Yet Another Backwards Day

Today's lesson was a makeup for Monday's postponed lesson. Here's what we did:

• presentation -- Anna said she wanted to work on something different, so we worked for a couple of minutes on presentation, specifically "ballet arms" so to speak. This is conceptually simple -- Anna just wanted me to skate alternating FO edges down the length of the rink, but on each edge bring the skating hand/arm out into a "presentation" sort of position. This seems pretty easy, but it's just the beginning for me of learning to do one thing with my arms while doing something else with the rest of the body; so it was a bit tricky. After a bit I got the hang of it. Then, of course, Anna pointed out that I need to follow the arm motion with my head -- always looking in the direction of the arm motion so that it, well, makes sense instead of looking totally artificial. This was also tricky but I did eventually get it. It's a small thing but it's kind of neat to be planning ahead like this.
  
• BXOs -- the Moves pattern. I'm just not happy with how these are going. I think they are improving very slowly, but right now I'm still not using the whole blade on the inside foot, and I tend to get my weight too far forward. I notice this especially on the transition between the hockey circles -- I'm hearing a scratch just in the back 2-foot glide. Sheesh!
• back cross-step -- just skating a BO edge with the free foot extended in front, then placing it on the ice. I'm finding these hard to do. I had thought that by now my back edges were sufficiently improved that this shouldn't be that difficult -- but the evidence is otherwise. Anna says they are not that bad, but I'm disappointed. I need to work these.
  
• Back stroking -- we went to look at this to help me with getting my free foot extended in front on the back cross-step. I'm still not getting my weight far enough back on the blade, I think, but it did help.
  
• back edges -- since it was already a backwards day, we worked on these just a bit. BO edges first -- reminders to rotate skinny and can we avoid the double-push, please? :-) After that came the request to get the free foot in front, and wow, I actually am starting to manage that most of the time. Then on to BI edges -- these are improving and she was pretty happy with them, especially once I managed to start holding the free foot in front on these too.
  
• spin entrance -- Anna really wanted to come back to this, and I did too since I thought we had made a lot of progress on it. We worked the entrance for probably 8-10 minutes and it's allllmmost there. Anna reminded me to keep that free hip/free leg extended back (with tension!) and really dig that FO edge, really press the edge and especially to feel like the skating knee is pushing into the circle while keeping the back to the circle (Anna expressed this as the skating shoulder pushing out of the circle). I managed a couple where I almost went into the spin, but ran out of oomph. Anna says I need to work this and just be a little more aggressive, get more push and then it will happen. More stuff to work on!
  
• spins -- finished off by looking at these quickly again, both forward and back. I'm still being a little sloppy with my upper body position, tend to hunch forward a bit and not hold the tension in my arms. Anna says I'm tending to be too far forward (on the toepick) on my forward spin, and too far back on the blade on my backspin. Need to get it on the ball of the foot! Still more stuff to work on.
  

A good workout, all in all. Anna said the back edges are testable. I think that means of the stuff on the APB moves test, the perimeter stroking and edges are testable. The XOs -- not yet, I think, although they are getting there. And of course the infamous alt-3s will take some work.

I forgot to mention from yesterday's freestyle session that apparently we've started the "patch the ice" custom that I've seen elsewhere; so after the FS session we all spent a couple of quick moments patching holes in the ice with snow. Of course I hadn't actually CAUSED any of those holes, but that's okay -- I benefit from them not being there just as much as anyone (and one of these days I will hopefully be making a few holes of my own). It's actually kind of cool.