I was a bit more careful at last Saturdays practice and only fell once instead of twice. Just warming up doing back crossovers around the circle and got my weight too far back on my blade. Ouch, the tailbone!! Bruised, but not badly.

Monday night I helped with the Learn-to-skate class, warmed up during a freestyle session, then had a short lesson from my coach.

Stupendous: Well, not really stupendous, but my coach had me working on back chasses (sp?), back swing rolls, and crossovers in combination. I'd never really tried these before, so felt good that they were acceptable after coach was done tweaking my position and timing.

The Waltz 8 is coming along, but I need to hold my edges longer to get around the full circle. BO & BI edges are making progress, but far from consistent.

Sick: I may never get my feet to both leave the ice at the same time. Saturday coach had me working on the half-flip. I can step through it easily, but DON'T MAKE ME ACTUALLY JUMP!!!

I can do a minimal waltz jump, but only after I wind up with a mohawk sequence.

Maybe it has something to do with rotational fears.

Stupendous: For one, the fact that I actually had a lesson for the first time in two weeks! Partnered the Keats, American, and the Rocker today for the first time. The Keats felt GREAT, but the Rocker needs some serious work! The funny thing is, the Keats feels like garbage when I solo it (well, mainly just the mohawk), and fine with a partner, but I feel really good about the Rocker on my own and it stinks when I'm with a partner! The American was...interesting...lol. Just needs more practice, really. I feel more confident about the three-turns, but I need to work on pattern placement. Now that test day has been announced, I have a month to make it all perfect!

Sick: Mohawk in the Keats. *sigh* I know to pass it just has to be fine with a partner, but I still want to be able to do it well on my own. The American was very frustrating today. As I mentioned above, I am having issues with pattern placement. And it's not all that easy to practice when the ice is full of freeskaters. On the upside, I have another lesson on Monday and possibly on Wednesday, so I think I will see more improvement than when I am only going once per week. I think skills have been put on the backburner until after test day. I'd kind of just like to get prelim over with because I really really want to learn proper back three turns!!

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Sk8er1964,

I'll cheer for you waving your arms for center ice..........then we will go socialize. I had to scratch sectionals, Port Huron and AN last year........so I hear you on scratching. Go do what you can.

Stupendous (I guess):

Had a lesson tonight and was told my Silver Tango has, in fact, surpassed my American. Not really a surprise, since I really really really don't like the American. And I've been busting my butt on that Tango. We decided the test date in November is coming up too fast but there's another one in mid-December that we're shooting for. I'll probably worry about taking the American at the test session after that in late January. It'll be nice b/c I'll have five weeks of winter break to train hard and work on the American before I have to test it. Coach is VERY happy with the Tango, though. Blues is coming along too; if I can get through the American this winter I may very well have a Pre-Gold under my belt by late summer. Yay! We've decided tentatively that I'll compete Junior at the summer competitions; the Novice dances for this year are the Tango, American, and Kilian, and since I'll probably have passed both the American and Tango by spring (knock on computer desk) it doesn't make sense for me to spend the summer doing them. And I hate the Kilian with a passion anyway, so I'd like to avoid that. I have to work hard on the Starlight and the Argentine if I want to skate Junior, though. Arge has actually come a long way since I last worked on it; I can actually do the twizzle without coming to a grinding halt first. I still don't have enough speed to finish the dance, though. Coach promised to look at it next week.


Sick:
My knee is still bothering me a little, and sometimes it hurts up into my hip too, but after I skate for twenty minutes or so the knee pain goes away, and sometimes the hip pain too. The knee pain usually comes back shortly after I get off the ice. Perfect solution: I skate all day! Somehow I don't see my parents liking that very much since they're paying for school.

Starlight Waltz. Why oh why does it look so beautiful when Grishuk and Platov do it? I'd sooner die than watch a video of my Starlight right now, LOL. I tried it with my coach last weekend and nearly took us both out. I think at least now he realizes that I have a lot of work to do on that dance. (I tried to tell him...)

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

Gary,
I used to be the same as you, stepping through my jumps instead of jumping. While it's of course an on-going process, there were some things that helped me. Learn to love your toepicks! Once I got to that stage, jumping got much easier. And the thing that really helped me on my half-flip was when my coach put me in the harness and just about held me up while I balanced on that toepick and then jumped. After that it became much easier. Now the flip jump, which we're working on now, is a whole 'nother story! But maybe that would help you, too. My backup coach commented to me a couple of months ago that I actually do have some spring in my jumps now, which was pretty cool. Even my waltz jump now has pretty good spring, and I can really pop up on the half loop.

Hang in there, you'll get it!

BTW, I've lost 32 pounds now. I think that may have something to do with my jumping, too!

Pat

Stupendous: Was a great week of skating, worked on a number of things, my coach showed me how to do a half flip and I learned how to do a salcow in learn to skate. My coach also made up a program to do for an upcoming competition, needs some work but I have the logistics of it down. I still get lost on some things, arm placement for one and not checking enough to stop my rotation. I did get passed on Basics 4 however, so now I can skate on club ice when I need to, but it's deffinitly cost prohibitive.

Sick: My coach says I'm not being challenged enough and need to do more, and while I agree, (I've been working on edges mainly for almost a year) there is only one class offered for adults and I'm already taking it. I went in today to do an advanced skate class, but was turned down being told that it's for kids only. So I was told I can get on practice ice and get another coach, not as if I'm in enough debt now having just one coach.

Steven

__________________
"A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson
"Got Edge?" - Steven J. Arness - Coachless, two years and counting.
"He who carves himself to suit others will soon whittle himself away."
"Sometimes you get what you want but loose what you have."

Steven, have you thought of entering for the first round of tests? Or, if not entering yet, then working to the point where you can enter? That would be a goal to work for, and would challenge you far more than just pottering about on the ice with no specific goals.

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

Stupendous NOTHING.

Sick EVERYTHING.

My capability to skate an LFO3 at speed as an intro-3 turn into my dances seems to have totally deserted me. I do them just fine in isolation, or with a couple of extra strokes. But, put the music on, stand next to my coach and skate off, and I choke. It's all mental. I've done this before, before competitions and tests, but never this bad.

My right knee is a disaster. It's making noise when I do stairs and is painful when I put too much static weight on it. Pain is in a different area than earlier this year when it was bothering me. I am going to have to "get me to a doctor" ... I've just been putting it off, because I know what will be said.

stupedous, i can finally do the foxtrot with out killing me or my coach woopwoop, gave my coach a number to call about a potential partner **crosses fingers**

Sick, yesterday while do my free dance i twizzled into a wall, hit my knee while doing a side pull through into twizzles...tripped my coach later in the program.while my crazy skate coach mom yelled at us to finish it at the other end of the rink.

all in all i think the two days went rather well^_^

__________________

Waffles & Vodka

Breakfast of Champions

Hi Mrs Redboots, I talked to my coach about testing, we went over a couple things and she gave me a list of elements to work on toward that goal. As for other things, I don't know yet, we haven't had the time to go through everything yet as I've have many questions yet as well as wondering what I can look forward to in doing.

I honestly don't have a clue of which ways I can go, being an adult is deffinitly a negative, so many things are geared towards towards kids. Sopposedly I can do the regular track, or I can do the adult track which is easier, or from what I also hear, I can do both! Sure wish my USFSA book would come already, it's only been two months!

Steven

__________________
"A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson
"Got Edge?" - Steven J. Arness - Coachless, two years and counting.
"He who carves himself to suit others will soon whittle himself away."
"Sometimes you get what you want but loose what you have."

Stupendous: All of it. I'm just happy as a clam to be on the ice and able to skate, period. It's been two weeks, and I'm going through some difficult times, but when I'm on the ice....all is well.

My first two foot spin (I always warm up with a 2-foot) had to be a ton of revolutions totally centered. Had some very decent one foot scratch spins as well. Only one decent sit, and camels were a little funky, but I have yet to master this spin. Jumps were fine, except for that one fall on a loop combination But my trusty skatingsafe knee pad saved my bad knee....

Sick:...well something has to be said for two footing all my flip attempts.....clunk!

Still...happy to be on the ice with my friends and just having fun!

Steven yes, you can both test and compete adult track (in this country, you test standard track or not at all, but there are plenty of competitions for adults). You can even compete internationally as soon as you have your adult pre-Bronze, or before if you don't mind not being quite as good as some of your competition.

Jess-Ka, well done about the foxtrot; I'm just, just starting to do it with my husband - we've both done it with rather better skaters for some time now, him more than me as there are more better women than men!

JenLyon, rotten about your poor knee - and I do so know what you mean by that introductory 3, been there, done that, read the book AND bought a whole stock of T-shirts! The only thing to do is grit your teeth and PUSH into the damn thing, which paradoxically makes it far easier, and I know is much, much easier said than done!

Well, yesterday morning was almost a wash-out, as the ice hadn't been cut - first time for a long time that has happened, but of course just when we had a major competition in the afternoon, and others were running through what they hoped would be a final practice before tests on Tuesday. But we ran through everything we needed to do, and then called it a lesson, went home, ate an enormous breakfast, and headed off to Oxford.

Well, as I expected, three more last places - but not too badly last, for once. In fact, we were only last in the couples compulsories by virtue of that's how the placings worked out - of 3 judges and 2 dances, we only had 1 last place out of 6, and were in 11th place in the 2nd dance. The fact that we were last was largely caused by one of the judges completely "losing the plot", as he is the first to admit, and marking some people a whole mark higher than the other judges, so the placings were all over the place!

I don't think I danced the Dutch Waltz very well, couldn't extend to save my life, it just didn't happen.....

Then in the free dance, as soon as I saw our opposition I reckoned we'd be creamed. The results were totally in the order they should have been (there were only two other couples, so at least we got a default medal), but we were surprised at how close the marks were. I reckoned the next couple up would be at least a whole mark ahead of us, but to my surprise it was only .2 and .3.

In the Zimmer trophy (the skaters each have to be over 45 and their combined age over 100! The trophy itself is a miniature Zimmer frame) we were definitely last, but I was very tired by then, and our Canasta was flat - my skates are in dire need of a sharpening, and what little edge they had suddenly vanished (I took a stone to them before the Swing Dance). Our Swing Dance wasn't as good as at the British, but we've done worse.....

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

Well, we started a new session of lesons. I'm re-taking ISI Freestyle 1 and, I acn proudly admit, I have now had a session of lessons with every coach on our staff! We're working now with the most technical of the coaches and boy, what a difference! I've never had a lesson with someone so absolutely technical before. I could tell an immediate difference in my back outside edges. He also backed us up a bit on the waltz jump and started us from a T-position instead of the four-step mohawk sequence. I actually discovered that my set-up was pretty good and that my weight was where it was supposed to be, thank goodness. Perhaps the jump will come this session?

I'm planning to practice my back edges two-footed next time so that I can actually get my shoulders and hips in the right place. If that feels more secure, perhaps they will improve one-footed.

He also recommended that my pivot go lower. Of course. They all just want to see me fall into the splits, LOL!!!

Anyway ... onto a week of rehearsals and other work stuff. Yippee!

Thanks Pat. You're right. I hadn't thought of it that way. I've been skating for the last couple of years trying to avoid my toepicks. Now, to suddenly have to put them to use is a very strange physical sensation.

Stupendous: Saturday's adult class was challenging but loads of fun. Worked on a freestyle dance sequence and a FI/BI mohawk practice drill. Although I'm not up to a decent speed yet, I've got the basics down.

Also tried a one foot spin. Now that is a real challenge for me. I can barely balance on one foot when I'm not in skates and spinning. In the end I was able to pull off a couple of rotations without tipping over.

Sick: Nothing really, but I still skate tonight so who knows.