Yup. The push comes after you are able to "fall back" onto the new foot. As long as you put your foot down way, way back behind you, you will be leaning slightly forward and thus unable to push with the O edge. I expect to see beautiful B cross strokes at the Dec NY meet-up!

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Cool & crisp: Good lesson today with some good encouragement and pointers on the bronze power XOs (back & fwd). Coach is encouraged at what she sees for spin, waltz jump & beginnings of toe loop & salchow in CCW direction.

Damp & dreary (like a Seattle winter!):
-I don't FEEL so great about CCW, although I need to remember how weird these jumps & spins all felt when I first tried them CW. Hopefully I'll get up the guts to actually JUMP the toe loop & salchow instead of just stepping them in the next week or so. I'm willing to give this some time, and I do have some time before I next compete.
-Apparently I lead with my butt on the back power XOs. Niiiiice. Yet again (how many times has she said it?) I need to STAND UP!!!

Interesting conversation on the power pulls. I skied (Alpine) from age 3 to 20ish, with some racing (some of it fairly hard core) for about 10 years. So supposedly I should have more of a feel for these. 2footed they're splendid but pretty weak 1-footed. Of course, I've NEVER had a lesson on these, as they're a moves level above me, but I tend to do a lot of 2-footed slaloms as I'm warming up to try to get down into my knees and feel my edges. Funny thing about skiing is that you almost never put your weight on an outside edge, so except for crazy exercises where we skied down the hill on only one ski, I have little experience with that outside edge portion of the power pulls.

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"Go wash an elephant if you wanna do something big." -Baby Gramps

Yeah.. RIIIIIGHT!!!

Damp & Dreary: Okay so the B cross strokes are still there but not as fast as I did with secondary coach yesterday (so I must be doing something wrong.)

Cool Crisp: Artistic is going okay...

Damp & Dreary: Lots of bad habits to undo now!!!

Cool Crisp: I get to compete with "Grandma" again!!! (Good to see her again!!! Though she's probably gonna kill my @$$ again, she's good to watch skate and hang out with!!! )

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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!!!

Cool & Crisp:

-Camel is good again. (Of course, now that I say that, it will go all wonky.)
-Flying camel is good. I finally applied what my coach has been telling me about jumping up off the toe, and I think I now have some fly to my flying camel.
-I can do a camel-back sit! The back sit isn't very sitting, but I can do it! And it's more consistent than my sit-back sit.
-All moves were good, with one exception (see below).
-I love my new program
-Axel is getting better. I just need more snap.

Damp & Dreary:

-LFI 3 = arrrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!!! I'll have a double axel before i have a decent LFI 3
-Half loop is the most awkward jump ever. I don't like landing on my left foot. My toe makes this horrible, loud scratchy sound when I land.
-My brain is having trouble piecing together how the stag jump works.

Cool and Crisp: I skated yesterday and today. I also plan on skating tomorrow morning! :-D Anyways, the skating team (colligiate) is leaving for Cornell tomorrow morning! I'm so excited!!! I've done run-thrus pretty much every session, so I feel pretty prepared.

Damp and Dreary: My ending spin is still really weak... I can do a scratch-back scratch just fine in practice, but at the end of my program, it gets really wobbly... in fact, a lot of my spins seem weak during my run-thrus.

Cool and Crisp: My jumps are pretty strong and I my footwork has improved so much over the past few weeks since I learned it. Hopefully my footwork will behave during my program!!!

Damp and Dreary: (well... my mother would say it's a bad thing...) I'm skipping class tomorrow because we're leaving early! Yay!

I'm no expert, and my experience is far, far less than yours, but I distinctly recall pressing into the RO edge when travelling across a slope to the right, and vice versa when travelling to the left. I also remember seeing close ups of slalom competitions in which you could see the skis travelling on the edges, outside on one foot and inside on the other. Maybe my recent experience with parallel turns on skis was at such a low level that it more closely resembled power pulls than anything you remember. Skates also do feel very different from skis because of the huge differences in length and width of the runners.

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Cool and Crisp

My Moves class consists of me and two teenage girls working on their Novice moves. Today during forward perimeter crossovers the coach told me I had the best extension of all of us. Now I'm sure those girls are capable of better extension, just being lazy. But I'll take the compliment.

Then during crossover back outside edge extensions coach says (and by this time she was exasperated) that I was the only one doing them on pattern.

Forward inside 3 turns started out damp and deary, but as I worked on them, they improved a lot. This tells me I need to work on these more.

j

Cool & Crisp: The weather, both up north and down south. Brrrr!

Damp & Dreary: Had my skates sharpened and adjusted. Couldn't skate yesterday when Renatele and I had our little meetup, lol. Not even a scratch spin, grrr.

Since I'm up, I really want to skate, but I really should do other things.

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Cool & Crisp: Worked off-ice on the axel with my coach. Made major progress, which I'm hoping will translate on ice when I have more time to work on them.

I LOVE FLYING CAMELS!!!!! I just learned them on Weds, and when I was doing a run-thru of my program, I threw a flying camel-forward sit in where I normally have a camel-sit! It works there much better than the regular camel-sit for some reason! Two days after learning to do a flying camel I'm doing it in my program. As in the program I compete tomorrow! So excited. It's not the most beautiful thing ever but it's not cheated, I get 3-4 revs before I step forward to the sit spin, and with that extra push into the forward sit it makes that spin better. So it does the job.

Lutzes pretty good this morning too.

And we made some adjustments to my problem spot lately--my laybacks. And those are now better.

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

For yesterday:

Crisp: Having decided to not compete for awhile and to return to basics, I am pleased to see steady improvement in some things.

The knees, which were KILLING me after a guest coach got me "down in the knees" have improved immensely and so has my overall skating as a result.

Coach gave my a few tips on improving my (already GREAT) forward edges, so even those are better

With guest coach's suggestions on improving my spins, some of them are actually CONTROLLED now - imagine that!

Also getting closer to a sit spin than I have been in nearly a year.

Soggy: Back XO's - had 'em once, get close often, but still not happening. Funny how a person can do amazing FXO's and not be able to do even poor ones backwards!

(Did I mention how modest I am? )

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

I have a friend and sometime student who has the opposite problem. Fine BXO's, with a nice underpush, but can't do the same push when going forwards. I think it just shows how much is in our heads!

Damp & Soggy:
Having spent a whole week in fear for older DD's health, I haven't been able to entirely shake the mood and knew I didn't want any real challenges on the ice today in my lesson.

Cool & Crisp:
Told coach how I was feeling, and we worked on basics, not a three turn in the entire lesson! F stroking was actually fun, though I did catch my toe on a bump doing FXO's on the end - didn't fall, but it was close. Ran thru the Pre-Pre edges, then did F cross strokes which I varied by bringing my skating arm overhead on each stroke - coach liked that and a few other skates said it was cool and very graceful. Did one one foot spin, which was solid and demonstrates yet again that I am really a CW skater. Did a few B pivots in prep for the backspin, which is feeling better each time. Did the two foot turn exercise, on which coach ramped up the speed so fast that I was really surprised I could do it. After my lesson, I showed them to DH, starting at a standstill and was pleased to just glide along picking up speed on them. I'm now at the point where I don't have to consciously think about where my weight is. Ended with power pulls, which were technically fine, but I need to do them much more often so I can put more power into them. Coach says it's just a matter of comfort.

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Wow, sounds like good progress all around! Very cool about the camel-back sit! I hear you on the LFI3, though. I get totally mental over it when I have to do those CW alternating inside 3's on the Novice MIF. I'm afraid of it, so I don't put enough weight on my left foot, and that just makes it worse. Once I get my head together and make myself press the LFI edge really hard into the ice while facing into the circle I'm on (i.e., left shoulder forward and chest rotated to the right), it finally starts to work. But. . . Ugh! Awkward is putting it mildly.

Cool & Crisp:
I made my main coach teach me a RFI loop today. He rolled his eyes and said something about not having high hopes, but by the end of our lesson I made him admit that I was actually doing them, LOL! I think these will help my RFI entrances to backspins as well as helping me learn change edge backspins.

Damp & Dreary:
A really disappointing program run-through this morning. I got distracted and missed the takeoff on my first axel, then did the same thing on the flying camel that followed it. Then I got back on track, but just before I had to do my flip-loop-loop and my lutz, I noticed my right boot suddenly felt really loose in the ankle. Afraid my lace was undone and I'd twist my ankle on those right foot pick jumps, I aborted the last 3 elements in my program and skated over to the boards to check my laces instead. Arrghh.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Damp and Dreary:
Can't land the flip clean even w/o the runthru. The only jump I landed clean was the loop and that was with a LOT of struggle!!! Obviously, since the program isn't finished, it's not a complete runthru. I think it's about 20 seconds left to the program.

Cool & Crisp:
Well, I made myself do a double runthru and survived. Cardio wise I'm still good!

My "twizzle" is not that bad. When I do get the free foot near the ankle, not only I do feel more steady, the "spin" is FASTER!!! (What d'ya 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!!!

Yep, both skis are indeed on the snow, but the bulk of your weight is (should be) on the downhill/outside ski (at least while turning--if you're going sideways [traversing] on the hill, different deal). This isn't at all intuitive, by the way. You just have to DO it and trust it'll work, so someone who's newer to skiing may not have figured it out yet.

Anyhoo, yeah, skis are not the same as skates!

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"Go wash an elephant if you wanna do something big." -Baby Gramps

Getting a decent edge and rotating into the circle are my problems too. My edge has gotten better, but I really have a hard time rotating my shoulders around far enough. I usually end up forcing the turn and skidding around, especially when I'm trying to do the pattern with more power.

Damp and Dreary: My skating has been up and down like a yo-yo. One day I'm hitting my head on the ice, the next day I'm landing everything, the day after that I'm splatting again. Consistency has never been one of my strong points, but this is ridiculous I took one of my new boots back to SP Teri to be stretched.

Cool and Crisp: Had a great lesson for a change. Even landed a double loop (after not having really worked on it for a long time). Coach high fived me. A lady on the ice said I looked like a gazelle the way I jump. That made my week

Damp & Dreary

Flat broke, have to miss skating on Wednesday night. Car broke down, can't afford to have it towed for repairs. Got a cold, and I'm plain miserable.

so, I went skating, of course.

Cool & Crisp

Ah. Nice ice, a quiet public session. Just fun. Even though not exactly sparkling, I did one camel I was pleased with, and a good flip. Attempted my first lutzes in months (due to a knee injury preventing me from jumping) and landed them. Yee-hah!

Loops & sit spins were pretty dreary, but what the heck, I had fun.

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
I was over it, now I'm into it again !

Damp and Dreary: not to be a pessimist but I'm starting with this one...oy, my elements! Thursday morning I was not good, not good at all - camel/sit/backspin combo was really a camel attempt/not low enough sit/decent backspin combo. Cannot do flip or lutz at all. Kept forgetting part of the footwork. Given my current problems with jumps we're not sure about what ones to add in the program.

Cool and Crisp: But, my loop is getting better at a faster speed, though it freaks me out a bit. Part of my footwork is looking good and I actually hear the music when I skate to it (ha! before it was...just do the program, is there music on?!?)

Really Damp and Dreary: probably can't afford to go to Nationals . I will definitely be at easterns as long as I'm still living here (most likely the case), but I REALLY want to go to nationals. Maybe I will win powerball! I don't need the whole jackpot...

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Revised Official 2010 Goals checklist
Skate __
New boots __
(lowering the bar for 2010 as I haven't skated in a year)

Man, I have to say that today was not one of my terrific sessions. It just seemed like alot of things were awkward and just not cooperating. I guess every skater has those days. But here it goes:

Cool and Crisp:
-Did my 10 waltz's in a row warmup successfully
-Had some really monsterous loops and flips....yes flips they decided to cooperate today and man did I get air on them
-Layback spins were some reason were really nice today. I did not get dizzy, I had the right position and even held it for several rotations. So hooray for layback spin
-My 'Music Box' programme was great once again. I always feel so happy after I do it. As I said earlier with that programme it's all timing. Certain elements have to be held alittle longer while others have to be alittle quicker. Not a big deal, it's also the type of programme in which you can improvise pretty grace moves to fill in gaps. Ah I just love that programme..(if there was a heart smilie, I would definatly use it at this time.)
-Flying broken leg spins weren't bad either, but I dont get it. I try to go into a sit spin from it and it never works out or even the other way around from a sit to broken leg. Is there like a change in edge that Im supposed to be aware of..it's just eerie. But overall the two spins individually were alright.


Damp and Dreary:
-My scratch spin...yes scratch spin was giving me alot of issues. I would start off really good..but it kept going downhill from the hook. There was even one instance where I got all caught up. Why Im not sure.
-I HATE HATE HATE camel spins!! They were giving me the worst time. Im seriously not sure what Im doing wrong but I either hop out of it or fall out of it. Grrr.
-The fact that the ice was very crowded and there were at least six coaches giving lessons...so you could imagine the traffic issues.

-Axel attempts were not all that bad, however I once again kept dropping my left leg on the landing. As I said if my left foot didn't touch down, I would have it like this *snap*.

-My 'Le Jazz Hot' showcase runthrough...oh man that was just awful. I started out good, accidently skipped on tiny element and was thrown off for the whole entire programme. I was really embarressed after
-Breathing wasn't particularly easy today, so some time was wasted trying to catch my breath, hydration and once again trying to avoid getting hit by other skaters.
-I swear it was 'drive Laney off the ice day' in which no matter where I went, someone would either be having a lesson there, running moves or just standing there.


Anyhoo, I guess thats about it. I didn't fall all that much today which is a good things I suppose, yet I didn't come off the ice thinking 'wow, what a great sesson!' It was more: 'Blah' especally about my showcase runthrough. Hopefully next time will go better.

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[i]Beauty May Be in the Eye of the Beholder
But passion is in the heart of a skater.[/I]

Maybe if you think about using your ankle to shift edges. When you are doing them on two-feet, you may be already thinking of that, ut when you are on one foot, you change focus? If you were just using your knee, you'd mostly be bouncing up and down, but you probably wouldn't be all the way on the inside edge, then the outside edge, then back to the inside, etc.

I know when I judge these I frequently find myself writing, "Use your knees and ankles to develop power as you change edges". That's because as my coach has pounded into my head (and maybe my feet) the lean actually starts from your feet, not your knees. And I agree with Mrs. Redboots... the back ones are MUCH easier than the forwards. I know for me, I was always worried about the toepick when going forward.. and of course that's not a problem when going backwards.

Best wishes for your daughter's health and you as well.

I was really tired this morning, so I just grabbed my patch skates and gave them another try. The sharpening with the deeper (1" vs. 1.5" "factory setting") ROH made them so much more usable! I'm still going sideways, but at least I can push off with an inside edge.

Managed a few forward eights; found that I must toe push a lot because I kept catching the missing toe pick. Had to concentrate on technique.

I guess I'm also getting used to the smaller rocker on these blades because I found myself pitching face-forward on the back edges after three turns. I don't think I use my toe pick in my freestyle boots. *shrug*

It's good for me, right?

This should be fun - my DD's are still learning their routines for next month's Basic Skills competition. Today, I found out that they have mini-solos in the "Nutcracker on Ice" skating show. They're going to be the "Chinese Dancers" which IIRC is the "Tea" segment. (Is that correct? I have to unbox the videos and music, I think.)

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