Don't miss the Grab!

Lesson today!

Flipz - We started with the flip jump. It still needs so much work! I'm rushing into the mohawk and then I'm rushing right after it to pick in and then I'm rushing the rotation. Rush rush rush. I also need to vault more and not rotate my free leg around so much. The more we picked it apart, the more frustrated I became with it. I thought getting over the fear of this jump was my primary problem but it turns out that my technique just really sucks and that's what is making this so scary. It really doesn't need to be like this. I understand the proper technique, I just can't get my body to actually do it. I have never been so frustrated with a jump as I am with the flip. Ugh.

Devilz - With that out of the way, we started back again with the choreography. I put on the sash and ran it with the music with the steps that I have learned up to this point and then we added more. Right after I land the loop jump, I do some fancy arms and then push under for the wind up into the camel spin (no backward crossovers!). Insert some sassy arms after that and right into a salchow (again, no backward crossovers to enter the salchow. Just an LFO 3 turn and jump!). We ran it once more with the music to see how the additional choreography fits in and then we were done for the day. Whew! It's just one element after another so I feel like there is no room to make a misstep anywhere. That's anxiety inducing! Also, my forward cross grab spiral is a thing to be concerned about. If I miss the grab, there's no time to reach for it again so it has the potential to just not happen if I can't grab in time. Yikes. I need to really get the timing down on this. It's not so much a question of whether or not I can do the spiral but more of can I do it in time.

Overall, there is just a lot packed into this thing and we are only 30 seconds into a 1:50 program! However, I feel sassy as hell skating it and I can't wait until we have the whole thing choreographed and I'm confident enough in my abilities to let the sassy shine through. Here's a picture of the dress. I'm debating adding stones or not. If I do, I'll probably add some jet black Swarovskis to the "veins" and around the perimeter. Or maybe it's good on its own? I'm not sure yet.

Every day I'm Spiraling

This post is pretty much a wrap up of Wednesday and this morning since I forgot to post earlier in the week.

Movez - Everything is progressing along very well but I'm struggling with the backward 3 turns again, mostly the outside ones. To be fair, they have taken a backseat in lieu of focusing on jumps and spins for the program. I have to try to make sure I practice these during every practice or I'm afraid I'll lose them entirely. The forward power pulls are feeling a bit better, though. At least they are not as scary and I'm stronger on my bad leg now so that's progress.

Spinz - So many camels. That's like all I do now. I don't hate it though. As spins go, these are the least burdensome to work on. I'm able to get two revs most of the time now. I'll keep plugging away until I get these to where they need to be. I did some backspins too.

Jumpz - My salchows have been feeling excellent lately! I feel like I'm really holding the entrance and exit of the 3 turn and that is making a big difference in slowing this thing down. Neat! In regards to the other jumps, I have mostly been working on the flip jump. I'm picking out more to the side now but I'm still not getting very far with the jump distance-wise. I discovered this morning that when I'm focusing on my arms, I have better jumps. I think that's part of what Christopher was saying in regards to not trying so hard. Even though my attention was focused elsewhere, my body still did the jump! Maybe I'll just focus on arms when I do this jump...lol .

Devilz - I spent the last 10 minutes of the session on the new program. I'm not running it with music yet because what's the point? Right now I only have the first 15 seconds choreographed. But I practiced what I have so far. I spent extra time on the forward cross grab spiral. Between Wednesday and today, I've been able to feel a little less like I'm going to catch a toepick and die and a little more like "cool, now add some speed." That's the problem, though...speed. I don't have any yet. It's very slow and that spells trouble for the loop jump immediately coming out of it. I know the more I do it, it will speed up but right now, it's a sloth spiral. I've been stretching in the morning and in the evening (and sometimes in the bathroom at work during the day) to get a bit more flexibility in my back. If I have a bendier back, this would be a whole lot easier. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's lesson so we can add some more choreography to this. :)

My body doesn't bend that way

Lesson today!

Flipz - I asked him to take a look at my flip jump. I've been working on it a lot because I want it included in the choreography but, although I'm landing it consistently, the technique is sloppy. I did a couple for him and he noticed that I'm picking in directly behind me instead of out to the right slightly. This is making it really difficult to get around properly. Also, as is always the case, I'm over-rotating again. Basically, I'm supposed to relax, don't think about it, pick in, and jump. Just do the thing. Simple, right? Yeah...

Devilz - We added some more choreography to my new Bronze FS  program. I asked him a couple of weeks ago to really challenge me with this program and boy is he! He wants me to do a cross grab spiral right through center ice, mohawk, loop jump. The cross grab is giving me some grief, though. My back isn't bendy enough for that right now. If I grab the same leg with the same arm, it's better...but that's not challenging, is it? Harrumph. So, now I have to add these new stretches to my warm-ups. My back...hurts. After the loop jump, he has me doing a camel spin but we didn't really complete all the steps to get there yet. Camels are coming along. I'm getting more used to the feeling of it and am almost getting two revs consistently. I need three revs, at least. I asked for challenging and he delivered. Sigh.

Feeling Devilish

Lesson today and we got started with the choreography for my new Bronze FS program. But first...

Back Sit Spin - A new and special kind of torture. He threw around the idea of doing a forward camel into a back sit spin for the program and now I'm kinda dying. This feels so far out of the realm of my abilities. But, I know if I don't challenge myself, I won't grow as a skater. I have a lot of work to do with this.

Camel Spin - We worked a bit on this as well to really try to get a good entry since it seems most of my problems are a result of my body parts being wonky and not working in harmony with each other as I enter the spin.

Opening Moves - We only got the first 5-10 seconds choreographed but I'm really liking it so far. Time to get saucy!

Flips Ahoy!

Since I had the day off today, I skated TWO sessions! I'm exhausted but I feel like I got some good practice in.

Movez - I saw some noticeable improvement in my forward power pulls especially on my bad leg. The pulls aren't deep but they are happening whereas, a couple of weeks ago, they were nonexistent. But, there is always a give and take with my skills. With the improvement of my power pulls came the decline in my ability to do backward cross strokes. Ugh. I worked on the rest of the moves but there wasn't any progress worthy of an update.

Spinz - When I remember the entry and the way my arms are supposed to be, I can get the start of a two rev camel. However, I have a tendency to just forget all of that and fling myself willy-nilly into the thing which always ends in disaster. Something to work on. I did some backspins and some forward one-foot and scratches.

Jumpz - I did everything but my flips, especially, felt good today so I did a lot of them. Like, A LOT! I'm still not going very far with them but at least they are happening fearlessly, which is all I ever wanted anyway.

My humps

Ok, ya'll know I'm not the biggest fan of spinning but I was working on camels today and *GASP* I didn't hate it! Huh. More on that later.

Warm-upz - I know it's not a big deal to a lot of people but with my crap lungs, I can't run very far before I feel like I'm suffocating and need my rescue inhaler. Most mornings when I get to the rink, I'll do some running for a few minutes but I have never able to break the half mile mark without needing to stop. However!!!! Today I did it. I ran a half mile without stopping and didn't feel too terribly out of breath when I was done! Progress! I think since my doctor switched me to a stronger steroid inhaler, I've been breathing easier and have more endurance. I hope this helps me power through during my programs as well!


Movez - I did everything except the spirals. It's not that I'm avoiding them, I just genuinely forget that they are on the test sometimes. Nothing spectacular in terms of progress. The FO-BI 3 turns are feeling pretty good now. I feel like they are in the polishing stages. The FI-BO are the complete opposite. I feel like I have regressed on these. Damn.

Jumpz - I did all the jumps I know. I'm starting to go into the flip with a tad more speed but when I look at the tracings it just looks like I'm jumping up not out. I also spent some time on the half lutz and finally got one or two where I felt like I might have been on the outside edge. There is something about the approach to the lutz that just makes me feel powerful. I like it! Hopefully, once I add the other half rev to it, I'll still feel that way.

Spinz - I started off with some standard one-foot spins. They were okay. Then I moved on to some camel spins. When I remember my arms, I get camels that have 2 revs. I even had one that had what felt like 3! What? However, when I overthink and forget my arms, my camels get wonky. Anyway, these are actually enjoyable to work on. Imagine that! I did some backspins to finish out my spinning.

Programz - Christopher sent me the cut of my new Bronze Freeskate music and he did a really good job. I love it! Hopefully we can get started with the choreography on Saturday!

Camels and Lutz

Lesson today and we started with a discussion about my sit spin. I think Christopher and I both agree that, at this point, the forward sit spin is just not in the cards for me. I'll keep working on it, of course, but I think with the hardware in my leg, it's just not a thing I can do. It's been two years so I think this is just how I am now and I don't think there is really anything I can do to make it better. In lieu of the sit spin, he would like for me to shift my focus to the camel spin. We haven't touched on these in a while so we worked on them for a bit in our lesson today. Perhaps, I'll be able to do a camel-back sit combo someday but the forward sit just isn't happening.

Moving on, we looked at the Eight Step Mohawk. It has improved a bit and there is better flow now on both sides. I just have to clean up my feet a bit.

Next was the lutz jump! I gave him serious side-eye when he suggested it so he backed off a bit and we just worked on the half-lutz to get the approach right. My approach is okay and I understand how it all works, it's just getting on that outside edge that's tricky. I'll work on it some more. I really need some new tricks in my programs. If I can get a nice camel, a decent flip, and a lutz, I'll be set.

After our lesson, I worked a bit on some backspins, loop jumps, flips, and salchows (and of course Silver Moves).

Toepick!

Not once, but TWICE I tripped on my toepick today and had bad falls. Ugh, Everything hurts.

Eight Step Mohawkz - I did a pattern and didn't like my bad side so I ran it again. When I was returning to center to get ready for the other side...TOEPICK! I hit my elbow pretty hard. It still hurts hours later even with Motrin and a latte from caribou. Sigh.

Forward and Backward Cross Strokez - Forward feels pretty good but I still feel steppy on the backward strokes.

FO-BI 3 Turnz - Okay.

FI-BO 3 Turnz - The good side is getting better but it's still slow. The bad side is still, well...bad.

Spiralz - Skipped.

Power Pullz - I was working on the forward pulls when I had my most awkward toepick fall to date. I tripped over my toepick and since my free leg was out in front, my skating leg went backward, my body fell forward, and my free leg went out in front. I looked like a broken doll. Arms and limbs everywhere. Not a fan. BUT! I got right back up and I tried again (this time without the fall).

Jumpz - Everything got worked on

Spinz - I only spun for a bit and it was only backspins.

I think my clumsy practice was due to the fact that I really did not want to get out of bed this morning. I strongly considered turning my alarm off and sleeping another two hours but I knew I would hate myself later if I didn't go. My mind was ready to skate but my body didn't want to be on that ice at all. I'll have a stronger practice on Friday :)

The Lesson of Hated Things

Lesson today and Christopher had me do all the things I hate as a special kind of torture (actually, I know it's good for me to focus solely on the hated things but I'm still going to complain about it).

Forward Power Pullz - We started with the most hated thing of all! We worked mostly on getting the twist of the upper body to coordinate with the edges of each pull. I can do this whole coordination thing on two feet, but when I go onto one foot for the power pull, I lose all sense of where the twist should be and how my arms should go. I had a couple moments where the coordination was there and it made the pulls so much easier to do! Now I just have to get my upper body to talk to my lower body and I think I'll see some improvement with this particular move.

Outside Mohawkz - There was a heavy focus on doing this correctly on the bad side (counter-clockwise). He looked at the good side mohawks and, while they can be smoother, they are nowhere near as bad as the bad side. My problem with this, again, is the upper body. I cannot stay in the checked position after the turn even though I am consciously trying to. It's just something that will take time and patience, I guess.

Sit Spinz - I haven't been practicing these, I'll be honest. They weren't that wonderful to begin with due to my bad ankle, but when I don't practice them consistently, they are truly a disaster. We spent some time trying to just get the spin centered rather than focusing on the sit part of it. I'm thinking sit spins will never be a obtainable thing for me. Sigh.

Flip Jumpz - Good thing I've been practicing these! He had me do many and they all got landed but the technique is still meh. My arms are wonky and I'm still forcing the rotation. After my lesson, I had one that actually felt right! It felt proper! But I think it was a fluke. I tried to repeat it and almost fell. But, I'm proud of myself for consistently working on these in practice. I'm no longer scared of them and I'm really trying! Once I can get my flip in a good place, I'll be better prepared to start working on the lutz.

Christopher said he might have my music cut for next week so hopefully we can start on the choreography. I'm interested to see what this program will look like. It's not a "pretty" program. I feel like I can skate pretty but this program is a little more...aggressive. I'm hoping I can interpret it well.