Hello, RBI

Last week was National Pairs Camp and our rink was hosting it so, instead of being able to attend my regularly scheduled contract sessions, the rink scheduled drop-in sessions for the whole week. I used the last punch in my punch card for Tuesday's lesson so I planned to skip Thursday's practice and skate today at the Sport Stable during a public session. The ice was really bad since they have a habit of not running the zamboni between sessions but I was there so I was determined to make some progress despite the crap ice.

Although I worked on some free skate stuff (jumps, spins, program, etc), I mostly focused on Silver Moves, particularly backward three turns.

8 Step Mohawk - I just did the CCW side and I did things slooooowly, taking my time on each step to get a better feel for things. The outside mohawk is feeling a bit better but I still cannot add speed to it yet without feeling like I might topple over. I'll work on the CW side next time.

Forward & Backward Cross Strokes - I think my forward cross strokes have slightly improved once I put Christoper's corrections into place but I'm still not sure if they are quite right yet. They feel different than how I was doing them before but who knows. The backwards cross strokes still feel impossible. All I'm able to do is step backwards onto my toe pick instead of my edge. I'm sure the answer to this is bend my knees more but ugh, this feels alien.

FO-BI 3 Turns - Breakthrough! I haven't done a back inside 3 turn in 13 years but today I was determined to do one! Per Christopher's suggestion, I started with some back 2-foot turns and then transitioned into doing it on one foot. Since my right leg/ankle/foot is stronger than my left, I only worked on the RBI. At first, I was putting my foot down after the turn but after a few minutes IT HAPPENED! What?! YASSS! And then my muscle memory kicked in from 13 years ago and I was able to do the RBI turns with no problem! My husband took a video of me doing the LFO-RBI 3 turns and I've posted it below as proof that I did them! wOOt!

FI-BO 3 Turns - I just worked on the LFI-RBO 3 turns today because I still don't have an LBO yet but I focused on placing the 3 turns better on each lobe. These feel unstable and shaky but they are getting worked on so no complaints.

Consecutive Outside & Inside Spirals - I feel like I'm getting more comfortable doing these in the full pattern but my left leg is still so unstable that I'm having a hard time extending my right leg above hip height. This is just one of those things that the more I do it the more confident in them I'll become so I have to make a point to work on them each time I practice. This is the only one of the Silver Moves that I can do in its entirety. Sigh.

Forward & Backward Power Pulls - Although I tried the forward power pulls, I can't seem to get enough power or pull to make them happen. I tried doing slaloms and then lifting one leg but I was unsuccessful. I have a better feel for the backward pulls but they tend to fizzle out the farther I go down the rink.

So progress was made today! I know my backward 3 turns are in me somewhere, I just have to pull them out. I imagine once I get over the fear hurdle, they will come back to me pretty quickly like they did today with the RBI 3 turns. It's funny how I wasn't terribly frightened of them 13 years ago. I struggled a bit with them but they didn't terrify me. Now, it's all about fear. I just feel more fragile now, especially after coming back from an injury. But staying in my comfort zone will prevent me from moving forward and progressing as a skater. It might take a while but I'll get my backward 3 turns back. ALL of them! I mean, I've already managed to get my RBO and my RBI turns back so I'm already halfway there, right? 😁