Cut: My Pre-Bronze MITF are better than they've ever been. My flow on the the forward 3-turn pattern has improved 100%. I think it was more of a mental block than a physical one. I was over-rotating my singles today. I know that may not sound like a good thing. But it says to me that I am getting used to rotating doubles so much so that I have to concentrate to do a single. I couldn't even do a waltz jump without wanting to do an axel. I had to do a split in the air to stop my rotation. It was really weird. I just have to make sure I don't overrotate my single jumps for my free test tomorrow. I finally feel completely prepared for my MITF test tomorrow.

Uncut: Camel Spin decided to take a vacation to Japan. I can't wait to start working on my spins again because they are really starting to travel. The only one that doesn't travel is my back scratch spin. My first moves and FS test is tomorrow and I'm so nervous that I can't feel my feet.

BlackManSkating


BlackManSkating

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Proud to be one of the few black men out on the ice

Goals
Pass my Silver Moves Test
Finish Choreography for Silver Program
Land a Clean Double Toe and Double Lutz
Work on Double Axel and Rockers
Speed up back Camel

Cut OMG OMG OMG started working on double axels!!!!!! my coach thinks i can get one by the end of the year as long as i keep skating! (this is huge, i've been off for 2 years and have only been back about 1 month-6weeks). Landed my double flip too! i was so surprised! i wish i had my face on video. it was like when you land your first axel and you kinda look down at your feet, then look around the rink and think "is this really happening?!" Then i landed a double lutz, and asked my coach if i could work on double axels, and she said yes! i did some good ones on the harness and my coach wasn't pulling me too hard, just need to get some crash pads so i'll be brave enough to REALLY try them off the harness.

my double loop is consistent, kinda. like, i get all the way around every time, and i'm on one foot, but my shoulders pull me back. but i know the feeling is perfect, so that why i was willing to try 2axel.

also started working a pre-juv progam. only got about 10 seconds in, but hey, better than nothing!

haha and finally got my blades sharpened for the first time in 2.5 years

uncut literally, uncut ice. seriously, they've stopped actually CUTTING the ice, they just pour the water on top. i mean, its better than nothing, but come on now!

took some pretty painful falls. hate the spiral/toepick falls. haha i also think i fell hard enough to give myself a grade 2 hamstring tear. all i know is its tender to the touch, and i cant pull my bent leg anywhere neeear my chest.

last day of summer skating. over the past couple of weeks my coach has been running a "camp" like thing where we get there between 8 and 9.30 am and do off ice til about 10.30, skate til 11.30, off ice til 12:00-12:15, then skate til about 5, or whenever we get too tired. its been awesome, but now i gotta go back to school, and i dont know when i'll be able to skate.

Cut Ice: I passed both the pre-bronze moves AND the Fiesta Tango yesterday. The second, as I mentioned before was a bit unexpected. I even got an extra tenth of a point on it, the only one I got in the pre-bronze dances! Now to shelve it until I need it for a competitition. I got a good laugh over the judge's comment on the dance that I need to have more fun with it. It's been my least favorite dance all year, and, as you can tell, I'm just so glad not to have to test it again! The moves was a little less nerve-wracking--I mentioned some time ago that my coach wanted me to be overprepared for it, and that seems like a good idea at this point. That way, when things slid a little due to nervousness, it was still passing. That adds a line to her resume as well. She may be coaching junior dance at the international level, but *I'm* the first APBM test she's coached.

Rob

So are we going to see you competing Prelim solo dance at the Mountain Cup?! Hope the break helps your Achilles Tendons.

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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!

CONGRATULATIONS!

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CONGRATULATIONS!

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Congratulations!!!!!! That's what my MIF coach always tells me, too. Nerves take away 30% so you need to be 30% over passing in practice!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I already offered my "congrats" on another thread... but any passing test is worth celebrating so CONGRATULATIONS! again!

Uncut Ice:

Thursday: Got there too late and only had half an hour left to skate in the first session. The second was taken up for a test day.

Friday: The minute I poked my head outside of my house, the air was like putting my nose against Munster rotten cheese. I had taken all of my allergy meds and asthma meds before leaving the house to head to skating but I still couldn't get enough air. I felt dizzy the whole day until it rained in the evening.
Couldn't do my loop jump without dropping my left leg because I just couldn't think. It felt like someone went inside my brain and disconnected the wires in my head all because I couldn't get enough oxygen to my head. My flip wasn’t landed on one foot either because of this.

Cut Ice:
Thursday: Everything seemed to click with what I tried. My waltz jump was being landed with my free foot still crossed in front before checking out and this gave me a good run out on the landing. Salchow was working. Toe loop/toe loop was working. And the best of all was that I finally got myself landing my loop on one foot again. I landed on one foot at a minimum of 4 times, maybe 6 times. It’s been a long time since I got my free leg to crossover all the way and all the way down while doing a corkscrew.

Friday: Got a lesson on the loop again and started working on the flip once more. I understood what to do to keep my free leg up during the rotation and first part of the landing while at the side of the boards but as soon as I left the boards so did my body’s understanding. LOL At least I know what to do when I don’t feel dizzy from lack of air. I tried to go do a flip jump and wasn’t quite there but as soon as my coach asked me to do a half flip, I did the flip with a cheat on the landing (two footed the landing but it was all around.) Corkscrew – may sometimes start out not centered but now I can get it centered even when the start is not and it’s now easy to get 12 revs. Forward sitspin is much stronger now and I’ve finally got my free leg knee over to the skating leg which makes me spin much faster. Because of that I was easily able to get up to 8 revs between my forward sit and my broken sit before standing up into an upright before getting out of the spin. I can also get out almost directly out of my broken spin so that it isn’t counted as a combination spin.

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"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

Congrats RinkRat and RobDean!!!!!!!

Uncut ice: oh my, I went to club ice the day before a test session - so crowded, what was I thinking? So my moves weren't so great today, I was stiff and worried about crashing into people. Saw one crash and many near misses. Had a good lesson anyway though.

Cut ice: I think I'm in good shape for bronze moves tomorrow. I felt that my problems today were mainly caused by freaking out over the crowded session. Decided to test silver moves soon as I've been practicing the cross strokes forever (because they look cool). Also ISI FS4 footwork is great training for the three turns in Silver moves. REALLY REALLY REALLY want to be a silver level skater. (ok, really a gold skater. Well ok, really a standard track Senior level skater with a perfect Bielman spin and catch foot spiral...we all can have fantasies)

Uncut ice: no hope of passing silver FS anytime soon, still don't have a good backspin to pass bronze FS.

__________________
Revised Official 2010 Goals checklist
Skate __
New boots __
(lowering the bar for 2010 as I haven't skated in a year)

Congrats!

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It's all about the dress!

uncut - first practice today since monday, and it was a public session. Most definitely choppy ice. Spins are still MIA. Total and complete failure to find my balance point.

cut - hit a decent salchow and a series of really nice waltz jumps. it was a jumpy afternoon.

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It's all about the dress!

Cut: Did a great Riverside Rhumba, and the best runthrough of our free dance since we rejigged it.

Uncut: Willow still not what it should be. Lift is still a bit iffy. My side hurts from husband's random grabbing in spins and hold changes!

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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!

Cut Ice: Passed bronze moves! By the skin of my teeth...again, in testing I do things I never do. This time I screwed up the first LFI edge of the first pattern - was off balance and put my right foot down - right in front of the judges. Well that made me even more nervous (if possible) and I was more stiff than usual for the rest of the test. They had me reskate the first 1/2 of it so the marks from two judges went from 2.4 to 2.5 and I passed. Five step wasn't as good as it was in practice (two commented on needing more extension) but today it was good enough.

Uncut Ice: I have got to find a way to get my nervousness under control because I don't skate to my ability in tests. Nervousness = stiff = bad upper body and not sinking into knees. This will really affect bronze FS and silver moves if I don't - this may be the end of my first try passes!

__________________
Revised Official 2010 Goals checklist
Skate __
New boots __
(lowering the bar for 2010 as I haven't skated in a year)

Congratulations looplover!!!
I too need to deal with the nerves on my Bronze FS test (I hope to retake in January). Maybe we can cross the bridge to Bronze together!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

CONGRATULATIONS!
(Don't know how I missed your post before.)

CONGRATULATIONS!

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Cut Ice
Just got back from 2 weeks of skating in Oberstdorf. It was amazing. We had four 50min sessions a day. Truly exhausting but wonderful.
I reached axel breaking point on the 3rd day. I started learning this jump in 2004 and three years later it is worse than it ever was having had a good patch with it in about 2005/2006. After that, I was just not getting it. I knew what to do but couldn't actually do it. I had a very tearful day on the 3rd day of Oberstdorf. I was so frustrated with myself. FS coach said she was going to send me to a hypnotist as they only problem was a mental block. I can do axel drills, axel prep, off ice axels etc all without fault but couldn't do the stupid axel. So I think I reached the lowest axel point. I was crying in my lesson with FS teacher number 2 (out of frustration - couldn't help it - I was in pain and annoyed!) but he was very patient and managed to get me to change what I was doing and I broke 2 years of bad habit and I now have a correct (if usually underrotated) axel. It looks like an axel. I bring my free foot through and I cross my feet. I'm usually a quarter short but I will take it. I landed about 4 or so whilst away and I am over the moon. FS coach said that changing my axel like that was harder than learning it as I had to get rid of bad muscle memory and what felt comfortable.

Finally I think I could have an axel that is here to stay.

No work on doubles really apart from one day when I'd pulled something in my right leg so couldn't hold a RFO for axel takeoff or RBI for double sal so all that was comfortable to practise were loops and double loops and some were good! Yay

I also have a pretty consistent back camel now!


Uncut
Twizzles stayed at home and didn't come to Oberstdorf with me. Not a great 2 weeks for dance. No dance patches so very little compulsory practice and the general theme of my dance lessons was that I worry too much about what I can't do and convince myself I am no good and can't do anything. Dance teacher can't understand why. I need to think I can do it.

Back sits are not good. Grrrrr.

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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!

Congrats to all you people passing tests! I am so jealous!

I skated today for the second time since I broke my ankle. A public session, eh. I felt better than the first time I skated. Just skated forwards and backwards, did one foot glides forward and backward. It was actually easier to skate backwards than forwards on my left foot. Actually, I was really pleased about that. Also did some LFI mohawks. They felt easy, but I was going very slowly when I did them. Gotta start somewhere.

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August 22, back on the ice!

CONGRATULATIONS!

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Cut Ice: I SKATED. It's been four months, minus 4 days, since I broke my fibula & tibia on my left ankle. After lots of PT and two solid weeks of mega-exercising, decided to give it a try.

Uncut Ice: Well, it felt pretty crappy. It hurt, I'm weak, I can't feel the ice at all, couldn't do much at all on only my left foot. Amazing how much I have lost in four months. Sigh. Too crowded to even try any edges, but it was just as well. I took it easy, did a lot of swizzles and two-footed slaloms and that was about it. Like sk8pics, going backwards was, strangely, easier than forwards.

So, in summary, stuck between "Hallelujah, I'm standing and skating!!" and "Boo hoo, poor me, I can hardly skate at all, I'll never be able to jump again or skate pain-free blah blah blah. . . "

CONGRATULATIONS to RINKRAT321 and LOOPLOVER on your respective tests!!! WOO HOO!!!

(Also, WOO HOO to Pat for coming back on the ice for the second time and LilJen coming back to skate for the FIRST time since ankle break ... )

Cut Ice:

• Loops, flips and back sits were during my warm up time.
• Small accomplishment: I managed to start getting the RIP off the edges on the forward power pulls. (And I know that primary coach noticed it too b/c he was wondering where the edge rip noise was coming from behind him only to find ME behind him doing power pulls.)

Uncut Ice:

• Loops, flips and back sits were RUBBISH during the lesson and the two program runthru!!! I really need to practice the entrance going into that jump in the program!!!
• Footwork was crap b/c I was starting to run out of steam towards the end! (Time to start doing double runthrus on the program now, I guess...)

(Note to self: Do lesson after a half hour warm up (not one hour) for best results. I seem to be loose enough then and I still have the energy to skate then.)

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Congrats to everyone passing tests!!!

Cut:
-Camel spins are getting better
-Back camel feels more camel-like
-Lutz was great yesterday, and okay today. It was really too crowded to try it very much today.
-Flips and flip-loops were great today.
-Spirals were wonderful. I did a bunch on some deep outside edges, and they felt really good. I like having a decent spiral for a change
-Silver moves are all good for the most part.
-I learned some Gold moves - brackets and double 3s and the power circles.
-I did a bunch of running 3s just for the fun of it.

Uncut:
-8-step mohawk felt a little out of control today. I will blame that on the crowd at the rink
-Attempts to lower sit spin were not successful. Ditto for back sit spin.
-I tried to do a catch-foot spin from a layback leg position - that was funny! I can grab my blade, but then I can't do anything else.
-Did some waltz jump-backspins, but my free leg is up really high on the backspin. When I tried to lower it, I nearly fell over.

Congratulations!!!! So many test passers this week. Let's keep it up skatings forumsers.

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Happily defying the laws of physics when I skate...and not in a good way

If I could meet ole Axel Paulsen, I would kick him in the teeth

President and Founding member of the I hate Toe-Loops Club

Still a member, but trying to get out of the Pre-bronze peanut gallery.

Visit my skating journal