Practices Week of 3/25/00

[aehodman]

Okay guys, I know I'm not the only one practicing, please share! Pretty please?

Well, today was my first lesson after my extended skating hiatus and I managed to land my flip, lutz, AND a loop/loop! Mind you, I only landed two clean lutzes and flips, with the rest being either two footed or really pitched forward, but I was so impressed that I was able to do these jumps so soon. Yay! :) Also worked on the sit, scratch, back scratch (more like back-moves-at-the-speed-of-tectonic-plates but that's okay), and just some exercises to help me get my free leg to stay up in position for the layback. I also got started on some endurance building exercises (which I SORELY needed!) and we started working on my State Games Pre-Bronze program for the middle of May (eeek! so soon!) I hope I'll be ready. I really want to do this competition to prove to myself that I can be ready with all my old jumps for a competition 3 months after having a baby. hey, if Katia can do it with doubles and triples, so can I with single jumps, right? :)

Here's to next session and hopefully more clean jumps. Yahooooodles!!!! :)

[axelkid]

Woohoo...skated during the DAY this week, on ice that wasn't teeming with toddlers with no sense of self preservation. That's because I'm on spring break!!

Worked on a lot of footwork this week. Patterns for inside and outside three turns. Brackets (ugh) inside and outside...I can not do these really to save my life.

The camel is still hit or miss though I hit one decent one.

Jumps are coming along pretty well. Double loop was great on Friday. We'll have to see how it is this week. My teacher said that I was bending too gradually on the take off and then popping up. She said I'd get better spring if I sort of delayed the knee bend until right before the jump and then bend and pop more consecutively (as opposed to bending...waiting...then springing up). It gave me better height and helped with my tilting problem.

This is the big one...I attempted double lutzes! I was so scared but I managed to get a couple around with a two foot landing. None clean but boy did it feel good to not splat on the ice entirely!!!

AEHOdman...speed of tectonic plates? LOL! Sounds like my camel!

[susan ba]

how many years have you guys been skating and when you did it all start to feel comfortable out there.

aehodman: good to hear about getting your jumps back so quickly... that's pretty gutsy to enter a comp so soon. where will this comp be? my friend said that she is going to a comp early next month somewhere close to orlando... maitland, maybe? you wouldn't happen to be going are you?

axle: i can't even imagine a time when i will be able to do a 2lz. wow even if it's two footed for now.

i had a double lesson yesterday: the first was mostly about edges. i love it that my coach is so good. she knows all the technical stuff and she is so calming and patient. the second lesson was about jumping. she helped fixed my waltz which i was under rotating... i was over compensating from over rotating before. then we worked on my salchow. the last thing we did was my toe loop...i had a hard fall right at the end of the lesson (i'm sooo sore and stiff from that! i skipped the public session today) and she had me do some more "so you don't leave the lesson scared". she was giving me a pep talk too. not that i needed it but i thought it was cute. and she is very considerate of the fact that i am an adult skater...but she never holds me back because of that though. wow, i guess that was just a love fest about my coach. sorry, i digress. we also worked on spins. lol, she asked me if i was closing my eyes? and i sure was. she taught me to keep them open and to look out so i would know where i was. it's a wierd sensation.

axelkid: did you do any choreographing during this spring break?

[aehodman]

susan: I've been skating, well, when you take the pregnancy hiatus into account, about 4 years or so. I only got really serious into pushing myself and advancing about 2 years ago, though. As for my comfort level, I don't know if it was more comfort than confidence that I could skate, and skate well. I didn't really get that until I went out and actually won a gold medal at my first USFSA about a year and a half ago. The fact that I could skate well in a group larger than just me or me and one other person really helped me realize that I could do this and that I couldn't possibly be as horrible at this as I thought I was. :) I think that confidence helped me be more comfortable with pushing myself and trying new things.
One of my skating pals is also doing the Maitland competition -- what level is your friend skating at? Mine is at Bronze. I am going to lend my moral support so let me know who she is so I can cheer for her! The comp I am going to is actually State Games in May. I wasn't sure I'd be ready but after landing that lutz and flip I think I will be. Now, if I could just get my old program together. This is gonna be a challenge! :)

axelkid: congrats on the double lutz! I wish my lutz was that consistent. I keep dropping my shoulder because, well, I have no muscles at the moment which is not helping that much....:(

[axelkid]

AEHodman: Good luck on the state games!!! We'll all be rooting for you. It's so great to hear about your return to the ice. Good luck on the lutz and flip!! A little practice and I'm sure you will nail them right on the head. Thanks for the encouragement. I can't wait to get back on the ice and try them again. Either that or Friday was a fluke and I'll wait another 5 months before making another attempt.

Susan: I've been skating for about 5 years now. A friend of mine in college begged to take a figure skating class with her but I opted for the EMT training class instead. Well the EMT class was filled when I got there so I ended up taking figure skating against my own volition. Guess what? I LOVED it. Couldn't get enough and was completely obsessed. For the most part, I still am. I skated every week, several times a week until I graduated. Then I took a break that lasted almost a year before starting up again. Haven't stopped since. It's wonderful. I will never get enough of that feeling of gliding across the ice, working so hard to make something look so easy.

Wow...how poetic. Speaking of which, sorry no gladiator choreography yet. Hopefully this week, the person who is helping me choreograph will call.

[aehodman]

Hey axelkid, I KNOW that double lutz was not a fluke! So there! ;) I have a feeling you'll be landing them left and right within a very short amount of time.

Thanks for the good luck wishes on the flip and lutz -- I just got back from an AWFUL public session that is usually pretty deserted. I was hoping to work on those two aformentioned jumps but there was no room and after about twenty odd tries at a lutz I kept getting cut off. I did manage two clean, one footed but still kinda slow lutzes in the middle, as well as some okay, rather ho-hum flips. I'm still two footing more of them than I am landing cleanly but hey, I still have about 7 weeks to work on it. I figure if I can go from not being able to do back crossovers to landing a few clean lutzes in only 2 weeks I think I'm in good shape.

Also experimented with a new spin -- went into a one footed side spin then grabbed the lower free leg blade and pulled it up behind me, while slightly bending at the waist with the other arm in front (Maria B. does this spin). I surprised myself by actually getting around 2 times before having to drop the leg. It wasn't quite as high as Maria's but I'm hoping that if I can get around 3 times on it I might plunk it into my Pre-Bronze program for State Games. I need all the spin help I can get.....:/

[Jackylutz]

Hi everyone...

Well, it has been 3 months since I step on the ice because I left my skates in Fort Lauderdale. But I was able to skate OK. I did all my jumps without falling, which is good because that is what I am strong at. Anyway...I managed to have a pretty good practice even though the ice was terrible because I was the only skater with figure skates on.

Well...have fun skating everyone.....

Cheers Mates!!!!

[sunnybunny]

Well, my lesson today went pretty well! My program run throughs were quite grotesque, but it was still a great day! My one foot spin is FINALLY coming along. I had four clean revolutions from back crossovers into a one foot spin. That is a miracle for me!!! I love it when I am tired at the end of my practice, it makes me feel so great!

I am glad to hear everyone is having good practices! Susan Ba, it sounds like you and I are at about the same level. I am working on a salchow, too. My toe loop started out good, but have gone down hill! I got confident after a few and now I keep over rotating them! The salchow makes me a little nervous. I definitely like toe jumps better!!!

I would love to hear about programs you guys are doing! Music, moves, etc.

[axelkid]

I was having a run of wonderful practices, I know I had to hit a rut at some point.

Today, I could not land a single jump cleanly and with good flow. Consistently stepped out of the 1 flip/2 loop combo from my wonderful tilting.

Double loops came to a complete stand still and I kept on falling backwards out of them. More tilting. Maybe I need to drink more V8.

Axel was abysmal, I kept landing and bouncing right of the edge onto my butt so I'd zamboni the ice a little with my rear end. Someone remarked that I looked awful tight and was not getting my usual lift.

Believe it or not, my best attempts were on double flips, which were 1/4 turn underrotated but ok other than that.

Sigh. It was just frustrating in general. I was like one big temper tantrum on the ice.

[aehodman]

axelkid -- it sounds like you and I are in synch on practices this week, I also just couldn't get anything to work on that awful public session a few days ago. Although I have to say I'd much rather have your frustrating kind of day on the ice than mine (1/4 away from a double flip, in my dreams maybe!)

sunnybunny -- the salchow was THE biggest pain in the derierre for me to learn. I got the changefoot spin and scratch spin all before I landed my first salchow. I must have pounded away at that friggin jump for 4 months before I landed it to my coach's satisfaction. To this day it is probably my least favorite jump. :( But with the speed you are progressing I am certain you will get it in no time flat!

As for programs, here's (hopefully) what I will be doing in Pre Bronze at State Games if I can get my act together. I am skating to some flamenco-type music from an old 1970s LP I have (that I transferred to tape):
back spiral
ina bauer/turn/ina bauer into --
loop/loop
lutz/toe or lutz/loop/ballet jump
toe footwork
sit spin
flip/toe or flip/loop
scratch spin or layback spin or side spin/grabfoot spin

[Anita18]

I feel so beginner compared to everyone else LOL...My waltz jump is not "jumping" but I think I'm getting fairly good runout on it...:) Tried inside three-turns until I was sick of them, but still was not <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> quite<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> feeling them...maybe next time...;) Spins have improved; I'm really feeling that inertia trying to pull my arms out. Good thing, I guess....:)

[susan ba]

sunnybunny: we are soooo NOT at the same level. the closest i got to a spin last week was two revolutions and tons of dizziness afterwards. i'll be at your level when i can actually do a spin where i'm not breaking at the hips after two turns!

anita: i feel the same way....so beginner too. but worry not you other guys, all your "fancy talk" :) only inspires me more.

aehodman: i'll find out what level she's at tomorrow night... i'm going to try to make it there for sat. and maybe you can tell me who your friend who is competing is and i can cheer for her too. although it's not a good idea to give names out i guess so you can write me at susan_ba@hotmail.com but you have to identify yourself as a skater in the subject heading because i often delete junk mail from that account without ever reading the messages...

anita...are you bending your knees? down on the entrance, up on the turn and down on the exit again?

[susan ba]

hi jacky: thanks for joining us. ( i don't remember seeing you before...but it's not like i remember a lot anyway) are you in london for a short time or do you live there? are there alot of ice rinks there and what are the coaches like?

anyway, welcome and please continue to post. if you've been poting all along then just ignore me!

[Anita18]

I'm trying to do that..but sometimes I don't check the outside edge enough and I start leaning back. Well, at least I know what I'm doing wrong, LOL...

Knee bending was like an epiphany for me, since most of the time I did three-turns with the power of that shoulder change, but then I saw someone else in my class (she's been skating for 30 years, but only chose to do lessons recently, so her edges and control need practically no work, LOL..) do three-turns with absolutely gorgeous knee bend, so I wanted to try that. Once you get the hang of it, it's so easy, LOL...<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> why didn't I do that before??<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> But pretty recently, I feel as if I've gotten the hang of waltz-threes! I couldn't go from backwards to forwards for some really dumb reason, but now if I don't worry about it, I can do it, LOL...

The only problem is that I'm always afraid of crashing into somebody. It's been a while since I have collided with someone, but I'm a person who lets another skater pass by rather than skating around them. My mom keeps on telling me I skate too slowly, and I feel like answering, "Well, I would skate faster if there was no one to crash into, LOL!" :lol I supposed that once I get more control in my skating, I'll get the nerve up to start skating around people, LOL...at least I don't worry so much about doing crossovers. Before, I'd look over my shoulder a lot to make sure nobody was in my way. Now I just do it. :)

It was really creepy yesterday during the public session, since there was a recreational skater there who looked exactly like Emanuel Sandhu. Body type, eyes, nose, mouth, everything but the highlights, LOL. It struck me as funny because I was really expecting him to go out on the ice with impeccable line and carriage, and in reality he couldn't even get away from the wall...

[aehodman]

Anita I LOL at your Sandhu story. Once I saw a guy that kinda looked like a taller version of Kurt at a public session but he ended up being at about the same skating level as the Sandhu lookalike was....;)

Susan -- my friend is competing in the Adult events on Sunday so that's the only day I will be there...:( Is your friend an adult skater? If so all the adult freeskates are that day so she will definitely be scheduled to be there if that is the case on that day. Let me know if you will be there Sunday so we can meet up in the stands (and maybe get one of those huge hot pretzels, yum!) ;)

Today was a GREAT jumping day during the freestyle -- I landed more lutzes and lutz/toes than I either two footed or popped out of, like this improvement. Landed a few of my old flips, felt good and secure, so I tried some flip/loops. (hilarious demented laugher now should ensue). They were pathetic. I ended up only doing squeaky three turns instead of the loop and looked like the Leaning Tower of Piza in the process. I know, patience, patience. :( But I did land some good loop/loops, although I know I can get more height on those buggers.

With the exception of a GREAT scratch spin at the beginning of the session I had a dreaful spin day. Managed one good low sit spin out of, like, 6 tries. Yikes. Side spin was not working and layback was a total washout. Oh well. At least I have my lutz back. Yippee! I can't be too picky here.

I am also battlinh my coach over music -- she wants me to use my old program at State Games and I don't want to, as (1) the music is too fast and (2) I don't think the judges care for it. I explained how MK switched to EOE mid season to great success but she just ain't buying it....:(