Hey, look at that! Flip jumps!

Lesson this morning! With my last couple of practices, I've been focusing on starting small with the flip jumps so I was ready to show Christopher some flips without hesitation. I've been doing them pretty much from a standstill on just a small patch of ice and I've just been drilling them over and over. I don't know if the technique has improved too much but the fear and hesitation is certainly a lot less than it was. So, before Christopher got on the ice this morning, I made sure to do at least 5 little flips as a warm up.

Lessonz: When he got on the ice, I was working on the Five Step Mohawks so we started with that. It's a good thing too, because I really feel like I'm starting to overthink (and consequently ruin) these. His main criticisms were that I need to make sure I stay on the axis, don't start the next lobe too soon, and to have a much deeper knee bend on that last step. We did a few more before moving on to the Power 3 Turns. I think these have a more deliberate flow now but they are still lacking power. I feel like, with these, I'm only improving one thing at a time. For example, I feel like I'm doing better at staying true to the axis but then I don't get on the inside edge before the crossover. Someday, I'll get it together. Finally, we worked on flip jumps. We did many. I'm consistently landing them on one foot which is nice and the hesitation is pretty much gone but I still need a lot of work on these. They are far from where they need to be. Today, we mostly worked on getting the free leg in the proper position (aka getting it crossed in front like I do in the loop jump). Progress is slow but it is still progress!

At one point I stabbed myself in the leg with my blade. I covertly checked my pants to be sure there wasn't a hole in them (Hey, skating pants are expensive!). I didn't care so much if I was bleeding, I just didn't want any holes. Priorities. Anyway, I have a nice little bruise on my right leg now as evidence that I'm willing to bleed out just so I can get a nice flip jump.