it always seems to bother me when the date passes by and people still use the old one. so anway...

rough fall-
all footwork!
lutz -its an awkward jump
axel... -i wanna try it soon. tired of pre-axel stuff
camel spin -only 4 rev.
layback -kinda pathetic

smooth landing-
loop -getting better
flip -ditto
sit spin/pancake spin -alot better
back spin -getting there...

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~Dreams Can Come True~

must.......bend........knees........more.......

Rough: Kitty is at the vet, hopefully home soon.
smooth: Cut our music, looking forward to more choreography tomorrow!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

flo - hope kitty feels better soon and comes home as planned.

rough fall:
The ice was terrible today, as if there had been a public session and they just poured a little hot water over it. I did not feel like I had my feet under me at all. Nothing scary, just not feeling secure enough to push myself, which I really need to do. Also, although there were not more than a dozen skaters on the ice, it was totally crazy. Between those working on jumps, camel spins, programs, and moves, it was hard to find a spot to skate through for any kind of pattern. One young skater was doing camels close to the boards, where I was forced to go because of someone else's jumps, and I chose to stop rather than go between her and the boards, having seen her bail out before. Don't need that sharp blade swinging through the air right at me!

smooth landing:
FO and FI three turns are back from oblivion (although not looking or sounding very nice). Managed four or five one foot spins. Problem is that as soon as I start thinking about anything other than the L ankle, it drops inwards, so I haven't been able to straighten the knee yet. I did manage to stay on the ice an hour, and make it through a full pattern, which is the best I've done since bronchitis sapped my stamina. It is coming back!

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smooth landing: new coach is back from teaching in America and I've got my Flip back. My problem was I'd started rushing the 3 turn so fixing that seems to have fixed the problem. It's still not good and it's slow but at least its back on track.

All other single jumps were fine and he now has me doing them all with a toe-loop on the end

rough fall:
started to learn the Lutz, I've tried it vaguely before but it's an evil jump. However coah has given me some exercises to get used to turning that way and I no longer feel it's impossible.

I'm very jealous as while in America coach got to see a gala with a load of great skaters in it including my all time favourite Yagudin. GRRRRRR! I wanna go see it too!!!!!!

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

Rough skate: Not sure if I have an attack of depression, or what, but everything was pants this morning. Couldn't do a thing, didn't want to do a thing, can't skate, never have been able to, never will be able to, why am I wasting my money trying? Can't even push without a partner to hang on to, I discovered. Dance isn't going to work with the music we've chosen.

Smooth landing: Did some fun choreography, even though it won't work with the music - we can't be 3/4 of the way through the music before we've finished the step sequence! And did some fantastic forward cross-rolls, which is about the only thing I can do on the ice right now.

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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!

Thanks DBNY - Called this am, and he's there until at least this afternoon, but he is getting much better.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Flo, I hope the kitty's OK!

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Where are those knives when I need them?
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I need a detachable left foot!

I go through these periods of "the skating yuckies" too. When it happens I try to do something different - meet a new person to skate with, try to work on "fun" elements that I know I can definitely do or at the very least enjoy doing, or try to learn something new, or even go to a public session to "show off" a bit. I dunno...I had that feeling last week when I went on Friday and I felt like I got nothing accomplished and I couldn't do anything...but I'm looking forward to my lesson on Wednesday and hopefully I've moved past whatever blech I had last week. This will pass for you, I think you just need to shake things up a bit. Maybe you feel like your stagnating because you're not learning anything new? Bring it up to your coach, he/she will probably have some good advice

Rough Fall: Missing that last little umph on doubles, but they look good until the one footed landing component. ;-~

Smooth landing: Most everything else seems fine, it would seem I am where I am and that...I just have to do the best I can with that.

Had acupuncture, seems to help a little, up to 35 needles. I used to run from the peace corps nurse when she came to give me my gamma gobulin shots. It's amazing what we'll do for the sport.

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Who me? Couldn't be....
http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

I usually avoid posting in the "good News/Bad News" area, but I've been working hard at new stuff, so I thought I'd hang it out.

Rough Fall: Spins of any kind. Off center, lousy, gets me dizzy when I practice. I had a good practice with spins less than a month ago and I thought I had the knack & never would lose it. I thought wrong!

Smooth Landings: My waltz jumps have become huge. I am getting serious hang time! On best days I can go into one at good speed step into a big kick and fly way up. I've got a serious kick...I coulda been a punter. I've also been working on single jumps, and today my instructor gave me a thumbs up on the Sal I showed him this evening. Woo-Hoo.

So to recap....Jumps:Good. Spins:Bad

Jon

Smooth:

• Did my footwork sequence for my Sectionals/Skate SF program and it's still intact!!!
• Alt forward crossovers are fast!!! Primary coach was like as I buzzed by him and his new beginner private student, which is exactly what he wanted me to do.

Rough fall:

• Flip and loop. Can't seemed to land any of those on one foot.
• Camel-sit not there. That's b/c camel isn't there either!!!
• Hubby caught me on video on the 5 step mohawk doing something naughty between the 3rd and 4th step. Must fix that!!!
• Same note as Phoenix on the 5 step mohawk... "Must... bend... knee... more...."
• Realizing that I need a LOT of warmup time (like 30 minutes) just to get feelings in my legs (and therefore figuring out whether or not I'm really bending my knees...) Must be really cold around here now.

Flo: Hope kitty back home with you now!!!

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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!!!

Speaking of needles, I finally got my cortisone injection this afternoon ouch! Like you said, anything to keep skating. I sure hope it helps. I will know in about 3 days.

Smooth: I was able to get through my program this morning! Still no lutz or axel, but I was able to do everything else. Not bad for only being back 1 week. I'm just happy to be skating right now.

Rough Fall: Dr. say two more days off after my shot.

Mrs. Redboots, I mean this in the nicest possible way: OH JUST KNOCK IT OFF!!!

You can and DO skate! You are not wasting time or money! You are just going through a slump so WHEN you come out on the other side you will appreciate just how much better you are getting. Have a playday, where you skate to everyone else's music.. whether it's dance or freestyle, make up your own footwork, see how long you can stand on your toepicks without falling over. Sit on the ice and spin on your behind. Try to skate faster than any of the dancers, who are dancing while you are stroking. And most importantly, try to remember where your skating was a year ago/two years ago/three, etc. Has anything improved since then? OF COURSE IT HAS! Remember that scared feeling you had the first time you put blade on ice? You are SOOOO much further along than that. Skate a public session and covertly watch not-yet-skaters watch you in amazement. And most importantly, remember, you are an INSPIRATION to many of us!

A friend and I have an agreement that we can have two days a month (but not back-to-back) to do what we call "wallowing". We can bemoan how EVERYTHING is awful. We'll never be able to do anything. We're terrible skaters and human beings and should just stop breathing. For a complete 24-hours we can talk about how we are the least-likely person to ever put on skates. But when the 24-hours are up, no more negativity!!! And we must at least PRETEND we're having a good time. It's amazing how the playday helps our attitude, relaxes our bodies, refreshes our minds... and that seems to make skating a bit easier.. which makes it better... which makes it easier... etc.

Now, go out and HAVE FUN!!!

Smooth landing - at last after many weeks of summer school holiday ice (ie: no ice), I get to post on one of these threads! Yay!

Rough fall - After many weeks of summer school holidays etc etc, it wasn't pretty. "Fitness?" What's that? How do you spell it? "Extension?" Yeah right. Boy do I have a lot of work to do. (But I came off with a huge smile on my face anyway - it was wonderful just to be back on.)

Staggering around - for any of you who've done figures/patch classes, we had one today. The coaches who ran it decided that they'd throw us all a curly one.

After making us do the basic patterns with arms, then with no arms, then with arms crossed in front at shoulder height (and no, you weren't allowed to obviously counter-twist the shoulders to compensate...), they decided that we'd do the patterns blindfolded. Yep, blind. They coned off a larger than normal area of the rink, and put one line down the middle (instead of two lines for going up and then returning). Then we each did it alone, with the coach following along behind putting a glove or similar on where we'd made the turns...then we all laughed to see how irregular and crooked we'd been.

Really hair-raising - I suddenly had a real empathy for that girl in the old movie who went blind after a skating accident and had to re-learn to skate blind (can't recall the title, but I think someone will know which one I mean).

Thanks, Thin-Ice. I think what I really hate is that I've been skating for over ten years and am still at the beginner levels. I think that maybe in another 20 years I might learn to do a back 3-turn, but don't hold your breath.... and skaters who've been on the ice less than a year are tackling things I can't begin to do. Which is partly because the learn-to-skate system is a very different animal to what it used to be, which means they come into the regular test structure and could pass the first three (Bronze) compulsory dance tests within weeks, I shouldn't wonder. And probably the first two (of three Bronze) Elements and Free tests, too.

A better day today, though, but our music simply isn't going to work - I need a piece that will divide into three, not four, or we can't get the step sequence. I'm very tempted to drive everybody mad by skating to Show me the way to Amarillo.

Smooth landing: Thankfully I think it's only a cold coming, not a fit of depression - much easier to deal with. Did the best ever back cross-rolls, they would almost have been passable. They were good enough that I could feel that they were nearly grinding to a halt, and not enough flow, which I used to complain of on my forwards ones. Back cross-cuts were okay, they are improving but not there yet. I can either get a good length of atrocious ones, or half a length of mediocre ones right now.

Husband and I did a pretty good Swing Dance and a reasonable Fiesta - later, in my lesson, I was doing the Fiesta end pattern, but I am still having trouble with it. It's okay if I am okay coming out of the mohawk, but as often as not I'm off-balance, and that messes up the rest of it.

Rough Fall: Back outside edges were still a bit flat. I do find it hard not to hunch forward, but to remember to take my shoulders back with me, as though someone had tied a string to my shoulder-straps and was pulling me back! I could probably do them if they were.....

Back inside edges okay, but I was having trouble with my free leg. Once I got that sorted, they skidded, which we think is because I am not over my big toe enough - I have the kind of feet for which an outside edge is more natural; I wear down my heels from the outside!

Inside-to-outside changes of edge were okay, but I kept feeling I was grinding to a halt on them - it is not easy to keep up the momentum from an inside edge (free leg starts back, then swings forward), to an outside edge (free leg back), to a progressive run (free leg has to come forward again to be put down ahead of the skating leg and then and only then can you get a push!). My knees aren't quite strong enough to get low enough on the outside edge. The outside-to-inside are way easier, of course, as you can change feet to get the push!

Forward outside swing rolls okay, but too slow. I seem to be able to get a good edge and passable extension with no speed, or else speed but rather flat and mediocre extension.....

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

This is for yesterday's skate:
Smooth Landing: Had a nice warmup, even did one lap of alternating back crossovers, trying hard not to scratch (eewww). Did a few very nice toe-loops. Worked on the salchow some-the first few were nice, then my free leg started doing that weird bendy thing again. Also ran through my program---Did it GREAT! Even managed a beautiful centered spin 8-10 revs! Everything on the spot, and did the back pivot! Only ran through it once-didn't want to spoil the moment!

Rough Fall: Didn't get to work on sit spins or toe-walleys, as Tuesdays are short and I have to rush out to get my son.... also, had some trouble on the other back pivots-I'm bending my pivoting ankle sideways, making it tank south in a hurry.

I'm scheduled for a deep-tissue massage tomorrow....which can't come soon enough as my back is still in spasms. It's been very hard to sleep without popping a pill. It is also causing my posture to be very crooked (one shoulder higher than the other and one shoulder blade sticking out further than the other "winging"). OUCH!!

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

I used to have severe muscle spasm around C7. I once had to take valium for three weeks to treat it, as I was getting numbness and tingling in my fingers. Surprisingly, with age, the problem has gotten much better. Have you tried ibuprofen for it? It works really well for me, but you do have to take it several times a day and keep taking it for two weeks to get the max benefit.

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Rough: Oh my gosh where to start...Well first of all, I had my axel before I left for Christmas holidays, and now, I have none. The problem being that my competition is creeping closer and closer, not to mention our ice show....
Smooth: the only good thing is that we are finally re choreographing my routine and it is sooo much better than the old one, it fits with the music sooo much better.

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Hurrah for Desert Skaters! YAY for Jeff Buttle and Virtue and Moire!

due to other medical conditions, i can't take ibuprofen , however, I can take percoset!!!!

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

Yikes! Sorry about that. I'm very lucky that I can take tons of ibuprofen, because I desperately need it. Hope the massage helps.

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Smooth Landing
It was our club artistic competition last night and both my children skated a solo programme and my daughter also skated in a group class. It was my son's first competition and he did extremely well especially given our coach was away on a field moves seminar so was unable to give him that pre-skate talk. My daughter proved to be the star of the night though, coming home with two medals and a cup. She won silver with her solo entry, bronze with the group entry and also the cup for the overall winner of best costume and props. I then found out today that my son actually placed better than we expected, finishing in 5th place and placing above the boy who won the class last year.

As for me, I had a reasonable skate this morning and my jumps were OK. I also managed to get from one end of the rink to the other with my fifth field move exercise - choctaws.

Rough Fall
The ice was very hard today and there were some evil rutted bits in it so I found it really hard in general to get a good edge on my field moves. I ran through them all before my lesson then did some of the exercises for my coach but they weren't as good as they have been, apart from the choctaw exercise.

Still slipping on the lutz. Coach says I don't lock my knee as I pick so I'm really working on that now in the hope that it prevents the slippage.

Nicki

Congratulations to both your children, especially your daughter, as I know she has had to overcome enormous problems to get where she is today.

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

Rough Fall:

Just started working on camels...wicked hard! Laybacks are tricky too, but I can get maybe 3 or 4 revolutions of a layback position. Yay! Not too bad for never having "officially" worked on them. Backspins are still the work of the devil.

Smooth Landing:

Literally flips and loops! I finally have the feeling of both jumps. The landing could still be smoother yet...that flat blade landing must go! I had such a great lesson- it was my first time to successfully land both jumps! Sit spins are much better too. I still could get a little lower with a straighter back...but who couldn't? All in all, not a bad week so far!

Smooth Landing

I felt like I got a lot accomplished today - probably because today is the first day in a couple of weeks that I’ve not been super sick. I tried to get to the rink a little early to warm up before my lesson and I worked on some stroking and crossovers. My right skate was making my foot cramp so I had to contend with that and by then my coach came over and we started with the lesson.

I told her about the new 3 turn pattern on the pre-bronze tests and she was mortified that she didn’t know about it. She confided that she’s usually very good about reading the rule book every year but this year she just hasn’t had a chance to review the 2006 book. To make it up to me she says she’ll review it tonight and then teach it to me after our group lesson on Saturday. Yay!

We spent a considerable amount of time on edges and stroking, but I feel like I learned a lot in the lesson today and I felt more like a skater. I’m very pleased that I decided to start testing. I’m spending less time working on “tricks” but that’s okay since I know that all of the MIF will ultimately improve the other aspects of my skating.

I’m going to the first group lesson in three weeks this Saturday so that should be a good time for me to work on spins and jumps. I did, in addition to the waltz and salchow in my lesson, a couple of toe loops and a flip jump. I didn’t bother to attempt a loop. I also did a sad camel, sad sit spin and a sloppy one foot spin that was somehow centered. I’ll spend more time working on this stuff on Saturday after the lesson on top of the MIF. I’m wondering how to balance out my practice sessions better so I continue to improve my freestyle skills but at the same time devote a fair amout of time to MIF.

As an aside, Beth told me that she felt I could test at the next session which is in a couple of months but she said really she’d prefer it if I waited until the summer session to test. We’ll continue to work on Pre-Bronze moves then gradually throw in some Bronze elements so that by the time I take my Pre-Bronze I should have most of my Bronze moves down as well. Sounds like a plan to me - I’m in no rush and I just want to look good out on the ice so I’ll do whatever it takes.

Rough Fall
For once I'm not going to complain about anything - I know I need a lot of work still but I feel so proud of myself for what I accomplished today that any little hiccups aren't going to bother me.