Edge Finally, finally I "get" how it's supposed to feel when you start a forward one-foot spin off of a forward outside edge! I'd been doing it from a standstill, and on Thursday my coach worked hard on it with me, standing to my right and holding my right hand (I'm clockwise) with his left hand on my waist, and I would push onto a forward outside edge and let it curve around him and then try to do 1 revolution. Well, yesterday, it was working and I was getting 1 1/2 revolutions with him helping me that way, and then I tried it on my own and it just snapped right around and I did 1 1/2- 2 revolutions completely centered! It was very cool.

We also starting working on my new free program, and that was fun. Also making good progress on my waltz 8 and holding a back outside edge into the step forward for a 3-turn nto my salchow. Both are much better! Coach is now very spoiled as I seem to make a step up in something every time he sees me, but that's okay!

Flat My back crossovers, literally! My coach is on a mission to improve them, and it's a struggle. But I'm sure it will get better.

Oh, and one more Edge: I've now lost 23 pounds since the beginning of May! It's very exciting!

Happy skating everyone.
Pat

Back on the ice after 2 weeks of 'hockey camp'

Flat: my daughters boots had gone mouldy!!!! that'll teach us to leave them in the lockers at the rink when we are not going in regularly and especially in all the hot weather we have been having - urghh!

Edge: My upright spin was good - I got 12 revs - a personal record - and the tracing showed the loops were small and with minimal travel.

Flat: think I have forgotten how to do a toe-loop and a salchow.
Practised the original dance to the required march tempo for the British Adult championships and it was horrible - can't remember everything we choreographed and my pivots were not working at all. Coach is back next week so I hope he can help me but then i am away for a week after that so not much time to get it right.

Enjoyed being back on the ice though!

You're lucky, Batikat - our hockey camp is this coming week. But can skate teatimes, though.

Today's lessons/practice:

Edge: Robert had a Brilliant Idea about the choreography of our Tango OD, and it's going to work, unlike the bit that wasn't working because I was bottling out every time, and it was going to go on scaring me, and I knew I'd bottle it! We have 7/8 of it choreographed now - there are a couple of "dead areas" where we are just doing chasses as a holding pattern. So much more hopeful than I was on Thursday! However, we only have one practice next week, due to aforementioned hockey school, a trip to the theatre (me, work; can't get out of it and wouldn't if I could!) and the fact that we are away for the long weekend. But once that is over, we'll be back to normal and able to practice a great deal, I hope.

Flat: Because of Robert's Great Idea we moved one of our "highlights", which meant we had to come up with another one. Coach did, and it will be all right if it works, but at the moment it's not working at all! I think it will work, though.

Our back chasses and cross-rolls still need an awful lot of work, and I apparently hang on to Robert like grim death when doing back cross-rolls. I pointed out that I can't do them without a partner.....

I think I'm basically thankful that at our level, they don't require side-by-side step sequences.....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Edge:
I can finally do my axel-loop and axel-half loop-etc combinations... the right ankle is finally done with the healing
During practices i've been torn between doing the axel (because it feels so good now) and doing the double sal (to try and get it back)
I just sharpened my blades too and the spins went off for a while but they are coming back too.
I'm trying to get my schedule down since school has just started and then i'll be training at the usual three times a week again

Flat:
Nothing is moving! I'm still trying to get back Nothing that i couldn't do before the ankle injury

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~
Tidesong

Edge:
Passed my USFSA Freestyle 1 test on Wednesday! I didn't think I would and was seriously nervous about the scratch spin and the BO three turns. The BO threes can still use some work, but my instructor told me I did 6 revs. in my scratch spin and that it was centered!! Now all I have to do is get that consistently. I was so relieved when I did my spin for her during the test because it wasn't until the Saturday before that I really understood how to make the spin entry work.

Also picked up my new skates and had them heat molded and the blades put on.

I'm looking forward to seeing flo skate this coming Sunday (8/24) in her club's open, all-adult show. My instructor is also doing a number in the show, I think.

Flat:
Had to get home to do some work, so I couldn't go skate to start breaking in my new skates...

Went to Basingstoke last night, to their RIDL, which was fun.

Edge: I now have a lovely new Tango dress, which is absolutely gorgeous! Red, with a black skirt and red under-skirt. Yummy.

Flat: Although Robert and I were pleased with how we skated, we lost our match

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Hello!

I decided that before I started my ISI Freestyle 1 class on the 23rd, I'd darn well better re-learn the L-over-R backward crossover. I had it when I was supposed to pick my foot up and cross it over, but in Delta they expect you to do it the "slide" way, but don't really teach you how. I figured it out R-over-L, but couldn't get it the other way and then lost what crossover I did have on that side.

So that was my mission for practice. And I was finally able to get them! The first one is a little wobbly but I catch the rhythm by the third one and then I freak myself out because I pick up speed so quickly -- or it feels that way to me, at least.

I just knew that the instructor for the Freestyle class would get after me if I couldn't do crossovers nor 3-turns, LOL! Now he can only get after me for the 3-turns, which aren't gonna happen in 5 days.

I also started messing around with inside spread eagles and ina bauers. I can get my feet into position pretty easily, but I only go in a tight circle. I think I need to steer a little better with my leading heel to straighten out a bit. I asked a couple of more advanced adult skaters who were on the session with me and they just shrugged and said "I don't do those moves -- my hips don't turn out enough." I just think that they're some of the prettiest moves in skating and I'd like to experiment a little with them -- especially since they don't require me leaving the ice with both feet or turning on one foot, LOL!

That's about it!

EDGE:
I passed my Pre Bronze MIF yesterday morning!!!
I chose not to grandfather in the Adult MIF track and can see why it was a wise idea!


FLAT:
I live in Virginia Beach and skate for the Washington FSC, so I drove up for the test session on Saturday afternoon and drove back on Sunday afternoon. TRAFFIC WAS AWFUL- the worst I've seen on I-95!

Congratulations Terri!

I drove from Baltimore to Alexandria, VA on Saturday morning to get the blades on my new skates permanently mounted. I agree, there was a lot of traffic. Fortunately, it was moving.

Did you test in Fairfax?

How did you feel the judges were setting the standard? In other words, how strict were they about the size of the lobes (for the consecutive edges) and the edge quality of the alternating 3's? My FI alt 3's tend to be shallow, plus I'm slow, but I don't think power is one of the things they're looking for in that move. I also tend to scrape my toe pick on the transition in the FO 3's, but my edge class instructor pointed out to me that I needed to hold the BI edge more on each turn.

I'd like to test Pre-Bronze MIF in November.