Last week's lesson was a total train wreck so I worked extra hard during my last practice to fix myself so that I wouldn't be as much of a train wreck for today's lesson. One of those fixes was changing my toe loop-loop combo in my free skate to a waltz-toe loop-loop combo. It worked on Thursday but today was a different story. Perhaps I got too ambitious.
Warm-upz - For my off-ice warm up I did some running, some stretching, and some walking. On-ice warm-up consisted of the usual laps, edges, circle 8, and backward 3 turns.
Jumpz and Spinz - I ran all of my single jumps and then started in on combos. The waltz-toe loop-loop was messy today but it was still okay enough for me to want to suggest it as a replacement once Christopher got on the ice. I'm overdue for a sharpening (I'm getting one this weekend) and it shows! My loops are skidding like crazy on the take off. Not the best feeling. Once I jumped around for a bit, I worked on spins. One foot spins seem okay but then I started working on the sit spin and that is still a hot mess. I'm really worried about testing this spin in a couple of weeks. Attitude spin looks great when I can center it.
Lessonz - My lesson started with me apologizing for last week's disaster on ice and I promised him that I was better today. I also suggested the waltz-toe loop-loop and so he asked to see it. It was mess. He said we better stick with the original plan, the toe loop-loop combo. He's right. We worked on some elements in isolation before running the program. We ran the program twice and the first time wasn't terrible but, oh man, the second time was bad! Running two programs in the span of like 8 minutes is no bueno. I'm totally not built for that! The first run through was good but I struggled on a couple of things. As a result, he had me reskate the sit spin (no surprise there) and the toe loop-loop. When I do the sit spin in isolation, I'm able to get one that's passable mostly because I am holding the entrance longer. But when the music is playing and I'm trying to hit my marks, I rush things and they end up looking hella sloppy. We worked a bit on that before I did my toe loop-loop again for him which was much better on the reskate. Moving on, he asked me to skate my bronze compulsory moves for him. I got through it. It has moments that are really pretty but then I tense up on some other things like the flip-toe loop combo and the LBI 3 turn. I traditionally do better in compulsories because there is no music and I can just focus on doing pretty things and I know I'll get there with this program but it still just needs time. We worked a bit on the flip jump before calling it a day.
I am registering for the Bronze Free Skate test on Friday and then in two and a half weeks I'm supposed to take the test. I've never felt so unsure about a test in my life! I mean, with the exception of a couple of changes in choreography and jumps, this is the same program I skated at Sectionals back in March and I wasn't nearly as terrified about that as I am about this. I really just want it to be over so I can practice all of this stuff without this deadline looming over me.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Thursday, July 25, 2019
The Force Re-Awakens
The last time I was on the ice I was a disaster but I've had some time to think about it and work off ice to try to get myself together. I have to register for the Bronze Free Skate test by next Friday and then the test itself is in 3 weeks. This is no time to be skating so poorly. I got to the rink today with a new positive attitude and the determination to fix everything wrong with my skating lately. I have reawakened the force within me!
Off Ice Warm-upz - I spent a lot of time running, stretching, and flexing. I've been icing my right hamstring at home quite a bit and, although it still hurts, I can at least stretch on that side now without wanting to scream. Once I felt like I was limber enough, I made my way downstairs to get laced up and on the ice.
On Ice Warm-upz - Typical laps and edges but I've also been incorporating the 3 turn patterns into my warm ups. I made it down the length of the rink with my LFO-RBI pattern without a foot down and I was super proud of that so progress is happening! Yay! I tried to repeat that success with the RFO-LBI but I put my foot down on a couple of the LBI 3 turns. Still, it's improving, just at a slower pace than the other side.
Jumpz & Spinz - I ran through all of my jumps and landed everything which is much better than on Tuesday when I fell on almost every jump I attempted. In fact, my free skate jump combo (the toe loop-loop) felt so good that I decided to add a salchow to the beginning of it. That seemed to flow better than the 2-jump combo so I'm going to run it by Christopher on Tuesday to see what he thinks. I did some more loops, flips, and salchows before working on the combo from my compulsories (the flip-toe loop). This jump is happening but I have very little momentum coming out of it. I feel like I need to jump out more rather than up. Something to work on. Moving on to spins, I just worked on the sit spin and the attitude spin. Attitude seems to be better today than it has been in a while but the sit spin is just...gone. I think in my attempts to get them lower, I lost the the feel of the rotations. If I attempt a lower position, the spin just goes to hell but if I just get as low as I'm comfortable with (which admittedly is not very low at all), the rotations happen. It's like I just can't have both. I definitely feel like if there is one element from the free skate test that the judges won't pass me on, it will be this. I'll just keep working on it but man, there is not a lot of time left. I'm just not the best spinner.
Programz - Because I promised Christopher I would run my program in practices with the music, I brought my CD out to the ice and, once I was properly warmed up, I went to go get the sash on. Except...the ice monitor was gone! Luckily, my friend Carl was willing to press play for me but I felt bad taking him away from what he was working just to do me a favor. Anyway, I got the sash on, the music started, and off I went. I decided to try adding the salchow-toe loop-loop combo to see how it would fit in the program and it works well, actually! I didn't forget the footwork sequence this time (yay!) but it wasn't placed where it should have been (boo!). That's a minor fix. Basically, jumps got landed, spins were spun, and I ended on time with the music. The only thing that was not test-worthy was the quality of my sit spin. I'm just really worried about it now. Sigh. When I was done, I thanked Carl again and then started in on my compulsory moves.
Compulsoriez - I'm still struggling with the back 3s, particularly the left one. The sit spin was gross and the flip-toe combo was weak. However, all of the in-between elements were pretty and I felt awesome doing them. I won't be judged on the in-between stuff, though, so if I'm going to compete with this in about a month and a half, I really need to get everything at the same level.
Overall, it was a really productive practice. I don't normally get hot and sweaty when I'm working on the ice but today I did so I know I was working my ass off today. Mentally, this was just what I needed. I feel a bit more confident now. Physically, I'm hurting. I'm actually thankful that I'm not back on the ice until Tuesday because between ballet kicking my ass, Tuesday morning's fall extravaganza, and today's effort on the ice, I kinda feel like a truck hit me and that my bones are on the verge of disintegrating. I feel like a walking bruise :(
Off Ice Warm-upz - I spent a lot of time running, stretching, and flexing. I've been icing my right hamstring at home quite a bit and, although it still hurts, I can at least stretch on that side now without wanting to scream. Once I felt like I was limber enough, I made my way downstairs to get laced up and on the ice.
On Ice Warm-upz - Typical laps and edges but I've also been incorporating the 3 turn patterns into my warm ups. I made it down the length of the rink with my LFO-RBI pattern without a foot down and I was super proud of that so progress is happening! Yay! I tried to repeat that success with the RFO-LBI but I put my foot down on a couple of the LBI 3 turns. Still, it's improving, just at a slower pace than the other side.
Jumpz & Spinz - I ran through all of my jumps and landed everything which is much better than on Tuesday when I fell on almost every jump I attempted. In fact, my free skate jump combo (the toe loop-loop) felt so good that I decided to add a salchow to the beginning of it. That seemed to flow better than the 2-jump combo so I'm going to run it by Christopher on Tuesday to see what he thinks. I did some more loops, flips, and salchows before working on the combo from my compulsories (the flip-toe loop). This jump is happening but I have very little momentum coming out of it. I feel like I need to jump out more rather than up. Something to work on. Moving on to spins, I just worked on the sit spin and the attitude spin. Attitude seems to be better today than it has been in a while but the sit spin is just...gone. I think in my attempts to get them lower, I lost the the feel of the rotations. If I attempt a lower position, the spin just goes to hell but if I just get as low as I'm comfortable with (which admittedly is not very low at all), the rotations happen. It's like I just can't have both. I definitely feel like if there is one element from the free skate test that the judges won't pass me on, it will be this. I'll just keep working on it but man, there is not a lot of time left. I'm just not the best spinner.
Programz - Because I promised Christopher I would run my program in practices with the music, I brought my CD out to the ice and, once I was properly warmed up, I went to go get the sash on. Except...the ice monitor was gone! Luckily, my friend Carl was willing to press play for me but I felt bad taking him away from what he was working just to do me a favor. Anyway, I got the sash on, the music started, and off I went. I decided to try adding the salchow-toe loop-loop combo to see how it would fit in the program and it works well, actually! I didn't forget the footwork sequence this time (yay!) but it wasn't placed where it should have been (boo!). That's a minor fix. Basically, jumps got landed, spins were spun, and I ended on time with the music. The only thing that was not test-worthy was the quality of my sit spin. I'm just really worried about it now. Sigh. When I was done, I thanked Carl again and then started in on my compulsory moves.
Compulsoriez - I'm still struggling with the back 3s, particularly the left one. The sit spin was gross and the flip-toe combo was weak. However, all of the in-between elements were pretty and I felt awesome doing them. I won't be judged on the in-between stuff, though, so if I'm going to compete with this in about a month and a half, I really need to get everything at the same level.
Overall, it was a really productive practice. I don't normally get hot and sweaty when I'm working on the ice but today I did so I know I was working my ass off today. Mentally, this was just what I needed. I feel a bit more confident now. Physically, I'm hurting. I'm actually thankful that I'm not back on the ice until Tuesday because between ballet kicking my ass, Tuesday morning's fall extravaganza, and today's effort on the ice, I kinda feel like a truck hit me and that my bones are on the verge of disintegrating. I feel like a walking bruise :(
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
A Montage of Fails
Ok, so you know how in virtually every sports movie there's always a montage of that person's fails before they start getting their shit together and start kicking ass? That's me lately! Except I'm still waiting for the "kicking ass" part. Today's lesson was just...so bad. I had some pretty awful falls and I hurt all over. Part of me wishes it was all caught on film so I can create that montage but then I also think I would be too embarrassed to watch it. Ugh.
Warm-upz - For my off-ice warm-ups, I ran a bit and then did some of the stretches I've been learning in my ballet class using the railing on the upper level of the rink as my barre. Once I got on the ice, it was the usual laps, edges, and some old moves in the field.
Bronze Movez - Not a lot of time spent on this. I really just worked on the FO-BI 3 turn pattern to get those turns warmed up in preparation for my compulsory moves. I'm still struggling with consistency on the RFO-LBI 3 turns but once I remembered to turn my head along with my shoulders, things started to improve a bit.
Compulsoriez - I didn't run the whole thing because I got really focused on my jumps. They are just so terrible as of late you would think I have never jumped before. I feel like because I'm learning so many new things with Silver Moves, Bronze Compulsories, and Bronze FS I'm just falling apart skill-wise. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed by all of this and it's stressing me out?
Lessonz - I already determined that I wanted Christopher to look at my jumps today because I am having such a hard time linking jumps together in combination and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. These are all jumps I know how to do on their own but they are just not happening in combo. So we started by looking at the 3-jump combo from my free skate (waltz-toe loop-loop) and I fell. So he changed it to a waltz-toe loop...and I fell. Then he changed it to a salchow-toe loop-loop...and I fell. I think we tried 20 billion combinations of jumps before settling on one that I could actually land; a toe loop-loop. With that settled, we spent some time trying to get my free leg crossed in front for the loop part of the combo. Minimum success here but at least I stayed upright for the most part. Then he wanted to see it in the program so I got the sash on and warned him that it's been a couple of weeks since I ran the program last. I didn't want him to be blindsided by the suck that was about to happen. Surprisingly, I got through the program without a fall and ended on time. It was just really sloppy and I forgot the footwork sequence. He said if I'm testing this thing next month I really need to be better about running it in practices. I promised him I would because, at the rate I'm going, there is no way I will pass Bronze FS in a matter of weeks. We worked a bit on the entrance to the spin before calling it a day.
This was a really bad day on the ice. I'm really thankful that he is so patient with me when I'm unable to be patient with myself. I was clearly frustrated with my skating today and the more frustrated I became, the worse my skating was. I really hope this is just a funk I'm going through and my next practice is better but I'm feeling pretty low about things right now. Sigh.
Warm-upz - For my off-ice warm-ups, I ran a bit and then did some of the stretches I've been learning in my ballet class using the railing on the upper level of the rink as my barre. Once I got on the ice, it was the usual laps, edges, and some old moves in the field.
Bronze Movez - Not a lot of time spent on this. I really just worked on the FO-BI 3 turn pattern to get those turns warmed up in preparation for my compulsory moves. I'm still struggling with consistency on the RFO-LBI 3 turns but once I remembered to turn my head along with my shoulders, things started to improve a bit.
Compulsoriez - I didn't run the whole thing because I got really focused on my jumps. They are just so terrible as of late you would think I have never jumped before. I feel like because I'm learning so many new things with Silver Moves, Bronze Compulsories, and Bronze FS I'm just falling apart skill-wise. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed by all of this and it's stressing me out?
Lessonz - I already determined that I wanted Christopher to look at my jumps today because I am having such a hard time linking jumps together in combination and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. These are all jumps I know how to do on their own but they are just not happening in combo. So we started by looking at the 3-jump combo from my free skate (waltz-toe loop-loop) and I fell. So he changed it to a waltz-toe loop...and I fell. Then he changed it to a salchow-toe loop-loop...and I fell. I think we tried 20 billion combinations of jumps before settling on one that I could actually land; a toe loop-loop. With that settled, we spent some time trying to get my free leg crossed in front for the loop part of the combo. Minimum success here but at least I stayed upright for the most part. Then he wanted to see it in the program so I got the sash on and warned him that it's been a couple of weeks since I ran the program last. I didn't want him to be blindsided by the suck that was about to happen. Surprisingly, I got through the program without a fall and ended on time. It was just really sloppy and I forgot the footwork sequence. He said if I'm testing this thing next month I really need to be better about running it in practices. I promised him I would because, at the rate I'm going, there is no way I will pass Bronze FS in a matter of weeks. We worked a bit on the entrance to the spin before calling it a day.
This was a really bad day on the ice. I'm really thankful that he is so patient with me when I'm unable to be patient with myself. I was clearly frustrated with my skating today and the more frustrated I became, the worse my skating was. I really hope this is just a funk I'm going through and my next practice is better but I'm feeling pretty low about things right now. Sigh.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
All aboard the struggle bus!
Ok, this new Bronze Compulsory Moves routine is gorgeous but man, the struggle is real! I feel like once I get everything up to speed and under control, I'll be a force to be reckoned with but, for now, I'm just doing my best to stay upright.
Warm upz - I did my usual laps and edges and then spent some time working on FO-BI 3 turn patterns on both sides so I can practice them safely in the routine later. My good side (LFO-RBI) actually feels pretty good. Dare I say...comfortable. The bad side (RFO-LBI) is still hit or miss. The LBI 3 turn is getting around about 50% of the time so I need to work on more consistency with this. I know I can do the turn but I have moments when, right before the turn, anxiety creeps in. Those are the times when the turn doesn't make it around. When I clear my mind, relax, and remember how all the various parts of my body need to move in harmony with each other to make the turn happen, it goes well.
Jumpz & Spinz - I ran through all of my single jumps in order of difficulty before moving on to jump combos. I'm having a difficult time adding the toe loop into these combos. I'm cheating them every time. I even slowed it way down and they were still meh. I'm stressing out so much about the toe loop that any jump that goes before it goes to hell. The flip-toe combo is now a complete disaster. Both jumps on their own feel fine but put them together and things get messy. I'll have Christopher work with me on these on Tuesday. Outside of the BI 3 turns, the jump combo is the thing I'm worrying about the most in the Compulsory Moves routine. I spent some time on spins, including working on the backspin from a standstill. Little improvement here but things got worked on.
Compulsory Movez - Now that we have the choreography complete, I ran through the whole thing multiple times from start to finish. I didn't worry about fitting everything into the time limit as I just wanted to make sure I got the choreography correct and that I added some of those elegant ballet-like flourishes Christopher showed me. I have two more months to get this up to speed so it's okay to go slowly right now. I really like how this routine makes use of the entire surface (or at least the entire half of the rink since it will be performed on half ice). This is going to be really nice once I get comfortable with it. The elements in order of appearance are:
Warm upz - I did my usual laps and edges and then spent some time working on FO-BI 3 turn patterns on both sides so I can practice them safely in the routine later. My good side (LFO-RBI) actually feels pretty good. Dare I say...comfortable. The bad side (RFO-LBI) is still hit or miss. The LBI 3 turn is getting around about 50% of the time so I need to work on more consistency with this. I know I can do the turn but I have moments when, right before the turn, anxiety creeps in. Those are the times when the turn doesn't make it around. When I clear my mind, relax, and remember how all the various parts of my body need to move in harmony with each other to make the turn happen, it goes well.
Jumpz & Spinz - I ran through all of my single jumps in order of difficulty before moving on to jump combos. I'm having a difficult time adding the toe loop into these combos. I'm cheating them every time. I even slowed it way down and they were still meh. I'm stressing out so much about the toe loop that any jump that goes before it goes to hell. The flip-toe combo is now a complete disaster. Both jumps on their own feel fine but put them together and things get messy. I'll have Christopher work with me on these on Tuesday. Outside of the BI 3 turns, the jump combo is the thing I'm worrying about the most in the Compulsory Moves routine. I spent some time on spins, including working on the backspin from a standstill. Little improvement here but things got worked on.
Compulsory Movez - Now that we have the choreography complete, I ran through the whole thing multiple times from start to finish. I didn't worry about fitting everything into the time limit as I just wanted to make sure I got the choreography correct and that I added some of those elegant ballet-like flourishes Christopher showed me. I have two more months to get this up to speed so it's okay to go slowly right now. I really like how this routine makes use of the entire surface (or at least the entire half of the rink since it will be performed on half ice). This is going to be really nice once I get comfortable with it. The elements in order of appearance are:
- Single Salchow
- RBI 3 turn
- LBI 3 turn
- Spiral sequence (RFO spiral - mohawk - LBI catch foot spiral)
- Flip-toe combo
- Sit spin
There are lots of really pretty movements as transitions to each of the above and I'm really glad I decided to start fresh with a new routine. I love this one!
Balletz - I've been practicing my positions and studying up on my french ballet vocabulary so I won't feel as lost when I go in for my next class. Even though I have only had the one ballet class so far, it has already made me more aware of my body as I move around the ice. I'm paying more attention to the littlest things like how my hands and head are positioned and whether or not my hips are turned out. I can definitely see how all of this will improve my skating down the road!
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Sluggish Ruggish Bones
I went to my very first ballet class last night and I boy was I feeling it today! Every part of my body hurts, especially my bad ankle! On top of that, I got home from ballet around the same time that I usually go to sleep but I still had to shower, eat something, and wind my brain down with some mindless reality TV. As a result of all of that, I got very little sleep and I arrived at the rink this morning super sore and super tired.
After my warm up, I worked a bit on the scratch spin, the new jump combo for my free skate (the waltz-toe loop-loop), and some backward inside 3 turns. I fussed around with some flip jumps as well and was feeling pretty good about those so I moved on to running through the new compulsory moves routine. It's really slow and I'm still having an issue with momentum after the LBI 3 turn but at least I remembered the choreography.
Lessonz - Christopher got on the ice and I told him how my ballet class went. I think he's really pleased that I'm doing this. Lord knows I need it! Our main goal today was to finish up the rest of the compulsory choreography. We talked a bit about which jump combo and type of spin to include and I guess I just assumed we would do the same jump combo that I'm using for my free skate but I assumed wrong! I'll be doing a flip-toe combo (gulp!) and a sit spin. My flips have been pretty decent lately and when I did the flip-toe combo for him the first time, it also felt pretty good. Not perfect, but good. Then he told me to go into the flip with more speed and things started going downhill after that. I was mule kicking and forcing things that didn't need to be forced. Ugh, why is it that when he makes corrections on things I feel like I'm starting from scratch? So frustrating! At one point he told me could tell I'm starting to overthink things again. He's right. When I just do the thing, it goes well. When I start thinking about doing the thing, not so much. He added some more in-between choreography after the spiral sequence going into the jump combo and then some more coming out of the jump combo and into the final spin. He emphasized extensions and proper head positions and everything looked very "ballet." He even said he feels like he can give me some more ballet-like movements now that I'm taking a ballet class. I still feel like I'm struggling getting my body into the correct positions for things but I know it will improve with time. Anyway, the whole routine looks pretty and once I get it under control and consistent, I think it will also be a competitive enough routine for Adult Bronze.
So all I really want to do is take a bath and soak my bones but adult responsibilities force me to go to work instead. I feel tired from the inside out and I really hope this all starts to feel normal. I think when the new contract comes out for the fall, I'll switch my rink days so I'm not coming in the morning after a ballet class because, honestly, I feel like death warmed over.
After my warm up, I worked a bit on the scratch spin, the new jump combo for my free skate (the waltz-toe loop-loop), and some backward inside 3 turns. I fussed around with some flip jumps as well and was feeling pretty good about those so I moved on to running through the new compulsory moves routine. It's really slow and I'm still having an issue with momentum after the LBI 3 turn but at least I remembered the choreography.
Lessonz - Christopher got on the ice and I told him how my ballet class went. I think he's really pleased that I'm doing this. Lord knows I need it! Our main goal today was to finish up the rest of the compulsory choreography. We talked a bit about which jump combo and type of spin to include and I guess I just assumed we would do the same jump combo that I'm using for my free skate but I assumed wrong! I'll be doing a flip-toe combo (gulp!) and a sit spin. My flips have been pretty decent lately and when I did the flip-toe combo for him the first time, it also felt pretty good. Not perfect, but good. Then he told me to go into the flip with more speed and things started going downhill after that. I was mule kicking and forcing things that didn't need to be forced. Ugh, why is it that when he makes corrections on things I feel like I'm starting from scratch? So frustrating! At one point he told me could tell I'm starting to overthink things again. He's right. When I just do the thing, it goes well. When I start thinking about doing the thing, not so much. He added some more in-between choreography after the spiral sequence going into the jump combo and then some more coming out of the jump combo and into the final spin. He emphasized extensions and proper head positions and everything looked very "ballet." He even said he feels like he can give me some more ballet-like movements now that I'm taking a ballet class. I still feel like I'm struggling getting my body into the correct positions for things but I know it will improve with time. Anyway, the whole routine looks pretty and once I get it under control and consistent, I think it will also be a competitive enough routine for Adult Bronze.
So all I really want to do is take a bath and soak my bones but adult responsibilities force me to go to work instead. I feel tired from the inside out and I really hope this all starts to feel normal. I think when the new contract comes out for the fall, I'll switch my rink days so I'm not coming in the morning after a ballet class because, honestly, I feel like death warmed over.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Workin' it
Practice this morning and, since it was a drop-in session, it was a mix of the usual crowd and some faces I haven't seen in a while. The ice was still crowded, though. Meh.
Warm upz - Laps (many), edges (all), and turns (some).
Spinz - I did some basic one foot spins on the blue line as a warm up and to find my center but then when I tried scratch spins in the middle of the rink, there was hella travelling. These use to be so good before I broke my leg and now they are nearly impossible to center. I went through my mental rolodex of all of the corrections Christopher has given me on my spins and was able to get one spin that was relatively centered. Moving on to sit spins, I tried to apply the same corrections here while at the same time pushing to get lower. It's still a work in progress. Finally, I did some backspins from a standstill working on getting that free leg crossed right from the start. I was able to get one that had two revs with the crossed leg.
Jumpz - Waltz jumps, toe loops, salchows, loops, and some flips. I did it all! My flips actually felt pretty good today which was delightful! Once I was warmed up on jumps, I started working on the new combo. Sloooooowly. I thought if I started by working on it in parts, I could piece it all together at the end. Apparently, it doesn't work that way. I can do the waltz-toe loop and I can do the toe loop-loop but when I try to put all three together into a combo, I get a waltz-toe loop-struggle loop disaster. I'll keep plugging away at it. It's crazy how I can do all three of these jumps just fine on their own but when I put them together it just goes all to hell.
Compulsoriez - I studied the video I took during our lesson and I think I have the choreography down but it's looking really rough. The part that is causing me the most grief is the part right after the salchow. I'm struggling going from the landing of that into the two BI 3 turns. The first RBI 3 turn has some speed (scary) but then when I switch to the other side to do the LBI 3 turn, all momentum is lost and I practically come to a stand still on the glide out. Sigh. This will take time. I worked a bit on the spiral sequence too. I'll be doing an RFO spiral, mohawk, LBI catch foot spiral like the one I'm doing in the picture below. If I can manage to be consistent about staying off my toe pick on the backward spiral, this may not be the worst looking spiral sequence. Finally, I worked a bit on presentation and trying to be more graceful with my arms. I always feel like I'm forcing grace rather than letting it happen naturally. Maybe as I mature as a skater, I'll develop some of those natural movements but until then I feel like I look like I'm trying too hard.
Warm upz - Laps (many), edges (all), and turns (some).
Spinz - I did some basic one foot spins on the blue line as a warm up and to find my center but then when I tried scratch spins in the middle of the rink, there was hella travelling. These use to be so good before I broke my leg and now they are nearly impossible to center. I went through my mental rolodex of all of the corrections Christopher has given me on my spins and was able to get one spin that was relatively centered. Moving on to sit spins, I tried to apply the same corrections here while at the same time pushing to get lower. It's still a work in progress. Finally, I did some backspins from a standstill working on getting that free leg crossed right from the start. I was able to get one that had two revs with the crossed leg.
Jumpz - Waltz jumps, toe loops, salchows, loops, and some flips. I did it all! My flips actually felt pretty good today which was delightful! Once I was warmed up on jumps, I started working on the new combo. Sloooooowly. I thought if I started by working on it in parts, I could piece it all together at the end. Apparently, it doesn't work that way. I can do the waltz-toe loop and I can do the toe loop-loop but when I try to put all three together into a combo, I get a waltz-toe loop-struggle loop disaster. I'll keep plugging away at it. It's crazy how I can do all three of these jumps just fine on their own but when I put them together it just goes all to hell.
Compulsoriez - I studied the video I took during our lesson and I think I have the choreography down but it's looking really rough. The part that is causing me the most grief is the part right after the salchow. I'm struggling going from the landing of that into the two BI 3 turns. The first RBI 3 turn has some speed (scary) but then when I switch to the other side to do the LBI 3 turn, all momentum is lost and I practically come to a stand still on the glide out. Sigh. This will take time. I worked a bit on the spiral sequence too. I'll be doing an RFO spiral, mohawk, LBI catch foot spiral like the one I'm doing in the picture below. If I can manage to be consistent about staying off my toe pick on the backward spiral, this may not be the worst looking spiral sequence. Finally, I worked a bit on presentation and trying to be more graceful with my arms. I always feel like I'm forcing grace rather than letting it happen naturally. Maybe as I mature as a skater, I'll develop some of those natural movements but until then I feel like I look like I'm trying too hard.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Bronze Compulsories
Full disclosure: I have not practiced since my lesson last week. It's been really hard to get practices in with the holidays and drop-ins. So, needless to say, I was rusty today and it showed. I warmed up with my usual laps, edges, and turns and then got right to work on jumps and spins since I knew we would be starting choreography for Bronze Compulsories today.
Jumpz & Spinz - I ran through all of my jumps except the flip. I realized that the waltz-toe-toe combo that we decided to put in the free skate won't work because that's one too many toe loops in my program so I started playing around with alternatives. I tried a salchow-toe loop-loop and fell on the loop. In fact, anytime I try to attach a loop to another jump it gets wonky. Something to work on. I dabbled in some sit spins for a bit before working on BI 3 turns. Basically, I was trying to cram a week's worth of practice into 30 minutes in a desperate attempt to not look too awful for my lesson.
Lessonz - He asked me if I wanted to reformat my pre-bronze compulsories to meet the requirements of Bronze or just start fresh with a new program. I opted for the most difficult route (typical) and said I wanted a brand new routine. Cool. We got about 75% of it choreographed today and holy smokes, it's challenging! Doing the BI3 turns choreographed with more speed than I'm used to was crazy. It's totally different from doing them in the Moves pattern! I'm really going to have to work hard at getting this whole routine smooth. Right now, I'm bumbling about on the ice and it's not pretty. I took some video of Christopher performing it so I can study arms and stuff but, man, there is a lot of work to be done and we still need to put in the jump combo and final spin! I'm thinking it will be a waltz-toe loop-loop and scratch spin. Ugh, I have so much to work on and no idea how it's all going to get done in time for August.
Balletz - Christopher has mentioned in the past how he thinks it would be a good idea to incorporate some ballet into my skate training and I found a place in Littleton that seems promising (and adult friendly). When I asked him what he thought, he couldn't recommend it highly enough! He actually performed with the Littleton Ballet Academy in the past and so he's familiar with the people who run the place and says it's a lovely place to go for ballet. I reached out to them and asked if I could attend a session as a trial before I commit and they got back to me right away with all the information I needed to get started. I might go on Monday evening to give it a go. I think this will really help with musicality and softer, more graceful lines and it will certainly work my ankles a whole lot. I'm nervous but excited. Just what I need, right? More stuff on my already full plate? Neat.
Jumpz & Spinz - I ran through all of my jumps except the flip. I realized that the waltz-toe-toe combo that we decided to put in the free skate won't work because that's one too many toe loops in my program so I started playing around with alternatives. I tried a salchow-toe loop-loop and fell on the loop. In fact, anytime I try to attach a loop to another jump it gets wonky. Something to work on. I dabbled in some sit spins for a bit before working on BI 3 turns. Basically, I was trying to cram a week's worth of practice into 30 minutes in a desperate attempt to not look too awful for my lesson.
Lessonz - He asked me if I wanted to reformat my pre-bronze compulsories to meet the requirements of Bronze or just start fresh with a new program. I opted for the most difficult route (typical) and said I wanted a brand new routine. Cool. We got about 75% of it choreographed today and holy smokes, it's challenging! Doing the BI3 turns choreographed with more speed than I'm used to was crazy. It's totally different from doing them in the Moves pattern! I'm really going to have to work hard at getting this whole routine smooth. Right now, I'm bumbling about on the ice and it's not pretty. I took some video of Christopher performing it so I can study arms and stuff but, man, there is a lot of work to be done and we still need to put in the jump combo and final spin! I'm thinking it will be a waltz-toe loop-loop and scratch spin. Ugh, I have so much to work on and no idea how it's all going to get done in time for August.
Balletz - Christopher has mentioned in the past how he thinks it would be a good idea to incorporate some ballet into my skate training and I found a place in Littleton that seems promising (and adult friendly). When I asked him what he thought, he couldn't recommend it highly enough! He actually performed with the Littleton Ballet Academy in the past and so he's familiar with the people who run the place and says it's a lovely place to go for ballet. I reached out to them and asked if I could attend a session as a trial before I commit and they got back to me right away with all the information I needed to get started. I might go on Monday evening to give it a go. I think this will really help with musicality and softer, more graceful lines and it will certainly work my ankles a whole lot. I'm nervous but excited. Just what I need, right? More stuff on my already full plate? Neat.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Spin Drunk
Lesson today! My week was busy and I didn't get a chance to practice at all since my lesson last week so I really wasn't sure how today would go. I wasn't terrible but I also wasn't my best. Skating over the summer is hard with all of the holiday closures and drop-in sessions due to competitions. As much as I want to get better skill wise over the summer, I always seem to stagnate. Oh!!! And today marks my 2nd Break-a-versary! Two years ago I broke my leg and today I got on the ice and did the things without breaking again. Success!
Programz - Before my lesson began, I had plenty of time to warm up. I did my warm-up laps and edges and then moved right into jumps and spins because I needed to run my program today with music if I have any hopes of testing this program soon. As soon as I felt ready, I put my music in the queue and got my sash on. Overall, it went well. No falls and I ended on time. The only snafu was my final spin when a little girl got in my way and wouldn't move so I had to abort. The new footwork fit in nicely with the music and everything felt comfortable. Minus the spin at the end that didn't really happen, if I had skated this program for the judges, I think I would have passed. Mind you, I wouldn't pass with honors, but I think I got the job done. It still needs more speed and confidence and I think it will be good.
Lessonz - Once my program was done, I started in on Silver MIF. I was working on the backward cross strokes when Christopher got on the ice. I'm still not bending my knees enough nor am I pushing off of that outside edge with enough power so the move tends to lose speed as I go down the ice. We briefly looked at the forward cross strokes and those are okay when I remember to slide my free foot across rather than step it across. We worked on timing and placement of the free foot for a bit before moving on to FO-BI 3 Turns. I did both sets down the length of the ice as he wanted me to but I'm still having issues with turning too soon or too late. We spent some time working on placing the turns at the top of each lobe. As frustrating as it is that I'm having an issue with this, I'm at least happy the the BI 3 turns are happening. There were just a few where I put my foot down after the turn but, considering a few weeks ago when they weren't happening at all, I'm really pleased with this progress. He gave me an exercise where I practice the turns on a hockey circle and hoooold the exit edge to try to keep it on the circle as best as possible. Easier said than done. Next, he asked me what my intentions were for testing Bronze FS and I told him I was planning on testing in July but, even though the registration deadline is this Friday, our club still hasn't made registering for the test possible on the website so I expressed confusion over whether or not the test this month was even happening. He told me it's a moot point anyway because he has a commitment that takes place on same day as the July test session so he can't be there. So, that settles it. I'll be testing in August. I'm okay with this. I was feeling a bit of pressure and anxiety about the July test date so August gives me more time to prepare. We went over to the boards to review the requirements for the Bronze FS test and I panicked a bit when he pulled up the old test requirements that had skaters doing a backspin. We quickly found the current requirements (without the backspin) but the damage had been done. He smelled fear and when he smells fear, he makes me do the thing! I reeled off a decent enough backspin but, as usual, it was flamingo'd. He gave me an exercise where I start the spin from a complete standstill and that allowed me to cross my leg over a bit better. I'm to practice it this way until I can consistently cross my free leg over. Sigh. Stupid backspin! I got pretty "spin drunk" doing backspins today, though. I don't usually get dizzy with the forward spins but the backspins always make me feel off kilter. We also discussed changing my jump combination in the program from the waltz-falling leaf-half flip to a waltz-toe loop-toe loop. He asked me to try it and, even though I've gotten better at fixing my single toe loops, when I put them in combination, I cheat them. So, something else to work on.
Next week, per my request, we will begin choreography for Bronze Compulsory Moves. Starting this now will give me a good two months of practice with it before I'm supposed to compete in September and I need all of the practice I can get. I was mostly worried about the BI 3 turns but those are getting better each time I do them and now I'm less worried about those and more worried about the sit spin. I still feel like my sit spin is just not low enough to be competitive and I'm still having problems with centering. I don't have high hopes for making the podium at CSI but I at least want to skate cleanly. And, testing in August is cutting it pretty close if I'm supposed to skate Bronze in September. I suppose, if I don't pass, I could always "skate up" to Bronze. All of this is stressful!
Programz - Before my lesson began, I had plenty of time to warm up. I did my warm-up laps and edges and then moved right into jumps and spins because I needed to run my program today with music if I have any hopes of testing this program soon. As soon as I felt ready, I put my music in the queue and got my sash on. Overall, it went well. No falls and I ended on time. The only snafu was my final spin when a little girl got in my way and wouldn't move so I had to abort. The new footwork fit in nicely with the music and everything felt comfortable. Minus the spin at the end that didn't really happen, if I had skated this program for the judges, I think I would have passed. Mind you, I wouldn't pass with honors, but I think I got the job done. It still needs more speed and confidence and I think it will be good.
Lessonz - Once my program was done, I started in on Silver MIF. I was working on the backward cross strokes when Christopher got on the ice. I'm still not bending my knees enough nor am I pushing off of that outside edge with enough power so the move tends to lose speed as I go down the ice. We briefly looked at the forward cross strokes and those are okay when I remember to slide my free foot across rather than step it across. We worked on timing and placement of the free foot for a bit before moving on to FO-BI 3 Turns. I did both sets down the length of the ice as he wanted me to but I'm still having issues with turning too soon or too late. We spent some time working on placing the turns at the top of each lobe. As frustrating as it is that I'm having an issue with this, I'm at least happy the the BI 3 turns are happening. There were just a few where I put my foot down after the turn but, considering a few weeks ago when they weren't happening at all, I'm really pleased with this progress. He gave me an exercise where I practice the turns on a hockey circle and hoooold the exit edge to try to keep it on the circle as best as possible. Easier said than done. Next, he asked me what my intentions were for testing Bronze FS and I told him I was planning on testing in July but, even though the registration deadline is this Friday, our club still hasn't made registering for the test possible on the website so I expressed confusion over whether or not the test this month was even happening. He told me it's a moot point anyway because he has a commitment that takes place on same day as the July test session so he can't be there. So, that settles it. I'll be testing in August. I'm okay with this. I was feeling a bit of pressure and anxiety about the July test date so August gives me more time to prepare. We went over to the boards to review the requirements for the Bronze FS test and I panicked a bit when he pulled up the old test requirements that had skaters doing a backspin. We quickly found the current requirements (without the backspin) but the damage had been done. He smelled fear and when he smells fear, he makes me do the thing! I reeled off a decent enough backspin but, as usual, it was flamingo'd. He gave me an exercise where I start the spin from a complete standstill and that allowed me to cross my leg over a bit better. I'm to practice it this way until I can consistently cross my free leg over. Sigh. Stupid backspin! I got pretty "spin drunk" doing backspins today, though. I don't usually get dizzy with the forward spins but the backspins always make me feel off kilter. We also discussed changing my jump combination in the program from the waltz-falling leaf-half flip to a waltz-toe loop-toe loop. He asked me to try it and, even though I've gotten better at fixing my single toe loops, when I put them in combination, I cheat them. So, something else to work on.
Next week, per my request, we will begin choreography for Bronze Compulsory Moves. Starting this now will give me a good two months of practice with it before I'm supposed to compete in September and I need all of the practice I can get. I was mostly worried about the BI 3 turns but those are getting better each time I do them and now I'm less worried about those and more worried about the sit spin. I still feel like my sit spin is just not low enough to be competitive and I'm still having problems with centering. I don't have high hopes for making the podium at CSI but I at least want to skate cleanly. And, testing in August is cutting it pretty close if I'm supposed to skate Bronze in September. I suppose, if I don't pass, I could always "skate up" to Bronze. All of this is stressful!
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