Practice Techniques

[twinkle]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to practice effectively.

I often find myself coming home after a practice really annoyed with myself because I haven't really practiced hard or I've forgotten all the things I told myself I would work on.

I don't skate a lot, about 3 hours practicing on patch ice a week, and although I would like to skate more sessions I also fell I can use the time I have more efficiently.

Any advice greatly appreciated :D

[garyc254]

Index cards and a pencil!!!

You don't mention if you take lessons, so I'll assume you do or have.

I have the same problem sometimes. On the way home from a lesson I'll have already forgotten a number of the "small" things my coach told me. My only recourse was to write it down as soon as I get off of the ice.

That way, I can review my notes before a practice as well as on the ice during practice.

Hope this helps!!!

[backspin]

I have a kind of routine I've fallen into when practicing (freestyle).

I start out stroking around, forwards, backwards, a couple of laps each. Then I go to the boards and stretch.

Then I do spins, going through each one, starting w/ forward scratch.

Then I do jumps, starting w/ waltz, then toe loop, loop, salchow, flip. (that's as far as I am at the moment). Then I'll work on entrances into jumps or combinations that are in my program. For example, I have continuous 3-turns into a falling leaf, mazurka, flip as one combination, so I'll work on that.

Then I'll do my program in sections, maybe a third at a time. Then I'll put my music on & do a run-through.

After that I may work on new things (camel spin & lutz for me right now), or go back to parts of my program I struggled with. I'll also do exercises that I know from ice dance (which are similar to MIF), because comfortable footwork is very important to me.

If I have time, I'll try to get in one more run-through of my program before the end of the session.

I don't have this written out, but it's become my habit, & keeps me working hard throughout the practice.

[icenut84]

Another thing you can do is something I did waaaaay back when, I was learning backward crossovers and forward outside three turns mainly, among other things. What I did was practice all the other forward/backward stuff as I went round the rink, and every time I got to a certain corner, I stopped, and did two FO3s on each foot and two semi-circles of back crossovers each way. Then I went round again, practicing the other stuff (eg forward cross rolls). Because I always did this in the same corner, I never forgot, and I practiced it loads of time each session without doing it over and over in a row and getting sick of it! lol. And I agree with garyc254 - writing it down is a great thing to do. I've been writing up all my lessons/practices in a notebook since last November, I write what I've learned and worked on, what changes and improvements have been made, what to remember, etc. It's a good idea (I got the idea from someone else on FSW Rinkside! lol)
Hope that helps

[wannask8]

twinkle, I get even less time on the ice than you do, so every minute counts. I also used to find myself getting in the car and remembering all kinds of things too late. Keeping a short list in your pocket and keeping a skating journal are helpful (and since I’ve pretty much outsourced my brain’s memory function to computer or paper records, if I don’t write it down right away, it may as well have never happened!). But what helps me most to use the time well is having a basic routine and thinking before I even get to the rink about what I’m going to do and what I want to accomplish during a session. I keep an eye on the hockey clock (hey, I’ve finally identified a benefit to sharing the ice with hockey punks!) to keep myself generally on track and to avoid getting bogged down on one thing for too long.

-- wannask8

[Azlynn]

I usually ride my bike or walk to the rink, then stretch before getting my skates on. It saves a precious few minutes of ice time which actually really adds up over a year. While not everyone can walk or bike to the rink, doing a quick warm up and stretch there off ice can be a real time saver.

[kayskate]

This is my general practice regime (for a 2 hours session):

1. Stretch off-ice
2. stroking
3. MITF

(2+3 is about 30 minutes of skating)

4. basic spins
5. basic jumps
6. new spins and jumps or more difficult ones
7. more difficult MITF
8. general fooling around w/ whatever is fun or needs attn.

My most important tip:
Do not beat yourself up over something that is not working. Do something you are good at to keep your perspective. Return to difficult skills after you take a break w/ something less challenging.

Always end the session w/ a skill you do well.

Kay

[singerskates]

I start off with skipping in the change room. Then I stretch in the change room. Get my skates on and head to the ice dropping off my music. Skate a few laps forward and backwards stroking doing alternating crosscuts each way. (Learn these from the intermediate kid skaters.) then I go to the boards and stretch some more. Then I do a lap each of my three dances for the edges. After than I warm up my spins. Then I warm up my jumps, waltz, salchow, toe loop, half flip, half lutz and combos. Then I work on sections of my freeskate. Half way through my session, I do a run through without my music. Then I do a run through with my music. After each run through I do a lap of stroking. then I work on jumps I'd like to get before the next ice age; flip, lutz and loop. Near the end of my session I run through my program again with the music and then right after I finish it, I run through it again but without music the next time to get my cardio going. I believe double run throughs will help me during competition so that I can compete even when tired and nervous. I then head to the change room and stretch some more after taking off my skates.

During my off time, like now, I go to the gym. At the gym, I start off with the EFX machine to warm up my body. Then I stretch including pilates. I then go and do my weights. Currently, I can leg press 350 lbs using air pressure weights. After than I go to the dance studio in the gym and run through my program off-ice including all the jumps, spins, foot work and other elements. Once I've run through my program 3 times, I go to stretch. If I'm at the gym with the pool, I go for a swim too doing laps. then I'm done for the day. I go to the gym 3 days a week right now.

[Chico]

Off ice warm up.

Stroke
Easy moves
Moves - hard
Spins
Jumps
New skills
Program
Moves again - hard
Stroking

I keep a jornal and I write new moves in here. I have found that what I learned one day can be gone the next if I don't. The little thing you can't remember can drive you nuts. Iagree with Kay and ditch any move that is giving you problems. Working a trick to death that is giving you problems makes the problem worse. At moments like this I leave it for a bit and then return to it. If the problem continues I leave it until the next skate. It almost always returns the next skate. I also play a few minutes each skate. I try new and creative things. I have discovered future potential in tricks farting around. I love spinning with my arms behind my back, and found this just playing. Ditto with a back shoot the duck into a hydro plane.

Talk to friends in the locker room and not the ice. Make this your personal rule and stick to it! I tell peers I would love to visit in the locker room, but ice time is devoted to skating.

Chico

[melanieuk]

Similar to a few people....after warming up and basic stretching off ice, I'd do:
a few laps of stroking and basic skating, (edge holds, crossovers, 3 turns)
I do my current level field moves.
I do the jumps and spins.
I do jump combination jumps & spins.
I do my programme.
I warm down on ice.
I stretch off ice.

I can almost fit it in to 1hr 20 mins, unless I have a lesson.

[jennylee324]

:giveup: yea, for workout music, you basically need hard-hitting euro-dance music.... nothing else does the job really. Search around on itunes for "euro club hits" or check this link::bow: http://electricfilebox.com/tracks :bow:

[Helen88]

I write everything down - what I need to practice, tips, bad habits I need to avoid...everything. But, try as I might, I can't do the whole 'crossovers, then spins, then jumps...' because I often skate on public sessions and I just have to work with the space. If there's space - I'll go do two jumps. Then if the space suddenly vanishes, I have to find a new space to do something else. I'd love to be able to structure my practice time, but it's just impossible for me.

But yeah, writing stuff down a lot helps :P

[doubletoe]

So. . . Why was this thread from 2002 resurrected? Seems a little random. . .

[icedancer2]

So. . . Why was this thread from 2002 resurrected? Seems a little random. . .

I notice this has been happening lately - new members searching?

[Helen88]

So. . . Why was this thread from 2002 resurrected? Seems a little random. . .

I didn't even realised is was from 2002... :oops: