Reservations ???

[Rusty Blades]

Bill made a comment over in the practice thread that REALLY struck me and got me wondering about us (older) adult skaters and the things that hold us back. Bill said:

Flying High: ... A friend was playing a CD of Tango music yesterday, and I really got into the music while skating. Something clicked while ad-libbing Tango-like footwork and one of the coaches said "wow!" as I skated by. Wish I could remember what I did....

Something similar happened to me a couple of months ago only it was about 45 seconds of "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman in one of the young girl's programs that set me off - I just let rip! I was skating "way beyond my normal level" for that brief period. When the music changed, I noticed that everybody was watching the crazy old woman (me) with a big grin on their face, including the young girl who was supposed to be skating her program. The woman in the music booth kept repeating the CD through the session just to watch me go nuts. (Boy did I pay for that the next day.)

I met a woman around 60 last summer who was skating beautifully and working hard to land a double jump. I commented to her how impressed I was by the fearless way she would launch herself into the air and she pointed to her head and said "Up here I am still 14. If I loose that, I will loose my skating." Hummmm.

I had told my coach just last week that when I step onto the ice I feel that there is some deep-seated subconscious "inhibition" (maybe fear?) that is always there, always holding me back from really loosening up and "opening up" my skating. I think I set that inhibition aside when I cut loose to "Sing, Sing, Sing" and it sounds like the same thing happened to Bill with the Tango music. I think that's also what the 60 year old was saying about "being 14" in her head.

So, for all you other "mature" skaters out there:

#1 - Have you ever experienced this?

#2 - Were you able to cast off this "reservation" long term?

#3 - If you did, how the heck did you do it?????

[Bill_S]

So, for all you other "mature" skaters out there:

#1 - Have you ever experienced this?
Yes. I love skating to other skater's music. It happens too frequently and I wonder what some of the coaches/skaters think when I'm "borrowing their thunder".

#2 - Were you able to cast off this "reservation" long term?
No, my reservations seem to be increasing. I was fearless for the first few years of lessons, but I've noticed that I'm not taking as many chances anymore. Perhaps it's laziness?

#3 - If you did, how the heck did you do it?????
Spicy music as you've noted is sure fire-guaranteed to get me moving beyond my actual skating level. You're example of Sing, Sing, Sing is perfect. I was even going to use it once for a program, but never did. Latin or Flamenco music works too.

A new skater at the rink will get me moving too (hey, I'm a guy and like most guys, we show off for the ladies!).

Trying a new rink helps (see above note - I think it's the show-off factor).

Being around skaters trying high-level jumps and spins pushes me too.

What doesn't work is a quiet empty rink at 6 a.m. when I'm the only skater. Great for moves and edges, poor for passion.

[techskater]

From time to time, we have an Adult "Movement" class on ice with one of our Masters level skaters. She tells us repeatedly, that Adult Skaters have a fear of looking silly in front of the audience and so have a ton of inhibitions (herself included in that comment - although if you've seen you skate, you'd say to her "why do you have inhibitions?" because she's really lovely to watch). You have to get over your inhibitions of looking silly. Sometimes, if you put on a character piece of music (Kung Fu Fighting, a tango, swing music, etc) you can "be" someone else and just go wild out there with freedom of movement and style. We worked on a "character" for my FS program this year so I can be be someone else and present it much better.

[Laura H]

From time to time, we have an Adult "Movement" class on ice with one of our Masters level skaters. She tells us repeatedly, that Adult Skaters have a fear of looking silly in front of the audience and so have a ton of inhibitions


This is interesting, because I am currently taking group lessons with the freestyle kids since our "adult skaters" class lost our ice time . . . we have been doing some artistry stuff and we did one exercise to "play to the audience" in that the "assignment" was to make one of the kids' moms (who was sitting in the bleachers) smile/laugh . . . I was all over that but the kids were VERY reluctant to goof around and look silly . . . course that might just be me. :halo: I may not be able to do a consistent Salchow, but I can SURE make someone sitting in the stands laugh!! :lol: (btw, I accomplished it with a long, exaggerated spiral and . . . waving at her).

[BatikatII]

I've done a few 'improvisation competitions'. In the UK that means you listen to a piece of music you have never heard before for about 10 mins or so and then you go out and make up a programme to it. You are not allowed to watch any of the skaters that skate before you and the elements are limited but compulsory (at my level it is one jump from 3 jump/toe-loop or salchow, and two spins (one upright and one 'original')).

Friends who have watched say I look far more of a natural skater when I do the improv than when I skate my actual programme. While some skaters seem to carry a generic programe in their heads that they use for this (basically tacking on a beginning and ending that fits the music), I genuinely have to make one up and since I can't really remember what I've thought of in the boot room while listening, I usually am simply making it up on the spot. This means that you have to listen to the music and make your skating movements fit the style and use the whole body and all levels. While doing this you stop worrying about all the things that normally make your skating stiffer (e.g. am I in the right place for my jump - oh god my worst element is coming up soon, oops I missed somethign there etc etc). If it's music you enjoy then you will be relaxed and that's a good thing to be for skating.

One of the dance coaches used to run a dance class that always ended with about 5 or 10 minutes of 'on the spot improv' We all started in the middle in a group and all had to be touching each other motionless. She would start the music (that we didnt' know)and we all had to break away and make up moves to it - we could spin or jump if we wanted but had to try and be high/low, big /small/ , fast/slow etc. At some point a skater would drift back to the middle and stand still and when you saw that you had to make your way back and join the group and be motionless as soon as you touched someone. when everyone was back somone would break off again. She would use different styles of music and sometimes make you concentrate on using a specific part of the body.

I loved it! and it helps to make you aware of what you can do and what feels natural to you. Some of my friends can't move an arm unless their coach instructs them too becasue they simply dont know what to do but I always made up my own so it felt natural to me.

[montanarose]

OK, I do qualify as "mature" for this thread as I'll be 60 8O in April. I've really slowed down, skating-wise, over the last couple of years, primarily due to fear of falling (well, not falling so much as injuring myself).

In May of 2005, I fell and broke my left wrist doing back power perimeter crossovers. What's really ironic is that just prior to this injury I was making real progress -- in fact, so much so that it was a personal breakthrough for me -- with my speed, crossovers and ice coverage. I was then off the ice for most of the summer while my wrist healed, but finally ventured back in the fall. I'd really lost my edge (no pun intended :lol: ) probably due to my loss of conditioning as much as any lingering effects of my injury.

In June of 2006, I took a break from skating to go on a month-long vacation and when I returned home, before I even had a chance to skate again, I broke my left ankle -- not skating but simply going up my deck stairs and turning over my ankle so strongly that I broke a bone in my foot. Crutches, cast, PT and some concomitant family crises conspired to keep me off the ice for what's now approaching seven months.

My husband and my skating friends remind me over and over again that, after all, I did NOT break my ankle skating, so there's no reason I shouldn't get out there again. True; but I just feel so vulnerable that I fear what I may break next: my leg? my arm? or, God forbid, my hip? I honestly don't know if I can get past this fear. The broken wrist wasn't such a big deal: the worst part of it was that I couldn't wash and blow dry my hair, but that is, after all, why God created hair stylists :lol: so I survived just fine. But the broken ankle was more sobering: I couldn't get up and down the stairs in my house and if my husband had been out of town on a business trip, I honestly don't know how I would have been able to care for my dogs and myself.

I have to ask myself whether it's right for me to risk, not even so much my own health, but my ability to take care of my responsibilities to my family by engaging in something as "frivolous" as skating. I am really torn about this right now, wanting to skate again -- and feeling like a fat slug since I haven't been skating and haven't found anything to replace it -- but stuck in a rut out of fear of another broken bone, this time an even worse one.

Sorry; I didn't mean to turn this into an "all about me" rant but I guess I've been wanting to vent about this for a while and Dianne's topic gave me the opening to do so.


Cheers (sorta),
Ellen

[mmciec]

New Thread HERE.

[Hannah]

I'm only 25, but... :)

I love when someone puts on music. It makes it easier to skate freely. Also, when I'm having a lot of trouble with a particular thing, plastering on a smile helps a tremendous amount.

[sunjoy]

She wants to continuing skating in competitions but my competitive nature is kicking in and I don't want her to continue to place last. Do we take more lessons? Any advice?This topic deserves to be a seperate thread, probably in the on-ice parents section?

For the mature-skater reservations topic, well I'm still a young thing, but I was definitely more fearless when I started skating, and before doing too many figure-skating lessons. Back then I expected to fall, and if I didn't, I told myself I wasn't pushing my comfort zone enough.

With the lessons, I've become a lot more precice and aware of what I'm doing, (especially since I've been focusing on MiTF), but have lost a bit of the reckless experimentation.

I haven't been quite as in-the-zone as others report having been, but certainly I've made quantum leaps in ability at some long jam-sessions, where come the third hour or so, I forget that I'm skating, and for one song I just *move* on the ice, and do stuff that I can't repeat later.

Train too much in the same way and you get diminishing returns. I think I'll have to try something different to get out of my comfort zone.

[Coldfete]

We have a skater at our local rink who is 86!

[Mrs Redboots]

I hope to be competing against someone who will be 87 by the time of the competition - he skates pre-Bronze dance with his partner, so many of you who go to the US Adult Nationals probably know him and what a lovely person he is! :bow:

The oldest skater at our rink is probably nearer 80 than 70, and only gave up competitive skating a couple of years ago when he had a back problem. He is back on the ice but no longer skating seriously.

[Rusty Blades]

Thank you all for your thoughts.

I think, as my first coach called it "the adult survival instinct" or the awareness of vulnerability is more what I was thinking of than being nervous in front of people.

Ellen, I can indeed relate and fully understand! I am 57, live in the country with my dog, and work in a nearby city so being able to get around and do things is MAJOR important. If I was incapacitated for more than a few days it would be a serious problem. In the year since I started skating, I have cracked a rib (left side), sprained an ankle, and smacked my ribs again (right side) - none of the other falls hurt for long.

I am fairly sure that it is a subconscious fear of being incapacitated that holds me back though I know the odds of that happening are quite small. It is delicious when that subconscious voice shuts up once in awhile and I am able to skate with total abandon! Knowing how small the odds of a major incapacitation, I wish I could silence that voice and just SKATE!

[SkatingOnClouds]

I met a woman around 60 last summer who was skating beautifully and working hard to land a double jump. I commented to her how impressed I was by the fearless way she would launch herself into the air and she pointed to her head and said "Up here I am still 14. If I loose that, I will loose my skating." Hummmm.


#1 - Have you ever experienced this?
#2 - Were you able to cast off this "reservation" long term?
#3 - If you did, how the heck did you do it?????

Well I am 47 & very overweight, however I throw myself into jumps without much reservation. Some of the other older skaters tell my I am brave, and I get lots of compliments about that. I originally learned to skate in my 20's.
I don't have that big fear factor thing that a lot of adult skaters seem to have. In my mind there is no reason why I can't do it, and I sometimes have to remind myself that there are limitations, and that it's okay that the kids are improving faster than I am.

Can't say I've had that zen-like moment of skating better to certain music. But sometimes I do throw my inhibitions to the wind and go with the music. Doesn't make me skate any better, but I have fun

[Isk8NYC]

Background music really helps me keep my energy level up and really push myself. I prefer 80's pop, but lately Marc Antony's "I Need to Know" has been making public sessions more fun.

[Bill_S]

I prefer 80's pop, but lately Marc Antony's "I Need to Know" has been making public sessions more fun.

Public session music is probably the realm of another thread, but it still relates here.

We have the worst possible public session music played at nearly unbearable volumes. The "headbanging" stuff may motive the hockey kids playing tag against traffic, but it does nothing for me. Seldom do I hear a particularly motivating piece of music during our public sessions.

That's why I "borrrow" the skate music of others during the freestyle times instead. Hey, maybe my "flights of fantasy" are just because I'm happy they're playing something skatable.

[Isk8NYC]

I'll take a variety of public session music over the same freestyle music anytime. Except most of the rap songs. A beat just isn't enough for me. As for freestyle programs, "Colors of the Wind" really gets old fast after the fifth runthrough in a single session.

I went to a different freestyle session recently. The only other skater had her music playing for the entire time she was there. Never asked me if I wanted to use the sound system. She played her program music (3 programs, btw) twice each, and then put on soft listening music in between. I skated all right, but I really didn't enjoy myself. I like peppy background music during freestyles. I was snoring until she left and THEN SHE TOOK THE PLAYER! I could have made the effort of retrieving the player, but there wasn't much time left by then. Oh well, payback is rough - I start group choreography in few weeks and she'll have to listen to that if I show up again.

I have a few tapes left over from when I competed. They're just a collection of songs I liked for skating. I'd ask the other skaters if they minded some background music and if they agreed, just pop the tape in for everyone to enjoy. We'd all improvise and jam! Doesn't happen during competition season, but when people aren't working on programs it's fine.

When Show Time comes around, we get all sorts of different music and, if I'm not teaching, I'll just jam to others' recordings. I've actually put some of those songs on my iPod later so I can enjoy them more.

[Team Arthritis]

I was working on the never ending 3turn exercises and I put on some Gregorain Chant - really helped me focus, drove the teens nuts!
Lyle

[Rusty Blades]

I was working on the never ending 3turn exercises and I put on some Gregorain Chant - really helped me focus, drove the teens nuts!
Lyle

You devil you!

[Bill_S]

I was working on the never ending 3turn exercises and I put on some Gregorain Chant - really helped me focus, drove the teens nuts!
Lyle

Har!

I should try some Philip Glass when repeating elements over and over. :lol:

[Bill_S]

As a result of this post, I've been paying attention to the music that makes me sit up and skate - so to speak.

There's one young teenager who skates Monday mornings 6-7 am who brings in quite a surprising collection of music for someone her age.

There's a Billy Joel piece that gets me moving, as well as a recent movie soundtrack cut titled "You Don't Own Me" that was originally a Leslie Gore 60's hit tune. While it's sung by females about a female's perspective on love, I still get moving when it plays. I guess that I must get funny looks prancing about to that one. Hey, I respond to the catchy melody, not the words!

On the other hand, the Jimi Hendrix that she brought recently didn't work for me. I respond to music for dance-like movements, not the writhing in place that the Hendrix tune reminded me of - although I must admit I writhed back in the day (PURPLE HAZE...!).

On the lookout for more skateful tunes...

[b viswanathan]

I take lessons once a week at a very "competitive" rink; and I practice on public ice at a much lower key one. I've noticed lately how different my skating style is at each of these places: I'm more relaxed, faster, and way more free-spirited at the place that makes me feel comfy and at home. Part of it is sharing the ice with other, friendly adult skaters (we're all around the same level too, give or take); part of it is just knowing I have unjudgmental people around me; and part of it is not fearing for the elite skaters, who are often doing 3-3 combinations right next to my lame single jumps and slower xos. I think on-ice friendliness affects my skating; but that's really personal to me, I'm sure.

I'm also lucky in that my "friendly" rink managers pretend to ignore my ipod! I love my crappy music - and would never inflict it on anyone else! Also, I get mighty tired of other peoples' program music - it's not very interesting/inspired, but I'd never be so impolite as to say or convey that, I hope. (Maybe I'm not as subtle as I think, which worries me.) I try to be very, very careful with the ipod, and as there are generally very few skaters on public sessions, I've been fine.

Ellen, I've broken both feet, but never broken anything skating. I know your fear - I am working on some hard new stuff that scares me - but I also think we're more likely to have strong muscles and bones from skating, which should help us keep from getting injured. Can you think of skating as a way to keep yourself strong, rather than as a place to take risks with your strength/health? I don't know, it just works for me. I'd rather be fit and feel strong, even with the risk of breakage, than sitting on the couch and in one piece! Or at least, that's what I say to myself on cold days...

best,

bv

[Rusty Blades]

Interesting BV, I was just thinking about that last session - different rinks and how the atmosphere effects my mood and my skating.

I have skated at many rinks, some with preteens and early teens, some mostly adults, from very busy to dead quiet. Mostly I skate now with a very small group of seriously competitive late-teen and early 20's skaters (it is 7 to 9 a.m. weekdays - who else would be skating at that time!). At first I was very intimidated by these young hot-shots with all their multi-rotation combination jumps and lasts-forever fast change-foot spins, particular with me being such a novice - but I have found something interesting. As they have seen me out there week after week working my tail off for my meager collection of moves they seem to accept me as one of them rather than just some old woman out there getting in the way. Last week, after skating the first half of my program 3 or 4 times trying to get the timing right, I finally hit my mark within 1/2 a beat and gave myself a thumbs up and a "YES!" I looked up to see them grinning approval - LOL! Good grief, they even yield to me when I am on program. That's more than I have experienced anywhere before. I find that the environment there is conducive to pushing myself harder and trying things I would be shy about trying elsewhere.

Don't worry about the music - my favorites were written before most of these youngster's grandparents were born! 8O

[b viswanathan]

Rusty Blades,

I wish I could find a morning session somewhere! The earliest one I've found is at 9:30, and non-members aren't even allowed to skate on it (that includes me) - weird and disappointing, as the rink is almost empty, too.

Everyone would mock my music, I'm sure. I love to skate/run/work out to stuff I'd never otherwise listen to - rap, house, hip hop - and my husband practically winces when he sees me order it on itunes! (OTOH, in "real life" we love classical, blues, R&B, roots, etc.) I'm sure it's just the driving beat and the upbeat melodies I like. But I'd blush to hear the *lyrics* over the loudspeaker - most of the time I can't even sing along, they're that outrageous and absurd!

As to niceness, I find most of the elite skaters, even at my fancy rink, to be ok. Strangely, it's a couple of coaches who have been unwelcoming and condescending. That I cannot understand. Shouldn't they be adult enough to recognize that we, too, are trying? AND, significantly, that we are bringing revenue to the rink (not as much as the elite kids perhaps, but still)? What's up with that?

Anyway, it's something I've been struggling with. I don't always have the self-confidence to brush off condescension; and I think I reflect discomfort by hunching up, skating slower, and apologizing more (literally or metaphorically, by squeezing into small corners of the rink). My coach scolds me about it, but doesn't quite get why I do it. Hard to explain...

But just wait 'til I land that axel - I'll show them!!

BatikaII,

That is cool about the improv. I'm going to try to improvise sometime and see what it feels like. Maybe I'll come to like interpretive after trying it...

BV

[Mrs Redboots]

Improv is evil, especially when you're competing against BatikatII, as I was, the one and only time I tried it! (She really is good at it) Enormous fun - but the programme that I'd worked out in the cloakroom listening to the music, which was pretty okay during the warm-up, didn't work at all when it came to actually doing it, and I made a total fool of myself! Oh well, all in a good cause.

One of our older skaters brings in his own CDs on a Wednesday morning, which are lovely to skate to. His taste in music, like mine, leans heavily towards light classical and classic middle-of-the-road pieces.

But what I really like is when the elite skaters play warm-up music - Offenbach's Cancan is my favourite (you try warming up to that!), but they have other pieces that make you want to move. Even if all I'm doing is plain vanilla forward stroking.

But dance moves are way easier when a waltz is playing, that I do find! Always have - why can't we do them to waltzes?