Gordon's Sk8er Boi Blog

My adventures as an adult male figure skater in Tucson, Arizona Portland, Oregon Chandler, Arizona.

Friday, August 28, 2020

5-Step Mohawk, Spins, Jumps

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  I warmed up with stroking and circle-8.

Today's lesson:

  • 5-step mohawk -- we didn't get to work on these much last week so... we did.  Working to do better on the 3rd, 4th and 5th step -- in particular it helps if I remember to hold the free shoulder back on the step forward (4th step) -- duh!  I have that issue everywhere.  So, really bend the knees and push into the BO edge to get a better flow and get me off the toepick, then really hold it around and into the 4th step.  Holly also said she wanted the 3rd step a bit longer.
  • spins -- in a first, these were just okay, then improved!  Then they got worse -- I think I got a little tired.  At the beginning I didn't really feel the 'hook' so they were not so good, then I got it.  So yay!
  • waltz jump -- just a couple.  Actually not bad.
  • salchow -- meh.  It does help when I remember to really hold the free shoulder/arm back after the turn.  Not so great though.

 

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

Edges & BO8

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  I had first lesson, so no warmup.

Today's lesson:

  • edges -- no warmup... FO were quite rough.  I did them 3 times before they were more or less okay.  The rest were all fine -- good speed on the BO and BI.  Yay!
  • BO8 -- Actually very nice on the RBO, the push was really good and I did great on that side. We spent most of our time looking at the LBO to get a better push and more control.  Yuck.  I know what I need to do, but it's like 4 things at once (free foot in front, stay straight, control that L arm/shoulder and don't rotate early). Eeep.  It did get better but still.
I left after my lesson as there were too many people on the ice for my comfort (14 skaters and 2 coaches).

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Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Patch Perseverance

 I skated the Chandler Ice Cafe for patch practice.  I had finally relaced my patch skates so I don't have to worry about my laces breaking any more -- they were pretty worn!  Nice ice and just 6 skaters.

I warmed up with edges and then worked on FO8, FI8 and BO8.  The LFO is still a bit dicey.  The rest was pretty good though.  I just skated for 45 minutes.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Perseverance

 I skated the Chandler Ice Cafe for freestyle practice today.  Nice ice and just 7 skaters.

I warmed up with stroking, then did some spins.  It took me a few tries to get a decent one.

After that I ran Bronze moves.  Mostly okay.  Still having issues with the R foot circles on the circle-8, and the power-3s are still a hot mess.  I also lost my balance once on the 5-step (on the 4th step of the L foot).  Ugh.

Finished up with some more spins, a waltz jump and a some salchows. The last one was nice.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Spins & Moves

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Nice ice, 8 skaters.  I warmed up with stroking.

Today's lesson:

  • spins -- My first one was 4 revs!  It was really good.  Did a couple more good ones and then they started to get worse, so we moved on.
  • perimeter XOs -- these were really good!  I was really happy with them.  The only improvement I would make is I think I'm on two feet a little much on the FXOs.
  • power-3s -- improving.  I still need to hold the entrance edge of the 3 more, but the 3s themselves are better.  Bringing the free knee in on the turn makes it less swingy and more controlled -- and it looks better too.
  • BXOs to BO edges -- again, really nice!  I was NOT on my toes on the RBO!  I had good speed.  I was really happy with these.
  • circle-8 -- STILL struggling with these -- really, just on the R foot.  Urph.  Not getting around either of the R foot circles, L foot is okay.
  •  5-step mohawk -- meh.  Holly said these were her least favorite today.  That said, they are still better than they were, but really scratchy.  I need to really get down in my knees, esp. on the 3rd step.

All in all a great lesson!

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Perseverance

 I skated the Chandler Ice Cafe for some freestyle practice.  I spent 30 minutes on moves.  Mostly okay, though I'm still struggling on the circle-8.

After that I spent 15 minutes on spins and jumps.  I had some pretty good spins!  One almost okay salchow, the rest not so much.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Edges, F8s

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  I had first lesson, so no warmup and I didn't scribe any circles. Nice ice and only 5 skaters :-)

Today's lesson:

  • edges -- Forward edges were mostly okay, still a little glitchy on the LFO.  Back edges were fine -- Danette reminded me to use the 'new' arm position so that I swing the R arm as I start.
  • FO8 -- meh.  I did get around the circles so that is something, but it's still not flowing as well as it used to.
  • FI8 -- real issues with the RFI on the last quarter or so of the circle.  LFI was mostly okay.

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Friday, August 14, 2020

Spins & Moves

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  I had a brief warmup, mostly stroking.


Today's lesson:

  • spins -- about the same.  While I can't say I get a good one every time, it does seem like I'm getting more good ones than bad, for sure.  Definitely need to spend a little time on these every lesson no matter what.  I was pretty happy with them.
  • 5-step mohawk -- actually not bad.  I'm doing a better job on that push-back on the 3rd step.  I had to work a bit on getting the FI to curve around, and Holly said I need to work more on pointing my toe on the 5th step.
  • perimeter XOs -- only ran these once.  FXOs were a muddle because 3 people got in my way, ugh.  BXOs were pretty nice.
  • BXOs to BO edges -- pretty nice, actually.  I thought I had good speed and Holly said my lobes were nicely formed.
  • circle-8 -- meh. Just a couple of minutes on these.  Holly wants to work next week on just pushing.  Urph.

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Thursday, August 13, 2020

Back Edges & FO8

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  I warmed up with forward edges and scribed circles.

Today's lesson:

  • Back edges -- BO were really nice!  BI... we took some time to work on improving my push, especially not wide-stepping it and getting that heel pushed out on the R foot.  Some good improvements.
  • FO8 -- mmph.  I actually made it around, so that's a step up.  I really need to work harder at getting a good edge -- even if my posture is not ideal, if I get a good edge I'm usually okay.
After my lesson I worked on FI8, which was not so great.  Ugh. They used to be so easy.

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Friday, August 07, 2020

Spins & Moves

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  We started late so I had a shorter lesson than usual.

Nice ice, 8 skaters.  I warmed up with stroking and some moves.

Today's lesson:

  • spins -- first one not so great, but they were better afterward.
  • perimeter XOs -- okay.
  • power-3s -- okay.  Some of my RFO3s were okay and others not so good, so, lacking in consistency.  I need to remember to bring that free knee in/up on the turn so it doesn't look so swingy.
  • BXOs to BO edges -- Holly wants the lobes to be curvier, so that means pushing out straighter (parallel to long axis of rink) and letting it curve around more. I think this is more on the RBO than the LBO.  It will also help my pattern be a little better (it's not bad though).
  • circle-8 -- still not getting around the circle on these.  Ugh.

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Thursday, August 06, 2020

Edges & BI8

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  I had just enough time to scribe circles before we started.

Today's lesson:

  • edges -- FO not so great, we repeated them 3x.  FI were fine.  On the B edges Danette had me change my arm position for the initial push -- instead of having them straight out on either side, the R arm is straight out in front of me, then I swing it back w/my push.  This did help me to have a somewhat stronger push and Danette says that's how they all did it back in the day.  We wound up working on the BI edges for a while as I still need to get my heel out on the R foot a bit more when I start.
  • BI8 -- since we were already working on the BI edges, we worked on this for a while.  I used to be able to make it around the circle, but not anymore :-(.  Grrr.

 

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Tuesday, August 04, 2020

Perseverance

I skated the Chandler Ice Cafe for freestyle practice.  Nice ice, 10 skaters including my usual adult homies and some younger ones too.

I worked mostly on stroking and crossovers, and then BXOs to BO edges and 5-step mohawk.  Finished off with some spins.  About half were pretty good and the other half not so great (but still better than a year ago!).