Learn it Yourself

There comes a point when I'm learning a new skill, that what I need to do is practice it with little experiments (Like body position, or arm position, or variations in leg position) mixed in until I find something that works for me. When I'm doing this, I occasionally find it useful to have a coach watching, and making a comment occasionally. Mostly these moments arise spontaneously in a lesson, and very useful they are.   Below is an example.

So, mentally I grasped the mechanics of the progressive, but not the implementation. In a lesson, I'm working on the down, up, down (get my foot forward and across) bit, but I have too much weight on my crossing skate. I turn to Todd, "Can't I just sort of hover my free skate over the ice so it looks like it's touching? And fake the glidey bit?" I give this a try and the blade somehow enters that mystic zone where the blade is not so much touching the ice, as it is flying over the ice in the boundary layer where the ice and air meet.

It's a Perfect Progressive (for a beginner).

"That's a good one," Todd says.

I look up at him in surprise. "No one ever said anything about the blade feeling like this. This is more like Kevin Costner giving his daughter butterfly kisses in The Untouchables*. It's much lighter than I expected." As a result of my trying things out, I have confirmation from a coach that I'm finally doing the right thing. I've been able to do them ever since.

*Since Todd was less than a year old when The Untouchables came out, the movie reference probably makes me sound insane.

Anyway, this "Learn it Yourself" moment only really happens after I've been working unsuccessfully on an element and not moving forward on it. There's something I'm not grasping. Something missing. I've found that if I talk my way through the element to the coach, and do some variations while the coach is watching, I get the input I need.  This is different from other parts of the lesson that are coach directed; This part is 'me' directed.

Anyway, today Dance Coach and I worked on progressives. He's happy. Then he wanted me to do crossovers.

I can't. All I've got left are these clunky forced things, rather than power generating crossovers with the strong second push I used to have.

It's like once I learned to do proper progressives, that's all I can do. My pretty crossovers have disappeared.

I guess they went on vacation to Vegas. They'll show up again when they shoot their duckets!

Big Bag of Skating Stuff

Actually, it's two duffel bags, a cardboard box, and a plastic storage bin.

Five years into skating, I've got a 'skating stash'.

Right now I have a card board box filled with 2 pairs of men's skates and two pairs of women's that I can't get rid of. The men's skates are 2 pairs Jackson's Premiers size 13 with parabolic blades. I'm thinking of renaming them after aircraft carriers: the  Ranger, the  Midway, the Forrestal, and the Independence. Hey, they're men's size 13s you could land airplanes on them....and they are retired. Except they could be sold to the skating equivalent of a 2nd World country for littoral action with helicopters...a male beginner skater with feet 'of size'.  These are the second biggest boots I've ever seen. They are like hiccups, I can't get rid of them.

Also stored are various levels of worn out parabolic blades, Mirages, gloves (matched and unmatched), drying towels, several unmatched blade guards,  hair clips/scrunchies/pony tail holders,  extra silipos ankle protectors, and a big bag of moleskin/callus donuts/blister protectors.

HEY! We have a match! I found the other pink soaker!

This is my life. I woke up and realized I have work clothes, and things I can skate in. It's been a decade since I went on a date--maybe more--and I have no flirty little dresses, no high heels, and the only bustier I have is for wearing under a dance test dress. It makes my boobs look fantastic! Which considering gravity has been dragging them down to my knees since Eisenhower was president, is a triumph of fabric engineering and materials science.

I also have a box full of things I could make costumes out of. A shorty black trench coat for a spy number, gold sweaters, patterned tights, belts, scarves, adorable sparkly hair bands, man I can't resist a sale after Christmas--so many sparkly things to choose from!

Now if I only had talent and power and a program. But right now, I'll settle for someone who needs 2 pair of broken in Jackson Premiers. Who need 2 pair?

Why yes I do need two pair men's skates. Why do you ask?

What Does Dance Coach Think?

So I came back to my home rink for a lesson with Dance Coach. He hasn't seen me in a couple of weeks and there's been a lot of changes since he saw me last.
1. I have new blades (MK Pros, man I loves my MK Pros)
2. I've been skating 5 hours a day for a week.

First off, he's all happy face with my progressives!  Hooray! This from a man who has told me 'you're not ready' a few times regarding progressives.

And he thinks my skating is 'much smoother'!

Now that I'm in the MK Pros, skating backwards isn't scarey anymore. When he asks for back crossovers I start with cross cuts, "What do you want to see? Big Girl Crossovers?" Then switch, "Or step overs?" Alternating back cross techniques around the circle. I couldn't do this three weeks ago. There's still a ways to go, but I'm better. I think it's the new blades. I was never, ever comfortable in the Mirages going backwards.

Since my 3 turns are solid, he has me doing proper power 3s.  I'm a little hunchy, and the step forward isn't pretty, but I can lay them down until I get dizzy (3 repetitions).

In stroking,  Dance Coach he wants me to skate down in the knee and stay there. At LP, they wanted me to use double knee bend stroking. I don't know if this is beginner vs advanced, or is a stylistic thing.

What do I do? I cheat. I use  double knee bend, but just tiny ones that are barely perceptible. If Dance Coach changes his mind or I skate with someone who wants the double knee bend, I just have to vary the amplitude.

Why yes, I am an engineer.

Let me  modify an existing cat picture to illustrate.

Where I was three weeks ago............Where I am NOW!