My turn this week?

Positive title - delete as applicable from Kwan/Kulik/Krylova/Kraatz/Kazakova/malepairsskaterwhosenamebeginswithK . And things that are more than one or none of them, eg. footwork, can be Kurt

Kurt:

Consecutive FO3s, consecutive FI3s, alternating FI3s. Step sequence from last week. Also 1 foot slaloms (power pulls?) forwards and backwards and on both feet - better. FI and BI pivots fine. Practiced all 3 turns, inside closed and open mohawks, outside mohawks etc. Also, a man who was watching my group class told me after that my skating was looking very good, and very smooth. Yay!!

Kwan:

Spent the whole of my freestyle lesson on spinning. Which is good because I need it! lol. Picked up 10000 tips that I have to remember all at once. Am also going back to the 2 foot spin and trying to improve that. However, coach looked at my boots and thought my right (spinning) one wasn't tight enough, wasn't giving enough support, so i tightened it and it actually made a difference, which I was surprised but pleased about.

Waltz jump fine, toe loop fine (although I forgot to use my arms the first time, lol), salchow surprisingly good (although still need to work on height).

Klutz:

Alternating FO3s. Hmm.

Still not as good a spinner as I want to be! So hard to remember every single thing at once - as soon as I get one bit working, I forget something else! Hmph.

Blades needed sharpening. Am getting them sharpened for next week though

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

I think my skating today definitely deserves to be deleted, whether applicable or not!

Klutz: Me and Robert having a row about the Swing Dance - he was cutting across me in the end pattern, and how can I possibly skate at him when he's already beside me? And then he blames me for it! Moi!

All the same, the coach says we are improving, and even our hold is better. Of course, when I was concentrating on staying in hold (now, why doesn't Robert hold me tightly enough that I don't have to?) I lost concentration..... Oh well, I got out of having to do that Mohawk again!

Krilova-like: I wish..... No, my Interpretive programme is nearly there now, not too bad at all, I don't think. People giggle when I do it, and small children are fascinated..... all one could wish for. And in our lesson, we worked on the Fiesta end pattern round the circle - and the coach pointed out I used not to be able to do that. I was focussing on staying on an edge - I have this awful habit of flatting when I'm feeling uncertain. In the Swing Dance I still can't manage to get on a LFO edge on the step to forwards, it tends to be horrendously flat, but the RFI afterwards is getting edgier. The coach was most complimentary about our Canadian Cha-cha, except we need to get a little faster, and said our Rhythm Blues was okay, too - not quite together, though. But we do seem to be improving. Now, if we can only beat Mr & Mrs P***** at the Dune of Flanders Cup.....

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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!

Kwan

Landed good waltz jumps in my lesson yesterday - it feels more like a jump now and I'm landing on my outside edge.

Getting the hang of swing rolls - just got to get the arms to work w/ the legs.

We worked on lutz setup - a half lutz is one of our skills for this level. We practiced crossovers and the glide to set up for it. My instructor emphasized moving our arms across our body and not dropping them to our sides in order to set up properly for rotation. The good news is that I am not a flutzer. (!)


Klutz

Am I ever going to master the salchow? I find it difficult to jump up on an edge w/ no toe pick help. My instructor told me to make sure my weight is over my left side after the FO turn (I'm CCW) and he also mentioned that it's really a waltz jump by the time you take off. It seems simple enough, but then when I go to practice it, I find myself twisting around and landing in some weird position (thankfully, I managed to, as Gary puts it, stay vertical).

BI turns are in dire straits. I actually was getting the turn technique down, but i just can;t seem to glide out on my FO edge after the turn. And my arms still get twisted around. Any tips?

Still working on the backspin - sigh.


Hope you are feeling better, Gary!

The toe pick should actually be the last thing to leave the ice. On the BI curve, allow it to keep curving (i.e. don't make it too straight), and the curve should make a little hook on the end for the takeoff. By the time you actually leave the ice, you might actually be facing sideways or forwards. Does that make sense? That's what your coach meant by it being like a waltz jump. You're on the back edge, but you curve it and go onto the toe to take off. Eventually, the turning on the toe will be less. Maybe you could watch a skater on TV doing a salchow? Watch what their skating foot does, and also how they use their free leg and arms.

For the glide on the FO edge, make sure you're using knee bend - it should be a kind of down-up-down action. Knee bent on the BI edge, rise up a little for the turn, bend again for the FO edge. It should help the flow out of it. Also maybe try a little more speed? (If you're doing it too slowly you may have simply run out of momentum.) As for the arms, maybe you're not checking the turn strongly enough? Ask your coach about it, he/she may be able to advise you if they can see what you might be doing wrong.

Hope that helps!

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

Klutz - hmm, nothing was all that bad my 3 turns have been smoother but it was so crowded on the public session and most of the kids were totally clueless as to how to comport themselves I gave up doing MIF's or stroking.

Kwan - For reasons I cannot understand I can do a sit spin - sometimes 6-8 revolutions!! I actually stopped myself a couple of times because I kept going and going. :-) But try to pull that free leg in on a scratch spin and I end up on my butt, however; that was even decent compared to how it an be.

SKATE MOM STORY -
It was a decent day of skating even though it started off with some really bizarre "skate" mom (or should I say non skate mom, since neither she nor her family could really skate) cussing at me when I told her little boy (6-7?) that the circle is just for spinning and jumping (and it was QUITE crowded) this mom skates out to me and tells her son to ignore the lady with the fat a** and attitude. I was just speechless for a second, the funny thing is I don't have a fat a** I have quite a tiny one and tiny hips, so I wasn't insulted just confused. So I tried to explain to her it's for her kids safety that he stays out of the middle and she said yeah because I might fall on kid with my fat a**. I just laughed and skated away, how pathetic. Anyway, my spins were so good that day that I hope I get called fat a** more often. :-)

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

klutz
Coach thinks we need to change my programme. She wants to completely renew it, and asked me if I wanted to keep the same music, which I do, simply because I can't find any other music that I like, that I could do justice to, and that could be cut to 1 min 30 secs.

I really just want to get the programme and skate the test asap.

It's only 1.5 mins long and I didn't get very far with it, only the first few seconds. Not that it's intricate or anything - more that I lack so many skills that it limits my choices so much.

In practise, I landed my jumps including the lutz.
I could do a camel.
I attempted change foot spins and backspins.
A few backspins were ok, but still only a maximum of 6 or 7 revs.
Most of the backspins are klutzish.

I felt a bit disheartened today even although I didn't skate that badly.
Maybe I'm not sure about changing the programme.
It could be done the way I had it previously........

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MEL
Absolute Skating

Ugh, what a story, JDC1! As a former teacher, I frequently had to wonder what messages parents were sending to their children by the way they talked to and about others. You handled it much calmer than I would have - I actually think my rink has a no-cursing rule.

The problem that I have usually run into at public sessions is that the parents are clueless about what the circle is for - "no, it's not for standing around and hanging out when you get too tired to keep going around and it's not for sliding those metal bar helper thingys across the ice." The parents usually took the kids out, or tried to, when I complained. Unfortunately, the rink guards don't watch very carefully, so I ended up sticking with the freestyle sessions.

Regarding the fat a** comment - when we were leaving COI a few years ago, we got a little disoriented about what direction we should walk in b/c we came out of a side door at our arena that we had never come out of before, so we realized that we were walking in the wrong direction and started to turn around when some guy behind us told me to move my fat you-know-what. I'm about 5'0 and weigh 98 lbs - I concluded that it must be a standard redneck-type insult comment that is applied universally, with no attention paid to the size of the target person's derriere.


Thanks for the tips, icenut!

Music not finished, and my coach wanted additional cuts. My dress designer is now teaching ballet full time and does not have time for skating outfits.

Re-cut music and am ready to go to the studio for final cuts. I skated Saturday and we set the begining of my interpretive program. It's going to be a good one . Our show is December 14th, and I have to figure out what, if anything I'm going to skate - I don't have a current program yet. Double salchows were better, and the moves are fine.

I just figured that she probably was a redneck and clearly had some serious issues with people either being at all assertive or talking to her children. If she had said to me, I don't like strangers talking to my kid or bossing them around (which I wasn't ) I actually would have understood because some people are really protective but the cussing at me and also never looking me in the face was weird. I don't think I've had any one cuss or swear at me in close to a decade so I was just taken a back.

It is funny how people sometimes think all women are worried about their butts looking big, I'm the opposite, I love things that make my rear look a little bigger.!!! :-)

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

Do you want to permanently borrow some of my butt weight? (LOL..) In ballet class I took a look at myself in the mirror and thought, "Gee, I have a humongous bubble butt! It's this big round thing sticking out the back! "

Kwan

• Went on a skate date (he drove me) and it was cool cause I didn't have to drag him around - he already knew how to skate. The trouble was that he'd stand back and watch me do stuff. Sometimes they'd be good, like loop jumps, and other times it'd be bad, like backspins.
• Back sit! It's getting better! Yayayayay! I feel so much more stable now!
• Loop! Wheee! Tried loop-loop and it was less "Kwan" but hey..
• Flip! Had some good ones! Yippee!

Klutz

• I fell more than my date did. Well, duh, considering the stuff I was trying, but still...
• Backspin. I had a couple good ones, and some people asked me how long it took me to learn one, since "it looked so pretty!" Hmmm...maybe they're not so bad after all!
• Lutz. Only got all the way around on probably 2, and landed none.
• Camel. Ew ew ew.....although I got a good upright scratch from a so-so camel, hahahaha...

Anita

Debbie S, I am quite sure your salchow is better than mine - I tend to go round in a complete circle on the ice, then hop backwards! I have given up on them, but then, I'm really not much of a jumper.

This for yesterday, when I had a 15-minute lesson, and then it was dance club:

The programme is going very well now. Still one or two rough edges, but I think it will "do". It will come 4th out of 4 on 1 December, since there's no technical content as such, but I don't actually mind - I am a lot more interested in audience reaction than judge reaction at this stage! It will be a lot better by next summer, I expect. Hope.

I forgot to say, but on Sunday morning there was a huge hole in the barrier where someone had driven the Zamboni straight into it! This was mostly mended by last night, but the corner was blocked off by a bench, so you had to be careful of where you went.

Dance Club went well. Robert and I didn't have too many fights, and I focussed totally on being on an edge in each step of every dance (well, I know, but you do see how hopeless I am at skating, really!), to the point that my hamstrings are still feeling it 24 hours later!

AND I managed to do the Mohawk in the Swing Dance TO TIME!!!!! which has simply never happened while I'm dancing it before. I can control it (sometimes) when walking through the end pattern, but I've never managed to control it that well in the dance! I did shriek - so lucky it was private ice!

My inside-to-outside changes of edge went walkabout, and I had a row with the coach. He said I was flat, and I said I couldn't feel it, so he thought I meant that I thought he was exaggerating - which I didn't, and had hurriedly to explain that I was quite sure he was right, but it didn't feel flat! In fact, the 2nd or 3rd try I could feel when it went flat, so that was all right!

My backwards skating is still atrocious. After the Dune of Flanders Cup I am really going to focus on it and learn how to PUSH when going backwards - and learn how not to be terrified.....

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

and I did some BACK THREE'S!!!!!!! I said I would and I did

My reintroduction was Madame hollering "do you need a lesson in how to tie your boots? it HAS been a long time hasn't it?" ..... ha di ha di ha

Felt rather tentative when I got on ..... it felt SOOOO slippery! Unfortunately I vocalised this much to everyone's amusement!

Started on a lap of forward stroking, found that I could still stop so went onto forward 3-turns and mohawks .... and then ........ BACK THREE'S ..... first on THE foot .... it felt SO smooth!!!! and then on my 'wrong' foot (I managed to injure myself falling on my BEST side!)

From there it was onwards and upwards! Started on jumps, landed everything to flip clean (much to everyone's suprise .... I don't think that they expected me to jump) but decided not to do the lutz today .... so attempted the Axel instead It wasn't too bad, still needs lots of work but not scary and landed in a backspin .......

BACKSPIN WAS PRETTY DARN GOOD!!!!! Okay, it was incredibly slow but it went round more times and more centred than my usual efforts!!!

Spins were fine, sit spin wasn't as good a sit as I'd been getting and the camel was a bit droopy but I was pleased

Tried a couple of dances! Couldn't remember the Riverside Rhumba (duh), the Golden Skater's was okay ...... the Foxtrot was fine until I got to the mohawk ...... and I wimped!!! I WAS doing it solo .......

I was sufficiently confident by then to try a lutz (don't ask why I'm happy to try an Axel - that I've not got - but scared to try a lutz - which I have!) I was fully rotating but collapsing on the landing and putting two feet down (safety net)! Need to THINK about the damn thing!!!

All in all a pretty positive first day back .... except that I've put all my stuff into storage ..... leos, tights, leggings, skirts, dresses, dance boots ..... so will have to try and hunt it out at some point!!

All the best


L xxx

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The best whisper is a click

Wow, Lynne You did great! Congratulations!

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Welcome back, Lynne!

Kwan: Well, we're halfway to a party -- I figured out the left forward inside mohawk last night! Woo-hoo! Now I can do them on both feet away from the boards, yippee!!!

Worked on the mohawk sequence and can do that on the right side, though I have to stroke like a weenie so I'm not going too fast into the mohawk, LOL! But every time I tried it I did it faster, so that's good! I can stumble through the sequence on the left side, too.

Since I'm still checking out of the FO3's the minute I get around, I asked my instructor to show me how I can practice the BI edges so I feel more comfortable exiting. So she showed me the dreaded Back Inside Edges from Freestyle 1. She also told me not to get too frustrated if I can't get them because they're still three levels up, but I did do them, albeit in miniature, LOL!

Believe it or not, the three turns are actually "fine" except for the fact I won't finish the turn on one foot. Instructor said the edge going in is fine, good knee bend, good motion through the turn but then she said I need to turn off my brain and stand on one foot for a couple of seconds after I turn.

Was messing around with FI3's just for the heck of it and they were pretty fun. Also, once in the mohawk sequence I didn't quite finish right and instead of the backwards two-foot glide to step forward I did a LBO3, but don't ask me to do that again for a while!

Klutz: Back crossovers still gawd-awful. At this point, I feel better about the Gamma skills than the Beta back-crossovers. I'm OK R over L if I slow down and don't rush, but L over R bite the big one. I'll keep plugging away, though.

Lesson

• loop
• flip
• salchow-toeloop
• lutz
• waltz-loop
• axel
• parallel - sit spin
• change upright spin

Got them all, except axel. Dreadful. Klutzish

I've no music for my next test. I have to find music.

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MEL
Absolute Skating

YOU GO, GIRL!!!!!

With all of the trials you've been through of late, isn't it exciting to have something that you can do for your own self esteem.

Next thing you know, you'll be hearing that tiny whisper of "Doubles... I know I can do doubles".

excellent:

Passed Pre Bronze, Bronze, and Silver moves.

klutz:

My actual skating in the tests compared to how I can skate the moves.

Just plain weird:

How different judges can see vastly different things in the same test...on one of the tests, 1 judge passed me 0.1 over and 1 passed me 1.2 over. ???

Glad you're back Lynne.

Brilliant! Welcome back. Now keep at it, in spite of all the other excitements in your life just now.

I didn't skate today - usually the best skate of the week - as I have to go into the office every morning this week while my boss is on holiday. I had 15 minutes' lesson on Monday, and will have another 15 on Friday - I may skate tomorrow evening, we'll see.

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

Good for you!

Congrats to Lynne and Kar5162 - way to go

And another

YOU GO, GIRL!!!

That's a lot of moves to complete in one test session.

Congratulations to Lynne and kar5162!

As for me, in yesterday's practice, I was actually able to do some BI turns! The weird thing was, when I then tried to do BO turns, I still couldn't - arrggghh! Oh well, I only need the BI turns for this level (BO was several levels ago, when I could do them), but I would like to do both well.

I think I landed a few salchows. I say "think" because I'm not sure if it was fully rotated. At my lesson Saturday, I'm going to have my instructor watch me at least once specifically and let me know. Thanks to all those who gave tips.

Back spin is still lousy. After a while, I gave up and went back to turns.

Half lutz is "small", but the entry is good. I think I mastered the arm-turning thing.

Landed a couple of waltz-toe loops.

Well done!

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MEL
Absolute Skating

Klutz: First few attempts today at waltz jump out of crossovers. I have to remember to keep the left shoulder forward and not rotate the right one until I jump.

Krylova: My progressives for my program have progressed nicely. They look pretty good.

Kwan: Two foot spins. Finally found my trouble spot--I spin left, but as I bring my feet together, I tend to shift my weight to the right. Starting it like a pivot without the toe in and staying "left" really made a difference. Also, did the whole program and kept up with the music--I can do it! Needs some finesse in a few spots, but coach says it looks pretty good.

And coming up--a vacation week!!! Badly needed. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

Way to go! Guess that answers the questions about taking more than one test at a time

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