In which I am the teacher

Dustin said he wanted to try this whole ice skating thing so he came with me to my practice session on the public skate at the Sport Stable. He was super nervous as he has never been ice skating before in his life. I promised him I would support him (physically and motivationally) the best I could. We got him laced up into his rental skates and on the ice we went. He made it once around the rink clutching the walls when he told me he had enough. He felt defeated and wanted to give up but, after a bit of a rest, he got back on the ice like a champ and conquered his fears! In total, I think he made it around the rink 6 times and each time he got better. I showed him how to push off with his foot and do a two-foot glide. At one point he even broke away from the wall to get around a group of people who were just hanging out and made it around them successfully without holding on to me! He had a couple of spills but overall I think he did really well. I'm super proud of him!!! While he's not ready to sign up for lessons or anything, he at least wants to try it again sometime in the future so I'm guessing he didn't totally hate it.

After Dustin was done and took his skates off, I had some time left to work on some homework. I did a couple of really nice scratch spins but my backspins, of course, were just a mess. I tried approaching them by going into a FI 3-turn with a nice knee bend and I was able to get one revolution in the crossed-leg position. This is one of those things that will take some time. A lot of time!

Salchows were jumpier but still sloppy. I think I may be hesitating and spending too much time on that BI edge just before the jump. I think it should just be one fluid movement but when I do it that way, it feels out of control. This is something that I'll bring up in my next lesson with Christopher.

Toe loops are easier to do in a combination for some reason. When I do a waltz jump/toe loop combo it feels more comfortable than when I approach the toe loop on its own. Maybe my problem is more psychological. When I go into this jump on its own, I am thinking too much ("omg here we go don't mess it up don't fall!!!!") whereas when I do it in combination with another jump it just happens. Again, this is something I can bring up in my next lesson.

I feel like I'm getting a pretty good workout when I'm out there doing jump after jump. Neat!