Perseverance

Gilbert had adult skate today, so I took the opportunity to get an hour of skating in.  I did a 5-minute warmup, then ran the Bronze moves test.  It went pretty well, actually, including the circle-8.  YAY.

After the runthrough I ran the circle-8 again (it was still okay!), then worked on power-3s a bit, trying to improve the BXOs on the R side of the pattern so they have a real cross.  I did make some progress along with a silly fall.

I finished up with a spin that was.... awesome! 5 revs and reasonably centered!  I was really pleased.

Bronze Moves

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  I was running a bit late but we did get a full lesson in.  I warmed up with stroking.

Today's lesson:

• perimeter XOs -- pretty good.
• power-3s -- the actual BXO definitely needs work.  In general I think these are okay except that they need to be 'lobier' and not so straight-line as they are now.
• BXOs to BO edges -- I think these are pretty good.
• circle-8 -- we ran these in the run through and then came back to do them again 3 more times. We practiced finding a clean spot of ice.  The first time was not so good but they got better.  I still need to push harder on the RFO and RBI; and we worked a lot on sitting back on the blade more.
• 5-step mohawk -- okay.  I still feel a bit uncontrolled but not too bad.
• FI brackets --  just a couple of minutes on these.  I actually keep going from FI to BI which I guess would make it a counter?  Anyway we worked both sides.  The FI definitely seems easier than the FO.

A good lesson.  Test is 4 weeks from tomorrow.

Waltz-8

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  Nice ice, 10 skaters.  I had just enough time to scribe circles before lesson.

Today's lesson:

• Edges -- mostly okay.  My first FO lobe was waaaay large so I couldn't quite get the 5th one in, but we went on. The rest were pretty much okay.
• waltz-8 -- We worked on this most of lesson; mostly working on the step forward. I think we actually made some progress on both sides, mostly getting me to stand up straighter.  Also, remembering to flex the foot/ankle helped a lot on the R side.  There's still a lot to do, though.

Perseverance

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

I ran the Bronze moves -- felt pretty good. Since I can't do intro steps, I reverted to doing the circle-8 starting with the LFO and it was... actually okay.  The rest of the moves were fine.

After the run through, I worked on spins a bit (I was really skidding in the spin, for some reason), then back to the circle 8 where I ran it 2 or 3 times more, all about the same -- which is good.  It's not great but I think/hope it's passable. We'll see I guess.

Circle-8 & Brackets

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Not so great ice (kinda bumpy), 7 skaters.  We postponed this lesson from Wednesday as there was a compressor issue at Gilbert Wednesday mid-morning.

I had a long warmup as my friend Jose' had his lesson with Holly before me, so I ran through the whole Bronze moves test.   Meh.

Today's lesson:

• circle-8 -- I reviewed my work with Danette on the circle-8 for Holly, and then we spent most of our time on it. Unfortunately I don't think I can safely say that I've mastered this move and I don't need to worry about it.  After about 25 minutes of tweaking things, including adding an extra intro step and working on bending my knee more to have better control on the RFO.  One key thing to think about is noting (while taking the test) where the clean spots on the ice are, and using that for this move, wherever it happens to be.
• brackets -- just 3 or 4 minutes on these, the LFOB.  It's coming along slowly.

Just now I double-checked, and good thing, too, because apparently I'm mistaken.   The test form specifically says 'standing start' for the Bronze MIF for the circle-8 (the other moves all say 'intro steps opt.'). So... no intro steps for me.  Oh well.  I wonder if they were allowed before and then removed? Or have I been wrong for a while?  I didn't do any intro steps when I tested before, but then back then my circle-8 was my best move!  Geez.

Edges & 8s

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

Today's lesson:

• back edges -- we did the BO edges a couple of times as my R side lobes were really shallow; not crossing the line at a perpendicular.  BI edges were pretty nice!  Lobes were pretty much the same size.
• FO8 -- A little bit of control issues on the RFO so we worked through that.  I managed to fall on the RFO, how amusing is that?  It seems like my weight went too far forward and the front of my blade dug into the ice so I went straight over my skates, lol.  No harm done.  The LFO was definitely nicer than the RFO.
• FI8 -- pretty nice!
• BI8 -- we had not looked at these for a while.  My RBI circle is quite small, but the LBI was really nice!  Pretty much full size, and good control on that side.  Danette reminded me to look into the circle more and stand up straight.

After my lesson I worked briefly on BO8, then I had to go.

Perseverance

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

I did a more-or-less 5 minute warmup, then ran the Bronze moves test.  It did not go as well as yesterday :-(.  The circle-8 was okay but not steady.  A couple of my other moves were also... okay, but not crisp like they were yesterday.  Uck.

I spent some more time on the circle-8 after my runthrough and it was about the same, except for the last that was not good at all.  Yuck.

Progress

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

I did a 5-minute warmup (stroking), then ran the Bronze moves test.  It went really well!  Honestly, if I skate the test like that I'll pass, I think.  The circle-8 was really good!

After that I went back and skated the circle-8 several more times.  It got worse.... then better.  I think the key is going to be not getting complacent about setting up the new circle re: body position (hold that free shoulder back!).  I have to watch the RFO not getting too big (sitting back on the blade really helps control!).

I still need to to do more work on the circle-8 but I'm feeling a lot better about it.... which is good, because I signed up to take the test on 6/26. Eeep!

Circle-8

 My lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  Really nice ice and about 10 skaters.

I had first lesson, so no warmup; and per my discussion with Holly yesterday, I skated in my freestyle blades, not my patch blades.

For today's lesson we just worked on the circle-8 from Bronze Moves -- the entire lesson!  Some takeaways:

• we experimented with having some intro steps -- of course in patch there's no such thing, but they are allowed in MITF.  I think I'll keep this, as it meant I can solve the issue of difficulties with the RFO.  If I'm skating in the middle big circle, I stood at the edge of the circle and pushed to the L foot, then to the R foot on the dot to start the move.  This gives me plenty of speed even if I don't push particularly hard.
• the key takeaway from today, I think, was Danette's observation that, while, yes, I do need to do a better job of turning the skating foot, one thing I can do that will really help is to not put the new skating foot done until I'm actually pushing.  That is, in the past I've put the new foot down -- and then pushed.  Instead I turn the pushing foot and then set the new foot down as I'm pushing.  This results in a much, much better push.  This seems to help a lot!  
• one issue that did arise -- I think it's from the change to starting with the RFO again w/intro steps, is that I'm now having trouble controlling the LFO edge.  I'm a bit flat for the first 6 feet or so and so the circle is really large and I feel like I'm falling out of the circle.  I think this is fixable.

Still more work to do on these before testing... but I have real hope now!

5-Step Mohawk & Brackets

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  Good ice and 8 skaters.

I warmed up with stroking, then ran the Bronze Moves.  Amazingly enough I actually made it around just fine on the circle-8. After that I did a waltz jump and then worked on salchow.

Today's lesson:

• 5-step Mohawk -- we ran through these a couple of times.  The R side is generally okay but the L side is still a bit rough.  It did improve a little.
• brackets -- we worked on the FO brackets to start.  Holly's just barely holding my back hand on these.  They need to be quicker! The tempo is too slow so there's too much time curving in and out.  They need to be smaller/shallower, i.e. quicker.  At the end we did a couple of RFIBs that were actually relatively easy.

Still looking to test Bronze Moves this summer.  I'm going to work with Danette on the circle-8 tomorrow in my freestyle boots as I feel like I want more time on them and a different set of eyes.  Ugh.

I had Holly look at my boots -- they are getting a bit worn.  I'll need to start saving for a new pair, maybe in the fall.

Perseverance

 I skated the Chandler Ice Cafe today for freestyle practice.  Nice ice, 8 skaters.  I warmed up with stroking, then ran the Bronze Moves.  In general, pretty good.  I did NOT make it around on the circle-8 though.  Ack.  After my runthrough I worked on them some more and it's just not happening.  Yuck.

Skativersary!

 Today is my 18th Skativersary!

On this day 18 years ago I first set foot on the ice.  You can read about it here.  Wow, if my skating was born that day, today it's an adult!

A lot has changed.  Since that time I've had 5 primary coaches and 3 secondary coaches (figures and MIF).  Thank you Coaches Anna, Lucy, Sonya, Kelli, JJ, Lynne, Holly and Danette!

I've competed -- a lot. 30 times? 40? Probably close to 40.  Wow.

On the "I'm disappointed" part -- I've still only passed two US Figure Skating tests (APB Moves and Free Skate).  I have so many things I've wanted to learn but have not, due to... lack of talent?  Ice time? Equipment?  I don't know.  I have a good waltz jump, a salchow that is inconsistent, and a cheated toe loop.  

On the positive side, my spins have greatly improved in the last couple of years.  I've had a lot of great experiences and made many, many friends.  I have great memories.  On the whole I have to say that this journey I never expected to take has changed my life and my self-image so much.  I'm really grateful

FO8, Waltz-8

 My figures lesson with Danette on the Chandler Ice Cafe.  I had just enough time to scribe circles but didn't get a warmup.  My fault for poor use of my time.  Good ice, about 8 skaters.

Today's lesson:

• edges -- eep.  My FO edges were not good at all.  My posture was poor and I couldn't get on a decent edge.  The second time was better but still not great.  FI were better, and my back edges were pretty decent.
• FO8 --I was NOT getting around the RFO.  What the heck? Not sure what the deal was.  I hate it when this happens.
• waltz-8 -- We worked on these a bit and then worked just on the step forward.  The R side step forward is a little improved; I was doing better at keeping the free foot close and then bending the knee/flexing the ankle before the step forward.  The L side was not good though.  Uck.

Moves, Brackets, Spins

 My lesson with Holly on the Gilbert adult skate.  A bit crowded but good ice.  I warmed up with perimeter XOs and power-3s.

Today's lesson:

• BXOs to BO edges -- nice!  I love these.
• circle-8 -- I made it around!  Yay!  I had a really good push on the RFO and it was fine.
• 5-step mohawk -- okay.  I still think these are just a bit rough.
• brackets -- these are slowly improving.  Holly is now just letting me rest my hand on top of hers but not actually holding it.  She wants a bit more SNAP to the turn though.
• spins -- 3 pretty good ones and one not so great.  I'm getting better at getting my free leg in so it's mostly if I can manage to get over the L side correctly on the entry.

Still hoping to test in June/July.

Perseverance

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

I warmed up with stroking, then ran Bronze moves.  Mostly pretty good; I barely made it around the circle-8.  Alas, when I came back and worked on it some more I did not make it around.  Ugh.

Finished off with some spins and waltz jumps.