Hey Debbie,
Since you say you'll try anything I'm wondering if you know in which direction you're looking after you do that troublesome 3-turn. I know that one of my problems with my 3-turn into my sal is that I'm looking to my left (I'm clockwise) so it pulls me onto too deep an inside edge. When I consciously turn my head so I'm looking slightly to the right I'm much more upright over my foot. Maybe that would help you, too.

Oh, and btw, there is supposed to be an adult competition in Bristol, PA on either May 22 or May 23, and it should include pre-bronze free skating. That's about 60 miles or so from Newark, so you might want to check it out.

Pat

Hi Debbie,
If you would like to come to the early moves session on Saturday, I'd be happy to help with the threes. You'll get it! There's also a skater at club who has exceptional threes, and is always willing to help.

Thanks, flo. Actually, I was thinking about going to the moves session Sat morning, just to get a chance to practice 3s when there's not freestyle stuff going on around me - and since I missed my practice at Mt. P yesterday b/c of an appointment. I'll see you tomorrow, assuming I can haul myself out of bed in time.

Originally, I did have a problem looking in the right direction, Pat - I know what you mean. It's also a problem with my camel spin. But I've corrected it for the most part, although I occasionally do have lapses - definitely something for me to focus on. My coach emphasizes that I should be looking straight in the direction I'm going, and not down at the ground - my tendency. I'm working on it. My coach also thinks my posture might be to blame - I do sometimes lean backward on the turns. And of course, on crossovers and jumps, I lean forward - arrghh!

Debbie, See you there.
One of our pro's is out for a while, so. I'm taking her classes.
Has anyone heard of any of the plans for Adult Nationals? Any information out yet?

Leaping, leaping, leaping
I went to our outdoor rink tonight just to skate for myself because the classes I teach on Fridays have ended for the season. There were a lot of kids there, and it was a bit wild, but foggy and beautiful.

The ice was excellent. I noticed one man with figure skates trying to help a child by showing her how to stroke. I assumed they were together, so I approached and asked if he was a coach. He was not, so I said I was, and asked if he minded my help. He not only did not mind, but ended up taking a 75 minute lesson with me!

He was entirely self taught, and had a good deal of natural ability, so we worked on F & B crossovers, then edge patterns, then three turns and Mohawks. We both had a great time....but for me the best part was that my R & L FI Mohawks were crisp and clean, and I was able to do rather nice FO and FI threes. I kept the image of my own coach in my mind during all my demos, and it really worked.

The most magical thing, however, was afterwards. I did a couple of laps of the F power crossovers EFFORTLESSLY I literally felt like I was gliding above the ice, everything was perfect, no fear, no hesitation. Hubby was there and saw me through the fog and agreed that I was floating. This is the feeling I have been seeking ever since I started skating, and now I know it is possible. Maybe I just have to warm up very slowly with very simple basic moves for an hour before I begin anything challenging

__________________

Leaping: My back edges are coming along, my "drunken sailor" is good (both ways), and my shoot-the-duck has improved. My scratch spin is better too. If only I could get the camel...

Splat: Coach says (half-joking) I need someone else to hold my hands, since he holds my hands pretty much. I don't really need him to hold my hand that much, I think he just secretly likes doing it.

__________________
Andrea

Yesterday was Paso day. We worked mostly on the beginning... the intro and the part up through the breakout, but near the end of the lesson added in the rest of the dance up through the cross-rolls.

Splat: My intro-3's were in chicken mode. Something about having my coach on the other end (of my left hand) causes me to ruin the set-up to the point that the turn just doesn't want to work. And it's all mental I'm convinced. So we broke it back down to "progressive, turn", then "stroke, progressive, turn". And when I don't have to think about it, it works fine.

Leaping: Coach surprised me and we did a whole pattern up through the cross-rolls. Break-out wasn't bad. I'm tracking wrong on the RFI where the couple starts across the bottom of the rink after the breakout...am too much to the outside, when I need to be tracking to center of partner, so that as I do the cross-back chasse, I'm tracking to partner's inside.

I think forward cross-rolls are the move to get that feeling on - I know that I can often find the running edge without feeling scared on them, much more than on any other move. Other moves, if I get that feeling, I'm apt to bottle! Coach, of course, looks at my cross-rolls and demands steeper edges, which means I get toey again (need to bend my knees a fraction more to compensate), but when they work - well, I totally identify with how jazzed you feel about them!

Jen, based on my recent experience, I wonder if your problem with the entry three is just pyschological? I know I have all sorts of problems doing 3s at speed, and discovered the other day that some of the time it is actually technique, not bottle - when, for instance, I try to do a cross-roll swing followed by a 3, as in the Starlight or (more realistically for me) the Festival Cha-cha, I simply physically can't, and it turns out I'm dropping my free hip too early on the swing roll. When I focus on keeping my hip up (leaning very slightly out of the circle), I can do the 3-turn. Maybe you are dropping your hip as you turn in towards your coach?

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

Leaping: skated very well given my TOM pain. Doing sit spins helped stretch that lower back.

Splat: I was tsk-tsked for going ahead and working on laybacks without supervision, because of my poor technique and tendancy to throw my head back without properly arching my back and leading with the hips. She did admire my gumption though, as I'm one of the few adults willing to attempt it.

__________________
Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

I was thinking about this this morning, and was thinking that maybe I will take my video camera to the rink and get one of the other skaters on the early Weds session to tape me & coach several times (and separately get coach to tape my MIF) ...am wondering if there's something going on that feels wrong to me but coach can't see it from the angle he's at. Can't hurt. I was definitely frustrated at myself, to the point I skated off after one abortive attempt and said to coach I needed a few seconds to regather my brain.

But... I forgot to add above... after my lesson, I was working on forward power 3's and I got all my left forward power 3's more at top of lobe than ever before. And this is by myself, at my rate of speed/flow/power, and no bottling.

*Splat* My blades are definetly *dull* I kept slipping of my edges the whole session. I would skid on my jump landings, and I fell hard on my knee after slipping off the BI edge going into a sal. Then I went to work on spins and I fell like 3 times. I kept just popping off my edge on the entrance and falling. I've found that falls on spins are the most painful because you just go straight down. I hurt my right hand again and it's getting all puffy.... and I thought it was finally healed.

*Leaping* Umm well my BO 3s were there...right foot that is, I didn't even want to attempt left ones after those falls. Also loop jump is sorta coming along. I have a problem with keeping all my weight on the right as opposed to the half loop.

I did have the same feeling on my F cross strokes (AKA cross rolls), but was speaking of the F power crossovers, AKA Russian stroking: F crossover>step to inside edge & hold>F crossover other direction>step to inside edge & hold....etc.

Amazingly enough, the good feeling was still there this morning!

__________________

SPLAT literally, I fell three times in a 30 minute practice session for the upcoming show. Always when you're not doing anthing difficult, fell over on a lunge, fell while stopping slowly trying not to bump into someone, fell doing an inside mohawk for a 1/2 flip. Could it be because I worked 60 hours this past week?

Leaping Hmmmmm that's a hard one today.

Leaping: Still not me, but my LFO3's back for the most part. I just can't get it much speed right now. I can still do all the Bronze Moves, but just not as fast I wish. My injured spot was sore after about an hour, but nothing major.

Splat: Overall skating has been quite skittish at best. Couldn't get myself to a good spin... and my lower back injury (sciatica) decided to give me some trouble for the ride along with my calf!

The other reason I wasn't as fast... KIDS!!! You know, those loveable little bag of mass that you just love to hug...until they get on the same ice as you and start going in ALL SORTS of directions and the ice guard doesn't do SQUAT about it b/c he's busy just skating around, chasing the other boys, or just plain not on the ice. Today's case was that he was just skating around. Maybe I should be an ice guard. At least I'll get paid for my ice time!

__________________
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!!!

LOL, I feel that way about the backspin.

Well done to all those who passed their tests or won medals in competitions lately. Hi to Mel on Ice - not seen you for months!

Hopefully be skating this week and see if the backspin is there or not....

__________________
MEL
Absolute Skating

Great! Yes, I rather agree with you about Russian stroking (also aka, to my coach, as "snakies"), too - it's a good move for power and flow. I actually forgot to do those this morning.... but we're in a new week, so I'll post about what I did do in a new thread.

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