Wow, I've never started this thread before!

But I had to today, because I have to scream with delerious happiness about my huge breakthrough this week! We've been working almost exclusively on the Kilian choctaw for a solid month. And I wasn't getting it, and wasn't getting it. And every lesson, it seemed something else was wrong--it wasn't even always the same problem. I was so frustrated, & so was my coach! Usually this sort of thing comes fairly easily to me.

So last night, I went BACK to the rink to skate on a public, having already skated in the morning, because I'd had a thought during the day on something that might help make it better. I worked for about an hour, and while it wasn't great, it was much improved. I left feeling I had made my peace with it.

On my way out the parking lot I called my coach, & he said he was on his way in! So I turned around & went BACK in, and we worked for another 1/2 hour-----and with a few more tweaks from him, I FINALLY figured out what the heck this step is about and where it's really supposed to go, and suddenly, Viola! There it was, not difficult, not scary anymore, just another simple step.

And now I can't stop smiling! I feel like someone who's seen the light, and must now tell everyone I meet: "The choctaw CONTINUES in the direction you're travelling! It doesn't go away from the boards! It goes into them! REPENT!!"

Boo Hoo: Going back to Saturday, got up at 6:00 am, went to the Red Cross for pheresis, and rushed to the rink for my 9:45 group lesson. Um..... there was a hockey tournament going on. Guess I'll read the schedule a little closer next time.

Woo Hoo: Monday night skate I practiced some footwork sequences (okay, they're not fancy nor fast, but they're fun) and tried again to do power pulls (just can't get my legs to cooperate).

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Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

Woo Hoo- I didn't have a lesson today instead i had a skating test, i passed all three of the pre-silver dances WOO!! hehe yeah uhm it was great
Boo Hoo- there wasn't any boo hoo's today

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Waffles & Vodka

Breakfast of Champions

Congrats Jess-ka!!!

Woo Hoo - Got the new program about 1/2 way choreographed. I just love my new music!

Boo Hoo - the muscle above my right ankle is hurting - not quite sure why, except that the doubles must have something to do with it. It appears that my tongue slips to the right on that boot, so I'm trying to straighten it out.

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

Congratulations, and Backspin, I'm totally impressed by that Kilian choctaw, which looks evil to me.

Woohoo: Had an hour's lesson today, 30 minutes with Robert, 30 minutes solo. Ran through everything for the weekend, and it should be good.

Boo-hoo: I don't think there's going to *be* a weekend- I've just pulled a jugful of caustic soda (I was making soap) all over my arm and feet, and am waiting for Robert to take me to hospital. I hope all will be well, but I do feel sick from the pain....

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

OUCH!!! Hopefully thay can do something for you at the hospital.

Tell the doctors what you've got planned for the weekend and maybe they'll do something a little extra to help you heal.

Keep us posted.

Darned!!!

"Making soap"? I am impressed!!!

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Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

Mrs. Redboots - hope you're ok!

Boo hoo - had a skating board meetin last night so missed my lesson.
Woo hoo - skated at club and the interpretive program is doing well. I also picked out new music for the freestyle - The Grand Canyon Suite. I'll get started on it after the Holiday show.

Baltimore area skaters: The Ice Club of Baltimore's holiday show is December 13th at 10. All are welcome to come and skate after!

Ouch! Please let us know how you are doing when you get back from the ER.

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Six hours later..... If you are going to burn yourself, DON'T do it with chemicals.... I had to sit there for six hours with my arm under a running tap, on the most uncomfortable chair. Soaked feet for an hour, too, and they are fine now. But arm has a huge bandage on (MOST splendid - I shall have to take a photograph), and is rather sore. Have to go to another hospital tomorrow that has a specialist burns unit. Hope all will be well - I'm going to France on Friday, come what may, even if I have to sit on the sidelines. But I expect I'll be okay to skate. I intend to be, anyway. Probably won't skate tomorrow, though - see how I feel....

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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!

I hope you at least had TV, radio, or something to read. I'm quite relieved to hear your feet are OK, and hoping for the best when you see the specialist Thursday about your arm. I have always found burns to be one of the most frightening injuries possible.

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Youchers, Mrs. Redboots!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope the burn on your arm heals up enough to skate on the Weekend.
Question, don't they have Tide With Bleach in England? No mixing required and it's safe for coloured clothes too.

Boo Hoo: The ice on ticket ice was horrible. It had very very very deep ruts from hockey all over the place especially in the spot where I do my first spin. I had to move my sitspin because of the ruts. The ruts also made me feel uneasy about jumping so I didn't bother to really try my loops or flips and just walked through them. Didn't get to play my music because the music system wasn't out yet.

Woo Hoo: After a few tries of my combination spin, I finally got 4 revs on the Broken Leg Sitspin and 4 revs on my upright before getting out of the spin. Yes, I actually was counting revs after the first rev of each position. Tried to get it in my program but it was hard to get all the way through my program with the other skater having her program Choreographed and the Choreographer running in to me just as I was going to do my spin combo. Had a attitude spin at the end after the combo spin.. got my change edge spiral to curve a bit more on the inside edge so I could set up my flip/toe combo in a different spot so that I could cover the ice where I didn't skate before and this set up the combo spin and attitude spin (hips out the front and right leg out like a layback. Maybe soon I'll get that layback spin going that I want for the end of the program. I also noticed that if I didn't ride my left outside edge long enough on the last forward cross stroke, I couldn't do the waltz jump from forwards without running in the boards and that messed up the set up for the change edge spiral. Realized it and then it worked again.

Brigitte

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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

*cringe* Annabel! *cringe* I hope your arms and feet heals up real quick!!!

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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!!!

(((Annabel))) Hope that you're ok


BOO HOO

Got to work yesterday (after coming back especially from my mum's) to be told (after driving 1.5 hours in the fog and rain) that I was no longer needed! Then got out to my car and it wouldn't start .... plus a whole host of other yakkies!

WOO HOO

Started skating again

Because of sudden, unexpected unemployment status I went along to the rink and did 10 minute bursts of skating till my lesson at 5.45 pm. I felt a bit wobbly but managed everything up to Loop.

My lesson was GREAT. I have a new coach who's only been over from Canada for a couple of months. She's a Free coach so I can't do dance right now but it was a great lesson, she's really nice. We started off doing stroking exercises and then went onto spins and then jumps. In the end I did an HOURS lesson. Her technique is slightly different but I came away feeling pretty good. Unfortunately my ankles are now bruised (from the new quadra bond Harlicks that I had just bought before I gave up!) but I am back again tomorrow for another lesson (I was going to go in today but feel like hell as I haven't eaten since Tuesday 5pm and didn't sleep last night).

It's good to be back I've bought a month's season ticket so I'll see how it goes.

All the best to everyone


x

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The best whisper is a click

Aaarrrrgggghhhh - oh Lynne, not another unemployed adult skater???? There are FAR too many of us (not that I am unemployed for another 2 weeks, but still).

Update on the burn situation: Foot fine, you wouldn't know it had even been splashed. Went to the specialist hospital today, and guess what? Had to soak it yet more! But I think that was only the alkali coming out overnight, as next time she tested it, it was fine. The consultant has decided against a skin graft (phew!), at least for now, and I may use my arm normally (and skate! Double phew!), but keep it up, i.e. in a sling, when not in use. BUT have the most enormous bandage on it, even bigger than yesterday's, which has to stay on until Tuesday, when I go back. And she wrapped it round my thumb - how am I supposed to wash my hands? Have bought loads of latex gloves; I can see I shall need them.

Haven't yet skated today; may well go to Dance club, I'll see how I feel. But we are off to the Dune of Flanders Cup in the morning, so I'll let you know how it went when I get back.

(Oh, and Brigitte - hand-made soap is the nicest thing to wash with; I use nothing else on my face, even. Now to go and make the soap that didn't get made last night.....).

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

I thought you were mixing up a soap for to wash your clothes when you got the chemicals spilled on you Mrs. Redboots.
I am confused now.

I don't mix soaps together. I use them they way I bought them in the store. Ever heard of WHMIS (Workplace Harzardous Material Information System). One of the things in the list of safty rules says not to mix different Chemicals together because of the reaction it could cause. Everyone who works in Canada has to go through WHMIS training. Do they have that in Briton too? How about in the US?

Brigitte

ONe thing, what about mixing steel, ice and a human being? What do you get?

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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

Mrs. Redboots -- glad to hear that you are doing better -- I was worried about you yesterday!

Brigitte -- Mrs. Redboots is making hand-made bar soap for face and body, it's one of her other hobbies. If I'm right, it's like fancy hand-poured soaps you find in gift shops. She posted a recipie a looooong long time ago.

Hey, I finally had a woo-hoo night at Synchro! I hit just about everything every run-through! Yippee! We were practicing in costume for the first time, maybe that's why. We also had to smile the last four run-throughs and I guarantee that I smiled every second of each of them. So the moral of the story is: smiling and skating in a skirt helps!

There were a couple of boo-hoo issues, but since I don't think I'd better stick them on a public message board. All I can say is that I feel badly for our poor, frustrated choreographer!

And this was a big woo-hoo from before Thanksgiving: Our dearest friends came for a visit before T-Day and their 8-year-old twins insisted on skating and showing me what they've learned since this summer. The boy raced around on his hockey skates with much more security than I've seen from him and the girl showed me what she was working on for her duet in her club's Christmas program. She asked me for help on her lunge (one of my better moves, thankfully) and she was tipping over completely at the waist. I asked her to try it like she was holding on to a trapeeze and, viola! she had a lunge! I watched her for a while and noticed that she was stroking and crossing-over with tiny, choppy strokes, so we worked on stroking for a while. I told her that I was really having difficulty with forward crossovers, and would she please show me how to do them? Then I said that my instructors really wanted me to do them with bent knees and how would that look? We fiddled and tinkered a bit and, suffice it to say, by the end of the hour her parents (my dearest friends) were amazed at the progress she made.

She did back crossovers correctly for the first time (she was struggling with the BO edge, so we did them around the red hockey dot until we both got better BO edges), centered her two-foot spin and gained four revolutions (she was snapping her arms in too fast), cleaned up her pivot (not using her arms at all), and I taught her a spiral (she did a beautiful attitude spiral on her third attempt -- I'm jealous). I was glad that I could help her -- she's one of my best buddies!!

It was also good for me because we spent so much time stroking and reviewing crossovers -- I haven't done that for a while. Somehow my back crossovers have gotten better than my forward -- it must be all the time we spend going backwards in synchro!

Woo Hoo. Snuck in some practice today, I was dropping some things off at the arena and the rink was empty and the rink guy said to go on if I wanted. I ran through some dance patterns.

Boo Hoo. The ice hadn't had a flood since the big boys hockey practice so it was chewed up. My three turns have degenerated into lazy uppercase E's. Must remember how to check, I'm throwing myself around and not using my hips.

Annabel
Hope your arm is better soon and Good Luck for Dune of Flanders cup!

Woo-Hoo!
Tuesdays lesson - got 10 centred revs in my upright spin - a record for me!

Boo-Hoo!
Still can't get the leg across to convert it to a proper scratch spin and back spin is still non-existant.

Woo-Hoo!
I'm learning the inter-bronze Field Moves which are quite challenging. Haven't actually taken the Prelim ones yet but due to the strange situation currently whereby Field Moves and Dance Moves are considered equivalent I can do level 2 dance moves (FI curves and continuous change of edges) and then do Inter-bronze Field Moves and never have to do Prelim Field Moves at all.

The Inter-bronze moves are:
Change of edge: (RFO with a swing, change to RFI and swing;
followed by LFI swing and change to LFO) and repeat on opposite side starting on other foot.)

Continuous alternate outside 3's: - very hard to control the upper body rotation in order to change feet!

Continuous Inside 3's with crossover between: I am terrified of the LFI3 and yet when I do this exercise the LFI3 is technically MUCH better than the RFI3 which tends to scrape horribly (bad timing on the knee action I think)

One foot slalom (power pulls In US and Canada??)both forwards and backwards. The backwards is OK but the forwards is really hard on the right foot.

Back cross-rolls: the only one my coach reckoned would pass if I took this test now!

Back outside 3's and mohawks, in a circle, both directions: Still can't complete the BO3 turn without falling off the edge

Wonder how long it will be before I can get this lot to passing standard. Any tips on the above gratefully received!!

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'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'

Woo- hoo:
My coach changed my program to add a THIRD jump combination- a sal- toe! I haven't done it in quite awhile, so when I landed it it was - woo hoo!

Boo- hoo:
Another change coach made was putting the loop at the beginning of the program- right from a standstill. Her rationale was that I could just get it out of the way, and focus on everything else!
We'll keep working on it!

Hi, we have 'COSHH' (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) in the UK but I wouldn't say that it was exactly taught, you have to be aware of hazards in your area but that's about the extent of it!

x

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The best whisper is a click

Hi, I was working on these when I broke my wrist (about a month/6 weeks off testing them!) so I'll try and remember what helped me!

Change of edge: lots of practise, lots of bent knees and I mean REALLY bent knees and good edge changes ..... I had actually reached that seemingly unattainable state of being able to INCREASE my speed (slightly) through the edge change by coming from a bent knee, straightening, stretching the free leg as far as I could and then rebending again ....

Continuous alternate outside 3's: start on a hockey circle going backwards on an inside edge with the free leg stretched out behind (a la second part of the 3 turn), all you do (she says) is to keep your body rotated into the circle and attempt to maintain speed and control while you bring your free leg in and then extend out again. It's tedious but it helps as this is the bit where I used to rotate in the wrong direction so had to put my foot down before doing the next 3-turn. It sounds easy but it's very difficult to do without tipping or rotating the wrong way. If you can crack this it will help the exercise immensely

Continuous Inside 3's with crossover between: Wish I could remember all of my corrections on this one. The main point that I had was not to rush the inside edge before the 3-turn! I had to consciously think about HOLDING the FI edge. The other thing (again) is control of your upper body and don't let your free leg swing too far behind you or you will pull yourself off your balance. Let your body come around with the turn rather than trying to fight it (which is another thing that I did!)

One foot slalom (power pulls In US and Canada??)both forwards and backwards. Knee bend +++ and practise! I've been doing them again today and it KILLS the quads I remember thinking about actually WORKING the edges rather than getting all the way around the rink initially (which she 'tried' to get me to do today!). You should also think about really stretching the free leg out, low and in front of you (forwards) and imagine it as a pen and you're drawing the shape on the ice in front of you, for some reason this always helped me even though I'm not good on the imagery thing. My coach used to get me to keep my upper body quite still in order that I worked the edges but I know that a lot of coaches get you to 'swing' the upper body to help ...... I prefer the 'difficult' way because at least I know that I'm actually doing the edges myself rather than pulling myself around them!

Back cross-rolls: the only one my coach reckoned would pass if I took this test now! Tips that I were given were to feel as though someone were pulling me backwards by a cord attached to the middle of my shoulder blades, to make sure that I didn't swing the free leg and to make sure that I put the blade down on an outside edge

Back outside 3's and mohawks, in a circle, both directions: How do you do the back 3's? Although this is now my nemesis the way I was taught was NOT to pre-rotate the body because this can cause over-rotation and/or pull you off the edge. Basically (I hate that word) you 'sit' on the edge and rotate as one so that the upper body rotates WITH the feet etc. It's difficult but worth working on as it gives you MUCH more control! The other thing was (as usual) to stretch the free leg and to feel as though you're touching the top of the inside of the boot with your toes on the turn .....

FRIDAY

Another lesson ...... another HOURS lesson which I rather suspect was 90 minutes!

My ankles are bruised from last time but the pain soon dulled.

New coach is great even if she doesn't have quite so many funny sayings! She's very nice but tough (which I like).

Today we did stroking exercises, figures of 8, slaloms (power pulls) and slaloms with a turn after every couple (does that make sense?). We then went onto spins (I'm going to REALLY work my spins this time): sit, camel (which has improved miraculously), back (she has shown me a new technique which seems to be working), change sit, camel-change sit-back and exercises for change camel (with a view to working towards flying camel!!!!!! x ) We didn't do much on jumps today because I'm still a bit sore but she's given me a few pointers (I tend to do Bielmann jumps where my free leg flies up into the air). After a crappy year (I'm going to be unemployed until at least the New Year by the look of it) I've at least found a good skating coach .... so I guess nothing else really matters A knight in slightly tarnished armour in an Aston Martin wouldn't go amiss but hey, that's life!

Good luck Annabel and all the best to everyone else

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The best whisper is a click

Woo Hoo!!

I haven't posted much in this thread lately because I've been focusing on those (sometimes) mind-numbing moves...blech...and working hard at school. Making good progress on both fronts though...I've recently won a travel award from a scientific society based in the RTP that will fund my way to any meeting in the world I want to attend! I am boingy boingy excited!!!

Anyway, it's Friday, and Friday means that I get to go skating! My coach let me play the CD I burned last night, and as usual, she kicked my butt, in a good way. She just knows how much to push me to get the power out of me, and she has noticed how much faster I've been skating in the past few months. The funniest thing she said to me today was, and was in reference to my forward power stroking, "I need to tell you, and please take it as a compliment, that you are way too smooth and boring." (hahahahaha!!!) Everything was right about my technique on the forward crossovers, but she wanted me to attack them more, saying I made them look too easy (!). So I did, and we left that part of the lesson happy. With these new Klingbeils, I am digging deeper into the ice and hearing that oh-so-sweet rip of my true edges as they grip the ice. It's a skate-gasm, I tell you. To give you an idea just how much my power has improved, I am now able to keep up with my teenage friend who is a novice-level skater. That's two levels from the top, and here I am, a lowly adult bronze level skater. :p

Boo Hoo...my hips were really stiff this morning, as they always are in cold damp weather. Even worse, the rink has no heat, not even in the offices where I put on my skates! It's nuts! As a result, my camel spins sucked, but at least I still have 'em.

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All that glitters has a high refractive index.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TashaKat
[B]Hi, I was working on these when I broke my wrist (about a month/6 weeks off testing them!) [B]

Hey Tashakat - I'm not sure that bit is exactly encouraging.... !!!!!


Seriously though - thanks for the tips - I'll give them a go next week. Glad to hear you are back skating and have a good coach -hope things start to look up on the job front pretty soon.


Jumps and Spins group lesson today (but only 3 of us so it was good)
Woo-Hoo
Camel spin position was good
Boo-hoo
Just got to get it to go round now!

Woo-hoo
almost go the hang of the Flip
Boo-Hoo
Fell while practising it - ouch!!!

Boo-Hoo
no loop
no back-spin

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'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'

Woo Hoo: Ice was nice and quiet today, with the Western Challenge going on in town. Did some tweaking on the Harris and Kilian. Learned the Blues! No major problems anywhere; I think all three dances just need more practice.

Boo Hoo: Just the typical frustrations of learning new things. One frustrating step in the Kilian, but I shouldn't really be upset about it since I've only had two lesson with it. Same with the Blues...I find the choctaw tricky, but I just started it today. So I guess I can't really complain too much, lol!

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Woo-hoo!!! I landed my double lutz in combo with a loop!
Boo-Hoo!! tried the double lutz in combo with a double loop and took a really hard fall.so bad i got a headache!

Woo hoo! Passed my jr. silver dances

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