My progress and tests I passed

The first five years of skating, my progress was very slow. I was talking  Freestyle group lesson and the first 2 years I didn't practice at all, later I started practicing  one hour per week. I realized, if I wanted more, I needed more practice time and a better, way better, technique. Just to be proven right about lacking technique, I hurt my left ankle. I stopped doing jumps and spins and as I didn't know MITF (Moves In The Field) exercises at that point, I was  just skating around. An older skater offered to teach me Ice Dancing pattern dances. Unfortunately she was teaching me mostly the steps in the pattern, not the skating basics technique (edges and turns), that is the foundation of ice dancing.

At this point I started some private lessons with a 17 years young lady that I knew from my Freestyle group classes asking her to teach me flow on ice.  She started me on MITF exercises. It was also the first time I went on practice ice, very crowded and intimidating, but eye opening about how young skaters train. Shortly, they take multiple group lessons (Freestyle, MITF and Ice Dancing) and at least one private lesson weekly,  and they practice every day. They are also in the syncro team  for their level, and they meet twice a week for that.

My young coach was a very accomplished ice dancer and she started teaching me a little of the basics. I also got into a Ice Dancing group lesson summer session, that was full during the rest of the year as it's a mandatory class for the syncro teams. The Ice Dancing class instructor was a national  medalist, amazing skater and very thoughtful teacher. Actually my young coach was her student. I did a couple of ice dancing private lessons with the Ice Dance instructor too. Then some private lessons with a young man that was her student, in order to skate the dances with a partner. It was an exciting time, I was discovering so much! It was also a humbling time, as I started to realize I basically didn't know anything about skating :( Then, in the fall both my young coach and young dance partner moved away.

A little over a year ago, in January 2017, I started lessons with my current coach. He is an experienced coach specialized in ice dancing and he also partners his students for ice dance tests.  I approached him asking to help me test the first 3 pattern dances. But I liked his very methodical approach and the fact that he also teaches MITF and Free Style, so I choose to have him as my only coach and to commit to a lesson per week. He first asked me about my goals. I said I wanted to skate better, of course... I wanted to look like the strong skaters I saw at the rink not in terms of jumps but I wanted their flow and confidence on ice. My coach said that that is called "power" and it's very difficult for an adult skater to get. We developed a lesson and training plan following the standard track testing for ice dance and MITF. The focus is in acquiring the knowledge for that level not to pass the tests. I've started to take 2 private lessons and skate 5 days a week. We tried to include FS but I wasn't able to find the time to train it methodically.

So here is were I stand:

Ice Dancing: 
Preliminary pattern dances ( Dutch Waltz, Canasta Tango, Rhythm Blues) standard, I passed in January 2017
Pre Bronze pattern dances (Cha Cha, Swing, Fiesta Tango), standard, I passed in March 2017
Bronze pattern dance Hickory Hoedown - passed in January 2018. I'm close in testing the remaining 2 dances at this level, when the injury will allow.
Bronze pattern dance Willow Waltz, standard, I passed in  December 2018 (update)
Ice dance is harder than it looks and than I expected. The thinks I'm working on continuously are edges and steps based on edges (chasses, progressives, swing rolls forward and backward), posture, speed and power, dance 3- turns and inside and outside mohawks.

MITF:
Pre-Preliminary, standard, I passed  in March 2017
Preliminary, standard - in November 2017.
I think I'm close in testing the third level, Pre-Juvenile, all the coach is asking is more power.
What this covers is stroking, edges, forward and backward crossovers in different presentations, forward and backward circle 8 edges,  all kinds of 3 turns, each test level asking for a better execution (forward outside and inside 3 turns, power forward outside 3 turns, backward outside and inside 3 turns), forward spirals on outside and inside edge, inside mohawks, power pulls.

Freestyle:
From my group lessons I'm confident in the forward pivot, shoot the duck, lunge... that's it.
With my private coach we covered a little  bunny hops, waltz jump, Salchow, half flip, forward one foot spin, forward scratch spin and we started the backspin.
Adult Pre-Bronze Freestyle test, I passedin March 2019 (update)

Testing

I started skating in group lessons that followed ISI (Ice Skating Institute) curriculum. ISI is an international governing body for recreational figure skating. There are 5 basic skills levels and 10 FS (Free Style) levels, each including up to 10 skills you needed to learn reasonably well before passing on to the next level. One session was 2 months long and at the end of each session the instructor would test each element and give you a pass or retry and feedback. I have to say that I was nervous every single test day. It wasn't expected to learn one level per session, so I had test days when I knew I wouldn't pass, and I still was nervous!

When I've got more serious about learning, I decided to test under USFSA (United States Figure Skating Association) that's affiliated with ISU ( International Skating Union) which is the international sport federation administering ice skating sports throughout the world. USFSA governs the competitions we see on tv. Their testing is a serious affair! They are judged by actual judges, certified judges, and for easier tests there is one judge but for more difficult tests there are 3 judges. 

There are testing sessions, scheduled months in advance, and the skaters register to test around a month before the test day. A coach needs to sign the registration form so you are basically pretested and don't show up unprepared. The skaters are all  dressed up and the test is presented in choreographed, confident, pretty and respectful manner. The testing sessions are several hours long and there is a announced schedule, grouping the skaters by levels. The skater has to be there an hour in advance. Everything is nerve racking! Being dressed differently than the practice clothes, waiting your turn while you see the other skaters nervous or happy or crying, having just 5 minutes for warmup, seeing the judges, being by yourself on ice...

The reasons the tests exists is to decide the skater level for competitions. But there are skaters that don't compete and still test. There are tests for MITF (Moves in the Field) which are to be passed first because are a prerequisite for FS and Pair Skating. Then there is Partnered Ice Dancing both pattern dances and Free Dance and also Solo Ice Dancing (pattern and free), which you don't have to test if you tested Partnered Ice Dancing. There are 8 levels in each category of tests and the last gives the skater the distinction to be called "gold medalist", to have the name published in the Skating Magazine and to be able to wear an official USFSA jacket embroiderer with the skaters name and the "gold medalist" title. Also for young skaters being a gold medalist seams to be a strong point for the college applications, because it shows commitment to hard work.

For the adults there is a separate testing track called the adult track while the other is called the standard track. The adult track has just 4 levels, and the requirements for passing are a little bit less strict. The 4th level is called the gold level and gives the adult skater the distinction of being an adult gold medalist.

As for me, even if I don't intend at this point to compete, I decided to test to both motivate and structure my training and to force me to train at a certain standard. For this reason, I also decided to test into the standard track. It's also a sure way to follow the progress I'm making, and to feel that I have a goal.

This year ice show

This is the second year I skated in two numbers. The adult number and the ice dance number, where I'm the only adult.

The ice dance number was extremely intimidating last year. Even if I was at the same level (tested standard track) as the young skaters, I felt slower and more hesitant. I haven't shared it last year, so here it is:

This year I felt comfortable, and my coach said I looked so. For this number we were split in 3 groups: low level, intermediate and step-ups, they are the best at our rink... While each level performed, the other levels served as a backdrop. Each level performed a pattern dance, with some embellishments added, like hand movements. I liked how the instructor organized the rehearsals. Beforehand, she sent an e-mail to the whole group announcing the schedule and welcoming questions. On the first rehearsal she decided the big movements on ice from the beginning to the end of the song. On each subsequent week she added more and more detail. We had parts where we were supposed to move synchronized and we had music cues, and we had parts where we had to do our own thing.

It's my forth year doing the adult number. I cannot share the video as the music copyright makes it restricted. But I can tell you and it didn't get any easier to rehears for these adult numbers. We are different levels, from Beta to FS5, but we are choreographed together. The instructor accepted very little input and he choreographed detailed chunks at a time, roughly each week a quarter of the number, so if something didn't work, it set us back significantly. Each year we were still adjusting trough the technical and dress rehearsals. And then, it somehow comes together when we perform it and we get excited enough that we want to do it again!

The program, this year, included some circle and lines formations, spiral, jump of choice, another line, pinwheel and spin. I was planing to do 3 waltz jumps connected, but had time just for 2 and a scratch spin at the end that had to be very short as we were running out of time.

I had some goals for this year: to control the nerves, to perform, to smile. I found that thinking on specific goals took away from my overall energy and attention. I think things need to be worked on, but the bigger goal should be to perform in the moment. Adding to that is to keep a positive attitude, as I felt I gave up a little on the scratch spin because i thought there is not enough time for it.

Overall I'm happy with doing the show. I wasn't nervous, I was performing, I learned about working on goals, I did my scratch spin under pressure and time constraints and I saw overall progress in my skating!

My first ice shows

In my first ice show I was literally freaked out about everything, from the costume being dignified enough, to skating too close to other people, holding hands while skating, not remembering choreography, not being able to follow the music cues. I was also unhappy with the coach's unwillingness to accept any feedback, including what I perceived as safety issues.  There was just no time for him to listen to us and get things done in the same time... I think I was FS2, because I remember doing a forward spin, so not really a beginner, but still I would have wanted everything to be a little slower. Here is the video, and as you can see somebody fell...

The second year I really didn't like the costume. One of the skaters said we looked like prostitutes :( Then, the choreography asked for us a to align and do synchronized hands movements all the time. Remember, we are beginner adults, we don't stop easily and we have just 5 weeks to get in unison. Again, the coach wouldn't accept "nay saying". Needless to say we were all over the place, not synchronized at all.

The third year we had lovely custom dresses and the choreography was more fluid. The coach would share the ice with us each year but this year he was on ice probably half of the time. Some of the skaters found it reassuring to have him on ice with us. I didn't really like it. He skates great, obviously, and I felt  that he makes us look bad trough comparison. On the other hand, he was like on orchestra conductor, cuing us  when we should start certain movements.  I think overall it was a good program.

While I still don't like the rehearsal process, I love the camaraderie and support we give each other as wit put our best effort out as adult skaters. The adult skating community, yes, there is such a thing, is famous for that!

Then, I find the ice show is an opportunity to follow my skating progress from year to year. There is a professional video made, and family members take videos and it really shows things that are improved or need work. Up to doing this third show I was taking group lessons and practicing once or twice more per week. It seams that is generally accepted that skating twice a week as an adult will not give you much progress, but there was still progress!

I'm also trying to set personal goals for the show. Like to improve my hand movement, to perform on music, to do a more difficult jump than the previous year, or to do it better, to smile while skating :) I never had my own program so I'm trying to use this as a learning experience.

Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

I'm thinking to review my training and progress monthly, in order to adjust my goals, my efforts and my training schedule. Last month I was injured and I skated very little so I have very little progress to look at, and my only goal was to heal...  Still it seamed a good opportunity to work on posture, musicality and expression as I do the home rink ice show rehearsals and I'm also talking a contemporary dance lesson once a week.

As i didn't skate that much, I had more time to read and watch skating. I came along some great adult skater blogs, and I followed the US Adult National Championship on icenetwork.com. That made my think once again about my progress and goals.

For next month or so, my first goals is to allow myself to heal. I have a soft tissue (ligaments and tendons) injury at my left hip for about a month.  Supposedly it helps to exercise lightly, but it doesn't seam I know how to skate lightly. So I plan to skate just 3 times a week so I'll have at least one rest day between the skating days, and to take it easy. Work on posture, that's it!

Second goal, get as much as possible out of the adult group number in the  ice show (things like learning the choreography faster, performing, smiling while skating, controlling the nerves, and as a technical goal to put my scratch spin in). I know at least half of the skaters and i know we'll have fun.

As my main goal is still to progress, I suppose if  I would feel good, I would be back at my previous training schedule with the focus on testing pre-juvenile MITF and 2 bronze dances.

As I'm not feeling 100% I'm thinking maybe is a good time to think about balancing skating with other activities. A year ago I redirected all the free time I had into skating, more exactly I gave up my 3 times a week yoga practice. I don't love yoga as much as I love skating, but my body sure loves how it feels after doing yoga. I'm actually afraid to start yoga while injured but I want to look for a way to have at least 2 days of a different exercise than skating. I'm still registered to the modern dance class for 6 weeks, so hopefully I can add something to that, like ballet. I wanted to take ballet for a long time...