't help. I'm just not very consistent on it. :(

Busy session, and the ice was a bit chewed up, as usual. Also was 10 minutes late for my group class! (overslept half an hour). I didn't have a freestyle lesson either.

Tried loop once, didn't work, couldn't be bothered again. :(

[melanieuk]

Originally posted by icenut84
I know those tips weren't posted for me, but thanks for the loop descriptions Mel. :) I might print that off.


Tried loop once, didn't work, couldn't be bothered again. :(

Do them off ice. You'll feel more confident about doing it on ice.

[JDC1]

A light bulb went off when I read your loop description!!! I can land it when my coach is there and talking me through it but when I try it on my own I always fall VERY HARD on my right hip (I've had a bruise for 6 weeks) and I realize it's because I'm rotating instead of just jumping straight up.

[Debbie S]

Thanks, Mel! I'm going to print it out and take it to practice tomorrow.

[jenlyon60]

Depressing: European Waltz today. I was wide-stepping a bit (I was putting down my RBO after the LFO3s about 4 to 5 inches from my skating foot instead of almost touching). Then when I tried to correct it, everything else went wonky.

Uplifting: The CW progressives in open hold with coach were much improved. I'm starting to get more power from both pushes on them and good deep edges. The cross-roll swing out of them onto an LFO was lousy though. more of a cross step.

5-step mohawk sequence is getting better. I'm still not sure what I want to do around the end of the rink as a transition between doing the pattern down each side.

Separately, I worked on the forward power 3's and they were a bit better.

All in all, really not a bad skate day. Getting my blades sharpened yesterday really helped also.

[skaternum]

Originally posted by Debbie S
We practiced the required spiral sequence (FI and BO spirals w/ a FO mohawk in between). It seems like the FO mohawk is really a FI mohawk and then a change of foot to be on a BO edge (am I right?).

If I understand what you're asking, the answer is No. If you're talking about a Forward Outside (i.e., O = Outside) mohawk, it goes from a FO edge on Foot 1 to a BO edge on Foot 2. A mohawk is a change of foot with a change of direction (e.g., forward to backward) with NO CHANGE of the edge. You could do:

RFO --> LBO
RFI --> LBI

but not RFI -->LBO.

Uh, did that make any sense the way I described it?

[dbny]

Depressing

My club had its last freestyle session on the Friday before the new year. Only four of us attended, including my husband and I. This club is no more. Following a fire at our rink in the spring of 2001 which caused cancellation of our fund raising spring competition, and all of the problems ensuing from 9/11, we had a dispute with rink management/owner and left the only year round rink available to us. Membership dropped to the point that we couldn't pay for our ice. RIP SCNY Richmond Division.

Uplifting

I went to bed last night with a miserable cold, woke up at 1 this afternoon and only went to the rink because hubby and I had an hour booked for lessons. I primed myself with a large cup of hot tea and a 12 hr sudafed. I truly didn't expect to be able to do much. It turned out that once on the ice, I felt pretty good, hubby did not, and I took the whole hour!

FO alt three pattern: Improving. Agreed to do FI alt three pattern two footed just so I would be doing it.

Waltz-8: I really thought I could get that second RFO three, but not so. However, coach said the rest of it was very good. I haven't done this one in ages and thought it had fallen apart, but got my timing back right away.

One foot spin: Did the absolutely best one ever and nearly fell off BO exit edge in surprise. Wind up is as expected, and I need to work on wind up into spin with free leg extended.

Cross strokes: F were very good, with deep edges and good speed. Back needed work on push from BO edge. Coach was about to give me an exercise at wall, but I just went and did it right. I said "I'm already doing enough at the wall." :lol:

Five step Mohawk pattern: It's back!!! I can do the LFI Mohawk again after several months of chickening out. We worked on positioning the pattern on the axis properly, and I was able to improve it right away.

Eight step Mohawk pattern: Coach spotted me a few times, then said I could do the FO Mohawk on my own and I should try it. I did it! I just went very slowly. Have seen daughter take a few bad ones on this pattern, so I'm really very cautious. I LOVE this pattern. This one and the cross strokes are my favorites, maybe because they are so dance like.

Spirals: Leaving the ice, coach had me do them, and complimented me on my arched back and leg height. These are definitely improving, and it must be dreaming about them that is doing it, because I never practice or stretch. Go figure :roll:

[MissIndigo]

So Uplifting it was Heavenlike...I had the ice to myself for an entire hour this evening. It was incredible. I got a chance to do some much needed practice on my Bronze moves. This was the first time in ages I actually felt like I could stretch my legs and not hold back on anything. So relaxing...I'm that good kind of tired now where you just want to melt into your bed and think about what a nice day you had. Very, very rare feeling for me.

Cloud Nine Uplifting...During my lesson midday today, I did my fastest camel spin ever! I got that magic "hook" and pop-up with the knee at the same time and wheeeeee!!!! Layback attempts were good too...I am getting this spin 75% of the time now. Attitudes were fast, and I even tried a back attitude spin. The latter will get better with practice, but it really helped my backspin. I tried a backspin immediately after and the increase in speed was noticeable. My sit spin now is no longer hopeless...turns out I was not pointing and turning out my toe on my extended leg enough, which could be traced to a high free hip. The position and overall look of the spin (though it's not low enough for me to want to test it) improved 200%.

I also got good runout on loop jumps today.


Depressing...Loop jumps, even though I got good runout. I need more height and distance.

Coach also had me try a sit-change-sit spin today...hahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Camel/layback combo needs work. My freeleg got ugly. That won't do.

All in all, after not having skated for two weeks (on holiday break with no convenient rink), I still say I had a darn good day.

[melanieuk]

Uplifting
Whenever I manage a lutz, first time, or with lots of fast skaters on the ice 8O, I count it as a good skate day.

I only had an hour, so spent 20 minutes doing changes of edges, alternate forward inside 3 turns (with crossover) and outside 3 turns, slaloms, forward and back both feet, BO3s with mohawks on a circle and back crossrolls things.

I was happy with loop-loop, absolutely forgot to practice the salchow-toeloop (can't think why! :roll: ), flip and lutz.

Nothing was too depressing, but the backspin wasn't too hot, as per usual!
I had a couple of reasonable camels, but still not whipping leg round enough to get better speed on the camel-sit. All change foot spins were left alone today. :twisted:

[garyc254]

Mrs. Redboots: Glad you are feeling better and hope you get rid of that nasty cough soon. :)

Yazmeen: Congrats on the toeloop and salchow!!! YAHOO!!! :D

DBNY: So sad to hear about your club's demise. It's getting harder and harder to keep them going. :cry:

Skating sessions are back to normal times again, so I did my Monday night regular. 15 minute patch ice warmup during a kids learn to skate program (the rink manager leaves one patch open for people to practice). 45 minute freestyle session followed by an ice make and 1-1/2 hour adult only public session during which I'm taking an adult intermediate group lesson for 1/2 hour.

My shoulder is doing better since the surgery, but I can't hold my arms out for very long yet. This was also the longest I've skated since mid November and my upper thighs and hips are really feeling sore this morning. :lol: I'm definitely out of skating shape.

The adult session was MUCH busier than normal. Then I remembered that the college students haven't started classes yet from their Christmas break. There must have been 50 of them on the ice, so the ice was crowded and choppy in no time. They were all very polite, though.

Uplifting: My forward mohawks are back in form and very comfortable. My forward 3-turns, inside and out, are still a little rusty, but by the end of the class my center was much better.

Depressing: I had never tried a backward mohawk before. It's an easy move, but I can't get my hips open enough to hit the right edge. :( I'm going to talk to my physical therapist about some stretching exercises to help my poor, locked up hips open up.

All in all: I LOVE THE ICE AND I'M GLAD TO BE BACK!!!!! :D :D :D

[sk8er1964]

Depressing

Gave myself a mild concussion yesterday :cry:

Best I can figure is that I was concentrating so much on not breaking at the waist in my axel that I didn't start my check out in time. Went right over backwards on the landing. Tried to curl up but wasn't able to stop the momentum of the head and "Whack". Ouch.

OK today, except for a little sore neck and the spot on my head that hit the ice. I think I'll practice footwork today...

[Yazmeen]

Gary: Glad you're doing better. From your description, I'd say the skating is coming along nicely!! Whoo-hoo!!! 8-)

dbny: My heart aches for you and your club--ours almost went that way last year. Now we are literally a "Phoenix that rose from the ashes." We have good, caring officers and board members and we're starting to fly again.


sk8er1964: Please, please be careful!!! It sounds like you're OK, but if you get a bad headache, dizziness, nausea--please get checked out by your doctor or in an ER pronto.

Pass me the antidepressant: I was just "off" today. Skated fairly well, but didn't feel right. Then after I got home I realized I was wheezing--good old asthma in cold weather, grrr... :?? Time to up the inhalant steroids a bit.

A little lift: Did salchow and toeloop again today. Some were scratchy and some were plain off, but some were pretty darn good. My strength was lousy due to the asthma, so I can't complain. Still getting that BOE on the LFI3, now if I can just get it to flow better... Three turns in general are getting back to feeling normal and are improved overall. Also, got to see the EXCELLENT tape of our Christmas exhibition. I love my friend Jay, who videotaped. When one skater finished they'd dissolve in sparkles, and then another skater would appear out of sparkles!! Very, very cool, and the direct feed of the music into the tape was spot on--no audience noise!!! I think several skaters will want to get a copy of this.

On totally depressing thing on the tape: My routine overall was pretty good, although WHY does it feel so fast and look so SLOWWWWW? :lol:
Waltz and half flip were pretty good, edges fine, stroking good, two foot spin fair (didn't get enough speed, only 3 revs) but my SPIRALS!!!! To quote the Grinch, stink, stank, STUNK!!!. The first one was deplorable, bent knee, leg not up to hip height, the second was better but still very mediocre. Overall, I was pleased with the performance of a program I'd had for only about a month on brand new skates I was still learning to manage, but oh, do those spirals need work!!! Guess what I'll be asking for on Thursday along with jumps??? ;)

Happy skating, y'all,

Beth

[Debbie S]

Originally posted by skaternum
If I understand what you're asking, the answer is No. If you're talking about a Forward Outside (i.e., O = Outside) mohawk, it goes from a FO edge on Foot 1 to a BO edge on Foot 2. A mohawk is a change of foot with a change of direction (e.g., forward to backward) with NO CHANGE of the edge.

That's what I thought, skaternum, but according to our skills sheet, we're supposed to go from a FI spiral into a FO mohawk, and then a BO spiral - maybe it's not really a FO mohawk at all, just a change of feet. Just out of curiosity, how does one do a FO mohawk? I remember someone here recently talking about BI mohawks, which seem equally hard to figure out. So far, I've only learned a FI one.

[Mrs Redboots]

Originally posted by Debbie S
Just out of curiosity, how does one do a FO mohawk? I remember someone here recently talking about BI mohawks, which seem equally hard to figure out. So far, I've only learned a FI one. With difficulty! Same principle as FI Mohawk, but you go from a forward outside edge to a backward outside one. Is it a closed or open Mohawk that is required? If the former, you bring your free foot to the heel of your skating foot, then drop your free shoulder and put your free foot down on to a BO edge while lifting your forward-going foot. This is much easier if you really bend your skating knee. More than that!!!! For an Open mohawk, it is very like a FI open Mohawk, and all too many adults do the FO Open Mohawk in the 14-step on a flat, or even an inside edge. Bring the heel of your free foot to the instep of your skating foot, and proceed as though you were doing an ordinary FI Mohawk.

[JDC1]

Sk8ter1964- OUCH!! That's my nightmare.

uplifting - I love twizzles!! Woo hoo. It was fun!! My coach and I are talking about focusing more on ice dancing. I have group freestyle lessons right after my private lesson. She even asked one of the guys in our group lesson if he'd be my partner! I enjoy freestyle but I don't "love" it I love to dance and I think ice dancing looks so beautiful. Also my knees might not be built for jumping, my left knee is still pretty sore.

Depressing - I have the hardest time coordinating my entrance into the "circle" on a scratch spin, I keep doing it wrong!! Atleast I can spin now even if it is wrong. :-)

[KJD]

Wow skater 1964. I hope you are ok. I was off today too. Worked on double sals and I got two good ones and then the rest were junk. Coach told me my shoulders were so twisted and ahead of my hips that they were in the next time zone.

[icenut84]

skater1964, hope you get better soon! Take it easy till your head gets better, even if you're not jumping etc.
I, just to join in, have just been diagnosed with tonsillitis! :( And if it doesn't get better by the end of the week, I've got to go back to the doctor because it might mean it's glandular fever! :cry: I hope not...

[kayskate]

sk8er1964: How horrible about the concussion. I think hitting one's head is among the biggest fears adult skaters face. I have done it 3x and it is very scary. I hope you are better soon.

Mrs. Redboots: I have been struggling w/ a miserable cold too. Could hardly skate last week even after I was feeling "better". Hope you get well soon.

About the loop jump: This may sound silly, but I had a coach who said the body should rotate as a column. Apparently, many people throw their shoulders around before the hips or vice versa. As the edge deepens before the jump, the body should turn as a unit and lift into the jump.

From back xovers, I do the loop by shooting across the back of the rink almost like a lutz (but in the direction of natural rotation). If you skate CCW, you will head into the corner and draw your legs together w. the left in front. Bend the knees deeply as the edge deepens, but keep the torso upright and arms poised strongly, left in front and right to the side. As I turn, I lift w/ the free leg. This gives excellent height and distance. Examining the tracing, you will find a check mark at the end of the take off edge where you actually spring from the pick at the deepest part of the edge.

Kay

[dbny]

sk8er1964

:cry:! I hope you're feeling better. I fear hitting my head, and the one time I did, it finished me for the day, even though it was not at all serious.

Gary
You'll be back in shape in no time at all. Isn't it amazing how much effort it takes to hold those arms out? I think this is something that most people are not aware of at all.

Which B Mohawk are you attempting? The BI are a lot easier than the BO, but you really don't need much turnout for either. I can attest to that, as I have turn-in, and can do both with no problem.

For the BI, get on a hockey circle going backwards on two feet, hug the circle, turn your head to the direction you are going, pick up the inside foot and step forward onto the circle. The trick, especially on the BO, is to fully rotate your shoulders first. Start by looking in the direction you want to go, then rotate your shoulders and step forward. Don't worry about the edge you step onto. It's much easier to do a BO-FI Choctaw than BO Mohawk, but it's not far from the Choctaw to the Mohawk.

Debbie S
In my lesson on the 8 step Mohawk pattern, my coach said not to worry about the edges on the turn at first, but just to get comfortable with the pattern. She said that after I was able to get some speed, I would naturally begin to lean back into the circle and get the edges. This is a turn where turn out is definitly a plus!

[garyc254]

HEY FELLOW SKATERS!!!!!!

Let's get a grip on things. Way too much injury and sickness going on.

Let's be careful out there!!! And get well, too.

[garyc254]

Originally posted by dbny
Gary
You'll be back in shape in no time at all. Isn't it amazing how much effort it takes to hold those arms out? I think this is something that most people are not aware of at all.
[/B]

You should see the things my physical therapist does to me. :lol:

I do a "3 times a day - 15 different stretching exercises each time" workout which makes my arm and shoulder very sore and I get weak in the knees from the pain.

When my PT actually gets hold of my arm/shoulder once a week, I can't move my arm for at least a day afterward from the soreness.

I swear she enjoys her work too much!!! :lol: :lol:

[Debbie S]

Keep working hard, Gary! You'll see it pay off soon.

Thanks for the info on mohawks, Mrs. Redboots and dbny. Coming up in Freestyle 6, we have a 5-step mohawk sequence. I better start working on my turnout now.

[sk8er1964]

Thanks for the good wishes :) .

The Doctor at Urgent Care said as long as I had no symptoms within 24 hours it was ok for me to skate. I did not, so I did.

Didn't do any jumps or spins. Instead I worked on field moves and on checking the entries to my salchow & toe loop. I really like to swing my arms too soon into them when I double them :evil:, so I though it might help to drill the checks without actually jumping.

Tomorrow, if I feel ok, it will be back to the jumps and spins :D !

[CanAmSk8ter]

Depressing? Uplifting? Not sure yet. Coach wants me to take Rocker Foxtrot in just under six weeks. Ok, whatever. I think it'll be ready. Then this morning, he starts threatening me with the American Waltz. Rocker was horrid this morning (after having been really good yesterday, of course), so I asked if maybe we should focus on getting the American ready for next month. He said we probably should. I said, you mean instead of the Rocker. He said, no, we should think about doing them both 8O I don't think I want to do two dances in one day- I have to solo them both, and it's possible- not at all likely, but possible- that I'd have to do them one right after the other. We have two test sessions coming up in March, so as long as coach isn't on call for both of them, I think I'll wait. But if he can't get either one off I'll probably risk it in February rather than wait until the end of April if he thinks I have a shot at passing.

Definitely depressing is my Silver Tango. It's much, much, better- up till the mohawk. Even the inside three after the mohawk is better, but I'd be shooting to test this one in August and probably not before.

[dbny]

Originally posted by garyc254
You should see the things my physical therapist does to me. :lol:

I do a "3 times a day - 15 different stretching exercises each time" workout which makes my arm and shoulder very sore and I get weak in the knees from the pain.

When my PT actually gets hold of my arm/shoulder once a week, I can't move my arm for at least a day afterward from the soreness.

I swear she enjoys her work too much!!! :lol: :lol:

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! You have put a new perspective on my recovery from a broken wrist. Do you take ibuprofen and hot soaks?

[singerskates]

Uplifting: Not sick and not injured. Just a bit tired from working and skating on the same day which I haven't done for months.

Eg: today I got up at 5:30 am to shower and get ready for work for 7 am and worked 8 and half hours on my feet. Then did half hour grocery shopping after work, drove home, cam online to check Canadian National Men's Results for qualifying rounds and then got to the rink for 5:30 pm, warmed up by skipping and then finally did my hour and half session. Didn't want a lesson today as I was so tired I couldn't keep track of where the other skaters were.

Yesterday, after helping teach CanSkate for the first time since last year, I found that it helped to loosen my muscles up and relax me. I was able to bend my knees deeper which make my footwork fly across the ice. I wasn't use to it. When I skated faster for my coach, I freaked out mid way on my footwork section because of the speed. I've never had so much speed before. Today, I did the same footwork again with the same speed but this time I didn't freak and was able to finish the footwork section. This is the footwork I did; RFI Op Mo, LBI swing change edge to LBO, LBO Choctaw to RFI, RFI Op Mo, LB crossover, RB closed Mo, LFO edge to RB toe pick, LBI, RBO, LFO, RFI double3, LFO, RFI Op Mo, back snowman into LBI double three, back snowman into LBI double three, LBI closed mohawk, RFI Op Mo, salchow/toe loop combination. This footwork in my US interpretive freeskate runs diagonally from one corner of the rink to the other.
Yesterday, I didn't have my salchow back yet. Today, I not only got it back but did it in combination. The salchow has been gone for a long time until today.

Even though I was extrememly tired, it was a good skate day. The only depressing part was that the more tired I got, the more out of control I got and I couldn't even do a waltz jump. But, hey, I am really tired.

Brigitte

[TashaKat]

Well .... after an abortive attempt to start back in November .... I'M BACK!!!

Feel a bit lost now I'm coachless so didn't really practise anything effectively but things weren't TOO bad! I've put on weight and I'm not as strong or as stable but the jumps and spins were ok :) I even landed the Lutz first time out!!!!! Have still got loop-loop, loop-loop-loop and flip-loop combinations but didn't try the Lutz-loop as the Lutz was a bit ropey BEFORE I broke my wrist so I want to get that consistent again before I get brave!! Scratch spin was remarkably centred and long (not as in long jump but as in lots of rotations), sit spin wasn't low enough (due to expanded belly) and I only 'got' one camel out of five .... oh, oh, oh, and the BACKSPIN has miraculously improved even though I've been off the ice since August 13th! I got a few pretty ok ones yesterday and today ..... my only problem is getting out of it, I STILL flail around and panic (I was told by another skater that this was TOTALLY unneccessary as the spin had been fine until then). Oh, well, not bad for my second day back.

Where I'm noticing my lack of practise most is in dance. When I go off to do a dance I realise that I've lost a lot of speed, a lot of power and am still a bit wobbly ("it's only your second day back, you stupid tart" was the reply when I whinged about this to another skater). I wouldn't even ATTEMPT a 22-step with the music at the moment (done to the Kilian) whereas I was doing it solo before my accident :(

GOOD NEWS

My Dance coach has being trying to ring me about booking lessons but, as I've moved he didn't have my new number! At least I'll get SOME lessons in ...... and maybe he'll teach me Free as well! I would have still liked to have Madame for lessons as she is technically very strict and turns out some amazing dancers BUT it's not to be so ...... shut up Lynne!

I hope that everyone who is suffering is getting better quickly.

L x

[Mrs Redboots]

Lynne, I'm so glad you're back. Incidentally, if you can get across town, my coach was at the rink at 7.30 this morning with no lesson until mine at 9.30, and would have loved a pupil or six! So would I have loved him to have had one - I got the brunt of it all... Free, dance or pairs - he's great at all of them, but pairs is his real love.

Rachel, this virus that's going round is horrible - I would be surprised if you hadn't caught it! Get well soon - but be warned, you feel better some days before your strength comes back!

Uplifting: Got through my lesson without coughing! The ice was wonderful - which had its downside, as it meant the coach could, and did, look at every single tracing I produced, and was rude about them! Worked on changes of edge, back outside edges, forward cross-rolls, forwards outside and inside edges (spiralling in), and some speed-work. Also a bit on 3-turns, and where my shoulders should be. Had a brilliant snowball fight afterwards with the ice dancers!

Depressing: It snowed all morning and I'm not sure if we'll be able to go to dance club at Lynne's rink this evening. The ice was so clean the coach could see all my tracings and was rude about them. I cannot balance on a BO edge, especially not on my left foot.

But it was fun.

[melanieuk]

Lynne
I'm glad you've gone back, and great news about other coach. Maybe your love for it will return! ;)

Uplifting......depressing Wednesday

Not many on the ice. :)
Started, as usual with field moves. I only got part way through and coach arrived for my lesson. The field moves were better yesterday! :roll:
On the back cross rolls, I was stretching my free foot back right away to meet the new curve. Coach tells me to hold the free foot more to the front and step back right at the end.
I didn't know this.
I've been practicing it wrong for months. :(

Spins
Sit spin was ok except for the flower tracing. It's like little double-edged loops on a small circle about 18 inches in diameter. 8O
Can anyone ((Kay))tell me what do to to make it stay on the spot. Around 50% are on the spot, but I don't know what I'm doing differently on each? One travels in a circle the other doesn't - weird.
The camel-sit didn't have enough camel, then when it did, I didn't have the change of position fast enough.
The backspin from LFI 3 turn was depressing.
Back of blade.....inside edge......back of blade.....inside edge......
Coach told me to forget my feet and concentrate on my arms which apparently one of them swings upwards (might have a lot to do with why I go backwards). I didn't know this.
I can't wait to see my backspin on video. It might throw some light on the matter. ;)

End of lesson.
I practiced with one of my young skate buddies, even having a go at laybacks which I don't do because the rink isn't ready for such sights. Surprisingly, she didn't laugh. :D

At the end we practiced teapots or shoot the ducks, the length of the rink - and not one of us could get back up. 8O Only 2 months ago I could get up.
Truly mortified.
Also have to face up to the fact that I haven't been to gym or skating as regularly since before xmas, so I'm really not as fit as I could be.
Lots of work to do and hate doing it in the cold winter! :(

[flo]

:) Hi, I'm back from Ireland. It was a great trip, and we saw amazing beauty in the countryside. We arrived back Saturday night, and our bags followed on Sunday night.
:( We arrived back to some sad news that a friend and neighbor had died. It's quite a shock. Her service was well attended by our neighborhood family.
I picked up a nasty bug from the plane (did it have a passport?) and have been out for o couple of days, and am finally back at work.
I'm looking forward to getting back to skating this weekend (it's been two weeks!) and getting ready for the competition at the end of the month. eeeks!
Things happen so fast, and we always hear someone saying they wished they made that call to catch up with someone before it's too late. Well, I thought that we also need to hear the other. I did make that call. I phoned my friend before we left on vacation and we chatted. As we said goodbye, another friend was dropping by to see her to do the same. I'll remember this the next time I'm thinking about that call I want to make, and make it out of friendship.

[garyc254]

Originally posted by dbny
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! You have put a new perspective on my recovery from a broken wrist. Do you take ibuprofen and hot soaks?

Naproxen twice a day.
I was on hydrocodone (codeine) 6 times a day, but they just switched me to Darvocet 3 times a day.

Also ice packs after every stretch.

The stretches are also helping my wrist from where I fractured it in 2001 while skating. That particular orthopaedist (and I use the term loosely) didn't set up any type of PT for me, hence my wrist was still stiff.

[tazsk8s]

Combining a couple of weeks of skating here since we were on a weird schedule last week and are just now getting back to "normal".

Uplifting

New blades. My old Pattern 99's had the life sharpened right out of them and I bought new ones right before the holidays. After having the left one repositioned slightly they feel GREAT. I am way less scratchy on these since the toe is a little higher from the ice. Jumps feel huge, and spins center themselves again.

Way Uplifting

AXEL LESSON. I haven't had one of these in, like, forever. Not since summer - I was too busy focusing on the competition I had at the end of the summer, and after that, my recent Silver MITF floppola. All considered it went very well. We have spent most of our axel-esque time on weight shift exercises, and we went back and reviewed every one of those. Then she let me try the whole thing, not even on the harness (tried that once, didn't really like it). I am nowhere near jumping high enough, nor rotated. But it does want to land on the right foot pretty naturally. All that backspin work does pay off down the road.

Up Up and Away Uplifting

Kiddies were all out of school last week and skating during the mornings and early afternoons. I arrived at the rink after work last Thursday to find that I was the ONLY ONE ON THE LATE PM FREESTYLE. Oh the joy and bliss of running my program and not worrying about decapitating a clueless child on my back spiral. :) :) :) Made myself immensely popular with Taz Jr. that night as I went home and told her that I was hereby outlawing school. ;)

Depressing

Kiddies are back in school now and the evening freestyles are a zoo. :( Junior had to bail on her program last night because of a COACH cluelessly standing in her way, for Pete's sake.

Ouch

Taz Jr. was working on her Juv. cross strokes in preparation for tomorrow's retry of her Juv. MITF. Another girl was standing on the ice directly in her path, yakking away to a friend, Junior was doing the backward ones and did not see her, and had her legs taken out from under her. She went airborne backwards and made that horrifying THUD of head hitting ice. Nothing she could do to save it. Mother Taz was not on the ice at the time but saw it coming and was running to her before she even hit. We are feeling very lucky that she only ended up with a small bump on the back of the head, and not a concussion.

[sk8er1964]

Originally posted by tazsk8s

Ouch

Taz Jr. was working on her Juv. cross strokes in preparation for tomorrow's retry of her Juv. MITF. Another girl was standing on the ice directly in her path, yakking away to a friend, Junior was doing the backward ones and did not see her, and had her legs taken out from under her. She went airborne backwards and made that horrifying THUD of head hitting ice. Nothing she could do to save it. Mother Taz was not on the ice at the time but saw it coming and was running to her before she even hit. We are feeling very lucky that she only ended up with a small bump on the back of the head, and not a concussion.

I sympathize. Hope she's ok.

Nobody else is allowed to do that. Between Taz Jr and myself, we've had quite enough this year already. 8O

[mikawendy]

Originally posted by singerskates
This is the footwork I did; RFI Op Mo, LBI swing change edge to LBO, LBO Choctaw to RFI, RFI Op Mo, LB crossover, RB closed Mo, LFO edge to RB toe pick, LBI, RBO, LFO, RFI double3, LFO, RFI Op Mo, back snowman into LBI double three, back snowman into LBI double three, LBI closed mohawk, RFI Op Mo, salchow/toe loop combination.
Brigitte

Singerskates--
what's a "snowman"? I'm in basic skills lessons so I haven't gotten to Moves yet and I've never heard of this before.

Congrats on your new blades! I'm saving to buy myself a new (to me) pair of new or used blades eventually. I have rec blades (Wilson Excel, eyuk) right now.

[CanAmSk8ter]

Originally posted by mikawendy
Singerskates--
what's a "snowman"? I'm in basic skills lessons so I haven't gotten to Moves yet and I've never heard of this before.


It's nothing in moves in the field, unless it's a Canadian term for something we have another name for in the States. I'm curious too- I've been skating for over ten years and have never heard of this before. What is it?

[singerskates]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
It's nothing in moves in the field, unless it's a Canadian term for something we have another name for in the States. I'm curious too- I've been skating for over ten years and have never heard of this before. What is it?

A snowman is really a simple move you learn in CanSkate/Learn To Skate. Going forwards you start with your heels together and your toes apart gliding on your inside edges with your needs bent until you reach the point where your legs are far apart and not bent anymore still on your inside edges. At that point you bring in your legs to touch your toes and increase how much you bend your knees. To do them backwards you start with the toes touching and the heels apart and then end with the heels together and the toes apart. In the US it may be called sculling. Same difference. LOL

Brigitte

Today is a day off of the ice for me. Finally get to rest today after putting in a 7 hour and 45 min day at work. Husband woke me up at 5:30 am again today with his alarm that wakes the dead. Can't wait until he goes on Midnights next week. Then I can go to sleep when I want and get up to a quieter alarm set to when I want to get up. Just two more days of his waking up the dead.

[Terri C]

This is my week so far:
On Monday, had lesson with coach as well as plyometric class!
Set loop up in program- I come to a complete stop, do a RFI3 then jump! It's very awkward for now, we'll see what happens!
Tuesday:
Had a God- awful run-through of above mentioned program! It seemed like everytime and everywhere I had a element planned, a coach was teaching a skater! UGH! Has anyone experienced this on freestyle?

[CanAmSk8ter]

Oh, so snowmen are what we call sculling or swizzles. I thought that might be it.

[dbny]

Originally posted by tazsk8s
Taz Jr. was working on her Juv. cross strokes in preparation for tomorrow's retry of her Juv. MITF. Another girl was standing on the ice directly in her path, yakking away to a friend, Junior was doing the backward ones and did not see her, and had her legs taken out from under her. She went airborne backwards and made that horrifying THUD of head hitting ice. Nothing she could do to save it. Mother Taz was not on the ice at the time but saw it coming and was running to her before she even hit. We are feeling very lucky that she only ended up with a small bump on the back of the head, and not a concussion.

:cry: :cry: :cry: Almost the same thing happened to my daughter on that move during her test warm-up. Another skater moved behind her right after she had looked. This kid just stood there when my daughter hit the ice like a ton of bricks. Fortunately, she fell onto her hip and not her head, and went on the pass the test. My husband had a camcorder and actually caught the whole thing on tape. I used to be scared of tripping myself on this move, but it seems other people are a worse menace.

May Taz Jr. follow up her spill with a pass :!:

[garyc254]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
Oh, so snowmen are what we call sculling or swizzles. I thought that might be it.

We call them either swizzles or footballs. Some kids relate to the shape of an American football better.

[dbny]

Do one forward than back and it's a rocking horse. What is that in Canada? UK?

[TashaKat]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
Oh, so snowmen are what we call sculling or swizzles. I thought that might be it.

LOL and in the UK we call them 'lemons' (cos that's what I looked like when I was learning them!)

L x

[JDC1]

Pretty crowded ice but not too bad an evening. Still getting my skating legs after more than a week off.

Uplifting - My waltz jump felt very nice and like I might have been getting some air. In general I felt more "in" the ice than I had on Monday.

Depressing - still having problems with the scratch spin, I rush the 3 turns after the back cross overs so I am "whipping" into the spin, that's one reason I am going too fast.

[Yazmeen]

Ahh, I sit here at work, trying to recover my energy level after my lesson, where we did:

Spirals--corrected the lousy free leg position seen in my exhibition, toe pointed properly and leg parallel to ice
Toeloop-several times, worked on coordinating arms better and getting jump fully around, with some definite success
Toeloop out of stroking 8O Oh, my!
Salchows, several times, again worked on getting fully around and getting arms correct, with improvement.
Salchow out of back crossvers 8O Oh, my, my!!!!
Waltz/Toeloop Combination: This went pretty well!! There was less to it than I thought! 8-)
and to end the morning: SALCHOW/TOELOOP!!!! 8O Oh me, oh my!!!! Very scratchy, but looking promising.

I think I will have my secretary lash me to my chair so I look alert instead of "jumped out" and lifeless... ;)

Grins,

Beth

[batikat]

Finally got back on the ice after nearly 4 weeks off. I was a bit worried I'd hardly be able to stand up but in fact I felt fine after a quick lap of stroking.
I should have been on the ice yesterday for the first club sesson of the year but it snowed here and while it wasn't a lot, it was too little to stay as snow on the road and too much to melt away so it became smooth and icy instead. Having already glided gently into the kerb trying to turn into my road I didn't feel like risking going out again.

Back to today:
Tried to remember my free Dance and practised that a little and then had a go at some jumps and spins. Still can't find the secret to the technique that allows you to center a spin properly - one day I hope to find it!

Had my first lesson of the year and coach, who had noticed me attempting my sorry leaps around the rink, decided we should concentrate on jumps today. I have to work so hard on getting height into my jumps. In the end managed a few decent 3 jumps (waltz jump?) and did a couple of OK salchows too though they still need to be higher. On the toe-loop my coach said I wasn't putting enough effort in to it so I really went for it and actually got a bit of height. They were probably the best I've ever done all the jumps and so coach decided it was time to learn the Loop.8O

Can't say I managed one but I'm getting there - time to work on a backspin I think.

It was a quite literally Uplifting session with all those jumps!!

[jenlyon60]

Worked on 5-step mohawk sequence & forward power 3's today.

My reward was a few minutes of Tango Romantica... the part with the funky "pumping" which when doing it on pattern is a couple of lobes at the end of the rink. We didn't make it to the ladies LBI3 which follows the stretch we were working on...

On my own after the lesson I challenged myself with working on BO3s. And much to my surprise, I even did a couple baby slow back power 3's (BO3-FI mohawk). They're dizzifying when you do several of them in a row on a small circle...

[Hannahclear]

Uplifting: I landed my loop/loop and lutz/loop combos today! More than once! I am so excited. :D I need these for my competition in March.

I am skating to american Beauty and am working on choreography with my coach. I can honestly say that I've never had any choreography that I liked before this program. I love her ideas and can't wait to start working with the music. I've got some cool connecting moves going on and a couple of decent footowork sequences.

Depressing:

Spins. Ugh....nuff said.

[singerskates]

Today's Session.

They must have redone the ice since Tuesday. Woah, I can't believe the difference. It was so smooth today. Plus with my blades being newly sharpened, I was really cutting the ice with next to no effort. Or maybe it's because my skating is getting better.

Ran through my warm up. Stretched at boards.
Ran through all my dances once to warm up some more definitely got lots of speed and depth in edges. Gees, if I wanted to and my coach would agree, I could test all my dances; Canasta Tango, Baby Blues and Fiesta Tango. Finally got the strength to push hard enough to keep the Fiesta smooth right after the RFI op mo to the switch from backwards to forwards swing roll.

Waltz jump: oh so smooth on take off and the landing edge was just as fast as the take off. I travelled for the first time half a hockey circle before putting my free foot down.

toe loop: was there but not like my waltz jump on it's own.

salchow on the circle: very messy and only happened once.

salchow in combination with toe loop at the end of diagonal footwork: decent.

Diagonal footwork sequence: faster and cleaner. Getting use to my new faster speed. Also starting to stop looking at the ice when doing turns. Better balance. RFI double 3 cleaner and going farther.

Right Forward outside spiral: Much higher freeleg.

Left Backward inside spiral:Not bad but didn't get feedback from coach or another skater. Oh, well.


Did my session and the senior session.

[melanieuk]

I had the ice to myself for over an hour.
I did fifty minutes of field moves! 8O

The backspin is depressing.
Now it's about 90% on the inside edge. :evil:

Lutz and flip were ok though.

[tazsk8s]

Originally posted by dbny
:cry: :cry: :cry: Almost the same thing happened to my daughter on that move during her test warm-up. Another skater moved behind her right after she had looked. This kid just stood there when my daughter hit the ice like a ton of bricks. Fortunately, she fell onto her hip and not her head, and went on the pass the test.

Junior had a collision on the warmup of her Pre-Juv moves test. I was watching from the observation area upstairs, it didn't look too bad, and she passed the test with a reskate on the forward power pulls. What none of us realized at the time was that she and the other skater had "clinked" blades, which resulted in the entire back half of the right inside edge being GONE, HISTORY, KAPUT. How she passed ANYTHING on that is beyond my comprehension. We had no idea anything had happened to the blade until our next practice, two days later. She kept slipping off of anything involving the right inside edge..."Mom, I can't do anything on this foot!" I looked at it when we got off the ice and no wonder!!

Alas, it was a split decision on the Juv. moves this time, but she still didn't pass. Her scores were better than a month ago when she first tried it, and last time's retry was unanimous, but she reverted to her old habit of being "hoppy" on the back cross strokes, and her normally-ok power 3's looked pretty wild. She is pretty frustrated. Can't say I blame her. Seems like these stupid moves are the only thing she's gotten lessons on for two months straight now. Right now she is taking a break from them, which is probably a good idea anyway as we're starting to get close to competitions again, and there's only just so much ice time she can get. Next time we will probably try testing them out of club, as our club is known for being rather harsh on their moves tests at times.:??

[garyc254]

Originally posted by tazsk8s
Right now she is taking a break from them......

That's a terrific idea. Too many lessons over the same moves gets soooooo boring. Let her take a total break and work on something entirely different for a while.

When it's not fun anymore, it's all over.

[Hannahclear]

I went for an early morning practice today and had a pretty good skate.

My camel spin is still somewhat hopeless, I'll have to see what my coach can do about this next week. But, my sit spin is getting better and I'm trying to create sort of a sit spin/ attitude spin/ scratch spin. Jumps were ok too, the combos are still there!

[MissIndigo]

My skates on Wed. and Thurs. were the antitheses of my skate on Monday (save the layback spin). I really feel like I have a mild virus of some type, because as I am sitting here now, I have a headache, stiff neck, and my joints hurt. It came on very suddenly today at lunch. Dang it--hope it ain't flu!!!

Anyway, I have discovered the salchow/loop combo. I did it when I was dead tired and had no business jumping. :roll: This is easier for me than waltz/loop, and very fun. I feel I can get it up to speed real soon. Also played around with jump/half loop/sal combos, which I like.

Due to my lack of strength, I fell out of every camel spin I tried, and the attitude wasn't too hot either. Layback, however, worked 50% of the time, so I suppose that's a small success.

I have my moves critique and moves test on my mind. Maybe that's what's bugging me.

On a happier and somewhat unrelated note, I found a wonderful piece of stretchy oriental-style brocade fabric that I want incorporated into my next dress. I can't wait to have it made; I have sketches for it already! Coach has also agreed to help me choreograph a special piece of music for my bronze test! So even though I feel yucky, there are good things to look forward to.

[Mrs Redboots]

As I didn't skate yesterday (I really intended to go to the teatime session as there is a new baby among the local skating families who was going to be there who I wanted to see, but was writing tomorrow's sermon and time ran away with me), Robert and I hauled ourselves, moaning and swearing, out of bed to skate the early session this morning. No lesson, but a good practice session. As we only had 45 minutes, I didn't feel I'd had long enough, so paid to skate on the figure club ice, which I don't normally do.

Uplifting: Robert and I had a good practice together - we did all the exercises we've been given, except for the ones in waltz hold, as we were distracted by the need both of us feel to work on our Mohawks. Robert's are better than mine - much faster, and far more controlled, but he feels he isn't controlling them very well. It is better when he remembers to keep his hips forward and to bend his knees! Mine are just beginning to happen, but they aren't reliable - I have always been able to do them, you understand, but it is controlling them, holding the inside edge as long as I want before turning it, that is the problem.

On the figure club, since it is designed for free skaters, I did work on my spin, which is still dire! I always bottle out after about 1 revolution. I tried a backspin, but couldn't find the edge I wanted at all, so it was very forced.

Depressing: Not a great deal. It was one of the nicer sessions. My back started to ache about 15 minutes before I got off, which is proof positive that, while 45 minutes is probably not long enough, two 45-minute sessions are just too long!

Edited to add an Overheard: A teenage skater two-footing her axel, and her coach clucked his teeth at her: "But I could do it perfectly at home!"