XOs, Jumps, Spins

Today's lesson:

• FXOs & Stroking -- we started off by doing the moves perimeter stroking pattern. Anna was pleased that I've learned from watching the video tape; my extension is better. I'm concentrating on having that "squeezing the butt" feeling. We did 'em CCW and CW both. Then we worked the FXOs both in the Moves pattern and just around in a circle. Anna says they've improved. I'm still tending to drop the back arm (especially CW) and she says I need to have a better "stretch" from the armpit down on the inside side. I'm still tending to shortchange the first push and not get good extension. Still, Anna says I'm getting a real underpush, even CW, so I was pleased.
• BXOs -- just around in a circle on these. Anna says I still need to pull the inside hip back, and to feel like there's a string between that hip and the opposite shoulder. I still need to get turned into the circle better and look where I'm going, and to point the trailing toe and feel the extension there. Still, Anna says these have also improved.
• Waltz jump -- from BXOs. We worked mostly on getting the setup better, more distinct and better-formed. So at one point, for example, she had me do the whole setup but just step forward and glide instead of doing the jump. Very tricky! We did make some progress on making the individual parts of the setup more correct and distinct, though.
• Salchow prep -- so from that we went to working on the prep for the Salchow. First she had me enter from almost the same setup as the waltz jump, but instead of step forward and jump it was step forward and LFO3. Then we went on to work on it just from a standing start and LFO3. I'm so trained to check my 3s that I'm finding it hard to give it the minimal check (and face forward) that the Salchow needs. Then we worked on doing the 3, holding the edge straight and then doing the curve-the-edge, bring the hands together and jump. It's coming closer I think. At one point Anna suggested that I needed to be standing taller before the jump so I'd have somewhere to bend the knee from to start deepening the edge. She said I could either bend in the 3 and then rise (rise and square) and then bend again, or have a soft knee in the 3 and then bend from there after. I tried it and it looks like the soft knee is more my speed.
• Backspin -- we went on to look at my (in-?)famous backspin (from a two-foot spin), since we didn't get to it last week. After one bad one, I managed to get the best one I've done yet, easily 2+ revs! Wow! I was so stunned I almost fell, it surprised me so much. Anna reminded me I need to contract my stomach muscles and be firm.
• Spin entrance -- we finished up with these. I am SOOO close still! Anna gave me some minor corrections, but her final thought was that I needed to be more aggressive and just try to do the spin even if I'm not sure of the exact timing. So I tried it, and was rewarded with a most spectacular (and, fortunately, painless) fall :-). I tried a couple more, and then we were out of time.

It was a long lesson -- Anna gave me about 10 extra minutes. After the lesson I asked Anna a question that came to me a while back -- why is it that you never see skaters entering spins backwards? At first she thought I meant a backspin, but I explained how there doesn't seem to be any reason you couldn't do a forward spin from a backward entrance. She played around with it a bit and was intrigued... maybe it's an upcoming signature move? Who knows? I just want credit :-).