Monday Morning Lesson

I hate Mondays. I hate mornings. I'm not particularly fond of Monday mornings. But, alas. We are on a different schedule this week because of the Broadmoor Open. I drank a ton of coffee before getting on the ice so I was adequately buzzed by the time I got laced up and on the ice!

Christopher got on the ice carrying the fishing pole harness. We talked about my Flip fear during our last lesson so this was in anticipation of strapping me in and hopefully getting me past that fear barrier. Guess what we didn't need to use? Yup, I was able to at least attempt the Flip today without the harness so there was no need for it. More on that later. He asked me what I wanted to focus on today so I told him I wanted to work on jumps and moves because, frankly, they both need some work.

• Backspin - I should have known this was coming. I was able to do some decent ones in the upright position as predicted but he would really like to see me performing this in the crossed-leg position. Believe me, I would like to see this too! The backspin is just going to be a thing I work on forever probably. Everyone has that one skill that is their nemesis. This is mine. It seems like no matter how many times I practice this, it just stays the same. Ugh. Stupid backspin!
• Loop Jump - The jump itself is fine but my arms are funky as hell! They should be in front of me in first position but instead they flail above my head. Instead of focusing on landing the jump, I need to focus more on where the hell my arms are during the jump. 
• Flip Jump - Do you see a pattern here? Backspin + Loop Jump =  prep for the Flip. Before attempting the Flip, however, he wanted me to just do the entry with the pick in and lifting of the free leg in the h position. We kind of alternated between this exercise and the loop jump so I can get a feel for how the Flip should be. And then....the Flip! It wasn't pretty but I was able to at least attempt some and I think I landed one or two sloppily. But guess what? They got done and there was no need for the harness. This is really just a confidence issue, I think, instead of a fear issue. I'll put this in writing now so I know I'll be held accountable for it: from here on out, no more of this chickening out stuff. I'm going to approach this jump with confidence and I will land it consistently! I CAN DO THIS!
• BO and BI Edges - I think, overall, he was pleased with how these have progressed. Of course, he still had to make some corrections to arm and head positions but these corrections are minor. Just polishing them up :) 
• Spirals - He commented on the progress I've made with these. Left leg spiral is still a bit weaker than the Right leg spiral but progress has been made. Huzzah! I'll keep working on this, though. I still have two more months before the test so I have plenty of time to get this to be as close to perfect as I can!