WOO HOO!!! or DOH!!!: Lessons/Practice/etc May 18-24 2003 [Archive]

singerskates

05-18-2003, 02:34 PM

Saturday:

WOO HOO: Speed and correct steps on Canasta.

DOH: Right leg is messing up end swing roll timing throwing off dance timing for testing. Coach thinks I shouldn't test.

WOO HOO:I was so mad that my coach thought I wasn't ready to test that I just dropped the dances after trying to run through them when all the other coaches kept getting in my way and didn't move, unlike the kids who were skating. The kids respect me. I then ran through my freeskate without jumps but the second time I wasn't thinking about not jumping because I was so mad that my body just went for all the jumps and I landed them. I did all the jumps cold. No warm up for them because I didn't expect to jump them. I was so mad that I forgot to hold back.

DOH: I'm not suppose to be jumping on my Achilles tendon and knee. If my doc/physio guy finds out that I was jumping, I'm dead meat. He thought I was jumping on Thursday when I saw him Friday and I was in major pain and couldn't take the treatment of the tens. I was all white in the face and scrunched up with pain in the face. The assistant got the doc to give me a lecture. And he quized me to see see if I was jumping. I told him that I was just doing the ice dancing and at that point I was. But Saturday, that through that line out of the window.

I'm going to pay for extra ice Wednesday between 2 and 4 pm and see if I can fix my problem plus I want to find out who is judging. If it's Peter, there's no way, that I'm going to test. He's way tooo picky.

B

Magz

05-18-2003, 03:10 PM

Woo Hoo - spins were frighteningly good today especially flying camel :D hope they stay...new program's coming along well too!

Doh! - can't practice axels because the ice is WAY too full ( about 30 people maybe more) and most cant skate very well so i dont want to kill them lol im lucky im doing my actual lesson on senior sessions because i wouldn't get anything done...oh well im learning to be pushy lol :twisted:

Mrs Redboots

05-19-2003, 05:37 AM

No lesson this week, as my coach and his family are on holiday in Glorious (we hope) Devon. And probably just as well, as our skates had just been sharpened, so we spent most of the session just wearing in our blades. By the end of the session we felt up to dancing together, although neither of us could stop! And I ran through bits of my Interpretive to make sure I remembered what I was doing. But basically it was a stroking session to get used to sharp blades. They will be glorious for the next couple of weeks, but I always hate that first session when they are too sharp.

garyc254

05-19-2003, 08:44 AM

Gamma test:

DOH:
8 am on Saturday morning is not a time my body wants to function and it didn't. My legs felt and acted like telephone poles. Had about half an hour warm up during the freestyle session. The coach who was testing me had a student cancel, so I took the lesson time to get some final touch-up on the gamma elements.

WOO-HOO:
I passed. :D

Elsy2

05-19-2003, 10:00 AM

Congratulations Gary! At first I wasn't sure if you were going to give us good news or not! 8-)

Doh: Months of no lessons and little skating has taken it's toll.....my coach watched me Saturday and said I need some lessons badly...that's an understatement!

Woo Hoo: Desperately thinking of something to woo hoo about here....I guess just the fact that I can still get out there and skate. Who knows, next time all the elements may return. I did have newly sharpened blades to adjust to Saturday....I can blame that!

icenut84

05-19-2003, 10:48 AM

WOO HOO!!!:

Had my first lesson for nearly two months! We started on stroking and crossovers, then went onto jumps. The coach asked me to hold a landing position in a BO glide, and he said it was good. :) Waltz jump - said I had good spring (felt like it too! 8-) ) but need to use my arms more. Salchow - I did a lovely one! He didn't have any improvement tips to tell me either! Toe loop - good, but sometimes I toe-waltz so I have to get out of that habit (I was taught to do that by an old coach). I did some nice, proper ones though. Loop - closest I got was putting down my free toe after landing. I have to just trust myself! And practice it more. I got the "one foot or fall" thing from him too. He wants me to use more speed into it too, which actually helped. Didn't have time for flip.

Turns were all good, including outside mohawks, inside open & closed mohawks, three turns and double 3s. I spent time experimenting with the three turns too, doing them with more speed and doing field moves sequences. I could also do double 3s starting with the back 3 first, which I was having trouble with before. BI-FO is pretty easy now, and I could also do BO-FI, which although not wonderful at least worked, which was great.

Spins - got very nearly there with a scratch spin! (My free foot was almost crossed over and I could feel myself speeding up, but I stopped because it was scary! lol). I did a couple of almost centred spins too. Most still travelled a bit, but some were good (for me).

D'OH!!!:

BO pivots were pants.

Still losing motivation in the middle of the session. :( I was quite tired too, though I didn't feel as bad as I did last week.

Travelling spins.

quarkiki2

05-19-2003, 10:57 AM

Way to go Gary! We're gonna take Delta by storm!!!!

Speaking of Delta, I had a Woo-Hoo!!!! lesson Saturday morning. Because this was the last lesson of Gamma and the other woman and I both passed, our instructor showed us Delta skills: FI3s, forward outside and inside edges, lunge (or shoot-the-duck) and bunny hop. Guess what? I just need to work on the FI3s and the rest of my skills are already passing! Which is pretty much what I figured. When hubby and I were in pre-Alpha we asked our instructors to show us "something fun" and they showed us lunges so I've been doing them for over a year. And then two Gamma classes ago I was in there with two Deltas so I got to practice forward edges for a while and have continued to practice them as a warm up because I think they're fun! And I got the bunny hop right away.

So, that means I'm going to drill FO3s and FI3s like crazy between sessions and hope that I have a Delta instructor who will teach me some of the stuff for Freestyle 1.

Here's an interesting side note: Several times while practicing the FI3 I found myself in a spin instead of the 3-turn. I asked my instructor what to do about that and she nearly fell over saying "That's a backspin! If you are doing a backspin, we should just move you up to Freestyle 3 now!" Honestly, it only happened two or three times and I only went around for one revolution, but it was fun! Wouldn't that be a hoot -- I might learn a backspin before a FO3, ha ha!

I also practiced two-foot and one-foot spins. Managed 5-6 revolutions on two-foot and two on one-foot. Did not intentionally practice backspin intentionally, LOL!

Our ice is down for maintenance this week, so no more reports from me!

garyc254

05-19-2003, 11:22 AM

Originally posted by quarkiki2
our instructor showed us Delta skills: FI3s, forward outside and inside edges, lunge (or shoot-the-duck) and bunny hop. Guess what? I just need to work on the FI3s and the rest of my skills are already passing!

Saturday at noon I was back at the rink for a group class with the same coach. She gave each of us 5 minutes of personal attention. I used mine on FI3's. She said my right FI3 would pass, but I need work on the left. I've been doing front edges for a year, so they'll pass. My bunny hop is fine. The only thing I'm going to have trouble with is the lunge (forget shoot-the-duck). I figure that I'll do one lunge for the test and they can take me directly to the hospital afterwards for the torn hamstring. :lol:

I have a deadline to pass Delta by June 3 if I want to join my girlfriend's synchro team.

Mel On Ice

05-19-2003, 01:05 PM

Originally posted by garyc254
I have a deadline to pass Delta by June 3 if I want to join my girlfriend's synchro team.

WOO-HOO! :D Gary's gonna be a Sapphire!

singerskates

05-19-2003, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by garyc254
Saturday at noon I was back at the rink for a group class with the same coach. She gave each of us 5 minutes of personal attention. I used mine on FI3's. She said my right FI3 would pass, but I need work on the left. I've been doing front edges for a year, so they'll pass. My bunny hop is fine. The only thing I'm going to have trouble with is the lunge (forget shoot-the-duck). I figure that I'll do one lunge for the test and they can take me directly to the hospital afterwards for the torn hamstring. :lol:

I have a deadline to pass Delta by June 3 if I want to join my girlfriend's synchro team.

Gary, stretch stretch and stretch and you won't have a torn hamstring from the lung. Pilates is good for stretching too. Try it.

garyc254

05-19-2003, 04:08 PM

Originally posted by Mel On Ice
WOO-HOO! :D Gary's gonna be a Sapphire!

Much to someone's chagrin!!! ;)

MissIndigo

05-19-2003, 06:15 PM

Congrats to Gary on passing his test? So, what did you end up having for breakfast? :lol: BTW, for the lunge, I've found that the strength of the muscles around the knee lend sucess to this move, as well as the strength of the quads.

Nothing really to go "D'oh!" over today, unless it was my on-again/off-again camel. It was either totally there or not. Okay, well, the back camel...hahahahahahahaha!!!!

Woo Hoo!:
Camels, the ones that were good! They were faster than they'd been in a long time and I even played around with the camel/sit combination. I used to be able to do that. :lol: (Then I was sick or injured most of the winter :evil: ). Sit spin is getting lower, according to coach. Everything was well centered.

Layback spin still coming along nicely.

MITF good too. Coach says I'm going to pass them this time...ooookay.

Back to practicing some of my dreaded jumps next week. :roll: Gotta happen sooner or later. Everytime I try the flip I remember hitting my head...ow, ow, ow...

TreSk8sAZ

05-19-2003, 08:08 PM

WOOHOO~ Dances are going great, and I learned hoe-down today. So annoying, and yet oddly fun. Three turns are finally all consistant, and patterns actually worked. 5 step mohawk pattern actually was checked and worked. Forward scratch spin and sit spins were wonderful!

DOH~ All of my jumps were just horrible today. Warming up my waltz jump all I could think of was axel, which of course I'm not allowed to do right now. MY coach wasn't there to catch me, but she had told another one of her students to watch me and yell at me if I tried. Timing was just off for all jumps. Backspin was non-existant, again.

One more WOOHOO~ I get a week and a half off for the first time in a while! YAY! Then back to competition mode for Cactus in July

dbny

05-19-2003, 11:13 PM

Gary, congratulations on passing gamma under such stressful circumstances!

Quarkiki2 get congrats on gamma too!

DOH
Only got 5 hrs sleep last night, so even though I paid for 1.5 hrs freestyle session today, I only skated for an hour. Was too chicken to work on FI threes very much. My coach wasn't able to keep our lesson appointment today, so we are scheduled for Wed during an empty public session. From the looks of her belly last Thursday though, and the fact that the baby is now officially only two weeks away, I have my fingers crossed that she will show up at the rink and not the maternity ward. Sadly, this is probably my last lesson with her for a long time, as she will take the summer off to be with the baby, and I am moving before Sept.

WOO HOO
One foot spin is doing very nicely, but I'm getting more momentum than I can handle from even the tiniest wind up. FO alt three pattern is sooo close to being clean. I had a breakthrough on the five step Mohawk pattern today. Instead of rotation my shoulders as I step into the FI edge for the turn, I waited until moving my free leg forward to set up the turn and rotated my shoulders with the free leg. This made the turn happen very naturally, even my very bad L one. Don't know what coach will say about it on Wed.

Figureskates

05-20-2003, 05:58 AM

DOH:

No ice this week as the rink closes this Wednesday after tests today and tomorrow. No lessons until June 3rd at another rink, so it is time to get on the in line skates. Have to watch the weight, cause I am getting a little thin again...170 for a six footer. Believe me, I am not doing this on purpose, I eat like a horse but I am also very active. How many 57 year olds have this problem!!

Hayfever Hell. I have lilac fever in that I am highly allergic to them....and it was 84 degrees yersterday and my next door neighbor's lilac along with everyone else's in the town are in full bloom. My nose is running like Niagara Falls and I feel like hell. Nothing works on this so it just tuffing it out for the next few days.

Gary, congratulations on the pass. Have fun of the synchro. I will probably join the synchro team up at Lake Placid when I move up there. With the work schedule I have, it would be useless to join something around here since I wouldn't be able to go to half the practices.

WOH HOO: None this week.

garyc254

05-20-2003, 08:04 AM

Originally posted by MissIndigo
Congrats to Gary on passing his test? So, what did you end up having for breakfast? :lol:

Uh......sausage egg mcmuffin and a super size diet coke....but don't tell anybody. :oops:

MissIndigo

05-20-2003, 08:54 AM

Hehe...that's okay. :lol:

A "power" breakfast for me is usually the egg mcmuffin without the meat (I'm vegetarian) and a super-size Diet Coke. The egg has to be the folded egg too...I have picky standards when it comes to the few items I will eat from McD's.

I drink Diet Coke like water. I know I shouldn't, but I'm addicted to the stuff. :oops:

garyc254

05-20-2003, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by MissIndigo
I drink Diet Coke like water. I know I shouldn't, but I'm addicted to the stuff. :oops:

Me too. Water, coffee, and Diet Coke (regular during the day, decaf at night) are my fluids of choice.

DOH: Arrived at the rink for my Monday night skate at 5:30. The schedule had changed, so the earliest I would be able to get on the ice would be 8:00 pm. I was about to go home when my coach, who was trying to kill time too, suggested I join her and two other couples for supper at a local pub. Had a great time.

WOO-HOO: I told my coach that I had passed Gamma and was working on Delta. She and I got on the ice before anyone else was there and she asked to see the Delta elements. Front edges were terrific, bunny hop brought compliments for the height, I didn't do the lunge for fear of pain, and my FI3's were popping off like I had been doing them all of my life. Go figure. Last Saturday I could barely do the right and definitely not the left.

She told me to go test this weekend. We'll see if I can get it arranged.

Mrs Redboots

05-20-2003, 10:37 AM

Congratulations to both Gary and Quarkiki :bow:

I can't bear diet Coke, but I will admit to having had a McDonald's breakfast twice just lately, once with black coffee (that's not virtuous, it's how I like my coffee!) and once with orange juice.

I haven't yet skated today, and were I going to, I think I would have gone by now. I do kid myself that I skate on Tuesday afternoons, and I almost never do....

Mrs Redboots

05-21-2003, 06:56 AM

My skates were still too sharp this morning! Couldn't slow down or turn, so my programmes were terrible. Still, that is a fault that time, and skating, will cure, and by the end of the session things were visibly improving. All the same, it would be nice not to be so turn-challenged, since when your skates won't co-operate...... double whammy!

No lesson, because coach is on holiday this week - not that he's having much good weather, I don't suppose. Still, it will give him time to heal and so on, and precious family time that none of us get enough of.

sk8pics

05-21-2003, 09:29 AM

Originally posted by Mrs Redboots
My skates were still too sharp this morning! Couldn't slow down or turn, so my programmes were terrible. Still, that is a fault that time, and skating, will cure, and by the end of the session things were visibly improving.

It doesn't have to be that way. I respectfully suggest you have your sharpener run a stone along the blades after sharpening, to remove the burrs. I used to think the mark of a good sharpening was being unable to stop, until I found sharpeners who really knew what they were doing. All 3 of my most recent sharpeners knew how to do this, and my present sharpener is a real master. So when I get my skates sharpened, I can feel the grip but I lose none of my skills and there is virtually no adjustment period. I also keep track of the time between sharpenings and I make sure it's in the 30 to 36 or so hour range (I can feel that I'm losing my grip close to 30 hours or so), so my blades never get super dull, and that probably plays a role too. I suppose if I let them get very dull there would be an adjustment period even with my present sharpener.

Pat

garyc254

05-21-2003, 11:25 AM

Last night was the last lesson for this session and most of the local rinks will be closed for at least a week. :(

Since we had covered all of the required course material, we played around with pivots and spins. What fun!!!! :D I'd never tried them before, so it was a whole new, dizzying experience. :lol:

garyc254

05-21-2003, 03:41 PM

Just found out that one rink is having extra freestyle sessions next week, so I'm scheduled to take my Delta test on Tuesday evening. Now I've got to scrounge for some ice time to practice between now and then.

dbny

05-21-2003, 04:07 PM

Originally posted by sk8pics
It doesn't have to be that way. I respectfully suggest you have your sharpener run a stone along the blades after sharpening, to remove the burrs. I used to think the mark of a good sharpening was being unable to stop, until I found sharpeners who really knew what they were doing.

So, it's the sharpener and not me! I discovered time before last when I had my blades sharpened that I could still stop and it took me only a few minutes to adjust to the blades. I had just switched to a real expert because of my daughter's gold seals. Now I know it's worth the extra expense and travel time for me too.

WOO HOO
Not only are my FI Mohawks both behaving, but today for the first time, I was able to do FO Mohawks! Something just told me that I should try them today, so I did a few at the boards, then attempted the Juv 8-step Mohawk pattern and promptly fell on the first turn. I got right up, took my ibuprofen and went back to it. I did the pattern in my lesson and was really surprised and pleased to have my coach tell me that I was getting nice outside edges on both turns. I'm no where near doing the whole pattern to specs, but I love this one, and I'm going to make it mine. I was further encouraged when I told my coach that my new goal is to pass Juv moves. I was afraid she might say it was unrealistic for me, but she said it is definitely a goal I could achieve. I know it will take me years (probably years just to get the prelim spirals :evil: ), but that's where I want to go.

DOH
Rink is closed Fri-Mon for Memorial day, so no lesson Monday, which means another one on Wed. Stressful for both of us, because I have to be at the rink at 10 for Mommy & Me, then don't have my lesson until noon.

garyc254

05-21-2003, 04:16 PM

Originally posted by dbny
I got right up, took my ibuprofen and went back to it.

LOLROF!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I keep ibuprofen in my bag, too!!!

sk8clean

05-21-2003, 05:45 PM

DOH! I thought getting on the ice with my sprained ankle 90% better would be just fine. Oh so wrong! All I could do was airplane glides, and that must have been too much b/c the ankle is reinjured:cry: :frus: It has gotten through my thick skull that I need to take a very long vacation from the ice rink.

tidesong

05-21-2003, 09:50 PM

Woo hoo!:
yesterday my (forward)double three turns miraculously improved???!!! I can't believe it.... i just started doing them and they felt so easy and i didn't stumble or fall over them! :)

So i have started working on making them faster ( i'm a big chicken when it comes to turns when going fast... i have fallen quite a bit on those and i am still scared to fall... :P wierd how i'm not afraid to fall on jumps at all but three turns?...)

And started practicing the back double three turns my coach taught me.

Backspins dont hurt as much anymore (right ankle injury)

I think i still have the correct crossover timing... must check with coach next time... can't imagine how i always forget those.

Doh!:
Something went wrong with my camel. arrgh but coach not around... likely it will improve the next time he is around :P

i miss my axel and double sal :P :( :( but i will not break my ankle doing them before its fully healed...

TashaKat

05-22-2003, 02:29 AM

Week four of the adult course ....... Fun Skate 10!

SMALL GRIPE (or big doh!) ..... is there any wonder that the UK isn't producing any decent international skaters when Fun Skate 10 (the top level of the initial 'test' system) only requires forward and backward crossovers in a figure of eight, forward glide on two feet spiralling down (but not into a spin) and a 'simple' step sequence??

Anyway .... fourth week, fourth instructor! So far we've had two instructor to ourselves and two instructors who we were sharing with another group! Not exactly worth the money .... and a pain for the people who are there to learn to skate!

I'm getting a bit more confident but still feel sludgy, podgy and wobbly. Did jumps up to Flip and Loop Loop combo ....... these feel slow and heavy and small ........ Am not as flexible (can still do a catch foot back spiral but it's not very elegant) but am feeling braver.

Didn't stay to the Moves class this week because I've been sick so decided to retire to bed :??

'Tests' next week ...... I don't need a certificate thanks ;)

DOH

I left my gloves at home and my t-shirt drying on the radiator at work! THANKFULLY I was wearing a camisole top rather than a bra so ended up wearing my camisole leotard with underwear on top!! :oops:

Hope everyone is well, congratulations to everyone passing tests etc

L xx

sk8pics

05-22-2003, 06:14 AM

Originally posted by dbny
So, it's the sharpener and not me! I discovered time before last when I had my blades sharpened that I could still stop and it took me only a few minutes to adjust to the blades. I had just switched to a real expert because of my daughter's gold seals. Now I know it's worth the extra expense and travel time for me too.

Yes, absolutely! It was a real eye opener for me when I first discovered this. My present sharpener is a master and in fact went to the Olympics in SLC as a sharpener for some of the competitors. He has also taught me how to touch up my blades if necessary in between sharpenings, although it's not usually neessary for me. The other mark of a good sharpening is increased speed. I think I'd let my blades go too long between sharpenings once, and when I got them done and then got back on the ice, it was incredible how much more speed I got with no effort. I said something to my coach and he said, "That's the mark of a good sharpening."

BTW dbny, hang in there on the spirals! I am one of the least flexible people on earth but my coach and I have worked very hard off-ice on improving my flexibility and now I nearly have a full split on each leg (which I never had even as a kid) and one of my other coaches calls my spiral my "power move." 8-) I can get each leg above my head off ice, so maybe on ice someday...

Pat

Debbie S

05-22-2003, 02:42 PM

Congrats, Gary!

WOO HOO!: Summer lessons started yesterday. Instead of last year, when all freestyle levels were placed in the same group, this year we are divided into low and high levels. As it turned, there are only 2 other high level (FS4-FS6) skaters and we're all at the same level (FS5). It's the same instructor we had before and with a small class, we can get more individual attention. He spent a lot of time yesterday critiquing what each of us were doing.

We worked on BO turns into FI mohawk, and my LBO turn is improving (used to be impossible). Trouble is, I get a lot dizzier going CW than CCW - I guess it's b/c I'm not as used to that direction.

No pain in my leg or ankle.

DOH!: Still no real flip or loop. And because of the crowded area (freestyle lessons are now being held during the second half hour of Basic Skills lessons, and we were sandwiched bet. those learning forward and back crossovers) we had problems getting up enough speed as well as finding room to jump. So I may be able to get lots of attention from my instructor, but it still remains to be seen whether I'll actually be able to work on skills the way they should be done. To be continued...

batikat

05-22-2003, 06:15 PM

Originally posted by TashaKat
Week four of the adult course ....... Fun Skate 10!

SMALL GRIPE (or big doh!) ..... is there any wonder that the UK isn't producing any decent international skaters when Fun Skate 10 (the top level of the initial 'test' system) only requires forward and backward crossovers in a figure of eight, forward glide on two feet spiralling down (but not into a spin) and a 'simple' step sequence??

L xx

Hey Lynne - don't forget that the Funskate is designed for those who have never, ever, been on ice before. Most people would be doing it in once a week classes with up to 20 people in a class. You don't get a lot of the instructors time in that. Before Funskate came in, most rinks had their own 'Learn to Skate' Courses (some like mine still do), before you started on National level tests with real judges. The better kids can whizz through the Funskate courses and quickly move up to the National tests.

The daft thing is that before you are allowed to take Level 1 of the proper 'National Tests' you now have to do Bronze, Silver and Gold 'passport' tests. The Gold level requires a backspin - which isn't asked for in the National level tests til level 2!!:roll:

Anyway - my week

Doh!
No lesson on Tuesday as my coach was ill which was probably just as well as I visited a chiropractor on the Monday and it left my back muscles aching. I did tootle round the rink and tried to run through my Free Dance and OD but not with a great deal of conviction

Woo -hoo!
Coach better today! Back slightly better.
Started off with Compulsory Dance. Have decided to think of these as medicine. I know they are good for me but I don't have to like them!!
Considering I rarely practice these, my Canasta Tango medicine wasn't too bad and slipped down fairly easily. Dutch Waltz was a little harder to swallow.

Too much medicine isn't good for you, so we moved on to my OD. Altered some of the steps I wasn't comfortable with (RFI3 chaine turns) in step sequence and ran through it with the music. Almost managed to keep up - it's very fast Rock n roll rhythm - and only forgot a couple of the steps.

Not in lesson - did probably my best ever 1 foot spin; 7 beautifully centred revolutions. Centering spins is one of my biggest problems. Now I just have to do that consistently and learn to cross my free foot over.....

Mrs Redboots

05-23-2003, 06:23 AM

Last night was Dance Club, first time I've been for ages. Not bad - the ice was a bit slow, so it was hard work, and when Robert and I did the Swing Dance together, at times it felt as though we were skating against each other, not with each other!

Didn't really want to skate this morning, but I have to practice my interpretive in costume, and it would have been packed by now only it won't fit in the suitcase. . . stress. . . so I went down to have an hour on the ice. Went pretty well, so I'm leaving Well Enough severely Alone now, until we get to the Mountain Cup. The only thing is, I can't decide whether to do back crossovers into the 3-jump or a double 3; the latter is faster, the former harder.....

Had a brief run-through of my OD, but there were a lot of people on the ice and the show number rehearsal was about to start, so decided to leave it until after I come back when my coach can change the bit I'm worried about!

Was going to leave then, but the show number people couldn't find the jack plug they needed to get their music going, and I happened to have one in my skate bag, so decided to stay and watch the rehearsal, and I'm so glad I did, as someone who coaches at a winter-only rink, who I haven't seen for ages, came in, on crutches but looking ten years younger - she has just had her hip resculptured, and is loving not being in pain any more!

NickiT

05-23-2003, 04:12 PM

Woo Hoo

Landed a few good lutzes today prior to my lesson which were noticed by my coach.

Ran through my new programme 5 times and am feeling a lot more comfortable with it now. My coach told me that it is looking much better now and that I am getting it to flow nicely.

Doh

Still missing the lutz in my programme. The first three run throughs I landed it on two feet, the next time I did manage to land it one footed but it wasn't a great one, and the last time was slightly better but still not as good as the ones I do out of my programme.

My loop wasn't as good as it usually is, probably because I fell on my first one pre-lesson and lost my confidence a bit.

I had pain in my hip for the first time in a while. It's a long story but I've had a problem and have been having chiropractic treatment and physio for the past few months and up until today it did seem to be getting better.

singerskates

05-23-2003, 05:12 PM

Doh!!! Yesterday and all the days before it while working on the Canasta Tango. ROTFLOL But who cares because.....

WOO HOO!!! Tested Canasta Tango today and passed it with Satisfactory in every part but the pattern where I received a Good. So I got 6 for 6 on my Cansta Tango. I no longer have to skate to that dance again unless, I'm helping out as a program assistant with the preprelims.

Doh I'm officially off of the ice until next September but....

WOO HOO Don't have to hear the Cansta Tango ever again if I choose not to hear it. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

B

jazzpants

05-23-2003, 05:25 PM

WOO HOO!!! NUTTIN'!!! :cry:

DOH!!! I had a reasonably decent run of all my Bronze moves this past week, only to find myself struggling along the day of my lesson. Even my easiest moves, the forward perimeter crossover, went south...

Coach: "So... do you think you're gonna pass the Bronze Moves test with that?"
Me: "HELL NO!!!"
Coach: *crack up* then says "And why are you not gonna pass with those?"

After his lecture... he said to try them again... I did another one. He said "MUCH BETTER! At least now you'll pass the test with those..." then chuckles and says "...BARELY!!!" :P (DOH!!!)

Then I did back perimeter crossover and he says "You know! Except for this one little thing, I think I like your back perimeter crossovers better..." (KILL!!! KILL!!!) :twisted:

Of course, he realizes that in 2 hours I was going to be dressed up in business attire and going through a second interview... and that I was a NERVOUS WRECK stepping onto the ice this morning!!! 8O (I hope I'll get the job, given after coming out of the interview I needed a sedative. S***w the booze!!!) :twisted: :lol: :P

Moral of the story is, if possible, schedule your job interviews for a different day from your skating lessons! :P

singerskates

05-23-2003, 05:28 PM

Originally posted by singerskates
Doh!!! Yesterday and all the days before it while working on the Canasta Tango. ROTFLOL But who cares because.....

WOO HOO!!! Tested Canasta Tango today and passed it with Satisfactory in every part but the pattern where I received a Good. So I got 6 for 6 on my Cansta Tango. I no longer have to skate to that dance again unless, I'm helping out as a program assistant with the preprelims.

Doh I'm officially off of the ice until next September but....

WOO HOO Don't have to hear the Cansta Tango ever again if I choose not to hear it. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

B

Good thing none of you are my coach because I would have made you eat crow today. My coach Sunni said that I wasn't ready to test my Canasta Tango (haven't tested anything for over two years because I didn't feel like it and was just concentrating on competing.) She said everything was way off. Well, I worked on it in the van and at home off ice finally realizing that I didn't need a drum beat for the beat. Today everything clicked and I passed everything with a satisfactory except for the pattern where I got a good. 6 for 6. Sunni is eating crow now. ROTFLOL

Mrs Redboots

05-24-2003, 02:36 AM

Well done, Brigitte. I must say, I loathe the Canasta Tango, but still dance it quite often as it comes up in the competitions we do.

Very quick last run-through this morning (we are leaving in approximately 2.5 hours!) of all our dances; coach back from holiday and was fairly complimentary. Sadly, of course, nothing can be done at this stage to correct anything. Still, permission for private lessons while we're away... I think that, when this present run of competitions is over, we'll need to address the issue of partnering so that we look as though we are skating with each other, not against!

See you all in ten days - have a great week.

TashaKat

05-28-2003, 02:25 AM

Originally posted by batikat
Hey Lynne - don't forget that the Funskate is designed for those who have never, ever, been on ice before. Most people would be doing it in once a week classes with up to 20 people in a class. You don't get a lot of the instructors time in that. Before Funskate came in, most rinks had their own 'Learn to Skate' Courses (some like mine still do), before you started on National level tests with real judges. The better kids can whizz through the Funskate courses and quickly move up to the National tests.

The daft thing is that before you are allowed to take Level 1 of the proper 'National Tests' you now have to do Bronze, Silver and Gold 'passport' tests. The Gold level requires a backspin - which isn't asked for in the National level tests til level 2!!:roll:

Yeah, I suppose .... it just seems a lot more 'dumbed down' from when I did the 'Learn to Skate' course ........ we were doing a LOT more in Level 10 LTS than we are in Funskate Level 10!

Hope everyone is ok

When is Bracknell Comp (Adult) btw? I won't be skating but I may come and watch if I can get time off :D

L x

batikat

05-28-2003, 01:02 PM

Originally posted by TashaKat
........ we were doing a LOT more in Level 10 LTS than we are in Funskate Level 10!

Hope everyone is ok

When is Bracknell Comp (Adult) btw? I won't be skating but I may come and watch if I can get time off :D

L x

Lynne, I can't imagine what you are doing in Funskate at all -even after breaking a wrist! I dont' believe you can have lost everything - you were (are) a great skater - probably far better now than I'll ever manage!

Bracknell comp is 26th/27th June - you should be in it - not watching!!!!!

TashaKat

05-29-2003, 02:30 AM

Originally posted by batikat
Lynne, I can't imagine what you are doing in Funskate at all -even after breaking a wrist! I dont' believe you can have lost everything - you were (are) a great skater - probably far better now than I'll ever manage!

Bracknell comp is 26th/27th June - you should be in it - not watching!!!!!

Thanks

I'm doing the FS classes to get my confidence back! NOT because I'm frightened about my wrist (I've also taken up horse riding again after many years!) but because skating with the (much improved) kids made me feel awful. I've stuck on an enormous amount of weight and feel sludgy and slow and wobbly. Mind you, part of that is probably the new blades ..... I'm not used to skating with a rocker ;) I'm 'thinking' about starting back on patch in June but, being coachless, I find it a bit boring! I won't be skating at Bracknell this year for definite and, looking at the work calendar, prob won't be spectating either because everyone's away then :(

L x

Mrs Redboots

06-03-2003, 09:17 AM