Today just sucked. It zapped the life out of me and killed my motivation. It started with a crowded public session for a warm up. I was unable to do anything and spent most of the time chatting with my classmate. Then the lesson....One of the worst lessons I have ever had. My coach told me at least two different times that what I was doing was "terrible" or "just horrible"! He said my sit spin was "all show and no go" whatever that was supposed to mean. Keep in mind I have just recently started working on the sit spin. It is a new skill for me and while it could be lower, I at least have the feel for it and get the rotations. But this is only the second time in lesson we worked on it and for him to say it was "terrible" made me feel so bad! Tell me what I need to fix, work with me on it some more but DO NOT tell me it was terrible. I know it's terrible compared to what it should be but I JUST LEARNED IT! Anyway, he gave me this torturous exercise that is supposed to help my sit spin. It's a spiral/shoot the duck/spiral (OMG WTF!). It is when I attempted this that he said "That was just horrible, no wonder your sit spins look the way they do". I wanted to just die. This is supposed to be fun. I'm doing this for my own enjoyment and he just sucked all the fun out of this lesson today :(
Oh, and I did a whole bunch of loops today (fully rotated). Despite the things my coach said to me today, I was proud of myself for landing this jump. It still needs more height but I'm doing it. Not too many adult skaters would be as daring as to try it away from the boards after only one lesson. And I didn't fall once doing them either :P
I have a few more group lessons with him and then I am going coach hunting.
My reward for believing that I rock even though my coach repeatedly told me that I suck....a "New Creation" Smoothie from JJJ :)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Freeskate 4 - Lesson #2
New Session. New coach. I was off the ice for about two weeks so I was a little afraid to see how deteriorated my skills have become. Surprisingly, I got on the ice and nothing had left me! In fact, my BO and BI three turns were better! I should take vacation more often!
Anyway, the coach for this session is Scott. It's too early to determine if I really like his coaching style yet but he seems OK. I just hated that now there is four students in the freestyle class and we are each at different levels so he has to divide his instruction amongst the four of us. That bummed me out a bit. So, here is what we worked on today:
Salchow: Scott wanted us to warm up the salchow because we were going to work on the loop jump later in the lesson. He said that I need to hold the LBI edge longer just prior to takeoff and that I need more "ommph" with my right arm and freeleg going into the jump. All things I have heard before. I don't know why I haven't corrected them by now.
Spiral Sequence: In Freeskate 4, the spiral sequence is a FI spiral/mohawk/BO spiral. He commented on my flexibility (YAY!) but warned me to be careful not to bend the skating knee on the BO spiral. I usually don't but I had to today....it was the only way I could do a BO spiral and look in back of me to see where I was going so that I don't kill anyone. It's not so easy to do this in a small space and I was worried that I would behead my classmates :(
Sit Spin: I warmed these up in the public session before the lesson. The last time I really spent time on these was a year ago with Coach P. I feel as though I need to get lower than I am. It's hard to tell when I can't see myself doing the spin. Anyway, he showed me some exercises I can do on and off the ice to improve my sit spin. His only correction on my spin was that I need to keep my left arm out in front of me and keep it there as I enter the spin. The right arm and leg should whip around in front together to give me more momentum.
Loop Jump: We started this by looking at the backspin first to get familiar with the air position for the loop. He said that for the loop jump, I should tweek my right hip and right arm more than I would for a backspin. I guess this is what gives the jump it's strength and lift. I practiced just the entry from a RFI three turn and then instead of the jump I did a backspin. We moved over to the boards and we worked on getting the feeling of taking off and landing on the same foot. Towards the end of the session, I was brave/insane enough to try one away from the boards for the first time. While it didn't feel fully rotated, I at least landed it and got over the fear of doing a new jump out on open ice. I need to practice these a ton and somehow figure out how a waltz/loop combo works.
I didn't reward myself today :(
Anyway, the coach for this session is Scott. It's too early to determine if I really like his coaching style yet but he seems OK. I just hated that now there is four students in the freestyle class and we are each at different levels so he has to divide his instruction amongst the four of us. That bummed me out a bit. So, here is what we worked on today:
Salchow: Scott wanted us to warm up the salchow because we were going to work on the loop jump later in the lesson. He said that I need to hold the LBI edge longer just prior to takeoff and that I need more "ommph" with my right arm and freeleg going into the jump. All things I have heard before. I don't know why I haven't corrected them by now.
Spiral Sequence: In Freeskate 4, the spiral sequence is a FI spiral/mohawk/BO spiral. He commented on my flexibility (YAY!) but warned me to be careful not to bend the skating knee on the BO spiral. I usually don't but I had to today....it was the only way I could do a BO spiral and look in back of me to see where I was going so that I don't kill anyone. It's not so easy to do this in a small space and I was worried that I would behead my classmates :(
Sit Spin: I warmed these up in the public session before the lesson. The last time I really spent time on these was a year ago with Coach P. I feel as though I need to get lower than I am. It's hard to tell when I can't see myself doing the spin. Anyway, he showed me some exercises I can do on and off the ice to improve my sit spin. His only correction on my spin was that I need to keep my left arm out in front of me and keep it there as I enter the spin. The right arm and leg should whip around in front together to give me more momentum.
Loop Jump: We started this by looking at the backspin first to get familiar with the air position for the loop. He said that for the loop jump, I should tweek my right hip and right arm more than I would for a backspin. I guess this is what gives the jump it's strength and lift. I practiced just the entry from a RFI three turn and then instead of the jump I did a backspin. We moved over to the boards and we worked on getting the feeling of taking off and landing on the same foot. Towards the end of the session, I was brave/insane enough to try one away from the boards for the first time. While it didn't feel fully rotated, I at least landed it and got over the fear of doing a new jump out on open ice. I need to practice these a ton and somehow figure out how a waltz/loop combo works.
I didn't reward myself today :(
Friday, October 27, 2006
Freeskate 3 Passed!
So, today was test day! Even though Freeskate 3 had some elements that were not terribly difficult for me, there were a couple of things I still felt uncomfortable with, namely the CW BI three turns and the backspin. I crammed as many BI3's and backspins into the public session before the test as I could. Lesson time....here's how I did:
Forward and Backward crossovers in a figure eight pattern - Easy enough, there were no issues with this except for the fact that the testing area was so small and it was hard to squeeze this pattern into such a small space. Passed!
Waltz Eight - Again, small space but do-able. Her only comment on these was that I was rushing a bit coming out of the initial three turn. I wasn't holding that BI edge long enough. Passed!
Advanced forward consecutive swing rolls - For once my arms and legs were doing what they were supposed to do. She did tell me to be more swingy. Passed!
Backward Inside three turns (CW and CCW) - It's the CW ones that are hard for me to do but, lucky for me, I did a nice one when she was watching. CCW was good too. Maybe I do well under pressure! I have been so worried about the CW BI3 for a while. I'm glad it's over and I can practice them without a deadline. Passed!
Backspin with freefoot in crossed leg position (min 3 rev's) - These got progressively worse as the test session went on. The first one I did had the rev's but the exit was unsteady but she passed me. But, the second half of the test session, when she was testing my classmate, I was practicing them and they were just getting worse and worse. She even made a point to tell me so. So I stopped. Passed!
Salchow - Salchows are pretty comfortable. I was able to do a nice one for her for the test. But again, when I was practicing them, they deteriorated. I think I was distracted by all the other stuff going on right now in my life and was thinking of non-skating stuff while skating and we all know that that is never a good idea. I had some stupid falls and Gigi was like "What's happening with you today, I never see you fall!" I guess she's never seen me practice. Falling is what I do best! But these were dumb falls. Completely avoidable. Lack of concentration. Anyway, Passed!
Half Lutz - The jump itself was fine but she told me to watch so I don't kick my picking leg up to high in back of me on the entry. I should reach back with the picking leg, yes, but I don't need to "swing" it back. Passed!
Jump Combination: waltz-toe loop or salchow-toe loop - Although I can do both, I chose to do the salchow-toe loop combo because my technique is better and it's more comfortable. I fell on my first attempt but made up for it by doing a nice one right after. Passed!
Gigi signed my certificate and put her number on the back in case I wanted to consider private lessons with her. She did say that Freeskate 4 will likely be my last experience in group lessons. Apparently, they don't really do Freeskate 5 and 6 here. She explained that it is difficult to teach that material in a group setting. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to learning a Lutz in a 6 week period of time and then being tested on it. I think it will take me a while to get that one. And, in Freeskate 6 you start learning the axel. I can't fathom learning the axel in the Spring. It's not going to happen.
Today's reward: a Berry Manilow smoothie from JJJ
Forward and Backward crossovers in a figure eight pattern - Easy enough, there were no issues with this except for the fact that the testing area was so small and it was hard to squeeze this pattern into such a small space. Passed!
Waltz Eight - Again, small space but do-able. Her only comment on these was that I was rushing a bit coming out of the initial three turn. I wasn't holding that BI edge long enough. Passed!
Advanced forward consecutive swing rolls - For once my arms and legs were doing what they were supposed to do. She did tell me to be more swingy. Passed!
Backward Inside three turns (CW and CCW) - It's the CW ones that are hard for me to do but, lucky for me, I did a nice one when she was watching. CCW was good too. Maybe I do well under pressure! I have been so worried about the CW BI3 for a while. I'm glad it's over and I can practice them without a deadline. Passed!
Backspin with freefoot in crossed leg position (min 3 rev's) - These got progressively worse as the test session went on. The first one I did had the rev's but the exit was unsteady but she passed me. But, the second half of the test session, when she was testing my classmate, I was practicing them and they were just getting worse and worse. She even made a point to tell me so. So I stopped. Passed!
Salchow - Salchows are pretty comfortable. I was able to do a nice one for her for the test. But again, when I was practicing them, they deteriorated. I think I was distracted by all the other stuff going on right now in my life and was thinking of non-skating stuff while skating and we all know that that is never a good idea. I had some stupid falls and Gigi was like "What's happening with you today, I never see you fall!" I guess she's never seen me practice. Falling is what I do best! But these were dumb falls. Completely avoidable. Lack of concentration. Anyway, Passed!
Half Lutz - The jump itself was fine but she told me to watch so I don't kick my picking leg up to high in back of me on the entry. I should reach back with the picking leg, yes, but I don't need to "swing" it back. Passed!
Jump Combination: waltz-toe loop or salchow-toe loop - Although I can do both, I chose to do the salchow-toe loop combo because my technique is better and it's more comfortable. I fell on my first attempt but made up for it by doing a nice one right after. Passed!
Gigi signed my certificate and put her number on the back in case I wanted to consider private lessons with her. She did say that Freeskate 4 will likely be my last experience in group lessons. Apparently, they don't really do Freeskate 5 and 6 here. She explained that it is difficult to teach that material in a group setting. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to learning a Lutz in a 6 week period of time and then being tested on it. I think it will take me a while to get that one. And, in Freeskate 6 you start learning the axel. I can't fathom learning the axel in the Spring. It's not going to happen.
Today's reward: a Berry Manilow smoothie from JJJ
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Saturday Practice
I got off work at 8:00am and felt awake enough from my midnight shift to attempt a Saturday morning public session. I figured it would not be that busy at the rink considering that all the kiddies would like to sleep in on a Saturday morning. Boy, was I wrong. There were group lessons going on so there were a lot of kids using that public session for practice. I checked in at the front desk and Kelly was there (my coach from Freeskate 2). She was happy to see that I was dedicated enough to come out on a Saturday morning to practice. So, Yay me!
There was not a lot of room to do anything. I did some salchow/toe loop combos where I could find room but mostly I worked on backspins because those require only a small amount of space when practicing them from a stand still. I really needed to work on the backspin exit and, since I know that I can do at least two revolutions consistently, I told myself not to worry about rev's, only worry about the exit. Surprisingly enough, when I think about something else, like doing the exit properly, the amount of rotations improved! I kept forcing myself to stop at two revolutions to do the exit when my body really wanted to keep spinning. Cool. The exits did get a smidge better. I'm not coming out of the spin with as much speed as I want, but I can at least do the exit.
So, it was crowded but the progress I made on my backspin was worth it. And, it was only $2!
Today's reward: a "new creation" smoothie from Jumpin' Juice & Java.
There was not a lot of room to do anything. I did some salchow/toe loop combos where I could find room but mostly I worked on backspins because those require only a small amount of space when practicing them from a stand still. I really needed to work on the backspin exit and, since I know that I can do at least two revolutions consistently, I told myself not to worry about rev's, only worry about the exit. Surprisingly enough, when I think about something else, like doing the exit properly, the amount of rotations improved! I kept forcing myself to stop at two revolutions to do the exit when my body really wanted to keep spinning. Cool. The exits did get a smidge better. I'm not coming out of the spin with as much speed as I want, but I can at least do the exit.
So, it was crowded but the progress I made on my backspin was worth it. And, it was only $2!
Today's reward: a "new creation" smoothie from Jumpin' Juice & Java.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Freeskate 3 - Lesson #4
There are only five lessons in this session so that makes today the lesson before the test. I had a very uneventful practice in the public session before my lesson started. I really tried to focus on the two things that may cause me some problems on the test - BI three turns and the backspin.
My RBI three turns are fine. I am able to do them consistently. This is supposed to be my bad side but for some reason CW back threes are easier. It's the LBI three turn that is giving me grief. The problem I have with these is that I am able to do the turn but then I lose all momentum coming out of the turn because I am forwards on the toepick. My "down-up-down" movement is not quite there.
I did a few backspins and I must say that these have come a long way since I learned them a few months back. I was reading past journal entries from when I started learning the backspin and I could not even get a half rotation. Now, I am consistently getting 3, sometimes 4, revolutions. I'm really proud of that. I still need to work on my arms and making this spin look more deliberate, though.
So, the lesson started off with Gigi asking me what I would like to work on for my last lesson before the test. I, of course, said back three's and backspins! She wanted to look at the BI three turns first on my most comfortable side. She pointed out that after I turn, I switch my arms. This is causing me to curve too deeply on an outside edge whereas, if I do a proper check, I will be on a slight outside edge and it will look nicer and will be more controlled. She had me practice my good side for a little bit before moving on to the bad side. With the LBI three's, she basically told me what I already knew - that I am not getting a good "down-up-down" movement and that I am too far forward after the turn. I did a few while really concentrating on these two things and reeled off a few that were really nice. I know I can do them. It's just a mental thing now. I just have to think harder on these - or not think at all, maybe.
Next, she looked at my backspin and noted that I made quite a bit of progress on these since she last saw me two weeks ago. She says they are good enough to pass the test but agreed that they still have a long way to go. Since I have the revolutions needed to pass, she worked with me on getting the exit down. The way she described the exit is to rise up a little on your toepick as if you were going to go into a three turn and then exit out on a deep BO edge. It looked easy enough when she demonstrated it but doing it myself was another story. I'll have to practice this a lot more.
Test next week!
My RBI three turns are fine. I am able to do them consistently. This is supposed to be my bad side but for some reason CW back threes are easier. It's the LBI three turn that is giving me grief. The problem I have with these is that I am able to do the turn but then I lose all momentum coming out of the turn because I am forwards on the toepick. My "down-up-down" movement is not quite there.
I did a few backspins and I must say that these have come a long way since I learned them a few months back. I was reading past journal entries from when I started learning the backspin and I could not even get a half rotation. Now, I am consistently getting 3, sometimes 4, revolutions. I'm really proud of that. I still need to work on my arms and making this spin look more deliberate, though.
So, the lesson started off with Gigi asking me what I would like to work on for my last lesson before the test. I, of course, said back three's and backspins! She wanted to look at the BI three turns first on my most comfortable side. She pointed out that after I turn, I switch my arms. This is causing me to curve too deeply on an outside edge whereas, if I do a proper check, I will be on a slight outside edge and it will look nicer and will be more controlled. She had me practice my good side for a little bit before moving on to the bad side. With the LBI three's, she basically told me what I already knew - that I am not getting a good "down-up-down" movement and that I am too far forward after the turn. I did a few while really concentrating on these two things and reeled off a few that were really nice. I know I can do them. It's just a mental thing now. I just have to think harder on these - or not think at all, maybe.
Next, she looked at my backspin and noted that I made quite a bit of progress on these since she last saw me two weeks ago. She says they are good enough to pass the test but agreed that they still have a long way to go. Since I have the revolutions needed to pass, she worked with me on getting the exit down. The way she described the exit is to rise up a little on your toepick as if you were going to go into a three turn and then exit out on a deep BO edge. It looked easy enough when she demonstrated it but doing it myself was another story. I'll have to practice this a lot more.
Test next week!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Snow and Skate
It's snowing outside! For once it was actually warmer in the rink than it was outside. I love this! It's so pretty outside. It put me in the right mood to skate!
I decided to print out a list of all of the USFSA Freeskate 1-6 elements and bring it with me on the ice. I want to make sure I not only practice the things I am currently learning but also to be sure to review all of the things I've learned thus far and maybe, if I have time, look ahead and work on new things. So, needless to say, I worked on a lot of stuff today! I reviewed everything from Freeskate 1 and 2 and so far, none of it has left me yet. I spent some extra time on the BO3 turns because they felt a little unstable. Oddly enough, the CW versions of both the BO and BI three turns are better than their CCW counterparts. I don't know why...weird.
I worked all of my spins. Scratch spins were really nice and centered. I wish I could see how fast I am doing them. They don't feel very fast but they do feel like they are going at a moderate speed. Bringing the arms overhead helps to center them, thus increasing my speed, so I will continue to do it like that instead of bringing them down towards the pelvis. I had a bad backwards fall doing a backspin. I did the best backspin I have ever done....and then ruined it by trying to exit the proper way and fell. I have been taught the proper exit to the backspin but find that exiting on the spinning foot is a lot harder than it looks. Something to work on. So yeah, a nasty backwards fall on my left cheek...sucks.
Jumps were really nice. No issues today, not even on the toe loop. Now that I am thinking about where my picking foot should be I am placing it better on the ice. Half Lutz is more of a half flutz. I'm having a hard time getting on the outside edge before the pick in part. Maybe I should stop doing half flips for a while?
I worked all of my edges, forward and backward. I did a few nice waltz eight patterns and some forward and backward crossovers in the figure eight pattern. I finished off my practice by looking at one of the Freeskate 4 elements - FI spiral, FI mohawk, BO spiral. I only did it CCW but will try it on the other side once I get more comfortable.
Oh, and I have to stop rewarding myself for good practices. I spending too much money on lattes and smoothies. It was a good idea when my practices were crap but now I'm practicing better and progressing faster than I thought....and it's killing the bank account :(
I decided to print out a list of all of the USFSA Freeskate 1-6 elements and bring it with me on the ice. I want to make sure I not only practice the things I am currently learning but also to be sure to review all of the things I've learned thus far and maybe, if I have time, look ahead and work on new things. So, needless to say, I worked on a lot of stuff today! I reviewed everything from Freeskate 1 and 2 and so far, none of it has left me yet. I spent some extra time on the BO3 turns because they felt a little unstable. Oddly enough, the CW versions of both the BO and BI three turns are better than their CCW counterparts. I don't know why...weird.
I worked all of my spins. Scratch spins were really nice and centered. I wish I could see how fast I am doing them. They don't feel very fast but they do feel like they are going at a moderate speed. Bringing the arms overhead helps to center them, thus increasing my speed, so I will continue to do it like that instead of bringing them down towards the pelvis. I had a bad backwards fall doing a backspin. I did the best backspin I have ever done....and then ruined it by trying to exit the proper way and fell. I have been taught the proper exit to the backspin but find that exiting on the spinning foot is a lot harder than it looks. Something to work on. So yeah, a nasty backwards fall on my left cheek...sucks.
Jumps were really nice. No issues today, not even on the toe loop. Now that I am thinking about where my picking foot should be I am placing it better on the ice. Half Lutz is more of a half flutz. I'm having a hard time getting on the outside edge before the pick in part. Maybe I should stop doing half flips for a while?
I worked all of my edges, forward and backward. I did a few nice waltz eight patterns and some forward and backward crossovers in the figure eight pattern. I finished off my practice by looking at one of the Freeskate 4 elements - FI spiral, FI mohawk, BO spiral. I only did it CCW but will try it on the other side once I get more comfortable.
Oh, and I have to stop rewarding myself for good practices. I spending too much money on lattes and smoothies. It was a good idea when my practices were crap but now I'm practicing better and progressing faster than I thought....and it's killing the bank account :(
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Awesome Practice!
Just as the title states - this was a great practice. I went to the Tuesday afternoon session so it was relatively uncrowded and I was able to do a lot of field move stuff and there was plenty of room for jumps.
I started the practice off with some edges. All my edges - both forward and backward, are so comfortable now that I feel as though I could do them in my sleep. They flow nicely and the edges themselves feel very secure and stable. Waltz eight pattern was next. I did the first three turn in each circle in the closed position just as Gigi told me to do. It was not that hard to adjust to doing it this way but I still really like the look of the open position with nice extended legs. Oh well.
Spins were really nice today! I did about a gazillion scratch spins with arms overhead and they felt absolutely sublime. However, I did rip my left boot cover when I brought my right foot down on one of my scratches. I guess that's what I get for having sharp blades. Now I have an excuse to buy more goodies from Rainbo :) Backspins were also pretty good. I'm getting two or three revolutions consistently now and while my upper body may not be too pretty (I think sometimes arms are not brought in at the same time), I am at least getting the rev's and am getting more and more comfortable with this spin. I can work out the details later.
I was also feeling very jumpy today. I really wanted to get this toe loop under control because the test is in a couple weeks and has me choosing between a waltz jump/toe loop combo or a salchow/toe loop combo. So I practiced both combos very slowly. I figured out that the position of my foot coming out of a salchow prepares me better for the toe loop right after. I can do a waltz jump. I can do a toe loop. But, when I put them in combo, it just gets crazy. I did several salchow/toe loop combos that were really nice. So that is what I will do for the test. Towards the end of practice, I got adventurous and tied a whole bunch of jumps in succession just to see if I could. So, I did a waltz jump/side toe hop/waltz jump/salchow/toe loop combo. Whew! That was fun :)
I started the practice off with some edges. All my edges - both forward and backward, are so comfortable now that I feel as though I could do them in my sleep. They flow nicely and the edges themselves feel very secure and stable. Waltz eight pattern was next. I did the first three turn in each circle in the closed position just as Gigi told me to do. It was not that hard to adjust to doing it this way but I still really like the look of the open position with nice extended legs. Oh well.
Spins were really nice today! I did about a gazillion scratch spins with arms overhead and they felt absolutely sublime. However, I did rip my left boot cover when I brought my right foot down on one of my scratches. I guess that's what I get for having sharp blades. Now I have an excuse to buy more goodies from Rainbo :) Backspins were also pretty good. I'm getting two or three revolutions consistently now and while my upper body may not be too pretty (I think sometimes arms are not brought in at the same time), I am at least getting the rev's and am getting more and more comfortable with this spin. I can work out the details later.
I was also feeling very jumpy today. I really wanted to get this toe loop under control because the test is in a couple weeks and has me choosing between a waltz jump/toe loop combo or a salchow/toe loop combo. So I practiced both combos very slowly. I figured out that the position of my foot coming out of a salchow prepares me better for the toe loop right after. I can do a waltz jump. I can do a toe loop. But, when I put them in combo, it just gets crazy. I did several salchow/toe loop combos that were really nice. So that is what I will do for the test. Towards the end of practice, I got adventurous and tied a whole bunch of jumps in succession just to see if I could. So, I did a waltz jump/side toe hop/waltz jump/salchow/toe loop combo. Whew! That was fun :)
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Freeskate 3 - Lesson #3
I didn't post about yesterday's practice because it was just a whole lot of suck anyway. All backward three turns deserted me and I could not even get around once on my backspin. It was just an off day. Maybe it had something to do with the "ice snobs" being there. It's these two teenage girls who have obviously been skating their whole life. I usually smile at them to say hello because I see them every week, but they never say hello or smile back, they just look the other way. Rude! Last night I fell on a BO3 and they looked in my direction then looked at each other and started giggling. I really felt like going over there and giving them a piece of my mind. But instead, I let it get to me and had a crappy practice. I can't stand them!
Today, I did much better. In the practice session before my lesson, I was able to do BO and BI three turns with no problem. I even made some progress on the backspin! I had two that had about FOUR (!) revolutions. Most of my attempts got three rev's consistently. If I think about putting pressure on my right pinky toe it helps get me on that outside edge. Stupid, but it helps.
Today's lesson started off with waltz eight and forward/backward crossovers in a figure eight pattern. Gigi looked up in one of her rulebooks that the first three turn in the pattern should be in the closed position and even though it looks nice in the open position the way I do it, she would like me to actually follow the rules....geeesh. Not a big adjustment, but I still like it better the other way. Next we worked on salchows. She just made some slight corrections but overall she liked them. My toe-loop on the other hand is still a mess. She figured out that my problem is that when I come out of a waltz jump, for example, I am in this nice landing position with the freefoot turned out and pointed. This puts my foot in the wrong position to pick in for a toe-loop. When I come out of a waltz jump, I should think about where my foot should be for the toe-loop and have it ready. It can't be a "landing position" foot! Something to work on. At least now I know what to fix.
No class next week. Don't know why...there just isn't :(
Today, I did much better. In the practice session before my lesson, I was able to do BO and BI three turns with no problem. I even made some progress on the backspin! I had two that had about FOUR (!) revolutions. Most of my attempts got three rev's consistently. If I think about putting pressure on my right pinky toe it helps get me on that outside edge. Stupid, but it helps.
Today's lesson started off with waltz eight and forward/backward crossovers in a figure eight pattern. Gigi looked up in one of her rulebooks that the first three turn in the pattern should be in the closed position and even though it looks nice in the open position the way I do it, she would like me to actually follow the rules....geeesh. Not a big adjustment, but I still like it better the other way. Next we worked on salchows. She just made some slight corrections but overall she liked them. My toe-loop on the other hand is still a mess. She figured out that my problem is that when I come out of a waltz jump, for example, I am in this nice landing position with the freefoot turned out and pointed. This puts my foot in the wrong position to pick in for a toe-loop. When I come out of a waltz jump, I should think about where my foot should be for the toe-loop and have it ready. It can't be a "landing position" foot! Something to work on. At least now I know what to fix.
No class next week. Don't know why...there just isn't :(
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Freeskate 3 - Lesson #2
From spectacular to craptacular is how this lesson went. First off, I wasn't even going to go to my lesson because I have been sick all week and I have not practiced at all. My head aches and it feels like the inside of my nose is starting to disintegrate from all of the nasal spray, wiping and blowing. But, being the trooper that I am, I went even though I felt like I was going to throw up all over the ice at any time. Luckily for everyone, no vomiting took place :)
I didn't do much in the public session before my lesson besides some spins and BO/BI three turns. It was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to work on anything else. Most of the time I skated in circles or got off the ice entirely to just watch other people skate in circles. Not very productive at all.
So my lesson started and Gigi wanted to go through the forward and backward crossovers in the figure eight pattern (AKA MITF). Forward crossovers were ok but I still feel as though I need more underpush on my CW crossovers. CCW had the underpush, though. Backward crossovers were "Steady and Controlled" according to Gigi. She liked the way all of my crossovers looked. I think they are quite test-able!
Next up was the waltz eight pattern. Gigi was actually impressed that I do the three turns in this pattern with an extended freeleg! She says she always teaches this pattern with closed position but the fact that I do it so nicely with extension and pointed toes will win me extra kudos from the judges.
And then it was all downhill from there. We moved on to the backspin which has either deserted me completely or is on sick leave along with the rest of my body. I could barely get one revolution. She asked me if I was having a hard time finding the outside edge. No, I think I just suck at spinning. She had me go into the spin several different ways to see if that would make a difference. It didn't. It's just so weird. I spend 40% of my time practicing edgework, another 40% on spins and the last 20% on jumps and other stuff. One would think that since I spend nearly half of my practices spinning around and around that I would be better at it. Ok, My one-foot and two-foot spins are good. Scratch spins are there most of the time, and camels get anywhere from two or three rev's which is respectable for my level. But these darn backspins are killer! I wish I could just do them already! I know how they should be done. I know where my body parts should be whilst doing them.....SO WHY CAN'T I DO A BACKSPIN!!????!!!??
Lame.
Anyway, I'm off to self medicate.
I didn't do much in the public session before my lesson besides some spins and BO/BI three turns. It was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to work on anything else. Most of the time I skated in circles or got off the ice entirely to just watch other people skate in circles. Not very productive at all.
So my lesson started and Gigi wanted to go through the forward and backward crossovers in the figure eight pattern (AKA MITF). Forward crossovers were ok but I still feel as though I need more underpush on my CW crossovers. CCW had the underpush, though. Backward crossovers were "Steady and Controlled" according to Gigi. She liked the way all of my crossovers looked. I think they are quite test-able!
Next up was the waltz eight pattern. Gigi was actually impressed that I do the three turns in this pattern with an extended freeleg! She says she always teaches this pattern with closed position but the fact that I do it so nicely with extension and pointed toes will win me extra kudos from the judges.
And then it was all downhill from there. We moved on to the backspin which has either deserted me completely or is on sick leave along with the rest of my body. I could barely get one revolution. She asked me if I was having a hard time finding the outside edge. No, I think I just suck at spinning. She had me go into the spin several different ways to see if that would make a difference. It didn't. It's just so weird. I spend 40% of my time practicing edgework, another 40% on spins and the last 20% on jumps and other stuff. One would think that since I spend nearly half of my practices spinning around and around that I would be better at it. Ok, My one-foot and two-foot spins are good. Scratch spins are there most of the time, and camels get anywhere from two or three rev's which is respectable for my level. But these darn backspins are killer! I wish I could just do them already! I know how they should be done. I know where my body parts should be whilst doing them.....SO WHY CAN'T I DO A BACKSPIN!!????!!!??
Lame.
Anyway, I'm off to self medicate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)