At season's end.

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.

Gettin' hep with the beat.

My lower back was aching yesterday so instead of belaboring my wonky Mohawk, I suggested to coach A. that we work on the beginning of the Fiesta Tango--the day before, during an empty public session, I found myself unable to correctly remember the opening optional steps which she'd taught me months ago.  And so we did; at first me following her a pace behind, then solo with her watching from the boards, and finally partnered.

It was soon apparent that part of my problem was due to timing rather than lousy memory.  The dance starts off with a pair of 2-beat strokes but those are followed by a pair of 1-beat steps and then another 2-beat step during the progressive which leads to the cross in front/cross behind steps.  Those first two progressive steps really seem quite quick, coming on the heels of the slower two beat steps which start the dance.  But, it is this ebb and flow of timing which,in part, gives the dance a tango expression.  This slow-fast-slow timing signature reappears during the end pattern.

I also needed to flatten out the lobe of the progressive and keep it closer to the boards so that I'd not go way off pattern during the cross in front/cross behind steps. 

We next skated the dance to music, which surprisingly helped me rather than being a distraction.  We finished up working on the end pattern which of course features the Mohawk turn.  Once again she bought to my attention the change in timing from the 2-beat LFO stroke through the pair of 1-beat steps which are the Mohawk, to the three 2-beat steps which make up the back progressive.  In an effort to get through the Mohawk, I was slowing the Mohawk but rushing the progressive.  I need to do just the opposite.  In a backhanded way this is good for me since the Mohawk is my weakness.  I must remind myself that I only have to hold those problematic edges for one beat each and then have the luxury of two beats to get through the back progressive with body language which suggests a smidgen of control!

After the lesson was over and I was walking out the door to the car, I noticed that my back didn't hurt quite as much.  Who knows, maybe this Tango thing will help work a couple of kinks out as we dance our way to spring!

Sometimes a few words suddenly make all the difference.

Not much to report.  Still working on foundation skills.  This past Tuesday night coach A., after watching me demo a few Mohawks said "try to close your free hip more."  I tried that and, to our joint surprise, I whipped off two Mohawks in a row that I could hang onto the exit edge for more than the Fiesta Tango's required one beat duration.  Of course after the excitement of thinking I was actually on to something, reality settled in and I was back to "immediately put the free foot down" territory again.  Ah, but those two good Mohawks in the required direction are what I hope is the beginning of me being able to test this dance before the end of the decade.  A breakthrough, sort of. 

We skated the dance's end pattern partnered so that I could get the feel for the changes of partnering that occur during the turn as well as the steps which come after the Mohawk.  I won't claim that we're still friends but we didn't crash and burn and we are still on speaking terms.

After my microsecond of success, coach A then said that I need to flatten out the exit edge a bit.  By that I think she means that I need to check more.  I currently check Mohawks by pulling my free arm back and looking over my free shoulder.  I'm not sure how likely that technique will work if I'm hanging on to another skater, but one thing at a time.  Hopefully the exit edge control will become routine as I practice the turn, remembering her coaching tip.  And who knows-- in time it may eventually mirror the well controlled Mohawk that I have in my strong direction--at least well enough to fool the judges.

So many bad habits, so little time

Last night's lesson with Coach A. was devoted to breaking down just about every poor excuse for a turn which I have in my tool box: FO3s, FI3s, Mohawks, even two foot turns were dragged kicking and screaming from their dark hiding places.  At one point she threatened to add Bracket turns to the party and I don't even know how to do those--badly yet!  Then she said something about Counters and Rockers.  Yow!  By the end of the lesson I was so self-conscious I could barely stand up let alone turn!  All those erstwhile things that I use as crutches to get me turned from one direction to the other and from one edge to another are being righteously heaved onto the bonfire of the vanities.  I can't say whether or not my various attempts at turning qualify as "occasions of sin" but they all stand condemned under the unflinching glare of Coach A!

Turns out (HA-HA) that me and my ankles (not to be confused with me and my shadow) need to get better acquainted.  Apparently I've been relying on knee bend and "forcing the turn" to get the job done way too long.  Now I've gotta tidy things up and get "hip" with the feeling of rolling back and forth on the rocker of my blades (without engaging the toe picks, of course).  Oh, that plus winding up with my weight on the correct leg after completing the turn in question rather than collapsing and being forced to put the free skate down--can I say "check, please"?   Additionally, my turns all tend to have way too much edge for ice dance, meaning that they curve more than they should.  Coach A. wants to see turns that somehow start off flat (but without skidding) and exit more or less on a straight line.

 After a bit of experimentation with rocking around on my blades she asked if I could feel the muscles in my ankles.  The only sensation I could report was that of the tongues of my boots cutting into my shins--maybe that counts for something?  Meh, probably not the answer she was looking for.  I'm having a steadying glass of rum as I type this.  As Zippy might say "am I making progress yet?"

Wake Up!

Good Morning, Campers! Up with the lark!  It's a new year.

A new year, filled with left over problems from last year, but also the promise of new challenges.  Of course there are those pesky resolutions, generally put forth by perky people with way more enthusiasm than I can muster after a long night with the widow Clicquot; let's deal with all that right up front:  I hereby solemnly vow to make better bad choices this year compared to last.

Not wanting to be part of the slacker brigade, your old diarist went skating on the achingly beautiful first day of the new year.  I knew I had a lesson with Coach A. on the 2nd and figured if I could stand up on skates New Year's day, (actually my hair didn't hurt all that badly) that the lesson wouldn't be a complete waste of our time.

Come the 2nd, we dealt with an old problem--my poor excuse for a  CC inside Mohawk and a new challenge--my poor excuse for back outside edges.  Both of these foundation elements are key to my progress with the remaining two pre-bronze dances which I've left untested.  Doesn't matter if I remember the steps.  Doesn't matter if I remember to smile occasionally.  Without a good foundation this show ain't goin' anywhere.

So, on the 2nd of Jan. I found myself going backwards in both open and waltz hold doing outside swing rolls at dance speed during a busy FS session.  To say that we terrified a lot of inattentive free-style pixies would be a fair statement but no blood was shed.  The good news is that all this concentration on swing rolls left almost no time for Mohawks!

Scrolling on to last night's lesson, the focus was the dreaded Mohawk.  Coach A. had me over at the boards pivoting on my right foot.  Why is this turn such a stumbling block?  After what seemed to be a mind-numbing length of time (must have been at least ten minutes) we switched to back outside edges, but this time performed on the red line at the end of the rink.  There were no great breakthroughs in either department but I now have a couple more practice drills for homework.

So, that's my start to the new year.  Future posts will probably get v. monotonous and whiny, so feel free to tune out for a couple months! 

Smooth Skating!

Over the years, the New Yorker magazine has used skating as a theme for its cover.  I'll post a few from time to time.  Enjoy this one which evokes the rink-side glamour of pre-war St. Moritz.  (Note the bent knee free-legs.  Was that a style thing for the era?  I'm sure Coach A. would tell me I need to extend more if I did this!)