Title in honour of the ways we feel about our skating at various points. This came to the forefront because of the horrible plateau I was on and then the joyous end of it! Hopefully anyone else having difficulties in skating or otherwise find something happy to make up for it this week.

Happy: Today my coach gave me ISI tests, and now instead of officially being a lowly Alpha, I'm now officially Freestyle 2! I passed every part of the Freestyle 2 test with no issues except for the dance step sequence for it, which I had to learn today since I've never done it before!! It was pretty easy though, once I
remembered all the moves in the right order. Passing this test was the ambitious goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year, and now I've gone and done it already. Time for new, more ambitious goals!

I almost feel like a real skater now... :-)

Sad: I did not, however, pass Freestyle 1, because my back inside edges are still a little off. They're close though, so I'll just retake this test when I do Freestyle 3 (which I did not test, because I can't do change-foot spins yet - really it's not the change foot part that's the problem, it's the backspin part that is).

Future plans for happiness: I'm going to focus on backspins and back inside edges pretty hard, plus working a lot on the loop and flip (apparently my flip is not cheated like I thought it was - I'm actually doing the jump mostly right! Woo hoo!). Those should all go nicely hand in hand. I've also been working on sit spins for about a week, so I'll be working on those more too. Hopefully within a few months I can go back and retake Freestyle 1, plus pass Freestyle 3 and 4 and also test for USFSA Adult Bronze (and of course Pre-Bronze first).

Argh so much to do...I have to find some music to skate to, get a program put together, too!

More non-testing happy: My coach wanted to see the loop I told her I had been doing, and I was too tired today to work myself up to doing it and kept saving it with a glance of the free leg toepick. After about the 5th try, I became very frustrated at not being able to do them since I did yesterday, so then I did a bad attempt with the toepick bounce, right into a full loop following it, which I was happy about. My coach suggested trying them after a waltz - I told her I was having difficulties with that (getting that waltz landing just right for a loop is hard), and so she said to try with a toe loop instead. My first toeloop-loop came pretty easy - I think this is the most comfortable way I've found to do the jump yet.

More non-testing sad: Spins were crap today. I nearly fell asleep at the table at the rink today because I didn't get any sleep last night. My feet got red and sore across the top where the ankle bends and on the back of the heel. This is presumably because I skated pretty hard at the freestyle session before the lesson/testing, and again afterwards during the remaining public time.

Happy once more: well my muscles hurt like h*** and it's hard to get out of my chair and walk around, so I don't feel too bad about the sore feet (which cleared right up) - I apparently did a good job of giving myself quite a workout today... It's that sort of soreness that means you've improved, so no complaints about that!

Just plain weird: The ice is colder and harder at the old rink than one might hope, or at least it used to be. It usually makes loud noise whenever I skate on it, especially on edges. I have a deep grind on my blades, and keep them very sharp, so I've come to accept this when I go to the old rink. Well today for luck I honed up my blades so they were nice and extra-sharp right there at the rink before going on the ice, and the blades ran silent across the ice, it was amazing. Maybe hockey season is over and the rink management turned up the temperature on the ice for the summer??

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Happy: Had the ice to myself for about 30 minutes--the good thing about skating at 6:30am--guess none of the kids like getting up that early on summer break. My moves went ok, except for the back edges. I can still do a 2foot spin (although it makes me dizzy and travels enough to get frequent flyer miles) Limited my waltz and flip to 5 each, but I think they will come back quick enough.

Sad: Only a 45 minute session, so I didn't get to work as much as I wanted. I tried a scratch spin, but I can't get past the 3turn into the actual spin (flash backs) so I stuck to 2foot today. Back edges are not good, especially insides. Heard the click of death while doing back crossovers, but managed to stay upright, although I landed hard on my left ankle--it stung for a while.

Happy:
FO and FI threes are still there at my new plateau. Even though it's a plateau, I'm happy with it, since I was at the old one forever! RBO three is still there, but I'm just a tad scared of it, so I'm not doing more than two or three a session, although today, just for fun, I did a LFI three to RBO three. Prelim power threes: R side feeling stronger, but L side is the same, still cannot free my foot after the crossover unless I touch down briefly.

Sad:
I completely forgot what I was doing after the BXO on the R side of the power threes, panicked and ended up doing the clumsiest splat onto my butt. It was one of those that jolts you right up the spine to the base of the skull. At least I threw my arms up and didn't land on a palm with the potential for a broken wrist. I immediately went right on with them. Had to bum some ibuprofen off of someone because I hadn't refilled.

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Sad I sat my third kiwiskate badge last night and didn't pass due to me being nervous and stuffing up my bunny hops! As soon as she went away I could do them again!

Happy The tester saw me do them later on perfectly and passed me. YAY.

Sad Am working on my next badge now, have to pass the following:
Forward outside edges - I can't do them very well
FI 3 turns - I can do them if I have a spotter to grab onto, can't do them if
theres no one to save me
Backwards crossovers - I can't do them
two footed spin - I get dizzy after 1 revolution and am supposed to do at
least 4 revolutions
Backwards balancing on one foot - nope can't do them either
Mohawk - nearly have it

The biggest problem is that most of the people in my group can nearly do all of these and I won't pass. Oh well.

Happy:

Had a lot of fun rehearsing our group number for the Fire & Ice show. And no watered down Christmas adult program stuff! This choreography is gonna be a good one!!!

Sad:

Our footwork... well at least mine anyway! We had to do this alt FO3 with a crossover in between. No problem right? Wait! There's more!!! You also have to do them in a very straight line... or risk getting hit by the skater going in the opposite direction doing the same alt. move. (We're doing a two line pass-thru...no forward straight skate pass-thru...gotta have dem fancy footwork...) Never mind that the music is extremely FAST!!!)

Had a lesson during the public session AFTER rehearsals!!! Yep! I skated the WHOLE public sesson afterwards, so it's 2.5 hours of skating!!! My legs are gonna be in SAD shape tomorrow.

Happy:

Finally had a clean landing on a flip this evening...AND in front of primary coach AND hubby!!! Hubby yells out "That's a much better one (landing)!!!" Coach turns to hubby and nods his head in acknowledgement!!!

Rest of jumps got better after some corrections, especially the toe loop. (My problem with it is that I tend to toe waltz. But when I'm not lazy and concentrate, I do them the way he wants me to.) Got some good waltz and salchows out there. Jay sees good height coming, but now wants a straight leg kick thru... Back for more practice I go...

Backspins: Last one out of 4 was okay! He says that he has seen worse backspins pass the Bronze FS test. He thinks the judges will pass my backspins...

I think once I was able to get around the other skaters that my moves are okay. He's happy with the power 3's now.

Sad: ...but he's not happy with the 5 step mohawks!!! It's not bad but he thinks the judges will mark me down for some minor technical stuff (...and we all want perfect technique, right?)

Loop jumps are CRAP!!! Can't land them w/o toe tapping the landing.

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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!!!

[Happy] I got my backspins really good this morning at the rink at 6:15am
[SAD] The Backspins started to go really dodgy later in the afternoon when I went Back

Congratulations to those who have just passed tests.

Happy: Ice was pretty empty this morning - only our two Senior couples and then us - quite a difference in ability, there! We ran through our two compulsory dances for Friday, and then our free dance. The coach (not ours) pointed out something we were doing wrong with my arms in the lift, which helped. Husband managed nearly 2 complete revolutions with me in his arms!

Also ran through my artistic for Thursday - no problem there, I don't think. Of course, got the spiral sequence perfectly - now, can I do that in competition????

Sad: I two-footed the back edge after the Mohawk in our free dance, which is right in front of the judges, and horribly obvious! Still want to re-jig the step sequence but I know I can't now! Husband's timing off on one of his 3-turns, and he accused mine of being on mine...

My foot started hurting so I decided to get off the ice just as all my friends turned up!

Was interested to hear one of the Senior couples being corrected after a compulsory - it's so the same at every level, isn't it: "Your timing was off on the re-start, you didn't maintain the hold, you forgot your free leg...." But for the difficulty of the dance, the coach could have been talking to us, it's the kind of corrections we're always getting!

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

Casey - Don't try to move up to FS3 until you've mastered FS1. You need those edges! Keep working on 'em. Most coaches won't let you pass a higher-level test until you've mastered the ones before it - not sure what your coach is thinking, but make sure you get FS1 out of the way ASAP. ISI tests don't require a special test session, so you can get them out of the way now!

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New skates are working well. Getting better spins and even had a 3 rev back spin. Coach is pleased and feels I will be ready for July 24th Bronze Moves test! We are also discussing music for possible programs and will be working very hard on freestyle test after July 24th(notice I am trying to be positive that I will pass on the 24th!) Lutz,loop,toe is getting even better, the same for flip,loop,toe.. Lutz,half loop,flip is still in squeaky stage. Last night I did running 3's into Toe,Toe,Toe....nice practice combo to work on toe loop entrance!

I will never be able to spin like NoVa....I swear the dude is just a freak when it comes to spins!! (Oh dont worry I called him a freak last night to his face...he knows what I mean!)

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Why are you skating so slowly? Get out of my way!

If you skate faster, it makes everything look better!

Patience, young grasshopper. You WILL be able to spin spin spin. It took me years to master the sit spin, and the back spin took, oh, 5 or 6 years for me to get.
I'd kill to have your huge lutz jump!

__________________
Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

Had a couple great skates, jumps were nice and high, and nice folks on the ice!

Went to the ortho yesterday, had x-rays and all that, and I have sesaioditis in my right foot. Probably from the ill fitting boots. Time for lots of ice massages and ibuprofin. Then on the way home someone hit my auto. Grr. Want to get things back on track for the pairs clinic. Fortunately my foot doesn't hurt while I'm skating, hust walking!

Happy: I finally had my new blades adjusted to the spot where I feel that my feet are securely under me again (if that makes sense). Edges, 3-turns, crossovers, spins ... everything is so much better and smoother now. Whee!

Sad: It is time to start lacing the top hook on my new boots which means that getting a good knee bend is that much harder. Also my competition dress arrived in the mail and while it fits, I seriously need to tone up my shoulder/upper arm area during the next month so that the outfit looks better.

...........

Congrats on your pass!

I had exactly the same problem on the FI threes. With just a tiny spot, I was doing beautiful, smooth, well placed threes on large lobes across the rink. Without the spot, I chickened out every time. Here is what helped me - I began doing them in a very small arc, from the wall to the wall, with one of the lines marking the top of my arc and the place on which to do the turn. Because I was so close to the wall, I managed without a spot. It took months of that before I got the courage to move away and do them across the rink, and I still often two foot or touch down just before the turn, but it is major progress. I try to imagine the line and that helps too.

I also get dizzy on spins. I make myself do three or four in a row. Skate around (just a few strokes) a little after, and come right back to the next one. Your body has to get used to spinning, and if you do them in sets of three or four, it will. Try to do several sets every time you skate.

Backwards balancing on one foot - How can you do a Mohawk without this? Anyway, I am teaching that right now to my Monday afternoon group. The biggest problems I see with them, is that they don't get enough speed, and forget to do a solid two foot glide first. Maybe those are your problems also? It is much easier to balance on one foot if you are going faster!

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That is exactly my plan, as I thought I described pretty clearly. Sorry for any miscommunication. I don't think I have to pass FS1, but I want to. I'm very close to it anyways, the back inside edges were just a bit dodgy. A week or two and they'll be fine. And I know several people who have skipped various ISI tests along the way - I have a friend in Dubai who skates at FS8 but skipped like 4 of the tests along the way.

Anyways I'll most certainly be able to pass FS1 with more refined back inside edges far sooner than I'll be able to learn the stupid backspin, I presume!

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Well that makes me feel better. I've been working on the backspin for 2 1/2 years and still can't get to 3 revs. Of course, I've taken a lot of time off recently and have been skating pretty sporadically as of late, so that probably doesn't help with skill acquisition.

Flo, I'm sorry to hear about your foot and your car. My car was hit in December on my way home from a skating lesson (by an uninsured driver with a suspended license, no less). Tomorrow night, we'll have to commiserate. Hope your foot feels better soon!

With the FI threes its all mental and not physical, probably because the first time I did one properly I ended up falling backwards and hurt myself. The other problem is my husband can do them and says "just do it like this" and does a beautiful one in front of me. Something to work on.

I'll try your spinning trick and see how that goes.

I can balance on one foot backwards if I'm doing a mohawk but if its just going backwards then I can't do them. I think thats because there are now 40 people in our adult learn to skate class and everytime I try to work on it someone cuts behind me and I have to make an emergency stop. The class is to big now, there are complete beginners all the way up to my level and beyond and the beginners are getting most of the teachers time and us who have some skills aren't getting as much attention which is why I'm having trouble keeping up with our level.

Oh well, this weekend will be my first unofficial competition, the adult kiwiskaters get to have a little competition at the club champs.

I concur. I'm also confused about this skipping around on tests- you can't do that. You have to take them in order. Not sure what the coach is thinking, either. But I know this is why ISI tests should be judged by judges, NOT your own coach. Makes no sense.

Heck I was ready to test my Junior moves before my Novice ones. Don't work like that, though. Can't be a Junior before you're a Novice! I don't see why the ISI should be different- a test is a test.

VERY HAPPY

Not that I want to shout it from the rooftops or anything, but......my daughter won silver medal at the Guildford Opens today in the level 1 class age 10 and under. I'm a very proud mum tonight!!!

Nicki

I would be remiss if I didn't say that it wasn't until I got my Pattern 99 blades (to replace my Coronation Aces) in Nov. '03 that my back spins started to sing a little.

__________________
Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

NickiT: Congrats to your daughter!!! YAAAAY!!!

Took me just over 4 (FOUR) years to get it above 3 consistently (and on the BO edge!!!) Still mastering it... Only consolation is that I think I will pass Bronze FS with these backspins...leaves the LOOP jump as my only nemesis! (Maybe I should just switch it out and put in a FLIP instead!!!)

__________________
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!!!

Happy
Backspins were good today. They've been good for a while, it's all about my arm. I talk to my arm and tell it to behave. Seems to work. FYI, I learned backspin in about February and today got 5 revolutions on it, centred. I just have problems exiting, er, gracefully, I can't get that push to the out.

Hey, and although I'd given up dance for a while, someone else was doing the Willow Waltz and had the music on and I went around too, and I've got the whole thing down pat. For me, the less dance I do, the better it gets. Let's see, that's one dance in three months, I'll do that one again in September I guess.


Sad
Who knows where my loop went? Supposedly loop and backspin are related, eh? I kept trying to jump off my spin spot (too many backspins) instead of getting on the toepick so had a nasty sideways-woooowww-eeeeeeh-splat to the ice. My other jumps showed up and were nice and pop-ish, so I'm going to have to have a discussion with my loop.

Double Sad
I've got one skating day left. sob

This is for yesterday and today:

Happy:
Had some good spins yesterday and toying with the idea of doing the Bronze spins event at Peach. Skated segements of my freeskate program very well.

On the home front, Mom is now eating and acting like her normal self again (she told me yesterday after a long test in Radiology " I had a LONG damn day!!!"). Barring any surprises, I hope to get her home by the end of the week!

Sad:
The stress of Mom being back in the hospital, along with working six days in a row took such a toll on my skating the last couple of days that I didn't do a complete program runthrough yesterday and Bronze moves didn't show up for my lesson today. Both coaches ordered me off the ice to go home and get much needed rest. I've also ordered myself not to go in the hospital to see Mom before 9am tomorrow, when I'm off ( for those that don't know I work at the hospital where my mom is a patient!).

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Thanks for telling me - one other person elsewhere confirmed this too. So basically what the coach told me is wrong, and I haven't really passed anything... That's just great, really. Guess my skating is actually crap and I haven't accomplished anything. I'm really too disheartened at the moment to call her up and ask about it.

Guess I picked the topic well, because that definitely puts me in a pretty sad place.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

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