practice thread

[gkelly]

We haven't had one for a while. Feel free to join in.

Today I skated my program and fell hard on my butt on the second jump pass. The following thoughts ran through my head: Ow, that hurts. I can probably get right up and finish the program. If I do the whole change-foot spin I'll still be spinning when the new musical phrase starts. I'll just do the backspin.

How long does it take for all those thoughts to go through one's head? Ow-finish-time?-backspin. About 2 seconds? About as long as it takes me to stand up.

It was a bad backspin, but then I got back on the music for the rest of the program.

Three hours later my butt is still sore.

[Debbie S]

Ouch, gkelly! I hope your butt is feeling better tomorrow.

After reading about Courtney Hicks's injury (giving me flashbacks) and seeing an adult skater friend fall while dancing with her coach (she was fine), and seeing 2 kids go down hard on axel attempts (they were fine), I was a bit timid tonight. Ran through the Gold Moves and was able to turn the RBI double 3's w/o putting my foot down, yay! But I'm still slower than molasses. Nowhere near passing.

And I think I'm having sympathy pains for Courtney, b/c I started feeling some pain at and just below my left knee. Seems to be OK now.

[Artifice]

Three hours later my butt is still sore.

3 hours, it's not that much time !

[gkelly]

Well, now it's the next day and it still hurts at times, but I don't think it's anything serious. Bruised muscle?

I was just having a conversation Saturday with my nephew on a public session about why it's better to fall on your butt than on your head. Not that I had any choice. It's more of a no brainer for me than for him since I have plenty of padding on my butt and he doesn't.

[julianaqtpi]

Practice threads Sorry about your butt... Tailbone? Those hurt. Elbow bruises hurt almost as much though, I have a big honkin' one of those from an awful double flip last week, just thank goodness I didn't have a horrible fall like Courtney Hicks on her triple flip.

I'm about to go skate in an hour or so. But I skated Monday morning. My coach and I choreographed part of my new Juvenile freeskate, but its really already choreographed. We just added 20 seconds onto my music from Pre-Juvenile. So semi-re-choreographing that. Did some double loops, actually got height for once! Double loop- double loop, I almost landed one! On my own, tried some double flip-double loops, didn't work. Still working on double toes in combo with other jumps, that's going to be my focus today in practice. I'm going to a public session, hopefully there won't be many people, but its fall break so there could be... I'll update with how today's practice went.

[Hedwig]

Went skating today for the first time this season as the ice-rink only opened again recently.
It was closed in April, sniff.
It felt weird to be on the ice again and I was a bit tentative.

Today I didn't make a plan ahead about what I wanted to practice on and just played around. but I noticed in the past that I practice much better if I make a plan beforehand - even a rough one like: edges 15 min, inside threes 5 min, loop and salchow 10 min etc.
And even better if I read one of my lesson plans before and try to imitate that. (explanation: I don't have a coach at home - there is no one here and I can only skate in public sessions. But 1-2 a year I take a week of private lessons in Oberstdorf or a week of group lessons in Berlin and then write down everything I remember from then and try to teach myself for the rest of the year.
It is very hard and frustrating at times not to have someone to look over your skating, push and motivate you but I try the best I can. )

The public skate sessions are either from 10-1 in the morning or from 3 to 5 in the afternoon.
I think I will try to catch a couple of the afternoon sessions next week - it is still pretty empty on the ice so I hope that most people will not have noticed that the ice-rink has opened again. Once they do, the morning sessions are the only option. They are usually (apart from school holidays) pretty empty.
I am lucky in one regard in my skating opportunities: The ice-rink is fairly close to work (about 15min by bike) and I can clock in and out at work and shower there - so I can do it during the week as well.

Plan for next session: Mostly work on steps and combining them.

[Hedwig]

So tonight I tried again to skate in our ice-dance group. I am not an ice-dancer and the people there are mostly senior citizens who are not skating really well either. That isn't a problem per se but there were lots of quarrels between them last season which made me not wanting to go there anymore.

Today it was fine. And it is great to be able to skate without worrying about little kids from public skate trying to run into you.

[gkelly]

So were you ice dancing along with the rest, or off doing your own thing?

[Hedwig]

I was doing my own thing along with one other person and tried to get out of the way of the five people doing ice-dance.

I was thinking of joining them once in a while in their ice-dance practice as well as I guess it can help my skating as well...it just bores me in general. I like jumping better.

[Diane Mars]

...I guess it can help my skating as well...it just bores me in general. I like jumping better.

It will improve your speed, quality of edges, strength, body core... so, 100% guarantee at the end, the quality of your jumps

[Hedwig]

It will improve your speed, quality of edges, strength, body core... so, 100% guarantee at the end, the quality of your jumps

I wish it were so.

I think you are absolutely right when it would be real Ice Dance. I am just not sure about our "Ice Dance".

this morning I decided to participate and it felt weird. Of course there is soo much I need to improve upon in regard of edge quality and posture and so on but I am not sure if our coach is the way to go...
And I hate it if there is so much emphasis on where exactly in the rink I have to put my foot down and how exactly to hold my arms...
Don't get me wrong, the arms are an essential part of the skating, I am aware of that but I liked it better the way my freestyle coaches always told me - that there are several ways to hold your arms for instance in the backwards crossovers and that you had to find the way that is most comfortable for you.
Here I feel like in ice dance (at least in my group) there is only one acceptable way to hold your arms and it is uncomfortable and crampy for me.
I was told to put the inner arm right back over the tracing and the outer arm pointing in the middle.
When I skate I have the same basic position but more like an embrace of the circle and not pointing in the very middle of the circle with my outer arm.
hmmm.

But I am still thankful to be able to train on ice that isn't crowded with 150 screaming teenagers so I should hold my mouth shut, even if the situation isn't ideal and I still wish there was a freestyle coach in my town I could take lessons from at least once in a while...I feel like I am stagnating so much this way.

By the way - does anyone have any tips about the backspin? I was told that the weigh has to be more on the back outside edge. If I try that it feels like my foot is sliding away. It feels better on the front part of the blade but there I only manage like 2 revolutions or so.
Any tips how to improve that?

[C_T_T_]

By the way - does anyone have any tips about the backspin? I was told that the weigh has to be more on the back outside edge. If I try that it feels like my foot is sliding away. It feels better on the front part of the blade but there I only manage like 2 revolutions or so.
Any tips how to improve that?

Your weight should definately be towards the front of the skate! I assume when they said 'back outside edge' they meant a backward outside edge rather than the back of the blade. I have heard people say they try to press down with their baby toe to get them spinning over the correct part of the blade but I don't know if that will work for everyone! Sometimes it's difficult to get many rotations because your shoulders and hips are out of line and so fighting against the rotation. Just one of many possible reasons though!

[Hedwig]

Your weight should definately be towards the front of the skate! I assume when they said 'back outside edge' they meant a backward outside edge rather than the back of the blade. I have heard people say they try to press down with their baby toe to get them spinning over the correct part of the blade but I don't know if that will work for everyone! Sometimes it's difficult to get many rotations because your shoulders and hips are out of line and so fighting against the rotation. Just one of many possible reasons though!

Thank you!
I am relieved to hear that because the back of the blade didn't work for me at all.
But I feel very dumb now because what is meant then with backward outside edge? I mean - why backward? Outside edge, sure but I am spinning on the spot...I heard someone saying once that the blade goes backwards during the spin. Is that it? (And I cannot really imagine what is meant by that either. )

Anyway, I will try the trick with the baby toe next time I am on the ice.

and I feel a bit bad for gkelly that I took over her practice thread - won't you tell us any news from your practices as well, gkelly?
I hope there were no more painful falls?

[C_T_T_]

Yes, that is it. You will know that the tracing a spin makes on the ice is tiny little circles, hopefully overlapping if it is centered! When you are actually in the spin you feel like you are turning on the spot but your blade is actually moving backwards making those little circles. If you go onto the inside edge and keep spinning in the same direction, you will be spinning forwards and then your weight should move towards the back of the blade.


I want to write something interesting about my practices but they are all the same and wouldn't make very interesting reading!

[Hedwig]

Yes, that is it. You will know that the tracing a spin makes on the ice is tiny little circles, hopefully overlapping if it is centered! When you are actually in the spin you feel like you are turning on the spot but your blade is actually moving backwards making those little circles. If you go onto the inside edge and keep spinning in the same direction, you will be spinning forwards and then your weight should move towards the back of the blade.

You will hate me now....

Eh, what? Do you mean if I do a "normal" spin? Or when I change to the inside edge after having been on the outside edge on a backspin?

If you mean during a normal spin I am cause I always spin pretty much in the front of the blade. I often even scratch the toe-pick on the ice a bit. Isn't that right?

[Debbie S]

If you mean during a normal spin I am cause I always spin pretty much in the front of the blade. I often even scratch the toe-pick on the ice a bit. Isn't that right?

On a forward spin, you should be pressing on the ball of your spinning foot, but not so far forward that you hit the toepick. Sometimes on a sit spin, it's inevitable you'll scratch your toepick a little, b/c you are leaning so far forward on that spin.

On a backspin, you also want to press on the ball of your spinning foot. If you enter the spin from a back pivot (usually when you are first learning it), you'll obviously start on your toe but you should quickly get your weight over the ball.

You also want to make sure your shoulders are in line with your hips, and also level. You don't want to be pitching forward or backward, or the consequences could be painful. Go slowly at first, don't try to whip yourself into the spin. If you can only get 2 revs to start, don't worry, it takes time - just try to feel the 'sweet spot' as you spin.

[Hedwig]

Thanks.
That sounds good - I always feel like I am too far forward when I scratch with my toe pick so my feeling is right.
And it seems like I tried in vain to spin on the back of the edge on the backspin when that is not what one should do. Very relieved because I tried it for so long already and it always feels so wrong but I tried (wrongly) to apply what I had been told (or thought I had been told )

[C_T_T_]

You will hate me now....

Eh, what? Do you mean if I do a "normal" spin? Or when I change to the inside edge after having been on the outside edge on a backspin?

If you mean during a normal spin I am cause I always spin pretty much in the front of the blade. I often even scratch the toe-pick on the ice a bit. Isn't that right?

I could never hate you!

No, your normal spin is fine! I meant if you were to do a change of edge of your backspin. (you know for when you do your level 4 spins ) I thought it made the explanation clearer but obviously it made it worse!

[Hedwig]

Ah, yes, my level 4 spins. Right.





okay, now all is clear. Now I only have to do it on the ice and not just in my head.

[C_T_T_]

I just agreed to do my first test in nearly 12 years. Am I mad? Probably but nevermind! I know I can pass it but won't get my hopes up because I don't know how my nerves will hold up. I have a few months to get fit and learn not to hold my breath when I concentrate otherwise I'll need to lie down half way through!

And on a completely different note.... does anyone know how to do a cross foot spin? I was messing about with them today but couldn't quite decide where I should have my weight in the blade or the angle I should have between my feet. I got a few turns by going into it like a backspin and being over the ball of my right foot and the heel of my left foot. I didn't quite get my weight equally spread though and it slowed down fairly quickly. I'm guessing I should be on the ball of both feet with my feet at right angles?