Shhhh..... X-nay on the ink-say... we don't wanna give our coaches any ideas...

For instance, I can't do a straight stroke up to a toe loop anymore. I have to do forward power pulls going into it. I can't just do forward strokes to a spiral. I now have to stroke up a couple of strokes, do a FI mohawk, step wide to the side, back crossovers and FO edge forward. (The last three is similar to my forward power 3's.) Stroke, stroke and RIGHT into a RFO spiral.

The BIG footwork sequence for me and it goes all the way from one end of the rink to the other... Starts with a hockey glide... then 5 steps mohawk sequence, then FI mohawk step and do this mini-waltz hop but I'm supposed to land and crossover the landing foot right after, then FO step (more like a PUSH), bunny hop, lunge, and ends at a couple of FO3's where when you make the turn you pick in and you do another FO3's and you pick in again. (I don't know how to spell it but he calls them "Shen-nay turns.")

And I certainly hope I memorized that last footwork sequence in order too!!! Otherwise, never mind...

__________________
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!!!

Jazz, from reading your post and knowing what's in my program. I think we're a little late on this one. Actually, I think that our coaches have this idea of utilizing the well balanced Bronze program concept into our Pre Bronze freeskates, ok well, I was the one that stupidly raised the issue to my coach!

At least your coach teaches you to look behind you! I see so many people NOT doing that, and their coaches don't seem to say anything at all. Actually, today I was the one who nearly had the heart attack, as I saw, out of the corner of my eye because I was looking, an ice dancer coming at me backwards, not looking, as I was doing the backward perimeter crossover stroking. Or trying to. I heard someone yell (my coach, I think), and I let out a yell, too, and he stopped, but it scared the you-know-what out of me, and I shook for about the next 10 minutes. It was a dangerous session anyway what with a senior level pairs team, high level dance teams, junior and senior level singles skaters, and a few of us lower level folks. I'm starting to hate this session, but you just never know who's going to show up and sometimes it's fine, and other days it's just way scary.

Sigh.

Pat

Chainé turns; it's a ballet expression and literally means "chained turns". I suppose "chained" as in "linked together" rather than in "fettered"!

I rather like them, myself - haven't practised them for ages, though.

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

On Friday night I officially had my first lesson of the season with the dance club.

Grapes: it was major fun. We skate from 22.30 to 00.30, doing an hour of technique as singles - this time we worked on FI 3s, in lots of variations, and some mohawks in the ends. I realized that with the synchro team we must have turned 99% of our FI3s on the right foot, because I did the exercises more or less fine on this foot, but when we switched to the left foot I was completely terrified. (this is a bit of garbage, though)I'll have to push myself & try them anyway...
In the second hour they started to have us work in pairs, and I actually ended up skating with a guy. WOW - IT WAS DIFFICULT!! We worked on a pattern of backward (well, at least for me) chassées & runs, and then on a circle of 3s which gave me major nightmares. I usually have no problem turning a LFO3, but something was wrong in our timing and I was most of the times turning in very bad positions, even on my toepick sometimes... We asked for some advice to one of the coaches, and triying with her instead of the guy was incredible - she gave me the correct timing, and we were flying through the rink! When we stopped I was almost dizzy, but it had been fab!
Only towards the end of the practice the guy & I started getting the right timing, and the turns started to flow a bit better and to feel easier for me.

Garbage: well, the LFI3s at the beginning were really bad, and I find it quite difficult to skate in a pair - but it's the kind of difficulty that makes me want to try again till I get it right. The only really bad bit was that 5min before the end of the lesson, as we were doing some little & fast FW cross rolls in Foxtrot hold (ouch!how uncomfortable is t??!!) to a Paso Doble music, I caught a toepick and we both fell... He didn't have any problem, while I managed to fall straight on the knee that was still hurting after an hockey guy crashed into me @another rink, and this time in really, REALLY hurt. It is of an horrible color right now, and I have to be extra careful not to bump into things - but thankfully there's nothing serious - I can walk and jump fine, it doesn't hurt to bend the knee putting weight on it, etc.
Apart from this, and from my arm aching the next day (bad because I was at a dance competition trying to take pictures, and with my new digital camera being bit heavy, at the end of the competitions I was having a hard time with my arm shaking a little...), it was a great experience!

Oh, yes, there's more garbage on the way: after the end of the lesson we talked a bit about the costs, and it seems the class might end up being very expensive, more than I'd figured... I'm keeping my fingers crossed to hear what the final amount will be (they'll claculate it on te basis of how many people will be signing up)... with my temp job ending in a month, and half my salary going to my family anyway, I'm not so sure I can really afford this...

__________________
Alhrayth's Kiss&Cry