Two 30 minute group lessons
When I get home:
And did I mention my feet yet?
Showing posts with label group lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label group lessons. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
After Skating for 2 and a Half Hours
One and a half public
Two 30 minute group lessons
When I get home:
And then:
And did I mention my feet yet?
Two 30 minute group lessons
When I get home:
And did I mention my feet yet?
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Power! Performance! Booting Out!
When I told Coach Cruella that Dance Coach had said some time ago, "You're not ready," for progressives, she got down and cracked the whip. It was progressives, progressives, progressives for about 10 minutes during a private lesson. I got a few right, then I proceeded to practice passionately in order to perfect proper progressives.
Feeling like Oliver Twist I approached Dance Coach during our next lesson. "I think I'm ready for progressives. We've been doing them in group." I said.
Let me tell you, when someone 30 years younger than you puts on their professionally attentive face--it's just the cutest thing. This is the fun of being old, I've seen everything, now I get to have fun with it.
He had me demonstrate how Coach Cruella introduced them with the grapevine. This appears to be the standard way, because I got a grunted "Good." Then, I did them around the circle. I now have the rhythm of them, and after I've got a few under my belt I can actually roll onto the side of the free foot in the underpush. Technically this is not booting out as it's the free foot, not the skating foot. "Not any power there." I said.
He's looking happy and pleased. "High five!" he says, "Power will come."
What's the moral of this story? Well, practice helps. And developing your edges also helps. I don't think 6 months ago I could do them. I tried them once then instead of crossovers, but Dance Coach said, "Not yet." But a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. I'm pushing myself, Coach Cruella is pushing me and it's working.
We rock through some dance skills. High fives are raining from the skies. I think my inside swingrolls only deserve a high two, but what they lack in power they make up in depth of curve.
The rest of the lesson is dance, dance, more dance. The Nasty goes okay. It's the usual Hockey Boy Tango with the crowds, but I have some power in it now. Not Dance Coach power, but more than I had a few weeks ago. Not bad power for 'the elderly'.
Then we did the Rhythm Blues. Remember I booted out last week on the first go round? Well, I did it again this week! I'm just going to plan for it from now on. I'll tell Dance Coach to expect me to boot out the first time around so I can get it out of the way and not have to worry about it for the rest of the lesson!
Edges forward and back in waltz hold go very well. And now that I'm deep in the knee my butt doesn't stick out. So, stylistically major gain! Work on the step/cross behind (whatever) in the Cha-cha. This is the only place in any dance I've ever heard the words firmly uttered by Dance Coach in his 'safety voice' "NO EXTENSION!"
No extension, I can do that!
Feeling like Oliver Twist I approached Dance Coach during our next lesson. "I think I'm ready for progressives. We've been doing them in group." I said.
 |
| Please, sir. May I do progressives? |
 |
| "Tell me more." Dance Coach said. |
He's looking happy and pleased. "High five!" he says, "Power will come."
What's the moral of this story? Well, practice helps. And developing your edges also helps. I don't think 6 months ago I could do them. I tried them once then instead of crossovers, but Dance Coach said, "Not yet." But a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. I'm pushing myself, Coach Cruella is pushing me and it's working.
We rock through some dance skills. High fives are raining from the skies. I think my inside swingrolls only deserve a high two, but what they lack in power they make up in depth of curve.
The rest of the lesson is dance, dance, more dance. The Nasty goes okay. It's the usual Hockey Boy Tango with the crowds, but I have some power in it now. Not Dance Coach power, but more than I had a few weeks ago. Not bad power for 'the elderly'.
Then we did the Rhythm Blues. Remember I booted out last week on the first go round? Well, I did it again this week! I'm just going to plan for it from now on. I'll tell Dance Coach to expect me to boot out the first time around so I can get it out of the way and not have to worry about it for the rest of the lesson!
Edges forward and back in waltz hold go very well. And now that I'm deep in the knee my butt doesn't stick out. So, stylistically major gain! Work on the step/cross behind (whatever) in the Cha-cha. This is the only place in any dance I've ever heard the words firmly uttered by Dance Coach in his 'safety voice' "NO EXTENSION!"
No extension, I can do that!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Mental Rehearsal
Taking a lesson from anyone can be overwhelming. Move the body here, twist here, hold the arm here, don't do that-do this, BEND THE KNEE, hold the leg up, pputyourrighfootin, puullyourleftfootout, shakeitallabout. .......
This week between Dance Coach and Coach Cruella, I was mentally swamped. It's easy to lose track of everything in a lesson, especially when you're a beginner like myself. Losing old habits while building new ones requires a lot of effort, probably more than most adults can find ice time for.
Fortunately, there's a way to solve this. I'll call it Mental Rehearsal.
It's an hour each way for me to any rink I skate at. So to use that hour usefully, I've developed some habits of mentally rehearsing what I'm about to do (on the way up), and what I learned (on the way home). Driving to a dance lesson, I put on my dance music and mentally go through the steps. Driving to an edge lesson, I review what I learned last week; driving home, I review what I learned this week--and attempt to merge it with previous lessons.
Back when I was in the Air Force, the trainee pilots I knew had a procedure called 'Chair Flying'. They would sit in a chair and mimic a training flight they had scheduled. Although they were physically pretending to flip switches, making radio callsk and moving the stick, the actual rehearsal was all in their head. The rule was "Ten in the Chair, is worth one in the air."
If you watch the Olympic skaters before they go on the ice, they'll be stepping through their program, or they'll be standing with their eyes closed. In both cases they're mentally reviewing every stroke, gesture, twirl, jump and stop. Mental rehearsal really works.
Secondly, taking a private lesson is something like drinking from a fire hose. How I envy advanced skaters who only need to tweak a skill. I have to construct my skills like a single person building a castle, one brick at a time. My lessons are filled with corrections, skill upgrades, moves etc. I need the mental rehearsal immediately after the lesson to retain all those little skills. The silence of the car allows me an opportunity to review each skill we went through, and every technique I was taught in the lesson. No distractions of the radio, or music on the iPod. This is focused learning, not just running though a checklist. It's best when you can feel the muscles as you mentally think about the moves. It takes effort and concentration to get to that level of Mental Rehearsal, but it's worth it.
So my 3 rules are:
1. Review skills before the lesson
2. Review the lesson after the lesson
3. Review in a quiet environment.
By the way, Coach Cruella Reads My Blog!
 |
| This is my brain |
 |
| This is my brain on skates |
Fortunately, there's a way to solve this. I'll call it Mental Rehearsal.
It's an hour each way for me to any rink I skate at. So to use that hour usefully, I've developed some habits of mentally rehearsing what I'm about to do (on the way up), and what I learned (on the way home). Driving to a dance lesson, I put on my dance music and mentally go through the steps. Driving to an edge lesson, I review what I learned last week; driving home, I review what I learned this week--and attempt to merge it with previous lessons.
Back when I was in the Air Force, the trainee pilots I knew had a procedure called 'Chair Flying'. They would sit in a chair and mimic a training flight they had scheduled. Although they were physically pretending to flip switches, making radio callsk and moving the stick, the actual rehearsal was all in their head. The rule was "Ten in the Chair, is worth one in the air."
If you watch the Olympic skaters before they go on the ice, they'll be stepping through their program, or they'll be standing with their eyes closed. In both cases they're mentally reviewing every stroke, gesture, twirl, jump and stop. Mental rehearsal really works.
Secondly, taking a private lesson is something like drinking from a fire hose. How I envy advanced skaters who only need to tweak a skill. I have to construct my skills like a single person building a castle, one brick at a time. My lessons are filled with corrections, skill upgrades, moves etc. I need the mental rehearsal immediately after the lesson to retain all those little skills. The silence of the car allows me an opportunity to review each skill we went through, and every technique I was taught in the lesson. No distractions of the radio, or music on the iPod. This is focused learning, not just running though a checklist. It's best when you can feel the muscles as you mentally think about the moves. It takes effort and concentration to get to that level of Mental Rehearsal, but it's worth it.
So my 3 rules are:
1. Review skills before the lesson
2. Review the lesson after the lesson
3. Review in a quiet environment.
By the way, Coach Cruella Reads My Blog!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Saturday Lesson: Boot Issues
"Yeow!" Dance Coach swears some long Russian thing as he pulls me up from a near fall. It's like being hauled up by a winch into a helicopter. "What is wrong with you?"
"Did you hurt your back?" I ask, "You should let me fall, I've got the pads on."
Dance Coach just rolls his eyes. "I do not let you fall." I guess he's a member of the Ice Dance Coach Order of the Sacred Boot. In darkness, under an arch in a spooky square they all get together once a year and take an oath, "The Old Lady Does Not Hit The Ice." And I nearly fell 4 times.
Unfortunately, there is a still problem. And it's me.
I'm skating in my new dance boots, and they've started to break in after only 10 hours. That's unheard of for me. Unfortunately, the right boot is enlarging like a yeast raised loaf, I can hardly keep up with it. I've put the silipos pad around my heel and put an extra layer of insole underneath. My right foot is still flopping around like a fish inside. Well, Jessim did warn me in her comments. If it doesn't snow tomorrow I'll take them to freestyle and try it with yet another additional insole in there.
The left boot is a perfect fit. I hate inconsistency. Right now it's like I've got feet from two different people. Unfortunately, my skate tech is away to competitions. It will be weeks before I can get the right boot remolded. Push comes to shove I may have the local sharpener switch the blades to my freestyle boots and default to them.
And despite all this kerfuffle, Dance Coach said out of the blue, "You are much, much better in these boots."
Stuff like this just makes me want to scream!
So the ice was pretty empty except a party of hockey boys in the fateful 11-14 age group. Dance Coach caught them and told them not to come in the center. Apparently he either impresses or scares them, they would skate right up to the blue lines and do a dead stop then turn around. Maybe it was sarcasm but they stayed out of our way.
Since there was open space we did the Canasta Tango and the Rhythm Blues. The CT is okay. The RB is needing work. None of this is helped by the fact that I irrationally feel the right boot is about to fall off. Yet, I can really get that forward foot way up in the air for the slide chasse' and the swing roll. Too bad I occasionally fall backward.
Moves Coach was on the ice with Hockey Harold as her student, and Dance Coach did his usual act of driving us right into her. I so..o..o don't get this. They're friends, but put them on the ice together and Dance Coach turns 11. They squabble back and forth for a few seconds and it's fun to watch. Hockey Harold and I catch our breaths, then it's off again.
We start progressives. I've got a long way to go. It requires some technique I just don't have yet. We work on my back crossovers, which like so many adult learner's are not my strong point. They're a bazillion times better than they were last year, but not pretty. Some tidying up work on the Waltz 3 in hold; getting ready for the Cha-Cha. Then lesson is over and I limp to the benches to tear my boots off.
"Did you hurt your back?" I ask, "You should let me fall, I've got the pads on."
Dance Coach just rolls his eyes. "I do not let you fall." I guess he's a member of the Ice Dance Coach Order of the Sacred Boot. In darkness, under an arch in a spooky square they all get together once a year and take an oath, "The Old Lady Does Not Hit The Ice." And I nearly fell 4 times.
 |
| Ordo Sanctus Tabernus "Vetus domina non ledo glacies" |
I'm skating in my new dance boots, and they've started to break in after only 10 hours. That's unheard of for me. Unfortunately, the right boot is enlarging like a yeast raised loaf, I can hardly keep up with it. I've put the silipos pad around my heel and put an extra layer of insole underneath. My right foot is still flopping around like a fish inside. Well, Jessim did warn me in her comments. If it doesn't snow tomorrow I'll take them to freestyle and try it with yet another additional insole in there.
The left boot is a perfect fit. I hate inconsistency. Right now it's like I've got feet from two different people. Unfortunately, my skate tech is away to competitions. It will be weeks before I can get the right boot remolded. Push comes to shove I may have the local sharpener switch the blades to my freestyle boots and default to them.
And despite all this kerfuffle, Dance Coach said out of the blue, "You are much, much better in these boots."
Stuff like this just makes me want to scream!
 |
| Nope, not me. But you get the idea. |
Since there was open space we did the Canasta Tango and the Rhythm Blues. The CT is okay. The RB is needing work. None of this is helped by the fact that I irrationally feel the right boot is about to fall off. Yet, I can really get that forward foot way up in the air for the slide chasse' and the swing roll. Too bad I occasionally fall backward.
Moves Coach was on the ice with Hockey Harold as her student, and Dance Coach did his usual act of driving us right into her. I so..o..o don't get this. They're friends, but put them on the ice together and Dance Coach turns 11. They squabble back and forth for a few seconds and it's fun to watch. Hockey Harold and I catch our breaths, then it's off again.
We start progressives. I've got a long way to go. It requires some technique I just don't have yet. We work on my back crossovers, which like so many adult learner's are not my strong point. They're a bazillion times better than they were last year, but not pretty. Some tidying up work on the Waltz 3 in hold; getting ready for the Cha-Cha. Then lesson is over and I limp to the benches to tear my boots off.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Fun Rink vs Tough Rink
I've always skated at 'fun rinks'. Now I'm moving to what may turn out to be 'tough rink'. (I'm still taking lessons with Dance Coach at the fun rink.)
This is my own designation, and it's kind of hard to pinpoint, except I know one when I see one.
A 'fun rink' is inclusive. None of the coaches are former world champions or national competitors. Winning a title doesn't make you a good coach. It makes you a retired competitor. Good coaches have good teaching skills.
In a 'fun rink' an old lady like me is welcome on freestyle. None of the coaches give me grief over skating on FS. ISI rinks tend to be fun rinks. (TEND, mind you, TEND TO BE.)
Leading indicator of a fun rink: No high or low freestyle. Just Freestyle.
Second indicator of a fun rink: No one's going to Nationals, unless it's Adult Nationals or ISI Nationals.
Third indicator of a fun rink: People love skating.
Tough rinks on the other hand, have high and low freestyle, obscure rules on who can be on what ice. Lots of competitive skaters. Lots of team coaching. Specialized coaches. Some skaters have a chance at Nationals or have already been. You go in one day and there's famous people on the ice.
Leading indicator of a tough rink: Well, for now I'm going to say it involves the statement "Elite Freestyle requires the permission of the HEAD COACH." (This is a quote from a tough rink, just not the one I'm going to.)
Second indicator: Weird skating mom stories. I just can't wait. I need material for the blog.
The real question should be, Why am I leaving my fun rink? I like to take group lessons, and I'm not getting anywhere in the ones at my present fun rink. The (potentially) tough rink has a greater variety of group lessons for adults, plus an adult public. I think it's worth the effort. Plus the psychotic skating mom stories. Excellent.
This is my own designation, and it's kind of hard to pinpoint, except I know one when I see one.
A 'fun rink' is inclusive. None of the coaches are former world champions or national competitors. Winning a title doesn't make you a good coach. It makes you a retired competitor. Good coaches have good teaching skills.
In a 'fun rink' an old lady like me is welcome on freestyle. None of the coaches give me grief over skating on FS. ISI rinks tend to be fun rinks. (TEND, mind you, TEND TO BE.)
Leading indicator of a fun rink: No high or low freestyle. Just Freestyle.
Second indicator of a fun rink: No one's going to Nationals, unless it's Adult Nationals or ISI Nationals.
Third indicator of a fun rink: People love skating.
 |
| Fun Rink interpretive program |
Tough rinks on the other hand, have high and low freestyle, obscure rules on who can be on what ice. Lots of competitive skaters. Lots of team coaching. Specialized coaches. Some skaters have a chance at Nationals or have already been. You go in one day and there's famous people on the ice.
Leading indicator of a tough rink: Well, for now I'm going to say it involves the statement "Elite Freestyle requires the permission of the HEAD COACH." (This is a quote from a tough rink, just not the one I'm going to.)
Second indicator: Weird skating mom stories. I just can't wait. I need material for the blog.
 |
| Meow Asada works on her new spiral position at her Tough Rink |
The real question should be, Why am I leaving my fun rink? I like to take group lessons, and I'm not getting anywhere in the ones at my present fun rink. The (potentially) tough rink has a greater variety of group lessons for adults, plus an adult public. I think it's worth the effort. Plus the psychotic skating mom stories. Excellent.
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