Summer skating schedule

On the third week of June my rink transitioned to the summer schedule. The rink offers figure skating and hockey summer camps for kids, so my regular early afternoon skating time is gone. The practice ice for figure skating is very little and inconsistently distributed along the week. My skating schedule is now:
- Monday: adult public skate, where I cannot do much work
- Tuesday: I drive further away to another rink to take my weekly private lesson and I get to practice half an hour
- Wednesday: no skating
- Thursday: I registered for an edge/power group class in the afternoon and to my old Freestyle group class offered in the morning because there is practice ice immediately after. But it just happens that that practice ice is very crowded plus it has bad ice, as they don't refinish the ice after 3 hours of classes from before. Still I skated the 2 hours in the morning and the one in the afternoon, and I was dead tired.
- Friday: practice ice that is not crowded and... yoga. I barely survived the practice ice. I told the yoga instructor that I cannot feel my quads and she incorporated some nice stretches for them. Also she set us near the barre, and she demonstrated proper alignment for few poses, then she told me to use it as support for posses that uses the quads more, like the warrior 2, the triangle...
- Saturday: practice ice not crowded again.
- Sunday: no skating

I don't feel I get a weekly rhythm, and I don't like that I cannot practice next day after my private lesson. Then, on Thursday, I still don't practice the instruction from the private coach and Friday I'm too tired to practice efficiently. Saturday saves the week. But that is just one efficient session per week.

 I used to get very, very frustrated with everything affecting my skating, and the lack of ice time was one big frustration. Another one was how crowded were the sessions. But it is what it is, and feeling frustrated didn't help my skating.  I'm trying to focus on what I can do not what I can't... The same goes for skating while injured, because I still have a little pain...

From next week I won't take the practice ice on Thursday morning for sure, and I'm considering to abandon the afternoon edge class so I can have a good Friday skate Next week the group classes are canceled being so close to the 4th of July. I soo wait to see if  I'll feel better and all efficient on Friday.

Skating technique: Posture, Forward Stroking, T-position and Push

I plan to use the section "skating technique" as a journal. I'll start with what I know, but I will keep updating as I learn more. Disclaimer: this is my understanding of the technique, it may be or not the correct technique.

Stroking! Every single skill in Freestyle, MITF, Ice Dancing starts with a stroke on ice. I wish I understood sooner the implications of good posture with the core engaged all the time, the importance of  skating into the ice (pressing into the ice), that bending is not referring just to the knees but to the ankles too, and the concept of skating underneath you (keeping the weight over the skating foot), while stroking and while skating in general. You have to work on all these plus extension, pointing the toes, hands carriage until they become body memory and stroking is the perfect exercise for it. Stroking is practiced every day, by beginners, intermediate, advanced and even by experts skaters.

Forwards stroking is part of the Pre-Preliminary MITF Test and Adult Pre-Bronze MITF Test

Right handed people usually start stroking pushing with the right foot onto the left foot.
Start from a T-position, it loos good and also gives you good balance. The right foot is behind the left, perpendicular to the forward axis, the left foot is at the instep of the right foot,  pointing forward, so the feet are at 90 degress. The weight is mainly onto the right foot. The body is held in a ballet posture. Core engaged, pelvis pushed forward, chest lifted, shoulders down, arms held on the side a little lower then shoulder height with a little tension in them, and feet pressing into the ice. There is a T-position on the other leg.  Now, most of the times I don't use a perfect T but more of a more comfortable T toward V....

1. Bend/ Press/ Push: starting from a T-position bend the knees and ankles like a mini ballet plie pressing the blade into the ice. The knees are apart not together. With the weigh onto the right foot!!! important!, press and push quickly with the middle of the blade on an inside edge, not the toe pick, away from the ice, with the right foot at a 45 degree angle from the forward axis, onto the left foot while transferring the weight onto the left foot. The left leg has a bent knee and the direction of gliding is at a 30 degrees angle from the axis. The right leg got straight and the toes got pointed as it pushed, maintaining the tension from the moment of pressing into the ice. Keep a straight posture before and after the push, don't allow your upper body to reach forward. That will surely happen if your weight is transferred too quickly onto the new skating push, being refer to as dropping onto the skating foot.

2. Hold the extension: The weight is transferred onto the left foot and hip. The right leg will maintain the tension, straightness and the pointed toe and will hold this extension at the same 45 degrees at which was pushed, knee align over the ball of the foot. This refers at alignment as angle, it doesn't mean the knee cap cannot go over the toes, as I thought for the longest time. Actually, for a higher extension of the free leg you have to bend the skating knee more then over the toes. The left leg will remain bent at the knee. The posture is erect, core engaged and chest lifted, shoulders down, lower back curved to allow a higher extension of the foot extension towards back. The point on the blade where you feel your weight is at the back of the arch of the foot, or middle back (many call it the back of the blade).
3. Gather/ Rise/ Draw: You "rise" as you straighten the left leg pressing into the ice and "draw" the right leg near the left in using the inner thighs, keeping the core engaged. The weight stays onto the left foot and hip. This will "gather" your legs, hips, core into the starting position.

Repeat: 1. Re bend, form the V (more of on Y because you allow the the foot that's gonna become the skating foot to be a little forward, at the instep, as the T was, so the heels are not together) with your feet, flip skating foot on a slight inside edge and  push from a slightly pressed edge (back of arch of foot) 2. Hold the extension 3. Gather

The steps 3.Gather and 1. Bend/ Push melt into each other in a smooth and continuous movement. The energy from the "gather" is used to press into the ice and push. The knees act as a hydraulic pump and never lock into a position.

This Gather/Bend is what's bringing the weight over the skating foot. Than you hold the whole weight onto the skating foot until you push with it. Only then you transfer the weight onto the new foot (though it feels simultaneous). That will ensure that you will have a strong push. Also you won't fall out of balance onto the new foot. Update Aug 8, 2018 In other words you stroke sending energy onto skating side rib cage (align over hip and foot) and keep the weight there until you re bend for the next stroke, you go on neutral quickly and repeat on the other side.

Here is a video explaining the posture and forward stroking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC3fRRHC5ew

A stroking exercise I do by myself and with my ice dance coach as  a partner is called 4-2-4.
- start at the middle of one of the short boards with LF  stroke, RF stroke, LFO crossover
- do 4 strokes (LF, RF, LF, RF) along the long board to the end of the rink, then 3 LFO crossovers
- do 2 strokes (LF, RF) along the long board then 3 LFO crossovers
- do 4 strokes (LF, RF, LF, RF) along the boards then 3 LFO crosovers
- finish with one stroke

I think the most important think about stroking is to keep the weight onto the foot your are going to push with. Otherwise you get no power into the push so no power into the stroking.

Update July 17, 2018
Last week I met for a lesson one of my old coaches, as she was in town visiting. She happen to have had hip strain few years ago and she remembered how she didn't like to extend that leg. But she said that you can still work on pointing the toe...
I was avoiding  forward stroking, because I felt I cannot work on it. But pointing your toes it's something I could add safely.
I haven't have a chance to work on my regular coach's latest correction that was to allow the knees to go forward. As I mentioned in instruction 2nd point, I was trying to keep the knee over the ball of your foot. That made me struggle to find the right posture, it made me be stiff, not allowing the lower back to curve. Surprisingly I could add that to my stroking without feeling any strain.
Actually these 3 corrections (point the toes, allow knees forward and the lower back to curve) gave me a fluidity that I never felt before, and the height of the extension was good too, without any strain!!!

Ice Dancing: Willow Waltz pattern dance

As I'm working on this and have the instruction fresh I thought to write it down.
This is a bronze (or 3rd level) dance. I think of this level as an beginner-intermediate. It is done in a waltz position with a partner or can be done solo. Here is a link to the judges form with the pattern:
https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/willow-waltz.pdf

Starting point: facing the short board and having a third of the length of the rink  in front of you (you are on the blue line) and a third of the width of the rink on your right (where the red X is).

 Intro steps:
1. LF stroke toward North-West corner
2. RFO swing roll with the edge starting towards North and finishing towards East
3. LFO dropped 3turn starting towards East and finishing towards North
4. RBO progressive starting towards North, finishing towards South

The pattern dance: It's easier for me to remember the lobes than the steps, so here are the lobes with the numbers representing the steps:
1.2.3 LB back chasse (6 beats, rhythm (2-1-3) starting towards South, finishing towards North, the second step should happen at middle of the width of the rink. On both back chasse and progressive I get the corrections to lean into the circle, to hold the extension and to finish the lobe.
4.5 RBO to LFO turn forward (6 beats, 3-3) starting towards North, finishing towards South
I had problems with this lobe for a long time because of 3 errors. First, my back outside edge wasn't strong enough (see the description on the previous post on the outside Mohawk). Second, I didn't understand how to gather/ draw my feet underneath me when going backward. While rising and  pressing with the skating foot  into the ice again, with the weight onto the skating hip, you engage the core and the abductor muscles (inner thighs), so the free foot comes in effortless. Third, I wasn't re-bending  underneath me, I was rushing and dropping forward out of control and blocking my partner. Another constant correction was to first turn forward just the upper body, while gathering/ rising over the feet and then re bend while still directed backward, just then step forward (so turn) the left foot.
Update Dec 26, 2018. I've got a new correction to this step forward, and that is to step on an outside edge, that's the point of all the other corrections...
6.7. RFI slip chasee and stroke LFO (6 beats, 3-3) starting towards South finishing towards East. Again I had to learn to draw/ gather/ rise when finishing each step and re-bend underneath me so I can have a strong push into the next step, especially important before the 3 turn
Update Dec 26, 2018. It seems that my slip chasse was usually flat not on inside edge, so to correct that I was advised to use the upper body, push the right shoulder forward.
Update Aug 27, 2018. Tracking is a tearm used when partnering so one partner leads (the one that goes backward sets the pattern) and the one that goes forward follows. The follower tracks don't go over the leader tracks. They are all curved as the edges, and they start on the inside side of the leader tracks, they meet at the top of the lobe, and, then they go towards the outside tracks of the leader. On Step 7 the woman stroke stars towards left , Step 8 (the first edge of the 3-turn) towards right.
8.9.10.11. (9 beats) 3 turn and back progressive This is a bigger lobe than the rest. 8. RFO dropped 3 turn (2-1) starts towards East and finishes towards East. Whaaat??? It is counter-intuitive for me but works. My coach says not to turn around, just  backwards. And hold that RBI, don't drop (collapse) the dropped 3 turn second edge. After the initial stroke (that should be a stroke not a step), you gather/ rise and twist the upper body toward the inside of the circle on the count 2 1/2. The 3-turn turns on the 3rd beat. Then continue towards East the first edge of the 9.10.11 LBO progressive (2-1-3), which ends towards West.  Say again??? Again, it works. You'll change direction after you start the edge, not while you start the edge.
A thing I don't like about this dance is here, it changes the waltz 6 count and rhythm during the progressive.
12.13.14.15. (9 beats) back chasse and stroke forward Again a bigger lobe.12.13.14 RBO chasse (2-1-3) starts towards West, finishes toward South, along the long board.  And again it's important to draw/gather/rise and re-bend after the last step of the chasse to be able to step forward in a controlled way. You gather pointing towards East, then you step forward 15. LFO (3 beats) towards South finishing towards East- you stroke towards the middle of the rink.
Update Dec 26, 2018.To control the step forward, i was advised to step with a squared upper body, so right hand forward somehow, then use the upper body to check the finishing of the outside edge
16.17 two forward  strokes RFO to LFI . 16. RFO starts towards East, finishes toward South. 17. LFI starts toward South, finishes toward West. Very important to draw/ gather/ rise and re-bent after each step. After 16 there is an outside to inside transition and after 17 an inside edge to inside edge transition and you cannot bring the feet very close together as on outside to outside transitions. After 16 you need to either flicker a little the right foot from the ankle towards right as you push, either to kind of cross forward like in a progressive the left foot. Finish the inside edge (17) with the foot pointed at the boards. Is important to bring the feet together before the Mohawk and bend so you can get an inside edge.
18-19 RFI open Mohawk (6 beats 3-3) starts going toward West and finishes toward South. I was obsessed with this open Mohawk when I was doing the Swing Dance, a pre-bronze, level 2 dance. At that point I was transitioning from my 2 young coaches (one girl and one guy as partner) that were moving away to my 2 experienced coaches so I was asking them all but I didn't really get it. To my disappointment, my main coach ended the chapter saying that what I was doing was acceptable for that level. But he promised we'll fix it in the Willow Waltz. I was doing a Free Style kind of Mohawk, where the free foot doesn't really touch the arch of the skating foot. What it came down to was when to press into the ice and when to the rise... again.
So you have to press into the ice and rise on your knee as you bring the new foot in, and at the moment of transfer do a little, but tiny, plie (basically a  re-bend), then rise again on the new foot. My main coach doesn't really do a plie, he seams to be in control from maintaining the pressure into the ice with the leg straight. Maybe I just cannot do it his way, still, I achieve the exit from the mohawk on a straight leg and I like the plie...
Update Dec 26, 2018. Guess that, at some point I lost my beautiful Mohawk, so I had to correct it again. Firstly I wasn't using the upper body to hold the first inside edge. As on the slip chasse, I had to make the right shoulder go forward. Then, I stopped doing that mini-plie so after I changed the edge I was left on an bent knee and not a beautiful extension of the free leg. That plie gives me a moment to press into the ice, so then I can straighten the skating leg knee and use it as a lever to hold the extension on the free leg.
20.21.22. RBO back progressive (6 beats 2-1-3) starts towards South, finishes towards North.

Exit steps: After you finish the back progressive you skate just the first edge of the chasse, then you step forward.

Looking back, when working on the 2nd level dances, my biggest problem was skating backwards.   Skating with a partner in a waltz position felt like I was being pushed back, because I wasn't' skating backwards strongly enough. On this 3rd level dances, I had to strengthen both my backward skating AND forward skating, what was "acceptable" at the previous levels didn't carry my trough this level. It is all that draw/ gather/ rise and re-bend to push stronger.
Update Dec 26,2018. Close to the test I"ve got lost of correction on holding the extension both higher and for the correct amount of beats.

Ice Dancing: weekly private lesson

This week I took my first Ice Dancing private lesson in 2 months. I used to take one weekly before getting hurt. It's a 30 minutes lesson and it goes fast, but I cannot concentrate trough more.

We always start with some exercises like stroking, progressives, chasses, swing rolls, dance 3 turns, edge presses. This is both to warm up, and to work on basic technique like alignmet, posture, edges, lobes, lean into the circle, partnering. Then I work on one or more dances on my own, with lots of correction, basic technique, pattern, timing. When I do well enough on my own, my coach will partner me. at this point there is no music and no counting of the beat. We often stop the dance to work on specific steps. Then we graduate to counting the beat, and then, on dancing on music.

Before the lesson I was complaining to my coach that I lost my "flow" on ice, so instead on giving me the usual corrections on everything, I think he decided to partner with me so I would readjust my rhythm and power.

We did 4 warm up exercises, one length of the rink for each: forward and backward stroking and forward and backward chasses, by myself and with my coach in a waltz position (so when one partner goes forward the other goes backwards). Then we jumped into the partnered Willow Waltz.

Before hurting myself I was working on testing the bronze level dances, or 3rd level. I just tested and passed the Hickory Hoedown, I was ready to test the Willow Waltz, and I was still working on my confidence on the outside mohawk in the Ten fox.  I was happy to see that the Willow was not completely gone. It was a big bust in my confidence and that always helps. We worked on a specific step, an inside edge toward the end of the dance and ran the dance 4 time counting the beats.

With 5 minutes left, the coach asked if I had questions, and I asked to work on the Ten fox outside Mohawk... This also is tested in Juvenile MITF (4th level standard track) and Adult Silver MITF (3rd level adult track) but I'm not there yet. I did learn it in my Freestyle group class, but not at the quality required in Ice Dancing.

So, left outside open Mohawk is a two foot turn that goes from an LFO edge to an RBO edge bringing the free foot at the instep of the skating foot and in Ten fox has to be done in just 2 beats.
My first problem was that my back outside edges weren't strong enough, I wasn't leaning with the back into the circle and the hips underneath me. I was sticking the butt out, so I needed to learn to engage the core, press into ice, have the hip underneath me and arch the upper back towards back, into the circle. After improving the edge quality, I was able to do the Mohawk correctly at a low speed and rhythm, taking my time to bring the feet together. I was doing in in a 3 beats: edge, change of foot and edge. This week correction was again,to not bring the free foot (right foot) forward, there is no time for it. But how? The coach said to draw onto the skating foot (left foot) so that the right foot will come automatically at the instep, and cutting that 3rd beat. It worked... so hopefully I'll be able to keep it working...

And we had 1 minute left to run a solo pattern of Ten fox. I got a posture correction for the first 2 lobes, not to lean forward...

The contemporary dance class

I love dance and ballet, but I don't think I would take dance classes if I didn't hope it would improve my skating. I wanted to take ballet to help me figure out my posture and to teach me arm movement.  As I searched for beginner ballet classes in the park district list and I couldn't find a ballet class to fit my schedule, I took a contemporary dance one instead. I thought the contemporary dance was a beginner class too. But no...

It was an all level artist in residence class! In return for using the park district space, a dance company was allowing guests into their an hour and a half warm up/ training time.

The space is beautiful and very romantic. It's a big room in an older building with one side top to bottom windows facing the lake Michigan. The opposite side is top to bottom interior windows and french doors and the connected room has top to bottom windows too.  Another side of the room has top to bottom mirrors and the floor is soft rubber. There is a soft and inspiring feeling to it, and of course, a little intimidating.

The class is half the time conducted by a member of the company and half the time by guest professors from Columbia College. Did I say a little intimidating?

We always started with half hour to 45 minutes on the floor. The purpose is to warm up the hips, pelvis, and spine while bringing awareness of alignment, uneven use of the sides, asymmetries of the body. This is called the Feldenkrais Method. Read more here if you are interested: http://www.feldenkraissf.com/some-feldenkrais-basics/

Next we moved on the floor linking different moves, going in different directions. There were steps, weight shifts, swipes on the floor, turns, pirouettes, something going around from standing to knees on the floor and standing again, that one of the instructors called spirals, and lots of "around" movement of the upper body. It could have been all part of a show. I couldn't really follow much but I felt inspired being between the dancers.

What I found interesting it's how much skating is embedded in my way of moving. In skating we initiate the movement with pushing the feet underneath the hips. Then we control the movement with very delicate shifts of the weight alignment. In dance the weight is transferred quickly with every step. I felt I was lagging behind because I wasn't remembering the choreography, but also because I wouldn't commit to the quick weight shifts, so I was often off balance. Also I turned easily towards left (as I spin and jump counter clockwise in skating) but not so much towards the right.


I think for a beginner skater like me, ballet is a more useful tool to learn about alignment, posture, and arm movement. But contemporary dance classes would work very well for more advanced skaters.

Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

My goals for last month were:
To take it easy, skate just 3 days a week so my soft tissue hip injury will have a chance to heal. I did this, and I'm felling better, though still not 100%. I couldn't work on power and extension but I did work on posture.

To use the ice show as a learning opportunity. I did control my nerves. I did concentrate on specific goals and I realized that it takes away from the overall performance. Going forward I'll know that I'll have to work on specific things in practice, and to concentrate on being in the moment in performances, tests or competitions. And my technical goal was to put in the scratch spin, and I did.

To balance the skating with other physical activities. I was considering ballet but it didn't work out for my schedule. I did add an once a week yoga session.

Progress? I don't know... I didn't feel that I could work on things, but merely go trough things and I had just 2 lessons.
Freestyle: The scratch spin has definitely improved. As I was learning the scratch spin I was talking a long time to set it so it could center. In performances (the ice show) there is no time for that, but shortening the entrance can either mess up the centering or totally take you out of the spin. On the other hand entering the spin quicker, gives more power, so if centered successfully, it will be a better spin.
I took a lesson mid month and review basics: edges, crossovers, chasses and worked more on the scratch spin and started the back spin. The correction on the scratch spin is to bring in the free foot higher, over the knee and close the hip of the free foot before I bring the leg down.
MITF: Before the injury 2 months ago they felt almost ready to test, the only thing the coach was pushing for, was power. The lesson I took on the last week on the month was concentrating on moves. I feel I actually lost  power, but the coach thought that working on posture helped with being more exact and that will give me confidence in adding power soon. I still got corrections...
-back power crossovers hold the arms in the same position as the crossover while doing the inside edge
-3 turns: hold the first edge extension longer, be more aware where the weigh falls during the turn, don't rush
-back edge pulls: turn the free leg from the hip pigeon toe for inside edge, open toe for outside edge
- on back circle eight inside edge hold the arms towards outside of the circle till the middle
-5 steps mohawk: skate it, don't step, on the back edge push around
Ice Dancing: As I felt I couldn't hold the extensions without pain, and the 3 sessions per week I skated were all crowded, I kind of let the dance training go. I did run trough the dances once in a while.

Goals for this month:
Try to skate 4 days a week and get one lesson every week. That will give me at least a day when the ice is not crowded so I can work on dances. As it doesn't feel I'm close to test anything, I would like to balance the training and lessons between moves, dance and free style. So, start working on free style consistently even if it's just spins while I'm not feeling 100% with my hip to work on jumps. Work on what I can, don't push what I can't!

Continue being aware of the posture! This really seems to help.

Go to the ice rink a little early and warm up off ice.

Yoga also seems to help. I would like to add a second class per week but seems hard to fit in my schedule so I hope I can start doing a little at home.