Lessons with Anna

[10/20/09 -- I've created this list and backdated it to the end of the month with my last lesson with Anna]

Lesson #129 "Back Edges Woodshedding"

Lesson #128 "Jump-O-Rama"

Lesson #127 "Salchow!"

Lesson #126 "New Moves Pattern"

Lesson #125 "Slow But Steady"

Lesson #124 "Forward Spin!"

Lesson #123 "XOs, Jumps, Spins"

Lesson #122 "Edges, Waltz-8, Spins"

Lesson #121 "Tape Terror"

Lesson #120 "More Salchow Prep Etc.

Lesson #119 "Another Dorky Day"

Lesson #118 "Waltz-8, Spins, Waltz Jump"

Lesson #117 "Inside 3s"

Lesson #116 "Moves Workout"

Lesson #115 "Basics & Small Jumps"

Lesson #114 "Spins, Edges, Turns"

Lesson #113 "Spirals"

Lesson #112 "Back In The Woodshed"

Lesson #111 "Skating In A Fog"

Lesson #110 "The Right Foot Show"

Lesson #109 "3s, Sals & Toes"

Lesson #108 "More BI3s"

Lesson #107 "Waltz Jumps & XOs"

Lesson #106 "Power-3s And BI3"

Lesson #105 "Minor Breakthroughs"

Lesson #104 "Fun With Salchow Entrance"

Lesson #103 "Move-A-Ganza"

Lesson #102 "Waltz Jump & Spin Entrance"

Lesson #101 "Jump Entrances"

Lesson #100 "Milestone"

Lesson #99 "FXOs"

Lesson #98 "Jumps & Spins"

Lesson #97 "Alt-3s"

Lesson #96 "Moves Test Runthrough"

Lesson #95 "Michelle Kwan Has Nothing To Worry About"

Lesson #94 "Yet Another Backwards Day"

Lesson #93 "Freestyle Stuff"

Lesson #92 "Aggressive!"

Lesson #91 "Waltz-8 & 5-Step"

Lesson #90 "Turns & Fun Stuff"

Lesson #89 "Moves & BXRs"

Lesson #88 "Moves Woodshedding"

Lesson #87 "In N' Out"

Lesson #86 "Crossovers & 3s"

Lesson #85 "Back To Jumping"

Lesson #84 "More 5-Step Mohawk"

Lesson #83 "5-Step Mohawk & Power-3s"

Lesson #82 "Still In The Trenches"

Lesson #81 "Spins & BI3 Prep"

Lesson #80 "Spin Entrance & Waltz-8"

Lesson #79 "Basics"

Lesson #78 "Crossovers, Crossovers, Crossovers"

Lesson #77 "Spins & BXOs"

Lesson #76 "Waltz Jump Entrance"

Lesson #75 "New Moves"

Lesson #74 "Waltzmania"

Lesson #73 "Moves & Spins"

Lesson #72 "Waltz Jump Progress"

Lesson #71 "In The Trenches"

Lesson #70 "Workout"

Lesson #69 "Waltz Jump, Still"

Lesson #68 "Turns & Spins"

Lesson #67 "Connecting Moves"

Lesson #66 "Waltz Jump Part 2"

Lesson #65 "Getting Back On The Horse"

Lesson #64 "Back At It"

Lesson #63 "Skating 102"

Lesson #62 "Skating 101"

Lesson #61 "Waltz Jump!"

Lesson #60 "Backspin And Waltz Jump Prep"

Lesson #59 "Waltz Jump Prep"

Lesson #58 "Putting It Together"

Lesson #57 "Back Spin, Ho!"

Lesson #56 "Another Backwards Day"

Lesson #55 "Control, Control, Control"

Lesson #54 "Crossovers, Still"

Lesson #53 "A New Trick"

Lesson #52 "LFI3, Again"

Lesson #51 "Slip-Sliding Away"

Lesson #50 "Freestyle"

Lesson #49 "Edges & Spins"

Lesson #48 "Spin Prep"

Lesson #47 "Slavedriver!"

Lesson #46 "Mohawk Combo From Hell"

Lesson #45 "More Woodshedding"

Lesson #44 "Woodshedding"

Lesson #43 "All 3s, All The Time"

Lesson #42 "Solid Work"

Lesson #41 "Crossrolls Etc."

Lesson #40 "'Wow!'"

Lesson #39 "Mo' 'Hawks"

Lesson #38 "Back Edge Frustration"

Lesson #37 "Freestyle Stuff"

Lesson #36 "Turns, Etc."

Lesson #35 "Potpourri"

Lesson #34 "Forward Skating"

Lesson #33 "Swing Rolls & Waltz Walkthrough"

Lesson #32 "Turn, Turn, Turn"

Lesson #31 "Workout"

Lesson #30 "More Back Edges"

Lesson #29 "Another Backwards Day"

Lesson #28 "Bunnyhops And Mazurkas!"

Lesson #27 "Back Mohawks & Choctaws"

Lesson #26 "Best Foot Forward"

Lesson #25 "Another Backwards Day"

Lesson #24 "Spin Progress"

Lesson #23 "Moves"

Lesson #22 "Edges & Turns"

Lesson #21 "Backwards Day"

Lesson #20 "Back Edges"

Lesson #19 "Potpourri"

Lesson #18 "Mohawk Overtime"

Lesson #17 "BO Edges And Spin Hell"

Lesson #16 "3s, 3s, 3s"

Lesson #15 "It's All Coming Back To Me Now"

Lesson #14 "'Perfect'"

Lesson #13 "LFI3!

Lesson #12 "Jumps"

Lesson #11 "Spirals and Lunges"

Lesson #10 "Motorin'"

Lesson #9 "Darn LFI3s!"

Lesson #8 "More Progress!"

Lesson #7 "Progress"

Lesson #6 "Dorky Day"

Lesson #5 "Fun With Crossovers"

Lesson #4 "Spinning Like A Dervish"

Lesson #3 "Edges, Edges, Edges"

Lesson #2 "Edge Pressure"

Lesson #1 "RFO3!"

First (Trial) Lesson With Anna

Back Edges Woodshedding

Today's lesson:

• Waltz jump -- we started out by me showing her the tracings from some waltz jumps I'd done during my warmup time. I am coming straighter off the pick than I used to (yea!). Lift on these has really improved. Anna emphasized that I should be landing on more or less the same circle as I took off from; right now it's not quite matching up (I'm jumping a bit too much out of the circle). Also she says my landing is perhaps a bit cheated; I'm not coming around enough before the landing. More stuff to work on! Still I'm pretty happy with them -- they are much better than a couple of months ago.
  
• BXOs -- we spent quite a bit of time on these. We started with the 'bad' side. The good news (such as it is) is that when I'm doing them, I'm not so conscious of "this is the bad side." I don't mean they are equally good (the CW are still much better than CCW), rather they don't feel so awkward. We spent some time just working the BXOs, then we went to working just on skating a BO edge and holding the free foot in front. That morphed into doing "ISI style" BXOs (i.e., pick the foot up). Yech! Those are hard! I did not enjoy them at all. The point of all this was to get me to sit back on my blade more, get more kneebend, and really get my weight over my skating hip. There was some improvement but they still need work. Anna pointed out that the way the free leg comes off the ice doing this (backward stroking, really) should be like a slide chasse. It feels very unnatural!
  
• 5-step mohawk -- we worked on these, and especially the slide chasse since we'd talked about it previously. Anna made me work on not being sloppy with the mohawk -- keeping the feet close together and not bringing the foot so far forward. I can do nice mohawks when I concentrate, I just tend not to :-(. Anna reminded me I need to do an entire side of these, or better yet 2 laps of them, at a go -- in order to get used to the flow and to have an opportunity to fix things as I go. These are still a bit "lurchy" at times. We also spent a fair amount of time on the step forward with perhaps some small improvement. Anna talked about getting more inside edge pressure on these -- on the initial FI edge, on the BI edge after the Mohawk, on the push into the BO, on the push into the FO, and on the FI last edge. She had me practice doing FI edges and trying to get more ankle roll on the edge. While doing this drill she emphasized that you have to lift the free hip to compensate. It's a little tricky. I can kind of do this on FI edges. FO edges, clearly I'm not there yet (but I need to be).
  
• Salchow -- finished up with these. My problems with these are all Anna's fault, I've decided -- it's difficult for me to not continue looking where I'm going after the 3-turn, and it's difficult for me not to keep my feet close together on the turn; both things Anna drilled into me when learning 3-turns! For the Salchow, though, I need to turn and be looking back (over left hand) after the 3, and I need the free leg extended behind me. These are improving slowly -- it's all about timing. I'm not particularly scared to do these, but I wasn't as aggressive today as I was last week.
  

We had another long lesson. I'm pretty sure it was 45 minutes long! Wow. I was a bit whupped afterward.

Anna mentioned before the lesson that she would like to see me in Coronation Comets for my next blade. She feels that the bigger picks on the Ace would discourage me from really learning to do what's needed to put the toepick in the ice -- i.e. it would encourage me to be lazy. So, Comets it will be.

I also mentioned to Anna that today was the 2-year anniversary of my first lesson (it was a trial lesson) with her. Wow, it's been a long two years and I've accomplished a lot.

Jump-O-Rama

Brrrr! It was 40 degrees F in the rink today! BRRRR!

Today's lesson:

• BXOs -- we started with these, and they were horrible. So horrible, in fact, that we had a new first. Anna said she didn't even want to look at them, that I should work on them and we would come back to them. She's never reacted that way before, but I could see why. For some reason they really were just awful, to the point I was embarrassed myself. Yech.
  
• Perimeter stroking -- we did these in each direction. For some reason people were congregating around the rink in clumps, and (particularly on the CW lap) I felt like I was playing the old video game "Frogger." Nevertheless, Anna was pleased with the placement of my strokes and the tempo. The crossovers were fairly good too. She did say I need to be sure to get the leg completely straight on the extension though.
  
• FXOs -- in the Moves pattern. About the same as before; still need to get better extension, and keep that darn back arm up. Anna also reminded me to bend the knee on the underpush.
  
• Waltz-8 -- the 3-turn is pretty good on these. We worked a lot on the step forward, again, in particular being sure not to block with the shoulder; keep the step forward as the last part of the rotation on the BO edge. These have improved, though.
  
• Waltz jump -- we spent a huuuge amount of time on these. I have no idea how many I did -- 15? 20? Sheesh! We worked mostly on timing, getting the forward edge to be more consistent and more than a trivial length; getting the arms and free leg to come up at the same time; and keeping the head up (grr!). Anna actually stood in front of me on the ice and waved at me to get me to look up! How sad is that, that she should have to do that? Anyway, I managed some really great improvement, more lift, better timing and jumping more straight off the toe.
  
• Salchow -- We finished up with these. They have really improved! For some reason practicing these doesn't scare me, which is a good thing. Anyway, Anna's main correction was to try to curve a little harder and jump a little sooner; she said I'd need to be more aggressive. So I heightened my aggression quotient and tried again, and wow! Much improved! I'm really pleased with my progress on these.
  

Once again Anna was very generous with her time; she gave me at least 10 extra minutes. After my lesson I asked her about blades again. She started to say that she wanted me in Coronations, but then stopped herself and said she wasn't done thinking about it.

Salchow!

Today's lesson:

• Waltz jump -- I'd told Anna that I'd made some progress on my waltz jump, so we spent a little time on them. Anna was pleased that I am getting more lift. She worked with me a bit on trying to bend the knee and push the toepick harder, and I was able to get the lift-off to be more straight over the toepick and more lift.
  
• Salchow -- I'd told Anna I wanted to look at this since I'd been working on it. I did one from the LFO3 entrance and Anna gave me a funny look. I asked her what that meant and she said she wanted to think about it. So I did it again and again. She really liked that I was approaching it aggressively. We worked on improving the timing -- I'm not sure I can explain exactly what we worked on. It culminated in a creditable (albeit, perhaps, a little cheated) Salchow! I did a couple more, and then Anna wanted to see the mohawk entrance. The trick on the mohawk was to get squared off after the mohawk, bringing the hip forward a bit instead of having it open. I find it harder to initiate the deepened edge from the mohawk, though. We worked on it a bit and then we went on.
  
• Spins -- we spent almost half the lesson on spins. We started with the one-foot spin from the pivot. It was okay. We went on to the spin entrance. Anna says I'm much more comfortable with the entrance, but I need to consistently push into the spin. Sometimes I'm just "leisurely" with the push and that won't work. At one point Anna had me go back to the pepperoni dot and push from there and I could get into it, but from the BXOs not so much. It was frustrating. Anna said when I get to the point where I feel like I'm going to do the 3-turn I need to push the free leg back even more and feel the tension between the free leg and the skating arm, and just hold a little longer and then tuck in. At one point I had a weird fall, I was stepping forward and somehow stepped behind myself and wound up on the ice. It was so silly I just sat there and laughed for a minute. It must have looked pretty funny.
  
• Russian stroking -- just a lap of these. Anna says they are looking much better, but reminded me that I need to get the extension on the stroke into the crosssover; when I do the crossover is much smoother and flowing. She said when I practice them I should try to do a full 2 laps every time. She's got a point; I tend to do one side (or at most one lap) and say enough.
  
• FXOs -- we finished up with these in the Moves pattern. They are improving, but Anna reminded me to push for the extension, especially on the bad side. Her main correction was to really work on keeping the back arm up. When I manage to keep that back arm up I stay turned into the circle and everything else is much better.
  

I am so excited about today, I could just spit. I noticed that my last "memorable entry" (Forward Spin!) was a full 11 months after the previous one (Waltz Jump!). And now I have another one only 3 weeks later! I really feel like I'm at some kind of crossroads or turning point or something. It's very encouraging.

New Moves Pattern

I've had a really bad 24 hours for many reasons, so having a lesson today really helped me keep my sanity. Before my lesson I talked with Anna about a few things -- first to congratulate her (yesterday was her birthday) and then to talk to her about my blades. I told her what I'd been told about my blades and that I was thinking about the MK Pros or Ultima Protégé. She took a good look at my blades and said that she didn't want me to have bigger toepicks, and she showed me hers (her teaching skates have Phantom blades). She said the Mark IVs I have have the bottom toepick pretty low to the ice. She concluded that she wanted to do some research about what would be best for me. She also looked at my boots (I told her I'd been considering getting new boots next year) and she said she'd like me to stay in these boots for another year; she thinks I need to finish breaking them in (which is true) and that I need to experience what that's like and skating in boots that are actually broken-in (not broken down) would help me to gain strength in my ankles and feet.

Today's lesson:

• FI3-FO3 pattern -- this is the new Adult Pre-Bronze Moves pattern. I'd asked Anna if we could work on it. We spent quite a bit of time on it (probably half the lesson or even more). It's a tricky beast. I'm used to working on the power-3s, and the back half of this move is similar except that you turn the other way for the step-forward, for an FI edge instead of an FO edge. I had a lot of problems with this, mostly because my FI3s are so weak. We made some good improvments on my FI3s, even the LFI3 is somewhat improved. Anna really doesn't like this move! She thinks it's a lot closer to the power-3 than the alternating 3s it's replaced. Presumably though the criteria won't be power on this move. Anna said she would try to work with one of the local judges to see what they look for on this move.
  
• perimeter stroking -- we did these in both directions. I'm really happy with how much they have improved, especially the crossovers. Anna wants me to shorten up the timing on the strokes; she says I don't need to hold the extension quite so long, just long enough to show control. This combines with the issue that she wants my end crossover pattern to be rounder/curvier -- I've been placing the middle crossover right at the back of the hockey goal, but she wants it placed several feet back from that, just a few feet from the boards. Still, we were both pretty happy about them.
  
• BO edges -- we'd not looked at these in a while I think. They are in fairly good shape. Anna says that I need more consistency (and concentration), but that when I do them well they are right on. I still need to work on keeping that foot in front.
  
• BI edges -- I'm still not happy with these, but Anna says they are a bit improved. Like the BO edges, I need to still work on keeping that foot in front; and in particular when stepping to the right foot I need to work on keeping the foot close and not stepping to wide. Also I need bigger circles!
  

As happens so often, Anna was extra-generous with her time; I think she gave me an extra 10 minutes. (the clock was off in the rink, and we were on the front ice).

Slow But Steady

Before my lesson I got some feedback from Marge (a judge) on my waltz-8s as I was practicing them. She says my 3-turn is too early (she's right) and she had some other feedback as well.

Today's lesson:

• FXOs -- these are coming along. Anna says while my extension is improving I need to be sure to get the leg fully extended so it's straight, and hold just a moment at that point. She also wants me to work on pushing more firmly with the blade on the underpush, so that the blade almost become parallel to the ice; curling the ankle a bit. Still, there seems to be real improvement in these in the last couple of weeks and I'm not sure why. I still need to avoid rushing them though; when I take my time they are pretty good, but Anna noticed that often the first few are better than those that follow; as I go faster I tend to rush them, or perhaps the speed is the issue.
• BXOs -- these are improving also. Anna really had me working on looking over my arm on these -- I think she's not going to put up with me looking down or toward the center of the circle anymore. They are still pretty scratchy but Anna says I'm starting to get a real cross on the bad direction, finally. I think in another month or so these will be worth looking at.
  
• Spins -- still working on these. They were better today than Friday (always better with your coach around!). I'm still tending to wide-step the step forward and Anna says I need to feel the tension in my arms when I'm stepping forward; also wait a little longer for the step forward and keep the free leg back straight on the step forward. Still, they are coming along slowly; Anna says that if I keep working on them I'll start to feel where the spin should be and it will just happen, instead of forcing it like I am now.
  
• Power pulls -- Anna wanted to look at these. We looked at both forward and back, and interspersed them with doing some slaloms. Apparently I'm cheating my slaloms somewhat by generating the change of edge by pushing instead of pure knee action. You should be able to do these with your feet glued together, but I can't. I can do these just a little, but I have trouble getting the knee rise and fall to work. Anyway, Anna decided we would focus first on the forward power pulls and she wants me to work on them.
  
• 5-step Mohawk -- Anna wanted to work these in the pattern ("big") instead of down the line as we've always worked them before. I did my first set and went in with a lot of speed -- Anna said she'd never seen me skate into anything that fast before except crossovers! Well, it was a bit too much speed for me to feel comfortable (although I didn't lose control) so I slowed it down after that. I find them actually a little easier in the pattern since the lobes are much bigger. However the bigger lobes definitely show up the problems in my timing! Anna made me do an entire side down the rink -- I wound up doing 7 lobes instead of the prescribed 5. Anna says I shouldn't worry about it, when I do them with more speed they will be the right size instead of a little too small as they were. Anna says I should work these, but always in the pattern now and not down the line.
  

The special treat for today was that my Dad and stepmother happened to be passing through town and got to see the last few minutes of my lesson (the 5-step). They're the only members of my family to have seen me skate. Anna was really excited to get to meet them, as was skate buddy Nicole. It was a good feeling.

Forward Spin!

Anna had switched cars with her fiancé (and left her skates behind), so she had to coach me from the boards today. Today's lesson:

• Waltz jump -- Anna wanted me to focus on several areas -- first, I'm checking too hard on the landing position. She wants my arms in less of an "L", instead the left arm out to the side much more. Second, we worked on remembering to bring the arms back on the step forward, something I've been meaning to fix. And third, working on my body position so that I'm not trying so hard to turn. Anna showed me the loop position (backspin position) and explained how I need to work to be able to make that happen in the air -- prep for waltz-loop and eventually the Axel (!). These have definitely improved, though -- more speed and better flow. Still a bit scratchy on the BO edge but the entrance positions (collect, especially) are much better.
  
• 5-step Mohawk -- we'd not looked at these in a while. Anna says my rhythm is much better. I need to work, still, on the 3rd step -- Anna says I need more kneebend, keep my back straight, and keeping my weight more in the middle of the blade. I noticed I tend to have some uncontrolled swing on the 2nd and 3rd steps that tends to force me around in a wide swing instead of a narrow "skinny" rotation.
  
• Power-3s -- we'd not looked at these in a long time. Anna suggested that I try to be square (looking down the ice) after the 3-turn when coming back to the line; then to remember to (waaaaait for it!) look where I'm going! when doing the back crossovers into the step forward. Anna says the main reason my step forward on the RFO power 3s is so bad is because my BXO is crappy (makes sense, it's the bad side) and thus my hip is blocking me (too far forward) when I want to step forward. More stuff to work on.
  
• Spin entrance -- we finished up with these. The windup and back edge are pretty comfortable and solid now, but I'm still tending to wide-step the step forward and getting no push as a result. At one point Anna asked me to just try to skate the FO edge around one of the "pepperoni dots" (the small solid hockey circles that are maybe 18" in diameter). Amazingly enough I was able to do this and enter a forward spin! I must have given Anna the dumbest "what the heck!" look. So we tried it again a couple more times and yep, I can now enter a forward spin from a forward edge. So we went back and tried to see if I could do it from the full setup and no, not quite. Still, I'm so psyched! I've been working on this for months. I looked at her and said, "Does that count?" and she said "I think it does!". YAY! Obviously I need to practice this more. It was slow (not much oomph to work with) but it was there. So now if I can get it from the full entrance of course I'll have a lot more to work with in the way of speed and power.
  

When we were done, I asked Anna why I'm able to do the forward spin entrance around the pepperoni dot, when I couldn't the last time we'd tried it several months ago. "Because you got better!" she smiled. It was a good feeling!

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 :-).

Edges, Waltz-8, Spins

Today was my first lesson since 9/8! I had a pretty good warmup. When Anna got there we talked briefly about the video of my runthrough, then on to our lesson:

• Edges -- went through all the edges. FO and FI were not bad, although I'm still not tending to 'set' very well on the RFI edge. BO, need to work on keeping the free foot in front at the beginning (still!), being sure to place the new edge perpendicular to the line when changing feet, and not let the free leg swing around too much. On the BI edges I still need to work on getting more over my hip, most especially on the R foot; also need to keep the free leg from wandering out to the side.
• Waltz-8 -- these are actually rather improved. Anna suggested I make the circle a couple of feet bigger than I had been, which helped. We worked on the rhythm of the move. The step forward (especially from the RBO) is still not clean, so we worked on just skating a circle and doing FI Mohawk, BO step forward; the goal being to keep the free foot close and have a minimum of movement. I finally did manage some real improvement, not just in keeping the foot close but also minimizing scraping on the BO edge just before the step forward.
• Spins -- we were pretty much done when we decided to spend just a little time on spins. I had done some yesterday and in the warmup, and I was not impressed; but I actually did some decent ones. It seems to be very hard to find that rocker and stay on it in the spin though!

After my lesson I decided to try the waltz jump again since I'd spent all that time de-scratching my BO step-forward; I was rewarded with a really nice jump! Not high or anything, but having the BO edge cleaner made the rhythm of the jump much, much better. Now if I would just remember to look up, and to really push the L foot to have more *oomph*....

It was really great to be working with Anna again. I felt much better about my skating when we were done.

Tape Terror

For today's lesson, Anna videotaped me doing an Adult Pre-Bronze Moves test runthrough:

• Stroking
• Edges - FO, FI, BO, BI
• FXOs
• BXOs
• Waltz-8

We skipped the new pattern since we've not gone over it yet.

For some reason I was extremely nervous -- even though I'd practiced most of it beforehand! Gaaah! So on that score it was a good experience, just to feel what it's like to go through it with my nerves running amok (and Anna said, "Just imagine how you'd feel for the test!").

After the FS session we spent a few minutes going over the tape.... ack! I was expecting not to be happy... and indeed, I'm not. Sheesh! NO extension (well, almost none), toepushing all over the place, looking down a lot... I guess seeing this stuff could either make you want to give up entirely or redouble your efforts. The good news is that it's primarily the latter reaction for me. So... I guess I'll be working on that stuff.

I'll try to find a way to make some excerpt or other available -- I expect it will be waaay too long to post the whole thing.

More Salchow Prep Etc.

Today's lesson:

• FXOs -- at least lip service to them (we'll probably do more tomorrow). Just a little time on them. Anna says my timing, transitions and consistency are good, but the two most important major things that need fixing are still extension and fixing the toepush on the underpush. If I can get that stuff straightened out, we can work on finer points. Anna said also that I'm too far forward on my blade and (how many times have I heard this?!) I need to push from the heel more, which will help my extension too.
  
• Waltz jumps -- we mostly worked on timing, and getting the extension and collect to be stronger/better/more secure, with some success. I really need to just ride that back edge more, though, and be more secure in it. As it is, I tend to rush the collect into the step forward so it's all a hodgepodge.
  
• Salchow prep -- still working on learning this jump. We worked on the rise and square (see Tracy's excellent description here). So the emphasis is on doing the LFO3 as straight as possible, holding that LBI edge, rise and square, then bend the knee to force the curve, flick and jump. I can do most of that :-). Ironically one of the problems I'm having is that I've been so trained to look where I'm going on these turns, so I'm facing the wrong direction after the LFO3 for the jump! I need to go ahead and let myself face the other way (looking over the left hand) after the 3, and also need to work on bringing the free arm and leg in at the same time. Still, we made some good progress on this today.
  
• Power-3s -- we spent a little bonus time on these. Anna says I need to work more on opening the hip just before the step forward, and being in a better position for the step forward and new lobe. Of course I still need to work on waiting and placing the turn at the top of the lobe.
  

After the lesson I asked Anna about videotaping, and she said she was planning on bringing her videocamera tomorrow anyway -- she asked, "Will that work, or is that too soon? Do you need more time to obsess about it?" I love my coach... So I told her I wanted to tape a moves runthrough and she thought that would be good (and also that it would have good nostalgia value later).

Waltz-8, Spins, Waltz Jump

Today's lesson:

• Waltz-8 -- we spent probably 15 minutes on these. Some of the corrections are to keep a bent knee on the BO edge, remember to rotate skinny (especially on the LFO waltz-8), and most importantly to keep the upper body/hips quiet on the step forward. Anna said that I need to be calm about these -- I think that's the word she used. They were a lot better though.
  
• Spins -- just a brief checkup on the two-foot and one-foot spin. Anna reminded me I need to spot something at eye level on the exit, not look down at the ice. We also checked that I am getting 3 revs on the two-foot spin (which I'll need for the test).
  
• Spin entrance -- we spent quite a bit of time on these; really, I am so close to getting this! The entrance is really pretty good, I need a better push on the step forward and then really I think I just need to relax and remember to keep that free leg back. Anna pushed me into a spin a couple of times from a standing start to show me how it feels. I need to work these a lot more and, I suspect, have a couple of good falls or something to break through.
  
• Waltz jump -- we looked at these from the entrance. Anna says I need to work on the collect and step forward (and a bit on the back edge before) to be more deliberate -- need to hold the positions just a little bit. I also need to get a better(higher) jump. Still, I did do some nice jumps today -- some with some actual spring and lift to them. It was very exciting!
  

For Thursday Anna wants to look at crossovers (of course) and jumps.

Inside 3s

Today's lesson was somewhat focused:

• FI3s -- I asked to look at these because they were/are in really bad shape. We worked on them for almost 20 minutes. I was able to vastly improve the RFI3 so that it's not cheated (I can do it at the top of the lobe) and fairly clean. We worked on the alt-3 pattern to get into the LFI3. The main corrections for the LFI3 were to keep the free foot close (behind and pointed down, with some tension). Anna also said I am tending to lean back before the turn. She emphasized having a feeling of being led by the hand into the turn, and after. There was quite a bit of improvement, but they still stink (they just stink less).
  
• BI3s -- having worked on the FI3s Anna really wanted to work on the BI3. We started by doing back 2-foot turns, then worked into the RBI3. Anna had me come to the boards to get the feel for what the free foot position should be like -- in front of the skating foot (held over the tracing), turned out of the circle and with a nice lifted hip. It seems deathly hard to get the right position -- when I get the free foot position right I invariably am not looking where I'm going, or my arms are loose, and in almost every case I'm not sitting back on the blade. Grrr! These are going to be stinkers. I've not really worked on them much, either, which is my own fault.
  

This was my earrrrrly (6:30 a.m.) lesson. I am not a morning person and getting up at 5:25 is almost 4 hours earlier than I would normally get up (no joke). I was surprised that I felt pretty loose and pretty good. It was a good lesson, and my warmup before the lesson (it's a 6 a.m. FS session) was good too. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Moves Workout

Today's lesson:

• Perimeter stroking -- yep, back to basics. Anna was relatively pleased with these, even in the bad direction. Main correction was to not rush the extension; quick tempo on transitions but hoooollllld the extension. We worked some on just getting into the end crossovers pattern as that always seems to be an issue for me. Anna suggested I'm going to need to try to place the first full set of crossovers later so that I won't be cramped for space when it comes time to do the second set. Anna did utter the magic words ("Perfect!") for my CCW pattern though, which was gratifying.
  
• Forward crossovers -- Anna says I need to stroke out to the side more, not so much back. Still, they were somewhat improved, even the CW ones. Also she said I need to do the first crossover of each circle sooner. I'm still having some problems holding the larger circle size, but I made some progress. I really, really need to drill the bad side FXOs more so they are not so scary.
  
• Back crossovers -- ugh! Anna says I still need to pull the right hip back on the bad side (CCW) BXOs; for the CW ones she says I need to take my time more, don't rush, and hold the extensions. In general I could use more heel pressure.
  
• Edges -- we ran through all of them. FOs not too bad, although I wasn't impressed with the right foot. Still tending to rush the rotation on the FI edges, and I'm not holding the free hip up as well as I have in the past (sheesh!). BO edges, Anna really got on me to hold the initial position longer before the rotation, and to keep the free foot close until coming back to the line. Eep! This made these a lot harder! Anna says they are (or will be) more controlled though. On the BI edges, Anna says I'm not really getting over my skate/hip on the R foot -- and again, need to keep the free foot close and not let it wander. Also, for all edges, pushing onto a bent knee, slight straightening for the "set" and then bending again.
  
• Waltz-8 -- we'd not looked at these in a while, but since I'm going to have to test them at some point we are back at 'em. Anna drew me a circle to use though, which really help me in visualizing them. The diameter of my circle is roughly the center point of the hockey circle to the outer edge. Having the circle to trace really helped. With these the hard part right now is the step forward -- the 3 is trivial, the 2nd step (after all my work on the 5-step Mohawk) is easy too. It's getting that step forward that is hard, but we made good progress. Key seems to be a) ride that BO edge (2nd step) all the way, don't cut it short, and b) make the step forward just a step, not a push. These were pretty improved by the time we finished.
  

All in all I felt much better about things, and I was pretty tired -- Anna gave me probably 10 extra minutes. During my warmup I worked some waltz jumps with indifferent results. Next lesson is Thursday at 6:30 a.m. -- eep!

Basics & Small Jumps

Today's lesson, in a somewhat foggy rink:

• perimeter stroking -- we'd not looked at this in quite a long time. Extension was much better (but still room for improvement, of course). Anna said the tempo was good but I need to be a little quicker; we worked on the placement of the end crossovers. Due to some traffic I had trouble doing the CW pattern, but I managed to do the CCW pattern once through correctly, which made me really happy.
  
• FXOs -- just once through them. Anna was sufficiently pleased that we got to move on without doing them again or any comments (yea!). Of course, that doesn't mean they were perfect but they were definitely improved -- the best I've done so far.
  
• BXOs -- still working to get more leading with the inside hip on the CCW ones. CW not too bad, but Anna wants more weight on the inside foot still.
  
• Russian stroking -- these have improved as well. Anna says I need to work on bringing the crossing foot through closer to the skating foot (not so wide). This was the first time I'd felt a real sense of flow doing them, so that was good.
  
• quick change -- Anna wanted to show me this -- it's not a Moves pattern, it's just a pattern she wants me to work on to improve my edges. Basically it's Russian stroking but with different timing. The timing is slow-slow-quick; so in this case it's FO (slow), XO to FI (slow), FI (quick), repeat. So Russian stroking but really holding the first two edges much longer than for the usual pattern. Also Anna said that for this she wants the beginning and end of the lobe much more vertical toward/away from the wall. It's a bit tricky. I did a couple of okay ones in isolation but doing them in succession is hard.
  
• bunny hop -- Anna wanted to revisit "small jumps" so we started with these. I really dislike them! Nevertheless, I did my 3 in a row so Anna was satisfied. Later in the lesson, though, she wanted me to do them on the other foot -- eeep! Not so good. Usually I've done them jumping from the left foot, but jumping from the right foot... yikes. Needs work.
  
• mazurka -- revisiting these for the first time in a long, long time. I can still do them. Anna had to remind me to look up, once, doing them right to left. Left to right was easier.
  
• double bunny hop -- we had done these a while back to help me prep for the waltz jump, but hadn't done them in a while. Just jumping/landing on the left foot. These seem pretty dorky and uncomfortable.
  
• RFI3 - hop -- we just started looking at this when the Zamboni break hit and we had to leave. I'm not sure what this really is called, but basically Anna wanted me to do an RFI3 and then jump to the L toepick like a bunny hop. We worked it a little against the boards and then we were out of time.
  

Anna is out of town so our next lesson won't be for almost two weeks. Eeep!

Spins, Edges, Turns

Today was not the best day to have a lesson; I had a noon meeting so I wound up not even getting to the rink until after 1 p.m. The last half of my lesson was on the public ice... yech!

Today's lesson:

• spins -- a two-foot, 1-foot, and backspin. Anna harangued me about looking up during spins, after which I proceeded to do the best backspin ever (2 revs, I think).
  
• spin entrance -- I'm still amazingly, tantalizingly close on this. At one point Anna held my hand, I pushed onto an LFO edge, and she whipped me into a spin so I'd know what it feels like. Despite that I still couldn't quite get it. It's getting closer. I feel like I never get any quality practice time lately, but I really need to get some time in on these spins. I feel like if I had a good practice session where I actually felt "on" I could probably get it.
  
• edges -- we ran through all of them briefly. On the BO edges Anna said I need to work to get a better "draw" through, still. On the BI edges, I need to keep my feet closer together when stepping to the new foot. The FO and FI edges were okay.
  
• alt-3s -- just a little time on these (FO3s only). Anna told me to trying making bigger circles, which seemed to help a little. It's really the LBI edge; when I come out of the LFO3 I can't seem to get an open hip position, but I can on the RBI from the RFO3. Anna had me work on really trying to pull the free leg/hip/arm back after the turn, and that did help a bit. Anna told me I need to do the step forward every time I practice these, even if it's out to the side. I guess I need to get over thinking that I have to do the right step forward or not at all. Grr!

Not my best lesson, mostly because I was distracted and somewhat out of sorts. Oh well!

Spirals

Today's lesson:

• Spirals -- I'd asked to look at these since it had been a while. We worked on the Pre-pre pattern, which is just an LF spiral for the first half (lengthwise) of the rink followed by an RF spiral. Anna says my extension and flexibility has improved a lot, so I guess all that stretching is having some effect. Yea! I'm still tending not to put my foot down on a good flat when I go to do the RF spiral. Gotta work on that. Anna says I need to lift the free shoulder a little more, and feel more tension/stretch down the whole free side (from the armpit all the way to the toe).
  
• FO Spirals -- the PM pattern. These aren't too hard. Anna says I should do 5 lobes down the side of the rink. Still need more stretch and extension, with the skating shoulder/arm leading the edge. I need to work more on the transition between feet, also -- it's pretty awkward.
  
• FI Spirals -- the PM pattern as well. These are a lot harder than the FO spirals! Anna said to experiment with which arm I feel most comfortable leading with; I tried it both ways. If I remember correctly, the skating arm leading felt like I was going to fall off the edge, and made it curve harder. I'll probably go with the free arm leading.
  
• FXOs -- decided to get these over with for the week. Some improvement but I still, still need a better initial push and first crossover. Once I get into them they are not so bad.
  
• BXOs -- Anna's still riding me to sit back on the inside foot more, to look over my shoulder more/better, and to point the free foot/toe on the CCW ones.
  
• Waltz-8 -- the hardest part of these is to find your way back to the center! Anna reminded me to push more "out" on the second step (and the third step to some extent) -- similar to feedback I got on the 5-step Mohawk. Also she reminded me that I still need to "set" my steps, especially the BO edge; I tend to just step to the BO edge and then rotate and then have to sit on the BO edge forever. I think the other hard thing for these is just to have some idea where you are on the ice. Still, I'm pleased by how much easier they seem than in the past -- I think that's due to my work on power-3s and the 5-step Mohawk.
  

I was pretty happy with this lesson. The ice was good, although still incredibly humid and therefore foggy. My glasses kept steaming up if I didn't keep moving :-).

Back In The Woodshed

Today's lesson:

• FXOs -- The theme was "extend and flex." They are slowly improving, due no doubt to our persistent focus on them. Whenever I am tempted to despair about these, all I really have to do is remember (with the help of this blog) what they were like a few months ago. They have come a long way! Probably the biggest single problem with them now, though, is that on the very first push I'm not getting immediately to a good outside edge.
  
• BXOs -- Still working on getting the outside toe pointed and weight on the back foot. The CW ones are not too bad, the CCW ones still need quite a bit of work but are improving slowly. To work on getting the weight placed properly, Anna had me do an exercise I'd done quite a long time ago, swooping down the rink in alternating lobes in an extended sort of position, for example an LFO with the right foot on an RFI in the ice, widely separated and holding the separation until the lobe is complete, then feet together and do the same on the opposite foot. The point of this was to work harder on getting the weight on the FO edge. She had me do these both forward and backward.
  
• BI3s -- To get into these, Anna had me doing an RFO3 and back 2-foot turn on the hockey circle. The back 2-foot turn has really improved! The RFO3s are still a bit forced. Anna told me I should work on getting into the rotated position and then doing the turn with just a little additional rotation. Then it was on to the BI3. They are getting closer. With the RBI, in particular, Anna said I'm pretty much getting all the pieces in place, but until I'm willing to commit to the turn it's not going to happen. I suppose that's my cue to practice this stuff a lot so that it's more comfortable and I can go ahead and try the turn full-bore.
  

The ice was much better today -- the rink was a little foggy, and there was still rain from the roof, but the ice itself was pretty good.

Skating In A Fog

Monsoon season has hit Tucson, and apparently the rink's dehumidifiers just can't keep up. At the FS session this morning, there was some pretty healthy fog and lots of cones marking off ice "stalagmites" that had grown up during the night; and there was lots of rain falling from the ceiling all over. It was pretty bumpy elsewhere too. All in all, not the best of conditions.

Today's lesson:

• spins -- we'd not touched these in a while, and it showed. Bleah! Dropping the free side, and just rushing in general. We managed to get them more or less fixed.
  
• spin entrance -- still not quite there yet! Grrr. We did about a zillion of them today, mostly trying to get more aggressiveness and keep that free leg back on the step forward. It seems like I can do one or the other but not both at the same time :-(.
  
• 5-step Mohawk -- these are really improving. Anna told me to think of taking the 3rd step more straight back and wow, what a difference -- I actually have plenty of room for all 5 steps then! I'm also tending to lean back on the BO edge instead of just standing straight over my skate. Grrr.
  
• waltz-8 -- we'd not touched these in a long, long time. Some of the same corrections for the 5-step apply here as well, especially the leaning back on the BO edge. I was having a hard time seeing (glasses were fogging up so I took 'em off), which made it hard to judge the circle. Mostly the persistent cry that I need to have a better "set" and be more deliberate in my motions. These should be relatively easy for me; I suspect I just need to put a lot more time into them.
  

Next lesson will be tomorrow on adult session; ice should be better. The conditions were very distracting today and I'm going to do my best to stay off the FS if it's going to be like that.

The Right Foot Show

Today's lesson:

• FXOs -- of course there was no escaping working on FXOs. Anna was emphasizing being more deliberate, longer extensions and quicker transitions. At one point she had me just hold the FO glide with extension, then hold the crossed-over FO edge (before placing the crossing foot on the ice). We worked especially on the CW "bad" direction, which was helpful. Anna said I need to think of these as the "right foot show" -- it's all about the right foot. The extension, the crossing, are all just window dressing. She also told me something that seemed new to me, or at least a new way of thinking about it -- I should be bending the skating knee while the free leg is crossing. In some ways it's a different way of talking about the push-under, but it seems to help.
  
• BXOs -- arrrgh! My CW "good" direction are getting fairly good. We spent a lot of time on the bad direction, because they are bad. Mostly we worked on feeling like the free leg (outside leg) is straightening as it's crossing, and to really be sitting on that inside leg/hip. We did get some noticeable improvement; hopefully it will still be with me next time I do these.
  
• BO edges -- I'm convinced if I don't stop double-pushing on these, Anna is going to inflict severe bodily harm. These weren't too bad, but I still need a better "set" on them.
  
• BI edges -- not too bad. Anna reminded me I need to not wide-step when stepping to the new foot; that's part of the reason I have trouble getting a good push since my feet are too far apart.
  
• BI3s -- back to these again! We worked them from LBI edge --> RBI edge -->turn, first doing a two-foot turn, then just holding the position, then attempting the turn. There's some small improvement, though I've not yet accomplished the turn. It's kind of hard to hold the setup into the turn, I tend to drop the free hip. Still, it's fun to work on and actually not scary.
  

My girlfriend was at the adult session today and watched my lesson. I asked her how I looked during my lesson -- am I having fun, or being tortured? "You're being tortured!" was the response... Hmm. I do find my lessons a lot of fun, actually, even if they don't appear that way. Of course I am very intense and focused and sweating up a storm, so I can understand why someone would think that.

Before my lesson, I got some feedback from Marge, a judge who often skates at adult session. She told me I'm tending to land my waltz jump (done from standing start) onto an *inside* edge, and that I'm not landing on the same circle as I started from (which is the same thing, I think). It was nice to actually get some feedback from her, it's very encouraging.