Just thought I start a support group for those who are pre-Bronze level and are struggling to pass their Bronze Moves or FS tests. Backspin trouble? Power 3's giving you the FITS!?!?! Loop jump disappearing on you? This group is for YOU!!! (Of course all level are welcome to join in on the discussion, but the aim is to support skaters who are STUCK in pre-Bronze and are trying hard this year to become eligible for Adults Nationals.)

I'll start with my secondary coach asked me "so... when are you taking your test?" I wouldn't answer her. She then yelled out "CHICKEN!!! Boc boc boc boc..." (Nice try, coach!!! But I go when I know I'm ready for it!!!)

Last week was primary coach's turn!!! (Eh... they don't seemed to *GET* that I don't HAVE my power 3's yet?!?!?!?!) *sigh*

I'll humor them and file for a July or August test date. That should be enough time to get that final power 3's working to passing level!!! (The rest of my moves look funky but they WILL pass too!!)

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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!!!

Yup, just about explains my situation to a T.

Alternating 3's are the bain of my existence!! But I am a very patient person so I will also consider 2006, 2007, 2008.....just as long as I do it before I collect Social Security!!

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

Me, too! After my next competition is over, I told my coach I wanted to work harder on the bronze moves, and he was agreeable. We've already started a bit. My hope is actually to pass the bronze moves by this time next year, but I don't think bronze freestyle is possible at the same time. So maybe it will be 2006 or bust, for me!

But count me in!

Pat

I love the idea, jazzpants! I'm already in at Silver, but I support you guys 100%. Those power 3s and backspins are wicked. But you can do it!! (Where's the smiley with the look of grim determination?)

Just got back from my lesson.....oh my alternating 3's are still rank. You gotta air out the rink after my practice!!

Coach said they are improving...maybe I am just being a little hard on myself!!

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

Count me in. I am in the process of finding a coach now. I hope to be ready for 2005!!! Got a lot of work a head of me. Hey jazzpants. Why do you have 2 coaches? Pardon my ignorance but I have never heard of this. Do they ever give you conflicting advice?
Anyway. I've been watching the coacheds at my rink and there's one I may interview. I still have 2 other local rinks to check out before I actually settle on a coach. I am also looking for new skates. What I'm skating in now are great for real beginner, but I'm a little more advanced than that. There is an inter-club competion here in June. I may shoot for that as an experiment in competing...Or I may chicken out..who knows
Cid

Alternating 3's have also been for me for a while. They're now just starting to look decent, but they're not perfect. (I occasionally lose the BI edge after the FO3's and have to put my foot down.)

Practice FO and FI edges FIGURES (half circle) if anyone around here does not have a strong FO3 or FI3 edge! Trust me! They will help! Do a half circle to start. When you can do at least a half circle, 3's should become easier. Not only will it make it easier to do alternating 3's in the end, but as someone comment, you end up looking more like a "professional" in the end.

You will also need to master the FO alt. 3's in order to learn power 3's too! (Guess how I know? )

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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!!!

Remember everyone... I'm bringing the champagne so we can toast ourselves, final qualifying placements be damned!

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

Wang chung!

On lesson with Coach this week, we started power 3's on the long axis. My issues are starting out and that funky, award end pattern, where you hold the back undercut and step onto the LFO edge. Any ideas out there on that??
Also, was discussing the Hackensack application with Coach as to what is my most difficult jump landed consistently- it's not the loop- it's still cheated!!

It gets better, since I'm in new boots as of yesterday!!

For the choctaw into the repeat, I think about

--Stepping under the armpit of the leading arm

and

-- Keeping the weight on my skating side and mid-blade until I step forwards. I find if I don't keep pressure at least mid-blade, I develop a terrible case of toe pick meeting the ice as I do the choctaw.

For the start (assuming LFO3s first), right now I do only 4 strokes (L, R, L, R) then onto the left for the first turn, leading with the left side and rotating into the turn. This turn is the worst of the left side for me because I tend to rush it very badly...

I thought the end pattern on the power-3s was optional. Is there a "right" way and a wrong way? I've seen it done lots of ways...

I agree that the "choctaw" part of the move is the hardest part -- especially on the right threes for me!!

I HATE this part the WORST!!! Of course, this part is critical in making sure I get enough power for the power 3's, but man, do I get nervous trying to stroke into it. I just sorta "shuffle" into the first LFO3 instead. (Yeah, I know! I'm CHICKEN!!!)

__________________
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!!!

When I first started, I would just continue doing back crossovers around the rink (i.e. do a CCW back crossover after the CW crossover of the last sequence)...but then I would build up too much speed for my comfort zone, considering my RFO3 side was the weaker side, and bottle the first RFO3 sequence very badly much of the time.

so then I started just stepping forward again and doing some forward strokes around the end, then a mohawk to get backwards, 1 CCW back crossover and start the RFO side. Seems to work better for me.

My philosophy (and we all know how I hate anything resembling intro 3's...)

Do it at your comfort zone. Then get a good power transition from the LBI to the RBI, and do good powerful strong back crossover into the next sequence. With good power BI-BI transitions and strong slow crossovers, you can pick up a heck of a lot of flow.

I have probably in isolation done twice as many choctaws on that side working to smooth that side out and for me the secret has largely been thinking of pulling down in the left back shoulder/upper back and keeping the weight on the left side as long as possible.

I'm faster on the Left side (very obviously slow), but often the turns are better placed on the right side.

OMG, I am also chicken about stroking into my 3-turns! My coach is starting to talk about how, "you know, you need to get comfortable with this," and I know, I know! This is also an issue for me on both the backward perimeter crossover stroking and the alternating back crossovers to back outside edges. Sigh.

On the bright side, we worked on the backward perimeter crossover stroking yesterday, and I am making progress at holding the edges and hitting all the correct edges. So I'm getting much more flow and speed. In fact, my coach said last night was the best he'd ever seen them! He was also very happy with the pattern on the forward perimeter crossover stroking, too.

Inch by inch, I guess things are improving!

Pat

Do they allow you out on the ice in a La-Z-Boy recliner? That is my comfort zone!!

Seriously, my coach has made the same remark. Her philososphy is to expand my comfort zone closer and closer to those elements that I have trouble with.

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

Me too. Don't you just hate it when coaches say that sort of thing. I turn round and say to my coach, "Yes, but HOW????" The trouble is, when it's a question of fear, he doesn't know how to help. Does anybody? My 3-turns are improving, but doing them at speed without a partner? No way! At least I can do them when moving (slowly) now, which I couldn't a couple of years ago.

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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!

I think the trick to overcoming fear is to do the skill in stages. So, I imagine first my coach will help me do that 3-turn at speed, and I'll see that I won't kill myself (although it will be close the first few times! ), and then we'll work up to doing it on my own slowly, and then try to increase. Too bad we can't skate clockwise as my RFO3 is much stronger. But I'm hoping that when my power 3's get better it won't be so hard to do that first LFO3 at speed; please somebody, tell me that's true! Or maybe my mohawk will improve faster than that 3-turn, and I'll use that to get turned around better. Of course, it's the other mohawk that's better than the one I'll need, doesn't it just figure?

Pat

One does the skill on both sides... down one side of the rink doing LFO3 turns and back up the other side doing RFO3 turns. The current rulebook doesn't require a specific starting side (left or right) for the exercise, although most people start with the LFO3 side.

I have actually trained starting either side... the thought at one time being, to do the weaker side (for me, RFO3s and the LBI-RFO choctaw) first and get it over with, then relax and have fun with the left side.

jenlyon -- Yes, I know the power 3's are done on both sides, but normally, I believe you start off with the introductory steps as though you're going to skate counterclockwise around the rink, which means the normal way to go from forward to backward would be a LFO3 or a right forward inside mohawk. It would be much easier for me to start as if I was going to go clockwise around the rink and do a RFO3 or the other mohawk to get to a backwards position. I don't know how it would work for me to skate in the CCW direction and then do a RFO3, seems like it would be very odd.

Pat

Where is AN-2005 going to be held?
Cid

Kansas City

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

You'd be surprised how many people aren't always aware of what the rulebook says....

Anyways, here's a possibility...Do some strokes, do an RFI-LBI mohawk, CCW back crossover, step forward into the RFO3.

For the end pattern, either step forward, do some strokes and do the LFO3, or, stay backwards, do some CCW back crossovers, RBI cross in front (cross-cut) into the first LFO3 of the pattern for the left side.

This is what I did when I skated forward power 3's in the Bronze MIF event at the New Year Adult Invitational the other year.

My coaches would probably be okay with me doing it the other method (starting w/RFO3's first), but why makes things easier for me!

Seriously, either way I would have to do a LFO3's from forward strokes. Better to do them first and get them out of the way. (My RFO3's is my stronger side.)

__________________
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!!!