Flavorful:
Skated 3 days in a row I managed to jump fully all three days (I usually just stroke around and do up to a loop on summer days)

Loop

Flip

Lu/Lo/Lo

Lu/Lo/Lo/TL

Flying Camel

CAMEL + SPLAT

Bland:
Still no axel
And I know this and this - will not cut it!!!

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Tim David's Website

bland - only one practice between lessons this week, bleah.

flavorful - more modest improvement on the backspin and salchow. back pivot and back spirals also coming along. No huge leaps in ability, just the slow steady gains that will get me there eventually. Feels good though.

Flavorful - I was 4th out of 5 in my Orange Blossom freeskate this past Saturday, which was a major accomplishment (I usually finish last) - also one judge had me in 1st place. This morning my jumps were wonderful.

Bland - Nothing - I am still excited about my skating this past weekend!

Flavorful:

Actually getting TO skate on Saturday was nice (we went to the beach last week instead) and the ice was in wonderful condition and not too crowded.

Had some decent Salchows (which of course none of my family witnessed) along with some not-so-decent ones too.

Forward upright spins were decent. Still working on a good lean into the edge on the entrance . . . when I actually DO it, it makes SUCH a big difference in the centering.

Bland:

slipping off my blade about 15 minutes into the session and THUD on my left hip. Yeesh. Guess I was overdue for a fall anyway, but it didn't help much with the confidence level!!

spinny Salchows - hold the darn check, already!! But at least I'm starting to realize what it SHOULD feel like, I'm going to count that as a minimal improvement.

backspins - why am I such a WIMP on these?? grrrrr . . . I worked on these some, but they're still scary . . . ugh.

Flavorful: Today was a good day of skating considering it was a Monday. I didn't have a lesson today but I did a few run throughs of some of my elements and they were good for the most part.

All my singles were good through Lutz. I fell on my single axel the first time I attempted it. I landed it the other 3 times. It was probably just a fluke.

Axel - Loop combo was good.

My double toeloop improved. It's still not good yet but I actually landed it a few times. I gotta polish the take-off though. I don't collect myself up into the jump. As soon as my pick touches the ice, I spring off of it to avoid doing a toe-axel. It makes it almost feel like a double loop instead of a toeloop because I never put any weight on my picking foot. I'm working on it.

My double flip was good. Slight cheat on the landing because it's a little underrotated. But at least I can tell when it is cheated.

Double Sal was good too.

Bland: I guess the only thing bland about today was my MITF. It's getting better but it is not where I would like it to be. But my basic skating is improving. I am finally starting to look like skating is effortless instead of looking like I am trying.


BlackManSkating

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Proud to be one of the few black men out on the ice

Goals
Pass my Silver Moves Test
Finish Choreography for Silver Program
Land a Clean Double Toe and Double Lutz
Work on Double Axel and Rockers
Speed up back Camel

Flavorful:
WOW!!! I actually either had a break thru or I got really lucky... I got a little bit more speed going into my loops and flips. My loop in particular. It's getting close to how fast I'll be skating into the loop.

Footwork is looking nicer now. I added a (what I hope to be) lunge with free leg curled pose to put in place of this "I'm a little tea pot, short and stout" pose that primary coach originally had me do and then took out b/c it took too much time off the end of the program. The footwork is definitely gonna be kick*** when I get it all perfect!!!

Bland:
Having trouble trying to get my sit spins even lower (I want a legs parallel to the ice sit spin!) and I'm hesitating on getting down lower on those back squat to make it a back sit. Shouldn't be afraid though... it's not like my butt's that high off the ice. And oh, no camels yet!!!

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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!!!

Flavorful
-Landed double loop in my lesson it might have been a bit cheated but my coach was still really excited for me
-Most of my MITF test elements are really improving
-did a bunch of decent flying camels
-flying sit spins are getting better.

Bland
-I cannt get the hang of alternating 3s. i know i'm making them much harder than they really are.

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I had apretty bland day today...but I guess it's because Ihavent skated in about 10 days! My axel was only half present today...and I found out that my dance coach left me in to test my American on friday but pulled me out for Harris...which I am really mad about because I was stressed enough about it...and spent TONS of time practicing it...and found out that as of this morning, I was out

Flavorful: Skated for first time in new boots (hinged) and new blades, same old pattern 99 k pick... have had nightmares about constantly falling forwards or just massive ankle wiggling and not enough strength in legs to manage. Well, turns out went very well, boots are a stock size and only modified at heel to make AAA not A/B. Very comfy, really light, they weight nothing about 30% of my Harlick's, skated for 1 1/2 hours not a blister to be found so comfy. Coach loves that I bend at my ankles now, sit spin is better as is back sit.

Bland: Doc P says second hip surgery within year. This will be the replacement, another year of rehab and this time no jumping for 6 months minimum. Skipping secitonals may go just to watch nationals, sigh....

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

Flavorful:
My spins are back- hooray!!
Had a okay runthrough of my freeskate and compulsory moves programs today.

Bland:
It was hard at some points in practice today to just skate- there were quite a few clueless little ones and quite a few coaches teaching today.
Makes me wonder what ice time will be like come fall, when it's all afternoons and no mornings.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Wow!! The Jackson hinged boots look like they must be heavy, but I guess not! Is this a new lightweight model or have they always just been lighter than they looked?
Yuck about another hip surgery. So, like, you can't even jump on the "other" leg?

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

flavorful- came so so sooo close on my double loops. it was really frustrating me actually. no major ankle pains. usually about every other jump is accompanied by a fall, a swear word, and a few thoughts as to whether I'm going to be able to walk after this. i did a really nice broken leg sit

bland- freakin flying sit. slammed my elbow good and hard, definitely saw stars. couldn't get a good CE back sit. no double sals today. only really tried one, but decided my ankle would rather I not...

Oh Leslie.... poor old you. But you will still be able to dance, once you're past the first being-terribly-careful six week period, no?

Flavourful: Not a lot!

Bland: Willow waltz.... I don't know if my coach just doesn't know how to correct it, or what, but he doesn't help! Step sequence in free dance - it wasn't that broke, so why did we try to fix it?!

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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!

Oh, no!!! Is this the last of the hip surgeries? I hope you do make it to Adult Nationals to watch... if nothing else, to watch me make a spectacle of myself at my Bronze FS debut!

Flavorful:

• Well, not as good as Sunday but the breakthru so far is holding on the loop at least.
• Back sit is at least spinning. I'll take that. (Had a fellow adult skater watch me and though I was making progress on the back sit.)
• Boy, can I get speed on my entrance to the salchow and waltz jumps!!! WHEEEE!!!

Bland:

• Too bad the majority of the salchow and waltz jump attempt had to be aborted in fear of running over some poor soul on the ice.
• The flip was Can't land it clean and go faster at the same time. Well, more like I have to adjust my speed so that I don't go into it really sluggish, but at the same time not too fast. I did left the flip at a clean landing one though.
• Back sit: Primary coach sneaked up behind me while he was in between lessons to tell me that I need to sit lower on the back sit. (Please tell me something I don't already know... )
• No camels.
• Tried to do the straight footwork sequence but the public session was so crowded that I could go all the way thru the length of the rink at speed w/o running over another skater. Of course, this is supposed to be a social skating session for me, so I had to end it. (Well, social in the sense that I do get to talk to people and help out the beginners, but not so much that my primary coach doesn't come up to me and say "Less talking, more 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!!!

jazzpants, you're so lucky!!! I get speed and freak out and slow down to do my jumps haha

Flavorful: I landed a double sal today! I think it was 1/4 turn cheated ,but I still landed it and surprised my coach (who told me that she didn't think I would land a double sal before the end of the summer-HA HA ...now of course, that was just ONE double sal...who knows if it iwll ever happen again!! lol)

my dance was also pretty good...my dance coach was thrilled but my partner was not...lol but my partner did mention to my coach that I was very easy to dance with...meaning I've come a long way because he used to have to pull me everywhere because my 3turns messed up my pattern badly!

Bland: test day...on...friday...this is my 4th time trying my American waltz... lol

Good luck! I know how hard you've been working on that dance!

I'm testing my Paso and Starlight Waltz next week for the first time, and I've hardly partnered them yet. I think I had one lesson with my partner back in mid-July and all we worked on was the Starlight, which was...um, difficult to say the least only because of that one arm position switch toward the end of the pattern. Apparently, the Paso's quite easy to partner, but we'll see...I have my lesson tomorrow morning. Expect updates!

Flavorful:
Had a good lesson with Coach today that produced clean runthroughs of compulsory moves (after two tries!) and then a clean freeskate program!!

Bland:
Have finally figured out why I despised compulsory moves events. They are too hard to practice. It's one thing when you're doing your free or interp program with music, because then everyone knows it's your music and move for you. But with no music for compulsories, that is tough.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Yay!!! Was that the first double jump you ever landed?

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

Flavorful: Moves are about 95% there, if only I could get the hang of RO3s my waltz 8 would be lovely. Lots of spin work, scratch, sit, and back

Bland: Doing backward shoot the ducks on left AND right foot Not as bad as I thought but still scary with much more advanced skaters on the same session, not knowing where they were at the time.

Mixed:Only 1 more lesson till school starts But once school starts I can skate almost everyday instead of 2x per week.

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~Always Dream!~

Check my progress at www.freewebs.com/sk8tegirl06

I think the 2nd generation boot is lighter and a bit more improved. That sucks about the surgery!!!! Maybe your rehab period will be shorter!
Congrats on the double-sal!!!!! Good luck on your test!!!!
I can't tell when someone is doing their moves either. Maybe I'll suggest to the club that they get a turn to wear the orange vest-why not? We can play "stock music" for them.....maybe you can suggest it to your rink?

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

Unfortunately, our rink has a policy that freestyle skaters have right of way over ice dancers and those doing MIF. Do other rinks have the same policy?

I love the idea of doing them to music and wearing the colored belt, LOL! You'd probably have to break it up into 3-4 minute segments, though, to make it the same length as standard FS programs.

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

Yup!!I'm so happy

Worse than Bland: Coach asked me last week to make a list of my elements (for choreography) so I did that yesterday morning - pretty abysmal! So that put me on a downer for the rest of the day.

Flavourful: When coach looked at the list she said I was too hard on myself and moved some things from “so-so” to “good” and some other from “pathetic” to ”so-so”.

Bland: Practiced Upright Spins and back outside edges. Some spins felt half descent but I can't seem to get beyond 1-1/2 revolutions.

Flavourful: In lesson, coach said my 1-1/2 revolution spins were actually 2-1/2 revolutions! (Seems I don’t count so good when the world is a blur!) WOOHOO, only 1/2 revolution from being a REAL spin!

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

ooooohhhh

congrats!

Well done JennaD! And also well done Dianne - wish my spin was as nearly 3 revolutions. Our couples' spin is, mostly.

Flavourful: Have re-re-rechoreographed our step sequence, and I think maybe this time it's going to work.

Bland: But you wouldn't think so, the way we skated it.... oh well, practice, practice and more practice, and at least we got to run through it to the music.

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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!