Growling: Double sal is starting to get more rotation. Today I tried a new trick: I fold up a tissue and hold it in my right hand, and pretend I'm going to pass it to my left hand as I pull in. This helped tremendously and now I'm only short about 1/4 rotation instead of 1/2. For my singles I get good enough height that I don't need to pull my arms in much to complete one rotation, but doubles is an entirely different story so I'm pretty much relearning how to pull in. In my freestyle lesson on Wednesday I did both great axel and double sal attempts. I love feeling like I'm getting my money's worth.

Whimpering: Got to practice 15min late today where I proceeded to: Fall on backspin. Try camel-back camel and fall really hard on my rear. Wuss out of practicing moves even though I skated 1.5 hrs this morning. Haven't done entire moves test in about 10 days.

Growling:

My spins are getting better and more consistent. Actually did a lousy impression of a layback and a camel-sit spin. The Aleve I've been taking for my heel and knee (when it rains, it pours) is really helping, but I still struggle to control the right skating leg.

My coach says I'll pass the Freestyle test with no problem. MITF is another story.

Whimpering:

The Footwork clinics and freestyles are improving my always-lousy footwork. So is copying a fellow skater's form! A living example, on ice, beats a tape.

I still haven't mastered those rotten "threes-on-the-line" but I am getting better. Have to master them for that MITF test. (Followed by many curses on whoever thought this move up.)

I forgot to add for Thursday... My primary coach is switching me out of Thursday morning sessions for 3 week (so I can sleep in ...) and back to Monday nights. But what I didn't know 'til Thursday is that he wants me to come to the lesson in a skating dress!!! Said something about getting used to my test environment and that includes the skating dress, no gloves, no kneepads, etc.

NOOOOO!!! Anything but THAT!!!

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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!!!

Growling: I did a scratch spin...I did a scratch spin!! (can you hear me singing and see me jumping around?) It's the first one I've ever done, and I even got 2 revolutions out of it. Of course, when I picked up speed, I flipped out. My coach said the expression on my face was priceless. And then I couldn't replicate it. Now I just have to figure out what I did and do it again.

Whimpering: There was whimpering?? I was so happy nothing could bring me down. Well, my feet did ache--I cut back some this week since I was on vacation and my feet always ache when I do that.

Growling:

• LFO3's are still not fast enough (to suit secondary coach's taste), but I'm moving well enough on those forward power 3's. (Primary coach should be happier though.)
• The intro 3's are now at about 70-30 in favor of making it... and it's moving, so that's good enough for the test. (Of course, I still have to push for more speed still.)
• Sit spins are nice today. Camels are also okay.

Whimpering:

• Can't seemed to get the initial RFI mohawk in fast enough to feel comfortable. I could do them but it's awkward. Amazingly enough, I still managed the rest of the 5 step mohawk w/o problems. It's only when I go into the RFI mohawk from forward stroking that this happens. Go figure!!!
• Still working on my technique problem with the power 3's on my bad LFO3's side. Getting there though.
• Scratch spin? What scratch spin???

Surprisingly, I'm not nervous this time around! That's b/c I've resigned to the fact that I'm not likely gonna pass this time around but will try my best to do so anyway. (And I'll get to pick on my coaches and tell them that they didn't listen to me when I told them that I won't be ready in August but will be ready in Sept.)

Of course, if I DID pass it in August, then my coaches will pick on me about delaying my test session unnecessarily, but I won't care! We'll all be very happy that I got it out of the way. (And I could finally concentrate on Skate SF 2004.)

__________________
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!!!

It really is a good idea to skate in your test dress a few times, although I only did it once, before testing. Nothing can make me skate without my kneepads though. My knees have taken too many hits in my 57 years to be allowed to take even one more. I took a pair of the same tights I always wear, that had runs in the toes, and cut the top and feet off of them, making two long tubes. I folded these neatly over my kneepads, and that camoflaged them quite nicely for testing. My coach approved.

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He's absolutely right! If you're not used to it, skating "naked" can really freak you out on test day. But I happen to know (and have photographic evidence, in case any PMs come my way) that you look great in a skating dress.

You *ARE* , skaternum!!! DEFINITELY !!! LOL!!!! And I have photographic evidence that you've asked me not to show that I will show if you show those photos too!!!

Let's keep our photos "just between us", shall we?

I also have a posed podium shot from back in 2001 (Skate SF again!) at my desk at work. I got so far one person who asked if that person was my kid before doing a double-take to realize "the kid" was me. My current boss did a double take when he saw the picture. (He knows about the jazzpants thing...) He was smart not to comment, though I was curious about the "eyebrow look."

I don't think it was any different once I warmed up a bit (took longer though.)

DBNY: Neat trick! Unfortunately for me, my skating coaches WILL know when I'm skating w/the knee pads. They'll see that bump (even with the Skating Safe pads.) My secondary coach now forbids me from wearing knee pads during our lesson. Of course, she always knows I'm a big chicken and will wear them anyway. So now whenever she catches me wearing them, she says "Jazzpants! You better not have those kneepads on..."

__________________
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!!!

After the back scratches!

Did it feel as good as you thought it would?

It's not a matter of being chicken, but one of health. I'm probably one good splat on the knees away from some sort of surgery. Judges don't care, my coach doesn't care. I actually would love to go without them, but I'd rather avoid any more physical problems, and I'd definitely rather be able to continue skating!

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In my case, I don't know if the judges care, but my coaches sure care!!! The secondary coach thinks that the knee pads would obstruct my knee bend. (Mind you! I have the SkatingSafe gel knee pads which are extremely thin and very bendable.) She also thinks that if I didn't have the knee pads on that I would bend more and that in itself will prevent the very injury I'm protecting with the pads anyway. The primary coach for some reason would prepare that I NOT to wear them but didn't make a big stink out of it given he remembered the time I was out 3 weeks b/c of a fall on the ice on the knee...

Not imply that you're a chicken at all. If anything, I'm admitting my own demons with skating!!!

__________________
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!!!

Um, it's largely a matter of age, I think - those of us who will not see 50 again are less apt to bounce when we fall! Having said that, my knees are relatively okay, and I don't wear pads. Husband used to wear wrist braces at one stage, but seems to have stopped doing so. One skating friend of mine has recently taken to axel knickers, because she is re-learning the axel (in her 60s!), and she says they do have the big advantage of being WARM!

I know another skater who wouldn't dream of practising without wearing knee-pads as, like DB, she is "one good crash away from surgery", but she does take them off to compete in. At least, she does for free skating - you can't tell when she does Interpretive as her costumes tend to be extremely large....

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

Growling:

• My first two moves on the test.
• The 5 step mohawk (well, minus the very last one since I had to dodge a hockey skater guy who was going TOOOOOO SLOW!!!)
• I survived wearing a skating dress at a public session!!!

Whimpering:

• The power 3's!!! Still working on the technique problem...
• The back crossover to BO edge... too slow for me!!! Didn't help that I had to go slow to get around the public session skaters!!! (Since when do people start coming in to skate in JULY??? WOW!!!)
• I have to wear it again next Monday!!! I told Jay that I feel like a dork wearing the dress. He says "You should have said that you don't look like a dork wearing a dress. Now you'll have to wear it again next Monday night!!!" WAAAAAH!!!

__________________
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!!!

Today I tried a new trick: I fold up a tissue and hold it in my right hand, and pretend I'm going to pass it to my left hand as I pull in.

Hey Vesper:] My coach has me do the same thing on sals and toes except using a skate guard; helps tremendously on achieving proper air-position. But I think you're supposed to actually pass it from one hand to the other, not just pretend to do so

Hi,
I often show beginning skaters how to use their arms by having them pass a glove from one hand to the other.

For yesterday, since I didn't get a chance to post:

Growling: Back outside loops! They have gotten much smaller and have a good amount of flow coming out. Wheeeee!! Other exercises were quite good, too. Test day on Saturday will just be a matter of controlling the nerves. Multi-turns improved a lot when coach had me remember to check harder after the choctaw and before the back inside three.

Whimpering: My loops are good on their own, but yesterday I had trouble doing them together on the pattern. Plan to drill that a lot today. Multiple three-turns and brackets in a row seem to have regressed. I am getting very frustrated with these.

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~