Circle-8, Spins, Jumps

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Nice ice but very crowded!  I think it was at least 16 skaters.  I was not too comfortable with that.

I warmed up with stroking and ran through all my Bronze moves.  I actually got around on the circle-8, barely.

Today's lesson:

• circle-8 -- again, I actually got around, thought the RFO was just barely there.  Eeep.
• spins -- actually, several good ones!  After that Holly wanted me to work on a squat spin from a 2-foot spin.... um.  I was not able to squat.  
• waltz jump -- pretty good, actually.
• salchow -- several not so great ones and finally an okay one.
• toe loop -- ugh.  Just not improving.  Holly had me try one in combo waltz-toe and on the positive side, I did it (which I don't think I've done for at least 6 years).  On the negative side it was just as cheated.  Yuck.

All in all, a bit frustrated.  Also found out that there won't be a figures competition this year at Sherwood.  Don't know if that's a permanent thing, or just a relic of Covid, or what.  Dangit.

Perseverance

 I skated the 1:15 FS at Chandler for freestyle practice.  Nice ice and just 4 skaters.

I warmed up with stroking, then ran my Bronze moves.  I actually got around the circle-8!  Although just barely.  The other moves were mostly okay though the 5-step was a little ragged.

After that I worked on spins and jumps.  Nothing horribly exciting.

Perseverance

 I skated the 1 p.m. FS at Chandler for freestyle practice. Good ice, 9 skaters.

I worked on Bronze moves for about 30 minutes.  No joy on the circle-8, as expected.  Some quality time on the power-3s to try to cement the step forward and also to try to hold the entrance edge to the 3 a bit longer.  Urph.

Finished up with some salchows and waltz jumps, then some time on the toe loop.  Not much progress.

Waltz-8

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  Good ice, 9 skaters. I had time to scribe some circles but didn't really get a warmup.

Today's lesson: 

• edges -- as usual.  Good flow.
• waltz-8 -- we used my scribed circles. 3s are not so great, but acceptable for now, so we wound up using our time on the step forward.  We worked it on the circle and then just down the line.  Ugh.  Not much progress, really.  It's all about posture.

Moves, Spins, Jumps

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Good ice, about 10 skaters.

I warmed up with stroking, perimeter XOs and started the circle-8 but had to abort due to another skater.

Today's lesson:

• power-3s -- these were actually really good!  I did a much better job on the RFO3s of not putting my foot down before the turn.  Still pretty flat after the BXO though.  Still, progress.
• 5-step mohawk -- also not bad.  A bit scratchy in places but generally pretty good.
• BXOs to BO edges -- pretty good.  I'm getting good flow on these and being better about curving that lobe, especially on the R foot.  I need to be more consistent on coming into the boards though so the lobes are the same.
• spins -- not too bad, I got a couple that were pretty good.  I need to be more consistent about getting my free foot in though.
• waltz jump -- good.  I was jumping more 'forward' than 'up' though.  Need to work on that.
• salchow -- actually really nice.
• toe loop -- we worked on these a bit.  I'm still struggling to let the R foot come all the way around before I jump.  Holly pointed out to me that on the best one I did the RBO edge was much, much longer than the others.  So part of the fix (what a shock) would be to not rush that entrance so much.  I still need to practice that back pivot as well.  Ugh.  

All in all a great lesson!  

 Looks like I will try to test these again in June.  Eeep.  Looking forward to getting back in the gym once I'm vaccinated so that I can some of my core strength back.

Perseverance

 I skated the 1:15 FS at Chandler for freestyle practice.  Nice ice, 6 skaters.

I ran through all the Bronze moves.  I made a point on the power-3s to work on the step forward on the RFO3, making sure to not put my foot down.  I was able to do that but the turns themselves were pretty uncontrolled.  Yuck.  I managed to get around on the circle-8, yay!

After that I did a few spins (most were bad), then went back and worked on the circle-8 some more.  I couldn't reproduce my earlier success. Grrr.  From there I went back to work on the R side power-3s and still very rough.  I fell on one of them and then had a heck of time convincing myself to not put the foot down -- clearly it's a comfort thing.  I did manage to work through it in the end, though.

Scribed Circles!

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  My lesson didn't start until 12:15, so I had an opportunity to scribe some circles, which I had not done in quite some time.  Unfortunately I still didn't get any warmup.

Today's lesson:

• edges -- pretty good.  The FO were a little rough but okay.  Back edges were really nice.
• FO8 -- on the circles.  Eeep.  Still fighting my tendencies to make that first RFO waaaay too large.
• FI8 -- pretty good.
• BO8 -- flow was really nice, but again, having issues with keeping my circles to a normal size.  Also the LBO I'm having a hard time holding a good position and looking into the circle so I can see my center.
• BI8 -- circles are too small; I need to work more on holding that free foot in front in the first third or so.  Still, I did mostly get around so that is something.

Moves & Brackets

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Good ice, a bit crowded (10-12 skaters at peak, I think).  I warmed up with stroking and perimeter crossovers.

Today's lesson:

• power-3s -- a bunch of time on these.  We worked especially on getting me to not put my foot down on the step forward for the RFO3.  Great progress!  I need to practice this though.  Still, very pleased.
• circle-8 -- the skate gods were smiling on me today because I did (barely) make it around.  I really need to work to turn my L foot before the push to the right foot though.
• brackets -- just a few minutes on these.  Ugh.  I keep leaning out of the circle.  I did get one okay one, but Holly's still holding my hands.

We talked a bit about testing after my lesson.  I'm anticipating having more time to skate in the summer, but then a drastic cutback in the fall due to school.  So I think our conclusion is that I should try to test Bronze moves in June or July.

Perseverance

 I skated the 1:15 FS at Chandler for freestyle practice.  Really nice ice, 7 skaters.

I spent about half the session on Bronze moves.  These were actually pretty good, and I even managed to get around all the circle-8 circles (albeit just barely).

I spent the last half of the session on jumps and spins.  One good spin, another almost as good, and a bunch not so great.  Ditto for salchow.  Toe loop, I worked on trying to slow it down and bring the R foot around.  I had some success with this, but now I am kind of jumping from both feet (no weight transfer) so it's kinda bizarre.  Oh well.

B8s & 3s

 My figures lesson with Holly on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  Really nice ice, 9 skaters.

Today's lesson:

• edges -- pretty good overall.  I did do the FO over again as they were just not as well controlled as I'd like.
• BO8 -- not bad.  I'm not tracing the print very well, though.  The flow is good. I need to be more cognizant of my center.
• BI8 -- eep.  Small circles and kinda rough, had a hard time finding center again.
• 3s -- about the same, maybe a little improvement.  We worked mostly on the R side.

Patch Perseverance

 I skated the Chandler Ice Cafe for patch practice.  Good ice, 9 skaters.

I ran though edges, then worked a bit on FO8.  I then spent the remainder of my time working of FO3s.  Eeep.  I don't feel I made much progress.  I wish mine would just look relaxed and confident like so many people's do.  Oh well.

Perseverance

 I skated the 1:15 FS for freestyle practice.  Fresh ice, but a little bumpy.  5 skaters.

I ran through Bronze moves.  Excitingly enough, I was able to get around the circle-8 just fine!  Sadly, when I went back and tried it again, not quite on the last (RFI) circle.  Urph.

I spent some quality time on power-3s, then just on the 3s themselves.  I would really like my threes to not look (and be) so rushed/forced.  I'm trying to apply the progress I've made in my patch skates but it doesn't seem to be working.  Grrr.

Finished up with some spins and jumps.  Several salchows, most of which were meh.  One nice waltz jump.  And no really good spins, although I did fix something that's bothered me -- I've noticed in the last couple videos that I'm not tucking my L foot in nicely on the RBI before the step forward on the entry.  I used to do that -- I have a great picture of me doing that!  So... I think I fixed it and I feel like it improves my flow and looks nicer to boot.  Yay.

Edges & 3s

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.

Today's lesson:

• edges -- really nice.  Lately these have been really good.  Yay!
• 3s -- we spent pretty much the whole lesson working on 3s, mostly at the crease. Working to get a better/quicker turn with more control.  We spent most of out time on the FO3, but some time at the end of the FI3s... eeep.  Had never done those in patch skates I don't think.  LFI3 - no bueno!

Toe Loop, Brackets & Circle-8

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Pretty good ice, about 10 skaters.  I warmed up with the first 4 Bronze Moves (not 5-step).

Today's lesson:

• toe loop -- we continued the work I began on Monday on the pivot exercise, and then worked in the context of the 3 turn entry.  Some progress, but it's really hard for me to slow things down! Ugh.
• brackets -- just about 5 minutes on these.  I'm able to do them with Holly holding just one hand (yay!) but they are still pretty rough.
• circle-8 -- I'm starting these on the L foot.  I noticed that when I push to the R foot from the previous circle I'm really not turning my L foot out, so it's a weak push.  I made some efforts to fix that, and I allllmost made it around.  Eeep.  I'll try to focus on that the next time I practice.

Perseverance

 I had an opportunity to skate the 1:15 FS at Chandler today for freestyle practice.  Really nice ice, and just 4 skaters (me, Michelle, Jaclyn and CeCe).  I ran through all the Bronze moves.  Other than the circle-8, which is still a problem, they are doing pretty well, actually.  The BO edge on the 5-step is better -- I made myself take my time on the 2nd step, which gave me an opportunity to slow down and really bend and push into the 3rd step so I wasn't on the toe so much. Yay!

After that I did a spin (actually a good one!), then some time working on my toe loop exercise (3 into a pivot).  Jaclyn gave me some pointers on just working on the draw into the pivot and it really helped (yay!) -- I actually bent my knees (what a concept :p) and was able to feel like I could bring it around.  Yay!

Finished with a really nice waltz jump and a really good salchow!  Good session.