Skate@Delaware: Glad to hear you are feeling better and getting to skate. Do take it somewhat easy! eeek.

Rusty: Wondering if maybe setting your expectation for a smaller event like an ice show or smaller competition might satisfy that competitive spirit of yours while you build endurance. You have such a great attitude about the chat! WTG!

Emberchyld: Congrats on being advanced up a level. Interesting that you do better in class than alone. I tend to do better in my own practice sessions as I have time to warm up and no pressure of being watched. You will likely do well in performing with that experience!

Isk8nyc: Impressive that you can go both ways...I clearly have a "preferred side" and just cannot translate well to the other.

Doubletoe: Very nice program! Thanks for sharing it.

Kate: Sorry about your ice situation. That sounds frustrating.

Clean: Had my bridge class yesterday and got to skate at lunch again today! Had a different coach for the spin portion of class and that really helped to have his perspective. He assured me that what I think is too toe picky in a one footed spin is actually correct! He looked at my tracing and said that it was normal. He also was helpful in tips to entering from a backward crossover as I tend to not get more than a few revolutions from this. It is like I am so concentrated on getting my center that I fail to get enough push or something. I had a few more revolutions with his help! He also had us do them from a large forward semi circle which I had not done before but think I will practice.

Although I am still struggling with the salchow, I was able to get 2 decent small ones out of a million attempted today! Can't wait for my lesson tomorrow as I would like my coach to evaluate my toe loop attempts. I think I am doing it somewhat right! I want to have Jazzpants explosive ones but will have to settle for just rotated and resembling one for now!

Feeling good about my commitment to practice real basics at least 10-15 minutes of every practice. I feel like I have those skills back. Will not let them slide again. I was so concentrated on learning freestyle that I was not taking time to "skate" or practice anything other than spins, jumps and edges.

Cheated: Ballet class feels really non productive for me. It happens right after the bridge program and I am bored in it. I spend my time thinking about going home! I did pay for it but have considered skipping! I would like more emphasis on the arms that would help in skating programs but it seems to be more about actual ballet moves...Geez, why would I expect something else!? giggle. One cute thing is that when I started with the little girls that range in ages from 7 to about 11, they would scramble to not be my partner in the two by two lines we have to form for some of the movements....they are now fighting on who gets to be my partner! LOL. I felt so honored!

Still taking me considerable time to feel my skate legs anytime I get on the ice. I just think I take longer than anyone else! I know I should go with what feels right for me. It is hard when I only have limited time for skating though. I am doing more off ice warm up but that does not really seem to have any impact on me feeling the ice when I get on. My feet stop hurting about 10-15 minutes after I am actually skating. I have tried different strategies to reduce the time to no avail.

All spins are traveling big time again. I do not feel it when I am spinning. Not sure what I am doing that is creating a road trip!

Very frustrated that I have absolutely no ability to spin one footed on my right foot. I am trying to learn the scratch spin...<sigh>
Hope my coach will help with something I can do to address this problem. I do not remember learning the one footed on the left foot being such a big problem. I at least could spin a tiny bit to begin with and then just had to find the center. But this is like I can't do it at all!

skate practice time tomorrow before my lesson so a tad more time to work on it!

Travelling can happen for all sorts of reasons, but usually when my spins travel, it is because the position of my hip changes between when I enter/hook the spin and when I pull my free leg in. If I drop my free side or push my leg too low to the ice on the entry (which pulls my free hip down), then it tends to make my hips move when I pull in for the spin and then I travel.

Next time you have a class, you could ask your instructor to take a look. I usually can't feel that I've travelled when I spin either....

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

Are you comparing yourself to kids? Adults usually take longer than the kids to warm-up - I think it's a combination of our joints being creakier - lol - and us realizing that it's good to really warm up our muscles before we throw ourselves into things. I always do stroking and crossovers, forward and backward and in both directions, before I start jumping or spinning.

Um, do you rotate (jumps and spins) counter-clockwise or clockwise? If you are learning your scratch spin on your left foot and that is your natural direction (CCW), then a spin on your right foot is a back spin (meaning you "back into" the spin rather than doing a FO 3-turn into it). Back spins are very challenging to learn and probably a bit beyond your ability at this point. Have you learned BO 3-turns yet? If you're not working on a back spin in your classes, I would stop and wait until you reach that point in your lessons - you don't want to develop bad habits by trying to teach it to yourself.

__________________
Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Cheated:
had a nasty battle with toe loop today. Dunno why, I was just beginning to like the darn jump. After the 3 turn, the free foot was just swinging around too much instead of "through" in a sense. Anyway, good thing Coach was there to help fix it.

Clean:
I Revisited the Loop again with my Coach after taking a mental break from frustration and letting it go for a while. Now that I have a different frame of mind, I think I will have better results. I think in my earlier attempts, I was just trying to rush everything and forced it to peak too early. I am sure we have all gone through at least 1 or 2 jumps that have been a source of angst. For me it has been loop. Having gone through this process with loop, I can be better prepared to take on Lutz...axel...doubles.... when the time comes. ..and everything is beautiful in its time.

I know EXACTLY what you mean! And I thought I was the only one like this! I see everybody doff their guards, step onto the ice, and skate away. Me? I feel like if I tried that, I'd do a face plant right there at the gate! It doesn't matter if I skated the day before or not for a week - I still need to take a few minutes to get used to my blades and the ice. I usually just do some backward pivots to reassure myself that yes, my blades are still there, yes, I can stand up on these things without falling and breaking my neck (yet), no, the ice isn't going to splinter and swallow me up. I have tried the "step and go" technique and I CAN do it - it just doesn't feel good.

So, lest anyone think I am a wuss for standing there at the boards when I first step on, doing sissy little pivots, I tell them that I am paying homage to the Ice Gods and thanking them for the opportunity to skate. It gives them something different to wonder about

__________________
Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

I try to. My problem is I turn when my foot is at 3.00 but my shoulders are leaning off in their own little circle somewhere else at the same time and then the FO 3 tries to turn at 3.00 aswell! I can see how your way would be less frightening.

I also find though when doing them on the circle I feel that I am spiralling inwards and the circle is getting smaller. I think that is because I whip the second turn and don't control it.

I'm grateful for any suggestions

What is your back inside double three patterns for your field moves tests over there?

I can certainly relate to that.

Long story short, I *had* a loop and flip, I was rotating them and landing them, but had this issue, particularly on the flip, with the free leg being in an ungainly position. So this week it's back to the drawing board as it were, and I trying to 're-learn' them.

Not easy, but like you say, I'm sure I will be glad that I will have learned to do the other jumps 'properly' by the time it comes to Lutz...and possibly Axel (if and when I get that far).

S xxx

__________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Clean:
I had today off (will be working tomorrow) and went to the rink for the empty 9am public session. When I went to pay the public session rate, the manager asked if I had my freestyle punch card . I got it, gave it to her and she took a half hour off and then told me that I could skate the public as long as I liked! How's that for GREAT customer service!!!??
So with one other person out there ( a hockey guy who steered clear of me and left after a hour) I skated two hours of literally non stop moves (okay I took time off for some spins).

Forward perim is much better, am no longer cutting the corner on the end patterns!!!
Back perim is taking up more ice!!
Back crossover to back outside edge is good as always.
I have this cool free feeling when I do the five step mohawk.

Cheated:
I spent a good part of this session working on and feeling like a slave to power threes. Still having a hard time with getting the first three on pattern.







The best part about this session is that I was able to stop and look at the patterns and concentrate fully on technique without being worried about getting in someone's way.

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

This will improve as your overall conditioning improves. When I first started skating, it took me about 45 minutes before I felt easy on the ice. Now it's down to a few minutes; I have incorporated an off- and on-ice warm-up into my routine.

What is your off-ice warmup? What is your on-ice? What are you doing for conditioning in your non-skate days?

Your ballet class sounds like fun! I wish there was one I could go to (my local dance studio doesn't have a class at a convenient time for me, although she did say I was welcome to attend as an adult-it's a beginner class).

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Way to go Terri.

__________________
If you keep your eyes on God, you can walk on water.

I took a long lunch and got in 30 mins of skating this afternoon. (For $3, not bad, huh?) I spend more time driving to the rink than I spend on the ice! LOL Better than nothing, especially with only four people on the ice!

Clean:

Conned lov2sk8 into helping me figure out some footwork I've been wanting to master for the Basic 8 class. Everytime I ask one of the hs/college coaches to demonstrate it for me, they do it at 90 mph! Thanks, lov2sk8!

I started working on jumps for the freestyle tests. My knee's feeling pretty good, but it's been so long since I've jumped that I have no grace whatsoever. Still, I can stick the landing, even on the half jumps, without pain!

Cheated:

I really have trouble skating on this rink. It's very hard ice and the base is sand, not concrete. I make a lot of noise and every edge rips into the ice!

Spins were a misery. I can never center them at this rink, even my two-footed ones! LOL Still, I did a couple of decent sit spins.

I really have to start taking lessons one of these days.
I'm such a slacker.

__________________

So glad you could get an empty session for some quality practice. And focus! It's great when you don't have to constantly look over your shoulder to watch for other skaters.

Great on the 5-step. I loved that move, and found it's kind of like a dance.

As for the power threes, with the exception of most adults who skated as kids, I think power threes are the bain of our existence! Keep at it, Terri. It sounds like you have some strong moves, which will do well for you at test time.

Debbie: yes, I do three turns typically well. However, I did only recently discover that my left inside 3 turn is only good if I have just placed the foot...in other words not as strong if I have glided for a bit first. I am working to correct that as I am doing 3 turns on the semi circle for edge work. And yes, the right foot spin is a back spin for me. I am being introduced to it by my coach. She was not very helpful today as I explained why I had so little progress on it from last lesson...giggle. I think it is just going to take a lot of time. It helped to hear you say that it is difficult because it is a back spin. I am just going to attempt it over and over until something clicks!

Skate@Delaware: Good thought but I do not think it is my endurance or body condition. I am a gym bunny! giggle (Ok,,minus the great body that should be associated with this level of gym time!). I take very advanced step aerobic classes literally 7 days a week. (Even on my skate days..which I know is bad) My endurance is excellent. I do some cross training with spin classes, kick boxing and occasionally tread classes. I have been doing this for over 2 decades. I weight train as well but it is not my favorite. I have let some of the more routine stuff of weight training slide since skating as it wears my muscles down too easily on a skating day. We do step/lift classes, and muscle step classes. All the classes end with abs and stretching. I just cannot believe that is why I am taking so long for me.

My lack of skate legs is more that I don't feel comfortable over my blades and my feet are hurting me for the first 10-15 minutes. The rest of my body is fine. It is just weird to me. Not sure if I am even explaining it right as my feet hurt but not too bad. My skates actually fit well and are quite comfy

My typical on ice warm up is forward stroking a few minutes while feet are really achy, followed by cross overs all directions, edges all directions, three turns all edges and a few two footed spins from pivots. Usually by the time I get all this done my feet don't hurt anymore. I have some really sucky spins as my center is really off for the first few attempts but I find it again after about 3 or so spins. I think it is because I am too new to spinning.
I see people, even adults, who pretty immediately have balance and their skills from one session to the next... That is why I think it is something about me!!!! giggle.

Today in my lesson I was tested for ISI freestyle 2 and passed! woohooo...apparently freestyle 3 has the salchow in it...oh no! giggle. That did not go so well today. Another thing that is going to take a while!

Have my power stroking and freestyle classes tonight...so I am about to head back! eeek.

Yes, we start at 12:00 on the top of the circle, do the first turn at 3:00 (assuming RBI) and the second turn between 4:00 and 5:00, so it sounds like the same basic move.
It sounds like you are not controlling the rotation on the exit of the BI3, which is probably a shoulder problem, which probably means you are swinging your arms around.
Referring to my step-by-step back double 3 post from the other day: You start at 12:00 Facing into the circle and "hugging" the circle (if on RBI, that means your left arm is back, right arm forward, and face looking into the circle). Stay in that position until 1:00 or 2:00, then turn your head gently to look outside the circle (over your right shoulder), followed immediately by passing your arms gently and close to your hips, so that now your right arm is back and left is in front and you are facing outside the circle.
Now bend, get on the ball of the foot, and wait for 3:00 or until you can see where the 2nd turn will happen. Now do your RBI 3-turn but just turn your body 180 degrees while WHILE LEAVING YOUR ARMS IN THE SAME PLACE. That means when you come out of the BI3, your left arm is still pointing in the direction of travel while your right arm is still pointing in the direction you came from, but now your body is facing forward so you're looking at your left arm.
Only after you have exited the RBI3 in this checked position--without moving your arms--do you actually switch your arms to prepare for the RFO3. Pass your arms again, gently, low and close to your hips, so that now your right and passes to the back and your left comes to the front. Now you are once again "hugging" the circle and facing inside the circle. Now bend the knee, get on the ball of the foot, and do the RFO3.

I hope that helps somewhat!

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

WAY TO GO CONGRATULATIONS

__________________
If you keep your eyes on God, you can walk on water.

Oops! I said that part exactly backwards! I meant when you exit the RBI3 turn, your RIGHT arm is still pointing in th direction of travel while your LEFT arm is still pointing in the direction you came from, and you now see your LEFT hand in front of you! I was about to seriously confuse you, LOL!

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

Cheated: I entered my first competition doing free skate on Thursday. The level was for those who had not sat any tests yet. I freaked out until I got on the ice. They only gave us a two minute warm up, which was really tough.

Clean: I made it through the program without falling over and finished it ok. I got second place!!!!!!! I actually bet someone, there were only 3 people in the level, my husband, myself and another lady. My husband won, I got second and the other lady got third. I was completely shocked, I had psyched myself up to come last.

Cheated: The weird thing now is that everyone who asks sounds shocked that I actually bet someone .... Don't know what to make of that.

Hey congratulations kiwibabe. First competition - mega nerve-wracking or what lol!

Maybe the shocked reactions are because people were surprised (in a good way) that you did a competition? When I did my first one back in June people were like 'You're doing a competition already?' I guess it's because non-skaters visualise olympic-level skating when they hear the word 'competition'.

S xxx

__________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Congrats kiwibabe!!!! Are you going to enter more competitions????

DallasSkater: Congrats on passing your level 2!!! Now we are both on the same level of ISI skating!!! Have you started working on the footwork for level 3???? It's really , not really but I get confused...once I get it, coach will pass me....

As far as your not feeling comfortable on the ice right away, maybe that will soon pass. I still need time, some days are worse than others (there are days when I just can't "get" the feel of the ice under me). Man, I'm not the gym bunny you are! I'm a wuss when it comes to working out...I hate aerobics classes...prefer the treadmill, free weights (mostly so I can look at the guys ), and stretching on my own.

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Raye: Thanks!

Kiwibabe: A huge congrats for confronting your first competition and for your placement! How fun that you did better than you anticipated!

Sonic: I think that is true. When I have mentioned my skating to my non skating friends the discussion seems to go to how many triples can you do? giggle. I went to a party recently and even people I did not know were trying to give me their email address to get invited to the Christmas Ice show of LTS program that my partner mentioned I was in! eeek. I spent too much time trying to say .....the show will be silly and not even close to what they are expecting! giggle.

Skate@Delaware: I have not looked at the level 3 foot work yet. My coach showed me the spin foot change thingy that level 3 will have and mentioned the salchow as one of the jumps. I will have to see everything. I will look soon. I also am interested in starting the pre bronze MIF stuff as I imagine it will take me a very long time. I have a feeling level 3 will be a lot harder for me since it already has things in it that I am struggling with now. How close are you to taking the level 3? Seems like you are way ahead of me in your skill level.

Clean: classes went well yesterday. My coach was the sub for the power stroking and did a nice job using MIF patterns for us. It was fun but boy do I suck at power pulls...mine are more like whimp curves! giggle. I do not have good control but it is a new thing for me. I was delighted to at least get the motion.

Cheated: Freestyle class had us doing jumps and spins. all my jumps were pretty pathetic...I think I was pretty tired by the time I hit that class so did not get to maximize the coaching on these. I did a one footed spin totally on the the toe.... the instructor literally rolled her eyes which did not help! Maybe she was tired too?

Dallas Skater: Power pulls are easiest when you use skating knee and ankle bend in concert with one another. I used to skate figures when I was MUCH younger and these are sort of taken from the serpentine figures on the 1st and 2nd test (forward and backward serpentines). I learned the figure as a rise up/set down action in the knee and ankle for the change of edge with the arms and free foot to stabilize the circle. When I came back to the ice, my coach taught me the power pulls and they were easy to pick up because of that foundation from before. If you have a coach that used to skate figures, have them teach you the basics to the serpentines to help get the concept down. It'll really help.

Cheated: Double loop! Why can't I stay in to the end on this jump and just check out in my program? I am opening up after 1 1/2 revs and breaking at the waist. Oh, well, next week is double loop week in lesson. I am sure it's probably a minor correction like the double toe a couple months back.

Clean: The rest of my program. Of course, it's a week after competition, but it's been clean in lesson (sans the double loop - coach wanted only a single there) and again today with the changes in the footwork and transition elements from yesterday's lesson, including the jump sequence at the 1:45 mark and the second Axel at 2:04. Novice MIF are also steadily improving. Coach said they are coming along on Wednesday, just need to improve the perimeter moves (1 & 2) some and the B-3-B thing. I said another year on them from now (we've been working on them since April) and she said sooner!! Yahoo!!

(snip) I LOVE this!!! Maybe that's what I need to do before I begin throwing my body around on the ice! Pay homage to the ice goddesses and gods!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! And you said you were afraid you weren't going to make much progress in this sport! Look at what you've accomplished in your short time on the ice! Hurray and on to FS3!!!

(snip) Me too! I was always looking for music I could skate the 5-step mohawk sequence to! It probably didn't hurt that my coach had a mental block about what that was called and always said "go do that dance-step thing".

Loved your program--the whole thing. Inspiring. Thank you for providing the link. Janet