[b:5df163f41a]Hairy:[/b:5df163f41a] We arrived at the rink at about 6.50 am to find that the ice was totally unskateable - goodness knows what they'd done to it last night, but they certainly hadn't left it ready for us! Robert and a small boy did skate a bit, the rest of us sat at the boards until the one skater who can drive the Zamboni came in. Of course, they had also left the Zam's tanks empty - it took 15 minutes for it to fill up with water, and then, much to J's embarrassment, it ran out of petrol (alas, we don't have one of the modern, electric machines; I do wish we did, as the whole rink stank of petrol, which some of you will think of as "gas", no doubt, for the rest of the morning.) and had to be rescued with a container thereof. By the time we finally got on the ice it was 7.45 and already time for Robert's lesson.

When it was time for our lesson, we really didn't do very well, especially on the Swing Dance. Our coach said you could have fitted a third person between us with room to spare, and he did have a point! We were sent off with instructions to do nothing but skate round in waltz hold all week (coach and family are off to spend the inside of a week in Honfleur, lucky them!).

[b:5df163f41a]Hopeful:[/b:5df163f41a] Well, I suppose our Variation Rhythm Blues wasn't [i:5df163f41a]too[/i:5df163f41a] ghastly, but it certainly wasn't what we would have liked. Both of us feel that the other pushes off in the wrong direction, anticipating the final direction of the edge..... And although we only had 10-15 minutes to practice after our lesson, as Robert needed to leave early, we did get to skate round in waltz hold and things began to improve, I think. We shall see.....

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

I FINALLY got back on the ice after 2 months.... that's forever compared to my 3/4 times a week! I am absolutely THRILLED with my session!

[b:a5f8b54210]Hopeful[/b:a5f8b54210]
+ I have never landed so many axels in one session! I guess drooling over and rereading [i:a5f8b54210]Technical Figure Skating[/i:a5f8b54210] book those 2 months certainly helped (My new trick: turning head to the left to increase rotation). I would even dare to say 50% of the time I was landing axels. How spectactular... I was just even thrilled I landed one. I was afraid I had lost them!
+ Flips were quite yummy. My flip-loop combos felt absolutely wonderful and open. Quite effortless too. I wonder if they LOOK that way.... should I dare to videotape myself?? Anyways also managed flip-loop-loop for the first time! (I need more variety in jump combos..)
+ Loops were okay. Loop-loop was okay. Could have been way better. Tried a loop-loop-loop. That was the last thing I managed to acquire before my reprieve. Apparently need to sharpen up those skills.
+ My double salchows are more rotated now! About .5 short of the full rotation, I apparently just stop. When I'm facing the front, I just manage to freak out and stop. But they are much more secure than they were before.

[b:a5f8b54210]Hairy[/b:a5f8b54210]
+ Backspins and back sits spin were absolutely dreadful. I traveled a million miles every single time. I did take dance lessons while on my reprieve and I can see that it helped in keeping my spins. At least I managed to stay on the rocker!
+ PrePre Moves were horrible! They were so ready to test 2 months ago... and now... despicable.
+ I seriously can't do a spread eagle for the life of me. I don't understand I certainly get the turnout off-ice, I just can't understand the transfer of weight for the life of me. I always end up coming to a dead halt.
+ Ina Bauers were not great. After I had a nasty spill on one (don't laugh) about 4 months ago, I've been practicing it less and less. Still I can't understand how I can't get the turnout that I can get off-ice. I'm determined, though! I want MK's FOG Ina!

Hopeful: Well, forgive me if I gush, but today was fabulous. Today I finally managed to do a well balanced, long (at least 9 revolutions) scratch spin. I was totally over the moon That was clockwise. CCW I managed about 7 revolutions. They were so balanced, and controlled. It was wonderful. I also did at least two revolutions on my pivot, which is pretty good for me. I should mention that all this came about because a lovely lady coach was there today and gave me a couple of good tips about arms and hips while spinning.

Hairy: Still totally chicken on trying a backspin. I fell and wrenched my back on one about three weeks ago and haven't had the courage to try again.

[b:0c397c6089]Hopeful[/b:0c397c6089]
I spent my entire 15 min lesson today on the prelim power 3 pattern trying to get the step forward. I didn't get it in the lesson, but after, I faced the boards and just modeled the position required to try to feel it without the risk of falling. All of a sudden, I realized I could do it, and did an entire pattern of them! For me the trick was to make the step forward part of one smooth move, not to stop and think first. I'm quite thrilled, as this has been bugging me for weeks.

[b:0c397c6089]Hairy[/b:0c397c6089]
Everything else! I'm still struggling back from my loss of confidence crisis. The freestyle sessions have become too crowded for my taste, and the last public session I attended was a disaster. I'm just hoping for better in the future.

This actually covers yesterday and today... I skated my first ever competition this weekend... the Washington FSC Pro-Am Dance competition. Within my age group, I skated Pre-Silver (Foxtrot and 14Step) and Silver (American Waltz and Tango).

I felt I skated okay (I can always skate better!) but I had my head up and smiled almost the whole time (which is not usual for me). And I survived my 2 patterns of American and 2 patterns of Tango (which was my goal...I just started working on them in March or so, and we normally worked on them 1 lesson a week ... about 8 or 9 lessons total).

Anyways, I got 3rd in my age class PreSilver and 4th in my age class Silver.

I also skated European Waltz in the Waltz Rhythm event but was dead last there (it was an un-age restricted event, so there were folks from munchkin size on up in the event). But I felt I skated it pretty well, and I held up for both patterns, which is more than I can say for both times so far that I've tested it.

Now for my Monday Lesson: No lesson with Coach #1 who was resting his feet & legs after skating almost every event at Pro-Am. Had lesson with Coach #2, where we worked on Rocker Foxtrot and Blues and a bit of Paso.

[b:c6801d7bb8]Hopeful[/b:c6801d7bb8]
Coach #2 was pleased that I was pushing out, power-wise, more on the Rocker Foxtrot and the Blues, and not slowing down to a creep for the rocker in the RF and the choctaw in the Blues. Also on the Blues, she was pleased that I didn't have upper body wobble.

[b:c6801d7bb8]Hairy[/b:c6801d7bb8]
I'm still toe touching somewhat on the rocker in the Rocker Foxtrot, EXCEPT when I am in the pair or when I have the infamous "single finger" assist from coach (the funny thing about the "single finger" assist is that it's more a "I know it's there" than that I'm getting any real support from it. For whatever reason, I get my shoulders and hips aligned better for the rocker, when coach provides a "single finger assist"

Blues... I'm still running out of umph somewhere around the cross swing roll before the flare. I'm maintaining better power through the cross back chasses but not getting a good push off of the 4-beat RBO into the LFO before the RFO cross swing roll.

--jsl

HAIRY: Everything!!! As reported last week, something in my right hip went "pop" while lifting some steel at work. I tried to warm up Saturday before my usual lesson. Had to get off the ice after 5 minutes. The pain kept increasing. Cancelled that lesson and Monday night's lesson. Going to the Orthopedist tomorrow for evaluation.

I don't mind skating through pain, but I also don't want to injure it further.

I'm pretty depressed at not being able to skate. I'm trying to hold my emotions in check until after I see the doctor, but I'm really bummed out.



[b:9b5a761962]"Never, ever take anything for granted. Especially don't take risks for granted. Risks - sensible, calculated, prudent, rational risks - are the obstacles that make reaching the destination worthwhile. Without them there would be no struggle and no satisfaction. Risks give life its zip."
-- Peter Vidmar
1984 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist
Team Competition, Pommel Horse[/b:9b5a761962][/b]

[quote:23fe9ef72b="garyc254"]I'm pretty depressed at not being able to skate. I'm trying to hold my emotions in check until after I see the doctor, but I'm really bummed out.[/quote:23fe9ef72b]

Yeah, I bet you are. Poor you; I do hope it proves to be nothing serious and heals fast.

I didn't skate last night as my knees were killing me - I'm not sure whether they really like me skating in waltz hold and not sticking my bum out.... tough! They are going to have to learn.

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

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! This is my first post in a lesson/practice thread in a looooooooooooooooooong time!

Hairy: The one foot spin is still missing, and I'm afraid I'm tinkering it to death. Shorten this edge entrance, lengthen the other one, don't hunch your shoulder, drop that hip, lead with the right arm, and most of all.... relax! Riiiiiiiight.

Also started a couple new classes yesterday -- turns and connecting moves. Does anyone remember that movie "The Other Side of the Mountain" the biography of Jill Kinmont? There was a scene of her during rehab where she worked and worked to do something as simple a picking up a potato chip out of a bowl. That was me with the LFI 3 turn, I was so freaking happy to have done such a simple manuever and the instructor looked at me like I was crazy.

Hopeful: Well, I guess the 3 turns went very well, so I was pleased. The connecting moves and MIF class was interesting, we did the mohawk-cross thing, consecutive spirals, precision waltz cross sequences.

Then during freestyle, I worked on loops, flips and the one foot. Exasperated, my friend Carla presuaded me to try rotating on my opposite foot and I got 3 revs on the first try, wierd! I tried loops out of the back crossovers and out of an IR3 -- I get more height out of the x overs, but actually complete a baby jump out of the 3 turn. Flips, I was leaning too far forward and really trying to toepick launch myself out of the building, so I've toned it down a bit. I'm still two footing the landing, but with mere toe scrapes on some of the landings. A light at the end of the tunnel?

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

Wang chung!

Hairy: Coach is trying to improve my pick-in on my flip jump since I tend to pick to the side rather than behind. Sooooo, he told me to aim the jump at the blue line, 3 turn before the line and pick on the other side of the line. This, of course, is waaaayyy too much information for my brain to handle at 6AM, so I got my feet all tangled up and went flying in about 6 different directions! To make it worse, another coach at the end of the ice who happens to have been a Canadian pairs champion for about a million years, calls down the ice, "Watch out for that blue line- I hear they're really tall today!" I couldn't do anything but lay on the ice and laugh, and I thought Coach was going to fall over laughing. What must these coaches think- especially when in addition to my coach and the other one who called to me, the coaches on the ice included a multi-time Hungarian champion, a two time Worlds medalist, and a Czech champion???? Maybe I should take up chess........

Hi 1lutz2klutz!

Well this makes much more sense then when you described it in passing this morning!

Make sure you get those coach's credentials right -- that "Czech Champion" is an Olympic medalist!! You know me -- I have to defend my coach....... :wink:

And I know what you mean -- everytime he watches me do something, I always manage to flub it up! Ha! Ha!

OK, today was going to "you know where in a handbasket" day--the day I decided to "fight the LFI3 and NOT let it win!!!

Hairy: Here's the litany of things I was doing wrong on my LFI3:
1. Not holding the entry edge long enough
2. Turning and losing the back outside edge to an inside edge
3. Bringing my arms up too high and too close together
4. Dropping my right shoulder after the turn
5. Not keeping my free foot "boot to boot" and not pointing it downward
6. Leaning too far forward after the turn
7. Not keeping the right knee forward enough

Amazing, ain't it--I can make ALL those mistakes in a move that takes approximately one and one half seconds to do!!

Hopeful: After much coach instruction, it finally started to look like a real three turn. Its still far from great, but at least I finally feel like its coming. The toughest part is getting all my body parts into the correct position after the turn. I seem to do pretty good until I get turned around. We also practiced a simple exercise of C-pushes onto a left backwards edge and gliding to "feel" the correct position I should be in after the turn.

Sigh...its so frustrating. I've always had trouble learning three turns, but this one is just positively my nemesis. Its just a continuous struggle; however, at least now I feel better about what I'm trying to do instead of doing a quick and forced little turn. Millimeter by millimeter by millimeter...

Well, Skating "Summer School" starts next week--its quite exciting, lots of learning opportunities (most, unfortunately, not timed for working adults like me). Lessons now shift to Tuesdays--and I'll now have half an hour to warm up and practice before the lesson since Paula doesn't have another student right after me. ALLLLLRIGHT!!! That is truly a good thing!

Inch by inch, row by row, that is how we make our three turns grow...

Beth :wink:

2nd lesson as an adult Alpha:

Hopeful:
Well, I think that I just got moved into Beta! There's only two people in my group lesson and the other person is a pre-alpha beginner, so after working on one-foot glides with my feet crossed and crossovers today, my instructor told me that I could move on to the next class if I wanted to, but that there were more people in that session and she could start teaching me the stuff for the next level anyway. So after picked my jaw off the ice (I didn't think my left over right crossovers were anywhere near passing) I replied that I rather liked my semi-private lesson and would stay put. She agreed that this was probably best and laughed about a "private" group lesson and the difference in price from a real private lesson.

So that means I'll probably start backwards Beta next week!

Hairy:
So that means I'll probably start backwards Beta next week! LOL!!

My feet are killing me -- I have an appointment to get fitted for real skates next Thursday. So unless, by some miracle, I fit off the shelf I'll hopefully have new skates in time for camp at the end of July.

I haven't taken the Alpha test, but I will at the end of the session in sic weeks. I don't know that I'll be ready to test Beta then, but I'd like to be ready to test out of Beta after camp this summer. Who knows? It may happen! It was my goal to take only 3 lessons this session as an Alpha and I met that goal (a week early, to boot!) I'm actually excited to start doing more backwards.

And here's my ego stroke for the week: It appears that I am the most advanced student on the ice during my lesson time -- there's a couple of Tot classes and an Alpha kids' group, my pre-Alpha lesson buddy and me! This may be the ONLY time I feel this way, so YAY for ME!!!!

With the England match starting at 7.30 am our time, the rink was deserted! I think there had been all of four skaters on the ice during the whole patch session, and Robert and I were two of them! Which is sometimes nice, but when he left, I was on my own, and I find that trying - one works all the time, and there is nobody to watch while you are having a breather. I knew I wouldn't have a lesson today, as my coach is on holiday, but I had thought one or two others would be in!

Before he left, Robert and I skated round and round in waltz hold, doing plain stroking, crossovers and swing rolls. Not too dreadfully dire, but could have been better. I have this problem with backwards stroking in waltz hold - what on earth do you do with your free leg? I find that there simply isn't room to bring it more or less in front of you, the way you have to if you are to have a half-way decent edge. Now, that may be Robert, or it may be me, but either way it's an issue that must be resolved next lesson!

We also walked through our Rhythm Blues Variation, only partly successfully, but not too bad.

Once he'd gone, I ran through both my programmes that I'm doing solo at Bracknell in two weeks, then walked through the Dutch Waltz and Canasta Tango, wondering if they've improved enough to be worth doing solo at Oxford in October. I think they might have. Had I known nobody would have been there, I'd have brought some tapes in!

The other thing I did was practice my back cross-rolls/cross steps again, and following the advice I was given at Alexandra Palace, I really focussed on leaning towards the edge I was on. And I can ALMOST do them! I can definitely cross my left foot behind my right, and can very nearly cross my right foot behind my left, but there's still a tiny toe-tap there. Anyway, this is definitely progress!

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

Well the Orthopaedic doctor's verdict is in.

My shoulder soreness from holding my arms up/out is due to bursitis. Got a shot of cortisone for it.

My hip pain is a tear in the sacroiliac area. Take Naprosyn (anti-inflammatory) and go see a physical therapist (PT).

I shouldn't skate until after I see the PT and get the okay.

Fortunately, one of our local skating coaches is a full time PT. I'm going to get with her as I know she'll be VERY sympathetic to my plight/passion.

Hopefully I'll recover quickly and get back on the ice. YAYYYYYY!!!!!

My first ever practice in my new boots! The blades that came with them are a bit rubbishy, not very well sharpened (at the factory) and skiddy, especially the right one which was totally off. I could barely do a balanced FO3 on my right foot, but my FO-BI double 3s on my left foot were lovely! Beats me. My FI-BO double 3s were ok, but not wonderfully balanced. Hope I get everything back when I get new blades!
Didn't try any jumps obviously, since I'm still breaking in my boots and I don't trust the blades. The toepick is also a completely different shape to what I'm used to, and the blades themselves are different size to my old ones too I think (old ones say 10 3/4, new ones say 10 2/3). However, never fear, I'm getting new blades as soon as I can.
Had a dance lesson with my coach, spent it all on the Swing Dance, getting very technical and detailed. I don't mind at all, I'd rather do it right than wrong! lol. I have to work on the inside mohawk at speed though.
I have to say though, with the extra support in the new boots, my forward crossovers felt stronger and I felt comfortable with more extension, and when I wasn't going so fast as when I'm dancing, my inside mohawks were better. So not all bad! Yay!
Had blades sharpened at the end of the session (my coach did it for me), so will see what they're like on Saturday.

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

AnnM proudly announces the birth of her baby loop jump. Baby Loop ("BL" for short) was born on center ice at approximately 8:45pm on June 12 after nearly 18 months of labor. BL had a decent amount of height, and a slightly rough, but held, one foot landing. Hopefully BL will not be a shy little thing, but rather will make many public appearances in the upcoming weeks.

Ann M - CONGRATS!!!

Gosh, I know what that's like!! I can certainly relate!

Haha. Congrats AnnM.

Hi, y'all!

First thing...congrats to you, AnnM!!! I know exactly what you just went through...and believe me when I tell 'ya that this will be the first of many "gradually" bigger and bigger ones!!!

Second thing...I've been quite busy with work and life as of late to post regularly... I'm lucky just to get time to skate in fact... WAAAAH!!!

[b:d86c901334]Hopeful:[/b:d86c901334][list:d86c901334][*:d86c901334]Waltz jump was the same, but the entrance going into it was a bit better. Mistress Coach didn't yell at me as much, which, according to one regular skater on coffee club, is a "gold star" for me today! [*:d86c901334]Salchow - needs work on holding the back leg behind me on the BI edge (after the 3-turn) and on holding the LBO after the landing. Mistress Coach stressed again that I'm not staying on my edge but more on the flat turns the [b:d86c901334]inside[/b:d86c901334] edge! [*:d86c901334]WOO HOO!!! (AnnM...you should be reading this...this is what's coming to you in a little while! ) I've [b:d86c901334]finally[/b:d86c901334] landed a few good loop jumps in front of Mistress Coach too!!! She said "Those loops are pretty good now. It's no longer the wimpy little ones I've been seeing. Now bring those arms in!!! Of course, typically of all good sadist ice coaches, she upted the ante on me. Now she wants loop, this "little" foot tap to a waltz jump or a toe loop...I don't remember...the toe tap thingie was challenging enough as is. [*:d86c901334]Alternating forward crossovers are better, according to my moves coach.[/list:u:d86c901334][b:d86c901334]Hairy:[/b:d86c901334][list:d86c901334][*:d86c901334]Backspins are still crappy. Same problem. Still [*:d86c901334]Toe loops are more like toe-waltz jumps again!!! [*:d86c901334]Alternating BACK crossovers were crappy! I'm still hearing those evil, EVIL toe scratchies! Moves coach is really pushing for me to work on those crossovers[*:d86c901334]Moves coach still thinks that I need more work on the mohawk at speed (I'm chickening out!), but at slower speeds she's seeing some improvements!!![*:d86c901334]Here's a shocker...Mistress Coach believes that I'm really a CCW skater and not a CW skater. She wants me to start practice waltz jumps and one foot spins (as well as my normal CW direction) to see what happens for a while. (Anyone been through this one before???)[/list:u:d86c901334]Cheers,
jazzpants

We went to Slough last night for Robert to practice with our friend, with whom he is competing the Willow Waltz and Fiesta Tango at the Bracknell Adult Open in two weeks' time. I arrived just as they'd finished their lesson, and apparently it had been a bit disastrous! Certainly they were practising the first few steps of the Willow, up until the man's Mohawk, over and over again, and they kept on going wrong.... I had thought there'd been something funny with Robert's Mohawk when he had been practising it solo on Wednesday, but am not skilled enough to diagnose what. Anyway, my own view of them was that Robert was holding our friend as though he feared either that I'd be jealous, or that she'd "do" him for assault - arms' length doesn't begin to describe it! And I rather expect that is what he and I also look like! We did twirl around a bit in waltz hold, trying to stay close, but then kept fouling each others' skates, and when the end of the rink is coned off for group lessons, there is really not much room to get any speed up.

In the dance interval we did managed to get through our variation Rhythm Blues - I wanted to practice it at Slough, as both Swindon and Oxford, where we are to compete it, are "standard-size" (i.e. 56x24) rinks (as opposed to Olympic-size, which is 60x30 - Streatham, where we skate, is maverick, at 60x24!).

I didn't skate this morning - I was originally waiting in for a new bathroom suite to be delivered, and as that arrived before 9.00 am I thought of going, but got the most appalling cramp in my left calf - so strong I quite thought it would break my leg, you can't imagine the agony, and it's still very sore even now, some 6 hours later, so I'm very glad I didn't!

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

Wow. Last night was a crazy night! After going out to dinner, I practiced for about 45 minutes until the hockey league took the ice (9:30 PM) then I drove home (.5 hour) and took the pups for an hour long walk. I've found they sleep better after exercise and it was a beautiful night, although when you get between street lights, you cannot see chocolate Labs in the dark, LOL!

Hopeful: There were about 6 skaters and a couple of coaches from another rink on the ice -- apparently their rink is closed and they will be coming to our two nights a week. The skaters were about 12-13 and doing double jumps, so I had some fear for the few 7-8 year olds scooting around the edge of the rink. This was a public session, but all of the kids (though energetic) were well behaved -- better than some of the adults from our club that usually skate that session. The adults usually make it really difficult for me to get anything in as they have no hesitation to cut through the circle on which I'm working my crossovers or zoom by very close to me as I attempt to do a lap backwards. True, this session was too crowdwd for me to grab a circle, but I didn't feel like I was being dive-bombed. :wink:

Anyway -- because I didn't have a circle I was forced to do laps and work my crossovers on the ends of the rink (where they're supposed to be, LOL!). Previously this spooked me, but for some reason I found some confidence tonight and was able to get my right over left crossovers around the ends! Not a big deal, but I was pretty pleased with myself to try that on a crowded public session with a handful of freestylers practicing programs. I even got a bit of a push in them, not my normal glide, cross and wobble.

Worked on really bending my knees on my snowplow stop. Now I can stop in about 4 feet instead of the 12 feet it took in my lesson on Tuesday. I'm sure it looked pretty amusing to watch me go around the rink: stroke, stroke, stop. Stroke, stroke, stop. Kinda like watching try to drive a manula transmission car for the first time, lol!

Hairy: I'm still trying to get more comfortable on my left over right crossovers. Hard to do much last night -- too many people going too many directions. I did work on gliding with my feet crossed and stepping over. They feel about three weeks behind my other side, but I think I've talked dear hubby into practicing tonight before we go see the play he designed. Perhaps at supper time on a Friday the ice will be clearer so I can go the other direction for a while. He could use practice on that side, too.

Have a great weekend!!! 8)

Hopeful: I made it all the way through the Spoltlight program last night and it wasn't half-bad. I'm wheezing like a old horse when I'm done but I can get through it. With first competition a month away, that's a good sign.

Hairy: Sit spins have left the building. No clue why. Even coach has no clue. Move on. MIF: very hairy. I upped my estimate of how long it will take me to to pass the Pre-Juv Torture Test from five years to Infinity. The back threes I could do in figures a couple years ago are non-existent in freestyle skates. The only move I like is the 5-step-mohawk. We talked about missing patch.

Next week I have committed myself to a program run-through with costume and props. If nothing else, it will convince the few people at the rink who don't know for sure that I'm seriously disturbed that I surely am.

[b:b8172d36ae]Hopeful:[/b:b8172d36ae]

Lots of MIF in my near future. I had commented via e-mail to my coach that a friend of mine thought I looked a bit tentative on the ice during my competition last weekend. Obviously the only cure for tentativeness, in my book, is to work on power and speed.

So coach #1 dragged out the dreaded "posture and arms torture tool" also known as a chopped-off hockey stick, and made me do perimeter stroking holding the hockey stick in front of me (well to my inside on the progressives/runs around the ends). Then he said "faster" and wanted me to do the perimeter stroking faster. And again. Then he had me do forward progressives in a big circle (half-rink diameter) CCW direction, and several repeats. Still holding onto the hockey stick. And then he corrected how I was holding onto the hockey stick. Extend the arms, etc... Then CW (which is normally okay but not as fast as CCW, but when the "torture tool" was added, my CW progressives went to hades in a handbasket REAL fast.

Next we moved onto forward power-3s, and he picked them apart. But he gave me some excellent tips, and I realized that one of my problems with the choctaw (from the BI edge after the back crossover) to the FO edge for the next FO3 was because I wasn't holding the BI edge long enough. Which actually started a bit earlier...because I wasn't always checking the BI edge of the FO3 long enough. So... my marching orders for practicing the forward power 3s are to make sure I complete the lobe after the 3-turn, and make sure I complete the lobe for the back crossovers, so that I'm initiating the choctaw for the next sequence stroking perpendicular to the long axis.

[b:b8172d36ae]Hairy: [/b:b8172d36ae]
Before my lesson, I was working on the 8-step mohawk sequence. I can do this at reasonable speed (not anywhere near test quality, but not a creep) in the CCW direction. So I decided to try it in the CW direction. BIG MISTAKE. A real mess. And trying to figure out the upper body rotation to do the drill in the CW direction was quite the challenge. Then I made it mostly through 1 sequence, went to do the last couple steps, sat back too far on my blades and landed smack on my backside. Lots more practice for the 8-step mohawk sequence in my future, I think.

--jsl

This is a synopsis of my last few sessions as I've been getting in late and unfed from work (pity the butt isn't shrinking in sympathy!) so haven't got around to actually functioning yet .....

DANCE

All seems to be going well(ish), I've lost some power from being off with the dodgy knee but I wasn't as bad as I expected. THANKFULLY I didn't test on Tuesday (due to aforementioned knee) as all but one failed. I wasn't actually there to see the tests as I had to work but one of the girls failed who I really didn't expect to fail! I did speak to her yesterday though and she says that she didn't skate very well and that it was a fair decision .... but on her bad days she's better than me! We did the test dances several times and also some work on the Rocker. My edges which HAD improved on the Rocker have since deteriorated again .... oh well, new boots and blades next week so at least I've got an excuse

SOLO DANCE

As before I've lost some strength on the edges but nothing that hard work won't reincarnate! The European isn't THAT awful solo but I do sometimes get my head position a bit mixed up .... Madame has very strict 'thoughts' as to where I should be looking ..... I'm ok for a while and then I lose it!

Ran through the 22 Step solo (my least comfortable dance of the two) and she actually said that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be ..... and, believe me, THAT is a compliment Apparently one of the judge's comments on the skaters that failed the test on Tuesday was that they did a cross behind instead of a back run on the 22 step ..... we are now looking for an up to date step chart as everyone that I know teaches it as a cross behind ...... a back run is MUCH easier to do and is a habit that they pull their hair out trying to break!!

I, personally, want to spend more time working on these before I test. I'm NOT totally comfortable with the 22 step, (although I can keep in time when the music is on) I still feel that I could neaten up the steps A LOT! I don't know how the rest of you feel out there but I'm not doing the tests to just to say "I'm 'whatever' level", I want to be able to do the dances well (well, for me ). The test is just a milestone to show me that I'm improving. If only I was so composed on test day!

FREE

Not TOO bad, the step sequence has shrunk and is ploddy ..... that was probably the worst bit of my elements/programme anyway.

The jumps are ok, I lost the timing slightly on the loop, I could still get one out but it didn't have the height (she says, sounding as though she WAS 3 feet in the air before) as before I was off. On the fourth go around, though it miraculously reappeared.

A BREAKTHROUGH!! Although I still groan when I have to do the camel (which is 'ok' but still needs to be stronger and more conistent) I actually just skated off happily to do the backspin ...... Madame was suprised! It's still not wonderful but I am more comfortable with it now, I'm getting sufficient rotations for the test (but want to double that before I do test) and don't flail my arms around wildly when it goes wrong ...... there IS hope!

Madame wants me to wear a knee support when I'm skating as my knee is still quite sore ..... I don't like knee supports but I suppose ..... just while I'm skating ........ She also wants me to start going swimming with her! I'm not sure when, I can't cut out any sleep time, if only I could cut down on work

Hope everyone else is doing ok, good luck to everyone who is competing soon (esp the adults doing the Bracknell Adult Opens in the UK).

L x

__________________

The best whisper is a click

Joanna, i started off skating CW, and was having a lot of trouble learning more difficult jumps and spins. my coach and i thought we'd try me going CCW since we were never REALLY sure to begin with, and we were right, i am CCW. it was hellish for a while trying to re program my body to go the other direction but now that i've switched i've found things to come much easier.