Gordon Meets Two-Foot Turn

Tonight's lesson was great. I got to the rink earlier than usual, so I had some time to actually warm up and get my legs under me. For this lesson we started out checking out my progress on my stroking. Glenn pronounced me better than last week, and urged me to continue working on bending my knees more and spending more time on each foot, a leisurely stroke that makes me feel the one-foot balance.

From there we went on to check out my forward swizzles. Glenn had me do a swizzle and then put my feet actually together (touching!) and glide. This made me very nervous. We did that backwards too. He says that I need to relax, that my glides are not as effective as they should be because I pull back from them. I think he's probably right.

Following that, he spent some time showing me what the different turns (3-turn, bracket, rocker, and counter) all look like, as well as the mohawk and choctaw. Then we went over to the boards and he had me step through... a choctaw, I think, just to see what it looked like. Following that he had me step through a simple two-foot turn at the boards, and then after practicing that standing still a couple of times he balanced me while I tried a couple while moving very slowly. The counterclockwise two foot turn (front to back) involves first, extending right hand in front and left in back as preparation, then simultaneously 1) swiveling hips counterclockwise, 2) hopping/lifting knees/legs up, and then checking the turn. I did a couple that were very rough, but I'm not able to do one by myself at this point. I was happy to be introduced to this new skill, though, it's very exciting.

During the lesson I had my first fall in front of an instructor -- unplanned fall, that is. It was, I think, while doing a forward swizzle or something, just a quick forward fall. He said it was a good fall, which made me happy. At the close of the lesson he asked me to continue to work on the stroking and glides and other skills, and to practice the turn against the boards. Maybe if I'm very brave I'll try one on Monday, if I'm feeling up to falling.

After my lesson I stayed for another hour and a half or so, working on the various things I'd been taught. For some reason they never Zamboni'd after the school time, so the ice got progressively disgusting. It wasn't that crowded, but still by 9 p.m. the ice was really bad and I was tired so I left.

I had a nice conversation with Dana, one of the young freestyle skaters. She has a loose blade so it's concerning her until she can get it fixed. It was nice to be able to actually hold a conversation and skate, so I must be improving. I also had a brief conversation with Jennifer, one of the other coaches I'd had before. She said I am looking better and skating faster. It's nice to hear. Comments like that make me want to work harder.

I think the things I need to work most on at this point are still bending my knees more, and relaxing and being more flexible. I am definitely feeling more comfortable on the ice, which is really nice to see. I had a chance at the end of my lesson to talk with Glenn about my goals and so forth. I told him that I really wanted to skate well -- not to have a zillion things I can do sloppily, but to do what I can do, and do it gracefully. He responded positively to this and repeated that I am not a natural skater, but with work and perseverance I can be an adept skater. I think we are on the same wavelength so this is good.