I looked at this blog and noted that my last post was back in January. That seems like a long time ago. At the end of May my rink shut down for the annual two months of maintenance. Yesterday was the first time I skated since the closure. As per usual for this time of year, I'm skating at a neighboring rink not too far away. I had a lesson scheduled and I wasn't looking forward to it. I warmed up by perimeter stroking and when it was time for my lesson I told my coach that my goal for the lesson was to be able to drive myself home from the rink. I asked her not to kill me.
So, it seems that I'm in a slump or at a plateau or up against a wall. Plug in your favorite analogy. My right forward inside Mohawk is no better than it was six months ago. I've not made any progress on either of the two remaining pre-bronze level dances that I've been working on since passing the Cha-Cha way back in early December of 2017. There are instances when I wonder if my skating skills are actually going backwards. Am I skating with the same panache and zest as when I last tested? I sometimes wonder.
Am I ready to give up? Am I ready to admit defeat? No, not yet. I'll give it another year and see if I can test at least one of the dances that requires a clean Mohawk in my weak direction.
Yesterday we skated the Fiesta Tango, up to the dreaded Mohawk. At least I remember the steps. We then practiced, in isolation, the 6-beat edge sway that leads to the Mohawk and plugged in the Mohawk and the end pattern steps. I did it semi-cleanly once and kicked her boot on the next attempt. After that she had me work on the 5-step Mohawk MITF element just to bear down on that element. I felt like a drunk on a 5-step recovery program.
At the end of the lesson we scheduled another lesson for next week, and I was able to leave the ice and drive home under my own power. I'm hoping that it can only get better from here.
