This morning the patch was even more crowded than yesterday, if that's possible! We have our Open over the next three days, is why - I'm competing tomorrow, with the other adults and with the beginners; on Tuesday the qualifying competitions are held (for the superb skaters; the ones who have to do long and short programmes), and on Wednesday it is the intermediate-levels. So you can imagine what the adrenaline levels are like!

Robert and I managed most of our warm-up, however, and then walked through the Swing Dance and the Canasta Tango, and were able to do the Fiesta Tango to the music. When Robert went off to his lesson, I got into costume, and was able to run through my programme at the start of our lesson. I do hope there is no truth in the superstition that a good dress rehearsal means a poor performance, as if I skate it tomorrow as well as I skated it this morning, I'll be a happy bunny! I have no realistic expectation of coming anything other than last, although the judges are giving an entertainment mark this year, so you never know!

For the rest of our lesson it was non-stop dance - either with or without the music. We did a Prelim/British waltz when that was played; I do wish we had time to really work on that dance, but we don't! We also did a Swing Dance to the Foxtrot, when it was being played (for UK skaters, this is a little slow - for the Americans, it's a little fast!). And we got music for the Golden Skaters' Waltz and Canasta Tango, and right at the end of our lesson we walked through the Rhythm Blues. It's so not easy walking through these low-level dances without the music, as you are sure to mess up the steps! It's all right with the music - but Robert missed out a slide chasse in the Canasta even with music, and I went into a slide chasse in the Rhythm Blues.....

Afterwards, I had a break to chat to a friend, and then played with my turns for the rest of the session.

I don't know quite what I'm doing for skating this week - I don't think I'll get a private lesson (I might), as Wednesday's competition starts long before my usual lesson time, but should skate every other day, I think, one way or the other.....

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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!

Wizard: We had our show this past Saturday, and it was a lot of fun for all, and great to see Debbie there.
Now trying to figure out what's next.
Patty - Good to hear you're healing!

Hello! My High School musical FINALLY opened this past Friday (I'm not a student, I'm the director), so I was beyond exhausted when I got to my Saturday morning lesson. Which makes for not-so-good skating.

I have also determined that my skates could not wait a minute to be sharpened -- I couldn't do a T-stop and my forward corssovers were very unsteady, so I dropped them off for sharpening after my lesson.

Wizard: Mohawk combination is getting faster by the tiniest of increments. Discovered that I was doing the FI mohawk on the left side somewhat incorrectly -- my I'm setting my RBI edge down behind the LFI edge instead of in front, but I think this is because my previous instructor showed us FI closed mohawks which just seem easier to me on the left side than the FI open mohawks. I know, quark is a dork! I CAN do the FI open mohawk on both sides, I just have to really think about it on the left side -- as in telling myself this while practicing: Stroke, stroke, stroke step, IN FRONT, two feet, one foot, step around. LOL!

Muggle: FO3s. Again. Instructor took me back to boards to review. Perfect at the boards, perfect when she's spotting me, lousy on my own. I decided that I needed to work on the back half of the 3 -- the backwards one-foot glide. Then as I tried it, I realized I could only glide about 1 foot. How on earth did I get through Beta without ever practicing back one-foot glides? Will work REALLY hard on these my next practice session. I'm thinking that I may bag all of the 3-turns and mohawks for a practice session and just skate backwards the WHOLE time -- back crossovers and backwards glides. I must stop feeling so uncomfortable going backwards!

This is from Saturday morning - didn't have chance to write it up before.

Wizard:

*All my turns were very nice! I love footwork. My back 3s are getting good runout and balance every time now. Pivots and spread eagles nice too.
*Spins - started out not that great, but improved a lot by the end of the session. I'm also getting very close to crossing the free foot over for a scratch spin! Scary but exciting. I checked the tracings on my CW (weaker, even though I'm a CW skater) spin entries, and they looked good! The edge is diminishing well, which I was having trouble with before, and I'm getting spins out of it.
*After I did a spin, a couple of little girls came up to me and said "How d'you do that??" so I showed them how to do a 2-foot spin.

Muggle:

*Didn't do any jumps.
*Didn't have a lesson. I haven't had one for over a month now.
*Spins still travelling a little, and dropping to too much of an inside edge a bit. I'm working on it though.
*Didn't have much motivation for a chunk of the session - got better though as the spins started working.

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

Wizard: My 11 year old niece.

She comes up every 2 or 3 weeks to have an hour leson with my coach.
Well this past Saturday she visited again and had just past preliminary moves. So my coach starts her on pre-juv. Mind you she hadn't done these patterns before. My coach shows her the first pattern, then my niece tries it. After her second attempt she had the whole thing almost entirely down, except for a minor bauble here and there. Same thing for the backward pattern. This time it took her three times to get it down.

Needless to say I was aghast. I think my coach my a little amazed too.

The second half of the lesson was freestyle. She was doing combination jumps after a few minoe corrections....

You are looking at a guy who still screws up a five step mohawk....

Muggle: My lesson last Tuesday......

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

Well, today was the first day of the Streatham Open Festival, and as such, my first competition of the year. As usual, fifth out of five.... but it was artistic, and two of the judges were very sensible and had me in 2nd, so I'm not too disappointed! Two of the judges marked technical, two marked artistic, and one choreography, and then each judge gave a mark for entertainment value. The two technical judges both had me in last place (deservedly so - but hey, why did they give me worse marks than at Christmas when I skated better, and had more technical content to my programme?), and so did one of the artistic judges, who obviously didn't like the programme very much. But the other two had me 2nd, sensible people that they obviously are!

I was actually very pleased with how I skated - it was clean, fairly fast, and everything worked except I just mistimed the end and ground to a halt before I meant to. It was rescuable, though - it just wasn't what I'd meant to do! But I skated well, and the audience liked it, as did two of the judges, so I'm pleased! I just hope I place better in France....

Next competition, in ten days, is dance, which I take far more seriously. Life is suddenly very Real and Earnest!

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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!

Wizard: My rocker is better... the turn is still a 3-turn change edge, but today it was more a front-half of a 3, to a flat, then onto the back outside edge.

Started to understand where the "right place to be" for doing the rocker in the Rocker Foxtrot is... there may be hope for me yet.

Muggle: I Still hate Foxtrot hold. actually almost painful in my left shoulder. Coach and I are doing progressives/runs in Foxtrot hold and that is helping somewhat. I'm learning to make sure I'm leaning the upper body out of the circle. Well it feels that way, but I suspect it's actually that the upper body is level vice tilted into the circle.

We also did some American Waltz and I was too slow with my swings and almost got toes in the shin from my coach. Teach me a lesson to swing faster.

Wizard: -->Had a blast doing Sr. Bronze skills, even though I passed them in 1997.
-->I did a great run through of my interpretive, complete with all the arm and facial expressions I could think of. My coach really enjoyed it after not seeing it for 3 weeks.
-->I remember my solo!!!! It's been over 2 months since I last did it.
-->Did some nice axels, 2 sals and 2 loops.
-->There are guys on my session! I love skating with guys! The one's pretty cute too!

Muggle:-->I could not spin at all today, I think it's cuz I'm not used to skating on hard ice.
-->I could not do forward outside loops to save my life. And I get to look forwards to backwards ones next week too. Yipee.
-->Almost died after doing my interpretive with the music. So exhausted. 2 minutes and 45 seconds of full out skating.

Thanks flo! I'm glad to hear that your show went well. I'm feeling that "what next" thing too...I'll probably be focusing on those #%^@%! Gold MITF when I get back on the ice.

Wizard: Was able to rollerblade for 12 miles yesterday without too much pain in my ankle.

Muggle: Just read Mel's post about taking 6 weeks to recover from her sprain...I'm sure mine wasn't that bad...I hope. Skating final round the day after I did it probably wasn't the smartest thing that I could have done, it was worth it though.

I will try getting on the ice again on Thursday.

The evillest exercise of all is doing cross-rolls in Foxtrot hold. We haven't been made to do progressives/runs in it yet, thankfully, but cross-rolls..... YUCK!

Have yet to skate today - going down in a couple of hours.

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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!

Once again, I had no opportunity to skate between one weekly lesson and the next. In addition, I had a miserable week sleep-wise and was basically slothfull all week.

Wizard:
I began my warm up with a pre-Bronze moves pre-test, that is, skated the moves from the moment I got on the ice just as if I were testing. I can say with confidence that I skated a very strong test up until the alt threes.

I asked the director of the skating school at the rink where I have my lessons if I could observe the "Mommy and Me" classes, and she invited me to help out - without pay. I'm thrilled, because this is one more skill I can bring with me when I move. I'm considering it free training, so no need to be paid.

Muggle:
Resoundlingly failed both alt three patterns. In addition, I was so winded and physically drained after this, that I had to sit down and was still sitting when my coach arrived. Happily, someone else had a lesson before me. I tried to do the empy glove FI threes with my own glove, but didn't have the nerve to succeed at it...yet.

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Oh, and it had been such a pleasant session up to then, with Husband and Best Friend, who has been off the ice for over a year with a nagging hip, and is just coming back. She used to be Husband's Other Woman (dance partner), but isn't dancing just now. But it was great for all three of us to be on the ice together, and a rare treat to have an unhurried patch session.

So we did our own thing for a bit, and played about, and I worked on bits of my free dance, and nearly took out a coach and his pupil during the backward stroking bit..... and so on. Then Robert and I did our basic exercises, and as soon as we had done them, the coach grabbed me for my lesson (had to have it tonight, as there's no patch tomorrow, as it's the third day of the Open - Rink Rat day!). Had an idea for the end of my free dance, so danced that, and it worked quite well, and the dance was good, except the coach said my spiral was higher in my Artistic, which I didn't reckon it was. Anyway, did all my exercises, and my changes of edge were huge and fast, if a little flat.

And then we played a bit, and danced a bit, and chatted a bit - and just at the end, Robert and I were dancing the Prelim Waltz, and I don't know what happened, but my foot slipped and I landed on the ice from a Great Height, and now have a very sore hip! Robert came down on top of me, but managed to avoid either squashing me or hurting himself. Ah well. I have put arnica on it, but it's going to want ibuprofen gel before I can sleep, I reckon. Poor me!

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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!

OUCH, ANNABEL!!!!!

Please be careful!!!

Yes, medicine, ice, and rest are in order.

(((Annabel)))
Can you tolerate oral ibuprofen? I carry the caplets with me and take 600 mg immediately after a fall. It really helps reduce the painful aftermath.

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((Annabel)) It hurts more when you're an adult too, because everyone has to say "Well, what do you expect trying to learn that at your age?" AGGGH- they just don't understand! Hope you feel better to skate at your competition. And remember, you and I have a function in life- someone must hold down the bottom of the rankings and we both seem to do it so well, that it has almost become a skill in itself.
Now, to this mornings's lesson: MUGGLE all the way! Who owns these feet and what are they doing in my skating boots!?

Muggle:-->Couldn't jump AT ALL!!
-->Too many people in my way, so I couldn't do a good run through of my interpretive.
-->Shin splints kicked in BIG TIME during the stroking session. Tons of pain when skating forwards.

Wizard:-->Provided I complete Level 1 Technical Phase 1, my coach agreed to be my mentor coach for Phase 2.
-->Had some good artistry during the parts of the interpretive I could do without someone in my way.

DUH!!! OUCH, ANNABEL!!! I hope you'll be better soon!!! Yes, lots of Ibuprofen!!! I hope you were wearing some sort of protection or something. REST and lots of ice too (to put over the bruise, not to skate on, of course.)

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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!!!

Wizard:
I landed five 2loops in a row today. It normally takes me about +5 attempts to land just one. Last Friday I landed three and this morning five, so maybe the 2loop is becoming a consistent jump for me. I also made two close attempts at a 2p-2lp, just underrotated the second jump. Landed two 2sal-2toe. They were wonky but landed.


Muggle:
2Lutz attempts were horrible. Just seem to get stuck on the take off.

Annabel,
Hope you feel better soon!

As for me, I haven't posted in a while, but I am excited about a new skill I acquired on Sunday-Monday: alternating backward crossovers! I never could do them before because I'd get disoriented and freak out, but now all of a sudden, I can do them. I think my moves coach has worked on the alternating back crossovers to back outside edges with me so much that now my body just knew what to do, and I didn't have to think about it. When I showed my primary coach on Monday, he was shocked and happy, and we worked on getting more speed. And they got even better! It was cool.

And in case any of you don't read the other forums, I posted some of my pictures from some recent spring events (Worlds, UD Worlds Send Off Show, ABC Sports International Figure Skating Challenge) at:

http://members.aol.com/sk8pics4/spring2003.html

Happy skating everyone,
Pat

Yikes Annabel! Hope that you're okay!

Good to see everyone here still skating and enjoying themselves ..... I'm returning (part 4 or is it 5?) again this evening ...... to try and get my confidence back and to get some lessons I'm joining an adult group for the next 5 weeks! HOPEFULLY I won't be as awful as I think I am ...... WISH ME LUCK

L x

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The best whisper is a click

Skated a week ago Monday, but wasn't able to get back on the ice until last night for my Gamma and Delta group lessons. It was mid-term evaluation night and I felt very uneasy on the ice after such a "long" period off. As I told someone the other night, like our brain memory, our muscle memory fades quickly as we get older.

MUGGLE:

Couldn't get myself to bend my knees, so every element looked pretty poor.

Then came the lunge practice. Needless to say, I don't do lunges. Coach reminded everyone to keep their arms out while doing them. I told the coach that keeping my arms out was the only thing I was doing properly. I know: Stretch and exercise.

WIZARD:

After the two half hour lessons were over, I skated for a while on the public session. Finally loosened up enough to bend my knees and do things more properly. That's when I should have been evaluated.

I was talking with a rinkside mother and asked why she didn't skate. She told me that she did two years ago, until she got knocked down by a young lad and broke her elbow. After she was down, the lad looked at her and said "I didn't know adults could fall down". It was the last time she skated.

Thanks for all the sympathy - I can still feel the bruise, and was horrendously stiff this morning (and all night - I woke up every time I tried to turn over!), so took 400 mg oral Ibuprofen, and that really does seem to have done the trick. I dislike taking painkillers more than I have to, but I really did have to! It's only a bruise - no damage, and you would have thought that there was more than enough fat on that part of my anatomy to cushion the fall....

Well, I was glad not to be skating today, even if I did spend most of the day at the rink watching the final day of our Open and chatting to a friend about future competitions..... Back on the ice tomorrow, but as it's Dance Club I can spend most of the evening propping up the barrier if I need to. My big fear is that I shall be scared of the Prelim Waltz in future, I do hope not.

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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!

Wizard -

Had a really great lesson today. We were so busy that we didn't notice the time - ended up going an hour and 1/4 instead of an hour today.

We think we've fixed my lutz problem. That would be terrific! We added some arm movements in my program, and toyed with putting in a tuck loop - I'll see if I can get it back by my next comp. If not, I'll do the jump with my arms over my head.

Muggles -

Coach told me my crossovers suck. I told him to tell me what he really feels . Actually, he is 100% correct. I want so badly to get a fluidity in my skating, and choppy crossovers don't help. We did fix one crossover section in my program (out of the 2 I have, right Michigansk8er??) that I've always disliked. Hopefully I can master his fixes soon.

He was cackling gleefully in that coach sort of way about working on power circles for the Intermediate test....says that they will finally fix my crossover problems. I have a feeling that I am going to HATE power circles by the time he's done with me.

Wizard : did really good back corkscrews today!! and i'm learning my flying camel spin...was having trouble keeping my right side up but i managed some good ones

Muggle : camels- as a result of not practicing in oh a month because i'd passed the test that they were on...so they were pretty bad...having trouble with my axels too

Wizard ~ I LANDED 2 DOUBLE AXELS!!! Finally ... they started getting close a week ago and I finally did 2 today!!! I started them in November.

Did a cool hydroblade double lutz today. Nice 2loop2loops. Flip is really secure. Did 2 runthroughs of my show program

Muggle ~ Realized the show is in a diff rink than the practice one since it's getting fixed, so I had to do some choreo rearranging. Double toe was a little weird. Double sal was same old same. Couldn't get a lutzloop clean ... unusual