February 7, 2007

4:10p
see the spiral in the picture? now picture it 40 degrees lower and that's my "synchro leg"
Skating last night went really well. For some reason my right bicep is sore today- that's kind of random.

First LTS:
I taught the first Snowplow Sam class all on my own. It went wonderfully. The kids seemed to have a good time, no one got hurt, we practiced everything, and most importantly, I had enough stuff to do that I didn't spend the last 10 minutes saying "now what!" Second SS went about normal. Adult class went well. We worked a lot of stopping- she is kind of getting a snowplow, but doesn't have it yet. We also did half swizzles on a circle, and 2 footed turns on a circle and flat. It's funny how often I say, bend your knees deeply, then rise, then bend! I never bend my own knees! It's good to know that I KNOW I should be bending them :)

Then came practice time:
I started with 5 laps of perimeter stroking. I'm consistently getting 6 strokes down the rink- although I really have to be careful to fit them so I can get the 6th, because I can make it from dot to dot in 5. I'm not sure if the pre-bronze mitf pattern will allow 6, or just 4. I don't know if I could ever make it in 4, and I was told by one coach it was 4 or 6- my short little legs really need the 6 to make it graceful. Does anyone know if that's appropriate? The crossovers at the edges could be better. I have a really week free leg while on the inside edge- very ugly. But I think this pattern is getting stronger. It used to take me almost 12 strokes to get dot to dot!

Then I worked on edges on a line. My forward edges are great. Burton had asked me last week to kind of turn my foot while approaching the line so that the free foot could come down perpendicular. I did that on my outside edges and it really seems to make them more graceful, but couldn't figure out how to do it on inside edges. I didn't catch my toepick at all on the forward edges. Backward edges I completely ignored lobe size (good thing, it stunk!) and any of that, I just worked on hands, head, and free leg. After about 8 lines (4 on each side) I finally think I have it down. Now the question is, can I get better edges, enough to create a good, even lobe?

I worked a bit on jumps, but then took a break. It's a long day, and I didn't want to be dead for my lesson. I do, however, think teaching before my lesson then a bit of skating really helps me warm up. I do so much better on Tuesdays then on Sundays- where I only skate for an hour total, with only a 10 minute skating warmup.

Then the lesson: First, we worked on choctaws. I have to do one of these to get from crossovers into a spin, and I wanted to do it out of that context so I could learn it as a step. Of course, Burton took it further and we also worked on swing choctaws. Just the choctaw was challenging enough! Then we worked on backspins. I had been doing it out of a 2 footed spin, but now I am going to start doing it out of a pivot, so I can get the correct foot position- my jump position. From a two footed spin it's impossible to cross. I think he thought my backspin was better than he expected, but it is nothing to write home about.

Then we did one footed spins. From crossovers I have a respectable spin for my level- about 3 rotations, bringing the foot in front, but not crossing it. Apparently I am shifting my body to the left, and that's whats making my spin wonky. He told me to practice looking over my right shoulder while spinning, and try to bring my arms to the right- because that will actually place them in the center. This really helped my spin. Then I practiced it from a T-position, because, I really wanted to try the position and crossing my leg. They got better. We will probably put a "proper" spin into my program, but at least once, I will do a spin from a 2 footed 3-turn (hockey glide?)- with my free foot at my heel- because it gets much faster and more rotations. He wants me to do funky hands- so I need the longer spin to fit them in. However, if by April I can do the real one instead, I'll be pleased.

After this we started working on attitude spins. WOW, moving your position while already spinning is really tough. The force of the spin, as well as your balance, really just screams "Stay put". I did a few "need to pee" spins instead- seperating the knees while going that fast is a lot harder than when turning in dance. But the funniest part is as soon as I would move my leg to attitude my arms would go over my head. It was an incredible reflex, and I'm not sure if I can break it- after over 10 years of my arm being over my head for attitude turns! Burton told me if I'm doing that I also have to start working on a layback- so we started with a 2 foot spin with layback, to get used to the feeling of my head looking up, and body leaning back. The feeling was weird, but I wasn't dizzy stepping out of it.

Then we worked on salchows. I guess mine were not as bad as I thought. I didn't realize that the "facing backwards" is from the 3-turn, not the kicking your leg around, so some of the rotation happens on the ice, and it's really only a 3/4 to 1/2 turn in the air. I asked if this was "cheating" and he told me that it would be impossible to jump without doing some rotation on the ice after the 3-turn, and did some humorous improvisation to prove his point. I hope he's right. I don't want to learn to cheat my jumps, but what I was trying to do- a full rotation in the air- resulted in a 1 1/2 salchow (a mess, actually).

I got an extra 20 minutes because I was "listening well" that cracked me up, because I never don't pay attention- but I guess sometimes what I'm hearing does not translate to my feet.

So in that 20 minutes we worked on "half a loop" (not a half-loop, more like a jumping 3 turn), turned it into a loop, then worked on a half-lutz. The half lutz is really weird, but I like it way better than the loop. The loop is essentially a hop for me, and on my left leg it's scary! So now I have more jumps to add to my practice routine.

We spent the last few minutes on inside pivots- those are horrible! I'm not sure if I'd rather be doing these or loops!

Then I had about 20 minutes left of ice time to practice. I did some stroking, worked on both side lunges, and bad side spirals (My left leg is so shaky, and my right leg just does not go up at all!)- I need to learn to strengthen the CCW side of all my footwork, because that's the only way synchro will workout! I also did a few jumped mohawks (fun!), and then worked more on attitude spins.

Except for my feet hurting so badly I couldn't walk once I got my boots off, it was a wonderful night!