Yep that's the downside to multiple coaches, but I find the benefits outweigh the negatives and really like working with multiple instructors.

No, it's not the pulling in that's the problem. I keep the arms and leg open until I've done at least 2 revolutions then pull in. It's where my arms are when I start the entry edge. Currently I have been doing left inside edge with the left arm forward over the edge and the right arm backward. He wants me to switch it to right arm forward (so closed over my body line, in case we are using "closed" to mean two different things) and left arm backward.

He actually showed me the entrance where his arms were in a closed position (they were opposite of how my arms always are) and the spin definetly works, but I'm kind of confused how it works. Maybe he was opening them as he three-turned? Or maybe it's just that I've been doing it the other way for a year and its going to take some getting used to. I start with a new coach on the 19th and will just do it whatever way she says, and if it's different i'll just tell him that thats how my coach wants it. The coaches who are clearly incredible skaters its so hard to tell if it "needs" to be that way, or if they just want it that way. Because I have no doubt he could do a perfect backspin starting with one hand on his head and the other in his back pocket.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

That's the way I teach it - I use the term "cross checked" instead of "closed." Just different terminology; easier seen than explained online, lol.

This is a really good skill to master because it leads to stronger in-air position on jumps. Keep practicing - you'll feel awkward at first, but it'll get easier in time. You'll feel the "pull in" for the back scratch more with this method.

Be aware that many coaches (myself included) keep the free leg back on the three turn and let the hips "catch up" with the free leg. It's again hard to explain, but it's a building block skill. It took me a long time to relearn the spin that way - I had been taught to "keep the free leg in front."

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This is for yesterday:

Pass:
-I did decent jumps on the morning session! I honestly thought that was impossible
-spins were okay. I think I made some progress on back camel.
-most of MIF were okay
-dances were good

Retry:
-had a terrible time checking LBO 3-turn in both the double 3 pattern and the slide chasse pattern
-felt like I was tripping myself on BI 3 to FO 3s. Coach changed my leg position on the BI3s and now they feel harder.

I PASSED!!!
I am now officially done with my prejuv moves. I'm so happy!

The test session was running about a half hour late when we (me and another skater) arrived. I was running over an hour late by the time we left.

Anyways, I know for a fact that my coach would have failed me if she had been the judge, but her opinion doesn't matter...

Forward Perimeter Crossover Stroking:
2.8; 2.8 - nice power and extension; 2.7 - more edge on crossovers, nice tempo

Backwards Perimeter Crossover Stroking:
2.7; 2.9 - Very bood power and nice edges; 2.7 - crossovers early, nice tempo

FO 3-turns:
2.7 - some turns late; 2.7 - good edges and turns; 2.7 back turns stiff

FI 3-turns:
2.7; 2.7 - good edges and turns; 2.7 - back turns stiff

Power Pulls (the moves my coach hated the most of all and though I would have failed miserably on...):
2.7; 2.6 - power a little weak and inconsistant; 2.7 - Okay

Five Step Mohawk:
2.7; 2.7 - some edges shallow to flat, others very nice; 2.7 - more outside edge on step forward

I PASSED! I really think if the judges had been more harsh though, I would have failed miserably.

Well today was very interesting. I'm finally getting a grip on my double salchow. I landed two of them clean and I didn't even pull in. It was light and almost easy. It almost seems anticlimatic. I did it and felt like I did all of that falling and overrotating for nothing. Hey, lets see if I can do it again tomorrow.

RETRY: My flying sit spin doesn't fly or sit. It collapses instead. LOL


BlackManSkating

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Proud to be one of the few black men out on the ice

Goals
Pass my Silver Moves Test
Finish Choreography for Silver Program
Land a Clean Double Toe and Double Lutz
Work on Double Axel and Rockers
Speed up back Camel

Pass:
Well, at least my secondary coach noticed that I did work on forward crossovers this weekend! It's definitely improving in this lesson. Of course, I need to continue working on it 'til the cows come home...

Retry:
We started on BACK crossovers towards the end of the lesson!!! Ummm... that needs a lot of work 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!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

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Congratulations on passing your move test!

Those are Pre-Juv moves in the field in the US?! Whoa, we do those partly as a FS element test (Forward Perimeter Crossover Stroking & Backward Perimeter Crossover Stroking) and as skills (FO 3-turns, FI 3-turns, Five Step Mohawk) in Preliminary. The FS elements test also includes jumps up to flip, forward spin, back spin, camel spin, sit spin and spiral or lung. The Skills test also includes, circles (edges) and more all set to music.

I'm not sure what the Junior Bronze FS element test or the Junior Bronze Skill test would have on it.

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"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

CONGRATS!!!!
----------------------------

Ok, I apologize in advance if this post comes out really long.

Pass or retry is a perfect theme for this week, as I have 3 AP tests this week! Unfortunately, we don't get a retry.

Retry:
Because of APs, I haven't been able to skate very much. But I did get to go today!

Also saw the doc today to have my EMG/nerve conduction test done. My superficial peroneal nerve is not conducting any nerve signals at all. I kinda figured that was the case given the numbness in my foot. So, I'm being scheduled for a fasciotomy so that he can release the muscle hernia that is entrapping the nerve. Hopefully the nerve isn't dead. Although, if a nerve in my leg needs to die, this is the right one, as all it does is supply feeling to my foot. However, since I have the bad pain shooting up my leg too, something needs to be done.

My hip flexor is still sore. I thought I wasn't going to be able to jump at all when a single loop hurt, but doubles were actually less painful than singles. I think that could be because the momentum of a double makes the checkout happen more naturally.

Super scary moment on a double lutz. Apparently I didn't pick straight into the ice, as my toe picks almost entirely missed. I managed to get enough on the ice to be able to not fall flat on my face, but it was REALLY scary.

And, going alone with the whole testing thing, the AP Calc free response section was pretty brutal. I almost burst into tears when I looked at the first question. But my answer matched everyone else's.

Pass
Double flips are still happening. It takes me a while to get into the rhythm of the jump, but I'm landing them pretty consistently

I did what felt like a really nice sit spin. Another skater and I were busy counting each others revolutions, and I hit 20. It was fast, centered, and (i think) a pretty position!

Double loops were super easy today. 2loops are my favorite jumps, but I still usually have to work pretty hard to do good ones. I had no problem at all with them today. It felt great.

Tried 2axel for the first time in my new blades. I'm still pretty much stuck at getting 2 rotations. I'm hoping to have a lesson soon to get on the harness, just to feel the rotation.

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Youtube Videos

Congratulations FlyandCrash!

I'm sorry to hear that- I hope the doctors are able to sort it out and that the nerve isn't dead.

I had a hypersensitive nerve when I had my EMG/nerve conduction test and it was the most painful experience in my life. I hate hate hate those things.

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Congratulations, FlyAndCrash!

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

You have my sympathy. I think working on the Gold moves is a great idea. Good luck.

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Retry: Still somewhat short on energy and wind (thanks to a killer cold!) and using paper towel as "industrial strength Kleenex"

Pass: We have been getting a flood before the 7 a.m. sessions by an operator who knows what he is doing thanks to a schedule change at the rink don't feel as much like I need shock absorbers on my skate blades!

Retry: Spins still aren't back where they used to be ... spinning with a cold adds a new dimension to "dizzy" (.... at least I am not blond anymore)

Pass: The small Radius of Hollow still feels incredibly "slippery" .... haven't a clue what to do with all that speed! Worked a LOT on backwards ... want to be as at-home on backward edges as forward. BO is feeling good, back stroking is cooking .... just might have BXO's before summer school

Through the whole session I kept reminding myself to RELAX and FLOW, not to focus on feet or arms but to "bring everything together" in a smooth easy movement and feel it as a whole .... I think I am getting there. "Zen skating"? Maybe

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Pass:
We had exams today so we were let out of school early, so obviously I headed to the rink And it was such a relief! Summer appears to have hit at a rocket pace...and I hate the heat.

Crossovers felt really good - relaxed and just overall better. Edges were fine...waltz jumps were pretty good today I thought, they seemed higher...but I need to stop looking down in the air! LOL.

And spirals...they were amazing! Well...better


RETRY!!!
A huge school trip arrived with 45 girls or something ridiculous . They pretty much stayed out of my way though. And I only skated for just over an hour...I seem to get tired really quicky now.

So what are AP Tests? I take it that it's a school thing, but what level - end of school? College? College entrance? Good luck with them, at any rate - as our old maths master used to say (and note that on this side of the Pond, it's Maths with an s on the end!), may you have all the success you deserve, and all the luck you need!


But of course! And the same wish as above applies to you. What are you doing? SATs, GCSEs, AS or A? Or just end-of-year exams?

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

AP stands for "Advanced Placement" and are high school courses that are designed to be college level. At the end of the course you can take an AP test to earn college credit. They can be a HUGE money (and time spent in college, many students enter as 2nd years due to them) saver- as the test costs under $100, and often you can get 3-4 hours of college credit per test. (My college only gave credit hours, but DH's college gave credit hours and a letter grade for them- so he actually got a bump in his Grade Point Average, where I had to weigh if getting easy classes out of the way through AP tests was worth the potential drop in my GPA by not having those "easy A's" in there. The money and time saved was worth it to me.)

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Pass:
My forward spins were really good today. Back spins were passable, but I really need a sharpening.

Started working on Pre-Juv MITF. I had forgotten the five-step mohawk sequence - I like that pattern! It's fun.

I landed several jumps several times, even my sad little loop. My problem is definitely keeping the free leg in the right place. It's dropping which is what's causing me to touch down on it.

Retry:
I keep chickening out on the Lutz. Something just isn't right and I feel like I'm stuck and can't even start the rotation. The 1/2 Lutz is actually pretty good with a clean takeoff and a nice in-air position. Meh, go figure.

I also gave the 8-step a try and I don't like it very much at all. That FO mohawk is brutal - any tips?

__________________

AP tests are tests given in specific subjects. At a lot of high schools, you can choose to take an AP course, which is like an honors course, but more advanced (it's supposed to be a college level class). At the end of the year, you take a 3 hour test in the different subjects. This year I took AP US gov, AP Calculus and AP English lit (just finished the lit test). The first half is multiple choice, then second free response (essay for history, social science, english and other languages, open ended problems for sciences and math). They can be pretty brutal (or pretty easy if you are well prepared).

It used to be that if you got a 3, 4 or 5 then you would get college credit, but now a lot of colleges only accept 4s and 5s (some only 5s). 5s are pretty hard to come by in most subjects and just about impossible in the sciences.

But yeah, an AP test is a test that determines whether or not the last year of he** you went through in those classes was worth it. Yeah, there's the whole "learning" thing, but most AP students just care about the score on the test.

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Youtube Videos

I get cold seats just thinking about that!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

bah nothing compared to AP chemisty. That test was SO hard. There is just so much to know for that class. But the first AP calc free response question was tricky--I almost completely panicked.

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Youtube Videos

Not that I can do that Mohawk (correctly) anyway, but the best tip I've found yet is to rotate your shoulders decisively on step 2 so your back is to the circle. Then, on step 3, the FO for the Mohawk, you just have to deal with your hips and feet.

Retry:
Planned to practice yesterday, but forgot I had a lesson to give. Did manage to get in a little basic stuff like consecutive 2 ft turns and also managed a few rounds of B power pulls. Hoped to practice after teaching 9 AM class today, but didn't get to sleep until 3 AM last night. After several failed 2 ft spins and FI threes, realized I was too tired and gave up before I hurt myself.

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[Pass]
Moves are coming along....the quick rocker pattern is giving me issues because I am not getting a good push on the choctaw/crossover, so I end up losing a lot of speed, but it will come I did just learn these! I was working on these on Wednesday and a coach told me that she had stopped after her intermediate and seeing me work on these makes her want to start working on her Novice again.

Spins are still going well...I did a few camel/layback/back sit combo today...I was probably shy on the revolutions, but I was at least able to hit all of the positions.

Axels are really big and now 2 of the coaches who are not mine have commented that they are getting really close...I have a lesson today so we shall see...it feels as if I'm getting a better snap and actually getting my leg in the way it should be...

[Retry]
When I got home last night, my butt was soaked...I fell so many times last night on axels at least the ice was okay and I slid I'm a little achy because of all of those falls, but it's worth it if I can land this jump....

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Skating Dreams

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." --Nike

Of course, that doesn't work here as we read for a degree in a specific subject (or occasionally combination of subjects) which you choose before you go to university.

Sounds rather like our A levels (exams taken in Year 13, the final year of what you would call high school), although in my day it was normally 2 or more 3-hour papers per subject, and normally your subjects were linked (e.g. Latin, French and German; or Physics, Maths and Chemistry), and the subjects you do decide more or less what you read at uni. These days you do five subjects (I believe) in year 12, with public exams at the end of the year, and drop down to 3 in Year 13, which does mean you don't decide your whole future at the age of 16!

Anyway, back to skating:

Pass: Friend videoed us today and it really wasn't as bad as I'd feared.

Retry: Still pretty dire, though. Can't wait for her to send me the video so that we can have another look and see what we need to fix.

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

Yeah- the British system is a lot different. Since I changed my major multiple times in college, I'm kind of glad I didn't have to decide at 16

I did have a few AP tests that didn't end up counting towards my degree even though I scored 5's on them, but no harm done in taking them. The ones that did count saved me a semester (which was useful with all the switching!)



Skating related: I start ice dance on saturday and had a nightmare about it last night. Among other things, in order to increase revenue the rink melted half of the rink to make it into a swimming pool so we only had a half sheet of ice. It was not a good dream.

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Right before I started dance, I had a dream that the rink was pitch black and no-one except me seemed to think this was odd despite the fact that people were skating in total darkness and colliding with each other all over the place. I woke up quite horrified!

Pass:

-First time I've been filmed dancing and it (mostly) was not as awful as I expected.
-I think I could be on the right track to fixing my forward cross rolls as long as I remember to use my shoulders and slow it all down.
-Back crossovers returned to me today, thank you to whoever stole them for seeing fit to let them come home.
-Did probably the best Rhythm Blues I've ever attempted, managed to slow down the closed chasses so that I didn't feel like I was on the verge of kicking myself over.

Retry:

-Golden Skaters Waltz...made the first circuit with no problems but totally blanked on the steps second time around, missed the closed chasse and had to fudge my way around the rest of it