"You're My Inspiration" #2

As you may remember, faithful followers, I fell a couple of months ago doing a forward edge pull and tapped my head.

Coaches I know gave me little lectures about head protection.

Anyway, I now wear an Ice Halo. A "minion yellow" Ice Halo. When I wear that Ice Halo, you can spot me across the rink, and I skate like a king.

A few weeks after I started wearing the 'minion yellow crown of protection' , a skater in Basic Skills came up to me and said I inspired her to make her own. She had taken a bike helmet apart and put the foam in a cute knit hat. Okay, I was impressed by that.

Then yesterday, I ran into couple I know and the husband said, "You inspired us, we went out and bought these Crasche helmets."

I'd rather inspire them with my skating.

But, I guess I'll take what I can get!

My First Sit Spin Lesson

Coach Challenge idly glanced over to watch me do a spin.

I ripped into it and lifted one foot, then I began to sink at the knees as my body didn't want to stand up, and I was hunched over  with my arms and hands forward, to counter-balance my enormous ass that was sticking out behind as I kept sinking.

I finally, got upright and exited my spin.

Coach Challenge actually smiled. "If you bend over some more you'll get a better sit spin."

"That wasn't a sit spin try," I tell him, "That was 'desperate not to fall' spin."

Only now that he gave it a name, I can't do anything with it.

Things only Figure Skaters Understand #15: Almost Empty Ice

When there's only three skaters on the ice

They always end up in the same place
at the same time

 

How Slow the Last MInute of Group Goes

Coach Challenge rolled his eyes to the insulated rink ceiling and pressed his forefinger to his chin while he thought.

"A..a..and for yo..o..ou...."

I glanced at the rink clock. It was one minute before session was over. "Well, session is over, don't worry about it," I say.

All session had been forward crossrolls into figure loops, then something new called power mohawks, then alternating crappy spins.  My figure loops were more like big circles, not oval loops. 

Coach Challenge brightened up. "Okay, I want you do two chasse's then a swing roll."

I glance at the clock. Still holding on the last minute.

I follow him around the space: chasse' chasse' swing roll.

"And then..." Coach Challenge announces triumphantly, "Hold on to that swing roll and circle around."

Clock. Time. Holding.

Chasse' Chasse' Swingroll Ho..o..old.

OMG!! This is to get me to do my figures loop!! Just one more try!

Zamboni horn. Gate opens.

Typical.

Great Moments in Figure Skating History #3

The reaction when a man in hockey skates

 does an axel on a lightly attended public

All true. One of the coaches wanted to get a video but he left the rink before she could catch him.

It was a decent axel, about a foot of air, then spoiled by being two footed.

I'm In a Skating Plateau

This encapsulates my feelings about the last 3 months

The only thing I've advanced on is the Back Outside Cross Forward, which once I realized I could make it  funny I really threw my heart into doing. Everything else,  all the graceful skills, FI3, spins, BO3, I'm kind of where I was  3 months ago. I've tried 'Do the Opposite', 'Five minute focus' and 'Deep practice' to break through. Zip.

I've been on a break for 3 weeks. I'm now at that awkward moment between 'lost all my skills' and 'brain has had time to forget my bad habits'.  I may have been wearing myself down, and I can only hope that this break gives my body a chance to reset.

I've run out of ideas for now, maybe I knead to sit back and get a massage. I mean, it can't hurt.

Ooooh, kittehs.

I won't skate on Good Friday, however, Holy Saturday, there's no mass, so I'm back on the ice! I'll see then if I need to ask St Jude for intercession for those FI3s!

Overused Music: Schubert's Ave Maria

Carolina Kostner
Johnny Weir
Caroline Zhang 
Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov 
Belousova & Protopopov 
Totmianina & Marinin 
Shizuka Arakawa
Peggy Fleming 
Yuzuru Hanyu
Stephan Lambiel
Maria Butyrskaya 
Wesley Campbell 
Yu-Na Kim 
Jeffrey Buttle

I know people complain that Carmen is overused, but I think Ave Maria has become a warhorse too. It's so associated with figure skating it's even included in Mario and Sonic Go to the Olympics game.

Well, good coverage of the ice, I didn't expect to see that.

Send-Off to Adult Nats

Saturday there was a going away party for all the adult skaters going to Nats. I don't know how many your  rink is sending, but the Adult Freestyle Circle of Fire is sending 10 skaters.

Since I had practice and a lesson, I tramped over to the VIP room in my skates just to wish the departing skaters good luck and hear their plans. When I got there, I realized that I had forgotten that the VIP room doesn't have matting on the floor, it has carpeting.

Carpeting on top of a concrete foundation. This was going to crush my edges.

I stood in the door for a moment, said my "Hi!", then added, "I don't have guards, I'll just toepick in."

"I'll loan you a set of guards, " Mr Badass said.

"I've got an extra pair in my bag," Miss Bun said, "You can have them."

A couple  other voices said something like "Hey use these!"

I then had to confess, "I HAVE guards, ...."

Someone (maybe Miss Bun) yelled out cheerfully, "You're just too lazy to get them out of your bag to walk over here!"

The end of this story, is that after a quarter hour of chat, I couldn't get out of my chair by going straight onto my toepicks, so a couple of people had to pull me up out of the chair on to my toepicks so I could stalk magnificently out of the room to go back to the rink.

But to all the adult skaters from my rink, (especially those who rescued me from the skater eating chair) have the most and bestest of fun at Nats, and skate your very best!!!

Behind the Scenes at the Sharpener

Boredom On Mid-Shifts Leads to Harmless Habits

Until One Day You're Holding an Irreplaceable No Longer Manufactured Jackson Interchangeable Blade in one Hand

 

Great Moments in Figure Skating History #2

A Teenage Hockey Player, in full gear, shooed away 

annoying hockey boys who nearly skated into me

in the Center

 

When Adult Skaters have Lives Outside the Rink

When only one person shows up for Group

And the Coach is missing too

I was gone, and the 2 gold skaters got called in to sub in other classes, there was someone with family obligations, and another skater who just didn't show. And I never heard why the coach wasn't there.

But Miss Bun took the single skater and put him  in Kids Freestyle

  

Awwww...