LOL! That's what I thought when I did my PB test- the 2 foot spin was my worst element (well, the jumps were probably worse, but I was least comfortable with it) because I hadn't done one in ages! I ended up with the crossovers into a wind up and setting my foot down approach. I don't think I traveled during the test, but it took awhile to stop traveling. The 2 foot glide start was the worst for traveling, and coach said NO WAY to stand still starting (though the test doesn't really specify).

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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)

I say one of each just to be sure

I can also round up a few college students I work with....

YES!!!

Good luck to all you test takers out there!!!

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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!!!

And again - GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

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Well that is interesting, i never thought about doing it that way! I usually skate forward, glide on 2-feet, then do a 3-turn-type thingy with my left foot to start spinning.

I practice 2-foot spins a lot. And when i can't seem to spin any other way, I go waaaaay backk to the 2-foot. If I can't do a good 2-foot spin I hang it up for the session cause it means my balance is too crazy to spin. I can get a really fast 2-foot going on a good day.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Early Spring: Finally getting the hang of my double sal. I'm still a little off axis so it's causing me to have some funny landings. I'm still adjusting my take-off to make this easier. Double loop is making some serious progress. I gotta take it easy on the power though. I either overrotate or underrotate. Trying my best to make the landings as smooth as possible. Double flip is working well so long as I don't rush the take-off. I can't seem to do a single lutz anymore. It overrotates on it's own. I guess that means I need to start working on Double lutz again. Flying Camel is improving. I got 5 revs out of it. It's still slow but I'm going for 8 revs. I won't complain.


Extra Long Winter: My double toe is still horrible but getting better. I'm having a hard time with this jump because it is the only jump that I pic with my left foot. I'm so focused on not cheating the jump that I don't get the height I need to finish the rotation. My back is still rounded on my back sit. Trying to fix that. I'm about as flexible as a tree trunk so I'm definitely working on that.

My 2 year skating anniversary is February 12!!!! I can't believe I've been doing this for 2 years and I'm still motivated!!!! Whoo-hoo!!!


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

Early Spring: Man, coach worked my butt off today!!! I'm signed up to test the Killian next Friday, rescheduled from when I was sick last month.

So at the beginning of the lesson I asked "Do you think I should still do it next week?" and he just said "We'll see."

SO--45 minute lesson, all Killian, all the time!! Started out with SIX patterns w/ the music. The we worked on some technique issues, and did one or 2 patterns w/o music to get those things pulled back together. THEN, the drills began! 2 patterns with music. Then when the next song comes on, 3 patterns. Then with the next song, 4 patterns. Then 2 again, then 3. By this time I was literally slumped over the boards between rounds, gasping for breath. (for those who are unfamiliar, here's a Killian. Not that I can do it that well!)

BUT--I noticed somewhere in that craziness my brain totally turned off (probably due to lack of oxygen!), and my feet just took over, and even though pretty exhausted, I was still skating decent patterns. Which made me very happy, because if I can do 'decent' when I'm barely conscious, I should be able to pull off a passable test when I'm fresh & ready to go!

Finally he let me stop, and as I looked up at him through glazed eyes, fighting for air, he simply said, "We will test this dance next week." Hurrah!!

ETA: Good luck to Kim & doubletoe!!! Be strong!!

OMG, I should hope these little kids are. . . But they are child actresses, so. . .?? (Stop that, Doubletoe! Stop it, stop it!)

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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

Boy, are you on a roll today!!!

phoenix: WAAAAAY too funny a story about your Killian (or rather Kill-Me-Now) dance!!!

Blackmanskating: I'm not surprised you lasted for two years!!! I expect to see you at Nationals! (And yes, you can quote me on that. LOL!!!)

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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!!!

Winter

*still breaking in new skates and can't get enough knee bend when laced all the way up.
* inconsistent practices - skate great one day and crappy the next.
* getting REALLY dizzy when spinning.
*no money or time for private lessons anymore.

Spring

*One foot spins - almost did a scratch spin with legs crossed!!!
*3-turns coming along well. FI3s need work
*I just found out about an adult group class starting in a month for those who have passed USFSA LTS Adult 4. It's on nights that I don't work, and it's definitely affordable compared to private lessons. Yay! I can get instruction now!

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My Blog - FINALLY updated!
Living out my childhood dream

Thank you all for the positive thoughts

[Early Spring]
Skated for an hour today before my 8pm meeting. CW Power-3's decided to show up today Worked on making sure I was being "crisp" on those, which tends to help me with my leg position problem.

[Yet more Winter]
Brackets decided to take a vacation. I am having an issue with the forward right outside/back left inside brackets...I just need to clear my head and not think about it so much!

[Early Spring]
I actually wore a skating skirt today! And I wasn't all that uncomfortable I thought that it was going to take some adjusting...

I also went and bought a dress today...it was on sale, and according to the lady at the skate shop, it looks good on me

[Yet more Winter]
I need to relax!!!

[Early Spring]
Lesson tomorrow

Yay!! Glad the CW back power 3's are back AND you got the dress checked off the list!
The LBI brackets are the ones I have to watch out for, too. Especially the first one. What's the deal with that? . . .

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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

Early spring:
Made the tough decision to leave double salchow out of my program too... lol I have never done two axels in one program before and coach is making me do the second one out of a spread eagle to up the difficulty... (and its my fault for landing it at least 90% of the time during lesson and in the programs so she thought it was a really good idea... )

So anyways it was still a pretty good choice. Program run throughs today were really good. Not having to stress about the double salchow let me go through the rest of the program much more happily.

Winter:
I was falling alot on jumps after lesson was over... but I guess thats just stamina. Future work... lol

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~
Tidesong

Good luck! I will come visit you if you want. We can touch base right beforehand. Hopefully you will have a quiet roommate and not one who (was very nice but) snores like a lumberjack!

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August 22, back on the ice!

Good luck on surgery Deleware. Good luck on tests everyone.

Early spring - practicing Bronze moves. They are harder than I thought to get perfectly placed. I don't think they will take too long to perfect, although the judges may think otherwise.

I do think it will take quite a while after that for silver, though. There was a thread about that a week or two ago with a lot of discussion. But for me it will be a big step up because these are skills I didn't learn as a kid. So instead of relearning, I'll be learning anew. Those back 3s are really not happening yet - well I can do the left outside one, as that is what my backspin turns into . But not the others. Better start working on them now if I want to pass silver in my lifetime.

Winter - I put so much time into practicing field moves for my test that I neglected my jumps and spins. Worked on them this morning and Tuesday, but I have lost some ground. Don't know how much of that is due to my boots as my heel is lifting and my foot seems to be moving around a little. But as I tell my coach, I don't know whether its my boots that are broken down or me. Anyway, waiting for new boots to come it.

Winter:
Cycling to the fysiotherapist and the ice rink was real fun with a strong gale strength windforce (8/9 beaufort).
Camel is still psycho, now only working with my hands hooked together behind my back. Sit spin is a bit wobbly.

Spring:
The public session was pretty deserted (4 rental skates people, 3 hockeyers, 4 figure skaters counting myself) so I got to do a lot of programme run-throughs! It's working pretty well, save for 2 "dead spots" (one of which is from dizzyness after a spin, the other I'm not sure)
Scratch spin and 1-foot spins work from any approach and are picking up speed to the point of making me nauseous. I'm starting to like spinning!!!
Clockwise waltz jumps are still there (I need to do one in the march competition).
Back power 3-turns on large hockey circle were working, so were the rockers.

Fysiotherapist cleared me to do anything I like (I'm still not gonna be jumping for a while though because *I* don't think it's safe yet) but he wants me to like... skate a few minutes, rest a few minutes, skate a few minutes, rest a few minutes. It works on public sessions but I'm not sure how this is supposed to work in a lesson!!!

The Depth of Winter! - HolyMaryMotherOfGod! Yumpin yimminy! Was it FRIGGIN COLD in that rink today! It was -34C outside, -40 something with the windchill, and it was WARMER outside than in the rink! Anybody with a lick of common sense was somewhere else. Me and one other skater cast considerable doubt on our connection with common sense and showed up with skates on

Getting "warmed up" was a JOKE! At -40 something, 60 year old joints don't bend worth spit and 60 year old muscles figure cramps are a way to keep from freezing - muscle cells don't want to die alone! Even with longjohns and insulated runner's pants, and 4 layers on the top (including my winter coat) the cold just CUT. After 20 minutes of trying to warm up on the ice I went and sat in the lobby where the hot air (more like -10C, but that felt HOT!) from the register could blow on my skates and up my pant legs. That helped get rid of the cramps but even the 16 year old couldn't get her legs warmed up.

Early Spring? (Not!): Hit a couple of good uprights spins that left nice tight loops on the ice (it's easy to pull in tight at -40 LOL!) and got deeper in the Sit Spin than I expected. Some of the Waltz jumps were pretty good but couldn't quite get the timing for the Toe Loops - stiff joints bend but not very quickly when the oil in the crankcase is like molasses!

Coach was a no-show - she was one of the ones with common sense - still snug in a warm bed and sleeping! I hung around until 1:15 into the session and decided to call it a day. When I came back from changing, the other skaters was GONE! Smart girl!

At least tomorrow is supposed to be 20 degrees warmer! By then I might be able to bend again.....

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

Shesh, Rusty Blades, I'm hard core, but not THAT hard core!! Much as I love skating, I'd probably take up a warmer sport if I were in your shoes....er, skates!

You should get one of those pants mountain climbers and south pole personnell has. Like ski-pants only warmer.

Rusty I like your attitude girl! Common sense or not.

I wore my ski pants (as usual) today. Toasty warm and my knees worked pretty well.

Early Spring:
First two patterns of Prel MITF were okay; still a little one-sided because of my knees. I avoided the Alt Fwd 3's - all of them. I needed a day off from the frustrating buggers. Power 3's were very good.

Waltz, Toe loop were great both separately and together. Salchows were much better than Tuesday, whew! still need to hold the entry edge longer, though.

All the half jumps are in good shape, even the split falling leaf. Well, the falling part - just need more split in the middle.

Spins were great - layback, sit, CAMEL, scratch, back scratch, back sit, Back camel - even did a back camel-upright combination. Yay me!
Yes, I centered my two-foot spin with the BO=>FO3 entrance, I'm so proud. rofl

Yet More Winter:
I've discovered that I can't do a Salchow-Toe Loop without panic. lol

Flip and loop are a little better, but still not getting the needed height or rotation. Faked a couple of full Lutzes today, hahahaha! Cheated the landings every time.

I have a good sit spin but a lousy broken-leg sit spin. More to practice.

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Early Spring:
I'm finally healthy enough to get back to serious training! Last week's head cold made me take enough time off for my ankle to heal.

Yet More Winter:
I've only practiced once this week, and it was atrocious. All I wanted to do was the first section of my program: combo spin, spiral sequence, and spread eagle into axel. Well, the spin and the axel are gone, nowhere to be found on the hour long freestyle session.

I'm beginning to think that I may have to dumb this program down for Mids. Hopefully I can have a long talk with my coach tomorrow about how dismal I'm feeling about the program right now.

rusty, now I feel bad complaining about MY rink cause our heat is out...and it's cold (duh it IS an ice rink). It is not as cold as yours. I'll stop complaining now! Is it summer yet?

I had a wonderful lesson last night, even though my leg was NUMB and not from the cold!!! Although I did some nice backspins warming up for lesson, they only came back a bit for lesson...however, coach was happy!!! glad THAT leg isn't messed up! Coach did say that my "situation" is forcing me to work on things harder and in a more concentrated way; she is right!

so, I did a backspin and the ankle of my free foot TOUCHED my skating leg! Except for having my leg open just a bit, my arms were "hugging the beach ball" and it was GREAT!!! 2 years!!! WOOOOO!!!! Now I know I can do it!!

Next, I showed her the footwork for my routine I've been working on. It's ok-not bad, not wonderful but it will get better.

Then, because I can't jump ON ice, we ran through some setups! Loop, toe-loop, salchow, and LUTZ!!!! When I get back in September I will start on the Lutz! (um I need to remind her I don't have a flip yet). But for now, I can walk-through and do the setups.

Now, the doc didn't say anything about not doing jumps off-ice. I can land a loop ON ONE FOOT off-ice. With a check-out. I'm happy with that.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Wow Rusty and I thought I was dedicated. Ohh and I'm gonna take you up on that Adult Nationals offer. I'll be there. If not this year, then definitely next year.



BlackManSkating

__________________
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

Rusty I froze in my rink today too! Only 20 minutes out on the ice and I couldn't feel my hands!

Early Spring:
Artistic program is coming along nicely.

Yet more Winter:
My one work colleague who coordinates our work schedule is giving me a very hard time about going to Easterns in March. While that weekend is my normal weekend to work I put in for that Friday stating on my vacation request form that I would be in NJ that weekend. She is insisting on that I had to request the entire weekend off in order to get it. Anyone with common sense would know that one would not travel 500 miles and back in one day! I plan on discussing this with my boss tomorrow.

Worst freeskating program run through in weeks today!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"