3rd week of July

I'm starting to write with a heavy heart... there is not much ice available this week, and even less the following week. I will also be busy with work. So, I'm emphasizing... the goal is to keep skating, do NOT take a break!

 After skating last Sunday, my muscles felt tired so I took a break on Monday and skated on Tuesday. I did a bit of everything, alternating slow and fast skills. The Tenfox 3-turn worked better at the be beginning of the session, then I guess as my muscles got more tired I was slower. I worked also on double 3s, twizzles, spin, a lot on B Xtrokes (I need those on Foxtrot) and Foxtrot and European Waltz. I skate longer sessions than before and push harder and work on extensions. My muscles feel tired and it is taking longer to recover. I hope that my muscles will strengthen... For now I don't really have a choice on it, because there is not much ice, but I want to observe this.

Wednesday there is was no ice. Thursday - dance lesson. I felt I skated to little to show much in the lesson, but also there was no ice anywhere else so I was happy to go there. The coach asked if I wanted to try the Tenfox on music, and of course I did. I started of time but I got better. Even the 3-turn was on time... once (or twice). Anyway, she suggested that next week we should start partnering. I take that as a vote of confidence, a recognition of some improvement. My confidence decreased when I saw myself in a video I took while practicing, but trustfully I know there is improvement. The coach suggested I work on the BPr and BSwR on music to get quicker and confident there... and build from that. I think it is a good suggestion. I also asked her opinion one the end pattern FPr, I felt a bit behind the music and I felt I was "jumping" the steps if I made them faster, she said they looked good.

We also worked on B XStrokes, I suspected something is wrong with my posture and yes, she said I'm leaning forward while I push, and try to have a stronger push. As she demonstrated, it looked like she pushes from the ball of the foot and maintains the tension and that gets transferred into toe pointed extension, while I felt I was pushing from the middle of the blade.

I had work the rest of the week, including the weekend. It would have been some ice available Sunday 5.20 pm but I just couldn't find the energy to go. And like that, this week I skated just twice, one time being the lesson. I am grateful I have these lessons to keep me going...

Lesson with New Freestyle Coach

 My first love is ice dancing, but I cannot find a coach close by, I have a dance coach at 30-40 minute distance and my old coach at 1 to 1.5 hours distance.  It is pretty time consuming to go and see either of them.Anyway, dance instruction is pretty specific so a half hour lesson per week is needed. It would help to have more instruction towards other skills, in the past I used to ask my old coach to coach moves in the fields, jumps and spins, only for choreography I went to a different person. I was very happy to find a coach at the close by rink (this is 10 minutes away from my house), she is a freestyle coach, so she can help on all things not dance, so then, I keep my dance lesson as pure dancing.

So! The lesson! For the first freestyle lesson we decided with the new coach to show her what I usually do for warm up and exercises (excluding the dance) so she could build on them. As the lesson progressed we decided to keep a list with what I would like to revise on the following lesson, I'll put a star on those exercises*

- slalom forward and backward, play with the rhythm ( 2 slow, 4 quick)

- FI edges play with free leg and arms, free leg at ankle, front, and B crossed*1 love this, and arms over head palms up, connected, or low at the back

- BO edges, and many exercises going forward she said to keep the head calm, looking forward, she feels my extreme head turning is messing my alignment and stability. She went into a variation with the free leg going back, that is actually a swing roll, same note with the head.

- BI edges, she didn't "hear" the power, she showed me how to push just as I finished the previous edge, before shifting the weigh to the next foot. I couldn't really do it, but I understood, I'll work on it.*2

-  FI Twizzels:arms straight over the line, bring the back arm but stop at the middle (I crossed over), in a ballet position or straight forward grabbing fingers. Stay straight (I was forward). Keep free foot close.*3

- I asked for the power 3-turns  for the preliminary test, the 3s were fine, but I released the free foot to quickly, she wanted to hold it close and then to power push (the same weight shift like for the BI edge), she also wanted me to hold the under cross from the B xovers, longer, more stretched*4

- I tried the dropped 3-turn for Tenfox, she doesn't do dance but, she said that I rise too soon and  I don't have enough pressure into the ice. I think this is valid, I cannot wait to try working on them

- B xstrokes, she said to hold the B edge longer to settle into the position (I'm trying now to twist the upper body over the edge, not square) and we worked on that position, back shoulder more back, head forward, free leg over the circle*5

- I shared with hear that I don't always engage my core, and she suggested to stroke holding an elastic band slightly stretched, I loved that!

- I also asked for quick off ice exercise that would help the core engagement, and she suggested the plank (front and sides), because it engage core, shoulders, back, arms and even legs, and since I don't last long, it is really quick :)

- During the class, as I asked clarifications, she asked permission to film me so she can show exactly what to change. I love it so much, and I remember I used to film myself and it was helpful, I plan to do this again.

Lesson

I haven't have lessons in couple of years now,  from when my boots trouble began. Now that I'm settling in/ with my boots, I thought a lesson would help. 

One of my goals was to see if some particular hesitations are because of technique or because of blade alignment. I asked my coach to tell me if he sees anything wrong with the blade, but it was unrealistic to expect him to look at all my body to give technique corrections and to look at the blade at the same time. He didn't tell me anything about the blade. I have though some technique corrections (body alignment) consistent with what I feel was wrong with my balance/alignment on the blade, so I may have I've got my answer. Correct the technique first!

The second goal was to get corrections, not so much for the sake of improving immediately, but more to help me see where I'm at and where I could go. I need to set some goals, because lately I've felt I was skating aimlessly.

Corrections:

• Forward slalom- put the weigh back on the blade and actually push into the knees and draw to the boards
• Backward slalom- I was forward on my blade, shoulders back, that would put the weight where it should be, at the back of the foot ball
• F xovers on the line with FI extension- when pushing from the axis push perpendicularly away, to the boards
• B xovers with BO extension- I was scratchy and extension was tense and not high, push shoulder back! This as on the B slalom took me off the toe pick , but also helped the extension. I think this will help the B extension in many places. When trying to improve B extension myself I was pushing the hips forward (that was an old correction I've got)
• F and B power xovers in spiral pattern- for this I needed help in setting the pattern, and that is 2-3-5-7 per semicircle and that made sense on ice but as I am looking at the drawn diagram, there are actually just 11 and the instruction says there should be no more than 15 xovers total 
• FO 3s- on exit edge, body weight should be on the lower back  of skating leg side, I was allowing the shoulders to go ahead by pitching forward, basically not checking correctly and the 3s whipped
• B3s both O and I- on entry edge shoulders back over the circles, and on knees together on exit edge
• dance F progressives- push perpendicularly away from the axis, into the boards
• dance B progressives- same, also, don't hook after push and shoulders back
• TenFox - same, especially the 3 turn
• FO Brackets- shoulders over circles, not just arms, don't rebend before the turn (made me overturn), FOL don't drop shoulder
• FI edge that I complained I had problems with possible because of the blade... the lean doesn't come from the ankle and knee actually the foot should be aligned over the blade (even slightly towards outside), the FI edge needs only a slight lean from the body. And yeap, it makes sense, when I've leaned the boot, I've pulled the body too much towards inside and basically lost control and in order to balance I've ended up leaning my body towards outside

As I've expected this month seems that I'm able to skate just twice a week. That is not enough for the body to remember the alignment between sessions. But it also means that I can reset the body and start fresh. I'm exited to get back to work on these correction!

 

Skating technique: edges - Backward Edge Presses

While writing the previous post about hopes and goals and progress, I've went back and I've red some of my old posts and I realized that I haven't wrote in a while a post about technique. I remembered I was planning to write about backward edge presses, and I've filmed them, in January!

I described the forward edge presses here.  To me, it is the exercise that helps the transition from the basic beginner forward edges, to all the beginner-intermediate forward dance steps: chasses, progressives, swing rolls and the more advanced skill, the deep forward edges. I see I wrote these posts very soon after I started the blog.

I described the beginner basic backward edges here, where I mentioned the backward push and backward posture. Then I covered the backward push, posture and balance here in more detailed, as it is important and difficult, at least for me. Then I described the backward chasses, swing rolls,  but not the backward progressives and edge presses. It's not because I forgot about them, but because I described everything technique related in the succession I've learned them. And I haven't felt I've understood them well enough to describe them properly.

So back to the backward edge presses... They are done on alternating lobes, on an axis (same principle for both outside and inside).
- You start with the upper body almost square with the lower body over the axis, turned towards the inside of the circle just a little bit (for both outside and inside edges) both feet on the axis.
- You push away from the axis, straight back, maintaining the upper body square with the hips.
- Then you bend your knees and  "sit"... you bend the knees and ankles, you push the ankles towards your back (that helps the balance) and keep the shoulders back too and you PRESS with your ankles into the ice
- you create the edge by leaning into the circle, with the whole body and the ankle, being careful to not drop out the free hip or stick out the skating hip into the circle
- and you repeat on the other side...

Here is me practicing them I start on the right side of the screen with the outside ones, then I come back with the insides but somebody cut my way. I'll try to film them again when I'll get the chance for a more close up view and update on the progress.

 I was saying that I waited to be sure I understood them before writing about them... And that was smart. I was one day telling my coach of how much working on them help me with balance and alignment for the backward 3-turns. And he said "let me see them", because he hasn't seen them in a while. And he said... you are doing them all wrong! I was twisting my upper body immediately after the push... The coach said to keep doing them as an exercise for the 3-turns, as you need the body twisted like that before the turn. And here are a version of the backward edge presses, with the upper body twisting after the push.

 But the correct edge presses, that my coach thought me, with the body square, train something else...The meaning of this exercise is to help find the lean for getting an edge going backwards (along with finding the alignment, balance, posture and the finding the feeling of "gripping" the ice).

Progress... slow progress

I haven't really worked at my skating skills and for progress, since the beginning of the summer. The reasons were the lingering pain after the small hip injury, getting upset and put off by the politicking in the skating world, to what it was added the inconvenient summer ice schedule. As a result of all that, I've got both unmotivated and out of my skating rhythm. I've tried to get them back in the fall and I just couldn't find a way. So I've decided to skate for my own enjoyment, which I have lost when I was working too hard, for progress, and I wrote about it here. Ideally would be, of course, to work for progress and enjoy the process, but I couldn't find a way to do that just yet.

I wrote here, over a year ago, about progressing from a skating Beginner level to a High Beginner level. I though at that point I was at a High Beginner level, and I think I was right. I was wondering then and I'm still wondering, how to push into an Intermediate level (a beginner Intermediate level). I think I'm at the threshold. I need just a final push to get over it. And I think working towards finally testing the Pre-Juvenile MITF and the Ten Fox will finally get me there. So I'm trying to pump myself up to work for testing. And I'm shooting for testing in mid January. There are few test sessions in mid December that that's after the week and week end I'll be busy with the Nutcracker on ice, so I expect I'll be too tired. Testing  though, is just a symbol of passing a threshold. What I'm wondering is what skills should be acquired for a skater to be (look like) an Intermediate level skater.

I'm so grateful to my coach that he asks and listens about me feeling stuck and unmotivated, not confident even, and trys to help. Lately, instead of going trough the MITF exercises and the Ten Fox, he actually went for skills developing exercises. I mentioned them here and here.

So, just to review what I need to work on with awareness:
- posture and looking up,
- alignment over edges,
- pressure into ice
- touching the boots before pushing (so no wide stepping)
- bending into the ankles at pushes
- pushing perpendicularly away from the axis
- holding the whole body engaged (I think of it at tense, but is more like core engaged, upper body lifted, keep the tension after the push to have straight knee and pointed toe for the free leg.
- speed

I feel quite solid on forward skating. On backward skating I still don't find the balancing point quickly, I feel the push on the left outside edge is "empty". I immediately loose the good posture after the push and I'm not always on the edge. Theoretically I know I have to work on all the things I mentioned, and allow them to became body memory. So I plan to do lots and lots of backward stroking, chasses, progressives both on a circle and on alternating lobes, swing rolls. And of course, the turns (the dropped 3-turns from Ice Dancing and the forward to backward 3-turns from the moves) will get better when the back edges will be better.

Skating technique: Intermediary skating skills (power, press, alignment, lean)

I usually have my private lessons on Monday and I get to skate before the lesson, so I'm warmed up already. I cannot skate next Monday so I asked for an extra lesson this week. It was on the first hour of the "Freestyle practice ice" so i had to start with a warm up with my coach watching and obviously helping and correcting.

After slalom forward and backward I did the forward outside edge presses. First the forward outside. My coach said that the hip is sticking out. That is the hip inside the circle. I am supposed to lean into the circle, with the shoulders parallel with the ice, but the rest of the body being a straight line. Like here. I tried and tried again and we ended at the boards looking into the glass and modeling my body to achieve the hip in, so the straight body line, the lean into the circle. This lean should be achieved on all edges forward, backward, outside, inside and it is always the same visual of not having the hip inside the circle sticking out. Another way I was asked to not stick the hip out was to feel, to make a hollow, that somehow doesn't work for me. I was even allowed to look down, at the hip... blasphemy! I've learned that the hip that is mentioned in the skating instruction is lower then I thought of it. That may make a difference in trying to align it. One other words I remember I've red about this hip in, were to push with the hip from inside the circle into the hip from the outside of the circle. Whaaat? No, actually that made sense when I've tried it, that's why I'm mentioning it here. To add to that is to make a hollow under arm of the arm towards the inside of the circle. That is to help the lean but I suspect also to not drop that shoulder. And also, on all the edges the upper body should be align over the circle.

After this anatomy (or contortion) lesson, I did the crossovers to inner edges from the PreJuvenile MITF test as my next warm up. My coach said to press into the ankle, so ice, the inside edge on both forward and backward. Not to just glide there. Use each step energy into the next step. We've run this 3 times. But it seams the coach was happy seeing that I was able to incorporate some of these corrections (that I've heard many times before), so he decided to continue with all this concept of power in skating. I mentioned the concept of power in skating many times, like here. The first step in building power in your skating is the correct push, (from underneath you, and pressing into the ice, that I described before (forward and backward)

So  we've continued with the rest of the MITF test exercises. Next were the power pulls. There, the biggest correction today was on the backward ones to align the upper body over the circle (the edge) so on the back outside edges pull the opposite shoulder back to lead with it, and on the back inside edges, the same side shoulder. Obviously on the power pulls you press into the ice. The 3-turns had less corrections then usual! But the focus was the same, the same alignment over the circle and lean into the circle. And then it was mentioned probably the biggest component of power on ice, the speed. I have to put more speed into the 3Turns. But generally, speed goes hand in hand with feeling confident in the edges, lean, alignment, press into the ice. You cannot have speed without having the others, and I think when all these "others" work, the speed increases automatically.

Back circle 8, you've guessed, we've insisted on the exact same points... On the inside ones I'm leaning out of the circle as I bring the foot in at the top of the lobe,  then I'm twisting too much facing inside the circle  (that would be not align over the circle) and that's slows me down. I worked at this alignment over the circle when skating backwards mostly trough backward edge presses, that I'm realizing I've never described, but I will soon...

I'm very happy with this lesson. It made me feel that I'm on track to getting the power.

Skating technique: Backward Stroking and Backward Push

When I first started writing about technique I looked into the ISI levels to follow their progression in difficulty of the skills I describe. I was surprised to find backward stroking in the Beta level (early beginner). For once, I don't remember learning it at all, and then, I think it is impossible to learn it at that level. Surely, at that level it is an intro to backward stroking. And I had post describing skating forward and backward for beginners. And on the ISI web page there are videos demonstrating the skills for each level. (https://www.skateisi.org/programs/testing-requirements/). On the ISI next levels there is some back push into the back edges, that I described here, but more then that there is no backward stroking in Freestyle. To go backward in Freestyle you use 3-turns and mohawks and do backward crossovers.

In Ice Dancing, on the other hand, there is all kinds of backward skating that need a strong backward push and he understanding of posture and balance when going backwards.

The posture and balance: for skating backward you should feel your weight on the front part of your foot arch, some say it's the ball of your foot, but then it's the back part of it. (Reminder, for forward stroking you feel your weight at the back of your foot arch, some say back of the blade). The posture when skating backwards is even more erect then skating forward, it almost feel you are leaning back. To balance,  you push your heals underneath you (towards your back, but they travel forward) bending your ankles and knees more.

The backward push:
- bend your knees
- keep the weight on both feet, but mostly on the the foot that will push, otherwise the push will be "empty", will have no power
- push back from "underneath" you at a 30 degrees angle from the axis of traveling (pigeon toe), gripping the ice with the ankle. I kind of have the same sensation as when I cut with a knife the flower stems at an angle (to absorb water) to put in the vase.
- there is tension in that push, extension, that is kept to turn out the foot from the pigeon toe (this may be that ice cream scooping image that I was given, that I didn't really feel)
- do not drop the free hip (the ice cream scooping made me drop the free hip). For me is more the feeling of piercing something, so pointing forward while rotating, the ice cream scooping feels for me more like grabbing around). The most recent correction was that my free hip is too back (I feel it's part of the same problem as dropping the hip). Also that I don't transfer the weight completely on the left side (and I can see that in the video that I've took for this post)
- keep a strong core, you should feel like you are a wall and the push moves the whole wall. My coaches explanation is that you feel the push in your opposite shoulder blade.

The backward stroking: after a good backward push there is no much to stroking. You just bring the free foot turned out and with pointed toe to align 6 inches to the skating tracing on ice.

Here is some beautiful, beautiful forward and backward stroking.
And here is my stroking

Skating technique: Forward Crossovers

The Forward Crossovers are taught in the very first sessions of group lessons under ISI curriculum. A Crossovers has 2 strokes on edges, an outside one, then the free foot comes from behind and crosses over the skating foot and gets on an inside edge while the skating foot pushes.

I don't remember much from the beginning instruction. We surely started with CCW, the more comfortable direction for most of us and that is Left Stroke on Outside Edge then cross with the Right Leg on Inside Edge. I don't think we were instructed to stroke on a LO edge, we may have been just gliding on 2 feet. We were asked to pick up the right foot and to put it over the left one. We were instructed to try by the boards and even off ice with and without the skates on. I understand now that the reason to start with picking up the right foot is to transfer the weight completely over the left one before stepping on the right one. In time that will allow to lean towards the left (into the circle). Next step would have been to understand that we follow a circle and learn to twist the upper body towards the circle, look towards the center of the circle and have the arms right hand forward, left hand back. And we would have been asked to try the other side.
Here is an instructional video I like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cyvQ_vPdgA

Now for the real forward crossovers (let's still talk about CCW):
1.You start by bending, pressing into ice and pushing (read the Forward Stroking and push post) on a LFO edge with strong knee bend, with the upper body twisted facing the inside of the circle but not so much that the arms are over the circle lines (the front arm is a little outside of the circle and the back am a little inside the circle) and looking towards the inside of the circle, the free leg goes 45 degrees laterally not back (to maintain the edge and also it will be easier to bring it forward to cross), pointed tow, straight knee,
- the weight on the blade for both feet, as for al forward skating is an the back of you arch foot.
- press into the ice
- the body alignment is as if the neck zipper is over the skating foot and you feel the weight on left front ribs
- the left hip shouldn't stick out
- back hand higher
- bend the knee and ankle so the knees forms a 90 degree angle
- LEAN! 
- hold the extension for 2 counts
- a good exercise that allows you to concentrate on all these points is chasses on a circle as here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXFAjcVYOME&t=57s
2. Swipe the free (right) leg forward over the left and set it on an inside edge
- under push  with the left foot from the back arch of your foot laterally outside the circle, not back, I thought the toe is pointed pointed but in the first video I shared he asks to flex the foot but to stretch the leg.
- push forward the opposite side of the rib cage, so the right side here
- allow the left hip to go under the right hip
- hold for 2 counts
- bring the foot near the skating foot and repeat
And here is the ice dancers Oleg and Kseniya  instruction on crossovers, with even more tips. The only difference I see from my coach's instruction, is that they rise (bounce) between strokes, my coach wants me to keep the same level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNedknuKF9g&t=179s

Exercise summer group class 7/19/2018. On all 5 circles...
- stay on outside edge and pumps (half swizzles)
- stay on inside edge after one crossover and under pump
- stay on outside edge and push and hold extension for 3 counts
- crossovers

Crossovers are a basic skating skill that even good skater work on continuously to maintain and improve. My CW crossovers are still weaker then the CCW because I lean forward and I loose the right point of balance on the blade, so I keep paying attention to that. I also push the back shoulder forward as shown in the first video to not do... Another realization I would share is that a coach instruction at one point in time will be different from another time. At each point the coach teaches what the skater needs. The instruction would differ from one skater to another at the same level from the same coach, as the coach would customize the instruction. And obviously different coaches tech different techniques and use different words.

I'm not getting corrections on crossovers at the point I'm at. That means that they are good for my level. But after I'll pass the Pre-Juvenile MITF test and I'll work on the Juvenile (equivalent with adult Gold), surely I'll get new instruction as power crossovers on a spiral pattern will be a requirement for that test.

Dec 2020: I've asked for corrections as I felt that my under push is week, it felt like it was sliding from under me. The correction was to start pressing into that edge while the free leg comes around from being extended after the initial push. Then, for training purpose, I should hold the under push as long as the push, so let's say 2 counts and 2 counts... Also, I was skating those with the upper body square to the circle, as the ice dancing chasses and progressives. So I got the correction to really put the back arm back... that also helps with the posture. Also, I was asked to lean more into the circle.

Skating technique: edges - Basic Backward Edges Outside and Inside

edges - part 6.

As I didn't do much skating lately, I was thinking to go back in time and tell you about my first MITF test. I realized I never talked about the basic back edges and they were part of the test. If interested, read older posts where I covered the Forward Edges and  the importance of Edges and Lobes.

For the  backward edges, as for all the skating backwards, you should feel your weight on the front part of your foot arch, some say it's the ball of your foot, but then it's the back part of the ball of your foot. The posture when skating backwards is even more erect then when forward, it almost feels like you are leaning back. To balance, you push your heals underneath yourself (towards your back) bending your ankles and knees more.

Right Backward Outside RBO and Left Backward Outside LBO Edges:
- Start with the feet shoulders apart, staying on the axis, perpendicularly, left arm in front, right one lateral, hands waist level facing/ pressing down.
- Look left, on the length of the axis, towards were you'll go
- Push back not around: Bring your weight over the left foot, bend both knees and push with the left foot into the ice or push the ice away, at an angle of approximately 60 degrees not 45 as pushing forward, turning the foot out after the push (like scooping ice cream or the beginning of a back swizzle) onto your right foot, holding the left foot extended over the circle tracing. See the back push and stroking here in the second part of the video. Initially I was asked to push like I was doing the first half of the back swizzle (that is half of a lobe but on this back edge lobe would be smaller than a quarter of the lobe). And that's a  good visual for a beginner. The problem with that is that was making me push around not back. I was saying to push back, not around, that means to not allow the upper body to rotate after the push. Hold your core, lower back and shoulders together.
- First part of the lobe:  Now, your back goes forward so it's hard to describe which hand is forward and which is back... I'll say that the right arm and shoulder lead the way, your weight is on your right hip, right leg bent, and the left arm and left foot that's extended, trail over the lobe tracing. Your upper body is twisted to face the circle and leans a little towards the inside of the circle.
- Middle of the lobe: Coordinating the hands and feet, lower your hands near your sides and bring the left foot near your ankle, this will square your shoulders and hips.
- Second part of the lobe: Continue the upper body small rotation so your back will be towards the inside of the circle left hand and shoulder will lead the way. The left foot can stay near the right ankle or can extend together with the left arm. The head turns, but more then the upper body, you look over your left shoulder to the axis where you'll change the lobe.

To start the next lobe you hold your hands and shoulders in the same position and bring the free foot at the ankle, bend and push.

Right Backward RBI and Left Backward Inside LBI Edges:
- Start with the feet shoulders apart, staying on the axis, perpendicularly on the axis, left arm forward, right arm lateral, hands waist level facing/ pressing down.
- Push: Bring your weight over the left foot, bend both knees and push back with the left foot, onto your right foot and hip, left foot extended in front.
- First part of the lobe:  Right shoulder is leading the way but right hand is lateral, or a little towards your back,  so your right shoulder doesn't twist around too much and loose control. Left arm is trailing the tracing of the circle and you look over your left shoulder inside the circle. This is what helps me not over rotate. Left foot is extended to the front, over the tracing. That helps holding the balance. Also, engage your core and don't let your right hip stick out. You are kind of with the back at the circle but not really, again maybe 45 degrees.
- Middle of the lobe: Coordinating the hand and feet, lower your hands near your sides and bring the left foot near your ankle, this will square your shoulders and hips.
- Second part of the lobe: Continue the upper body small rotation so it's turned towards the inside of the circle. Left arm and shoulder leading, right arm trailing, keep looking over the left shoulder. Left foot could stay at the ankle or could extend with the left arm leading the way over the imaginary tracing.
- Tip... on back inside edge, stay on skating hip, skating shoulder back, weight between the front ribs

To start the next lobe you hold your hands and shoulders in the same position and bring the free foot at the ankle, bend and push.

My back edges were way weaker than the forward ones when I tested MITF Pre-Preliminary level. But they were good enough for that level. I find that the beginner elements are really learning tools so it's not to be expected to be done 100% correctly. The goal at this level should be to understand. I don't think good backward edges could be done without proper posture. Even when I understood what that should be, I still couldn't hit it quickly enough after pushing. Plus, I was pushing around. I'm working now on Backward circle 8 for MITF Pre-Juvenile level and I feel I'm finally starting to get it.

Coach's critiques

I saw recently a post in a skating group on facebook of somebody that felt that the Coach critiquing every little thing with no encouragement made her feel like a failure as a skater and everything that she was doing was ugly and bad and she almost wanted to quit. There were answers ranging from saying to fire the coach, to advising that some time personalities of the coaches and students don't match, to pointing out that that's what we pay the coaches for: to critique us...

I started learning skating in group lessons of 4 to 8 people. There wasn't time for much individual critique. There wasn't much time for much instruction either. When I started private lessons I was craving and got instruction, lots of it! And then came the corrections, lots of them... Let's see how many corrections I can come up for the Forward Stroking. 1.Posture, 2.Shoulders back 3. Chin up, 4.Look over the glass boards, 5. Press into ice 6.Bend the knees 7. Bend more... 8.Free leg goes laterally after stroking 8. Extend the free leg higher 9.Hold the extension 10. Free leg straight, don't bend the knee 11. Free foot pointed 12. Free foot turned out 13.Free leg is to lateral now, a little back 14.Don't lean the upper body forward when you stroke 15.Re bend with the weight on the skating hip 16.Feet in V before a new stroke 17.Keep knees separated before the new stroke 18. NOOO, don't collapse on the knew skating leg before the push 19.Soft arms 20.Look up (I know I said it before but I hear this a lot). My coach could add to these, I'm sure. Now, I don't think I heard all of them at once, but 15 of them wouldn't be unusual. And that's just for a 2 min exercise. There are 28 more minutes in the lesson.... After the lesson I write down all the corrections I remember, and I don't remember all of them. I'm panicking... Then next day I'm on ice I try to incorporate the corrections I remember, then I go and read the notes and work on more corrections. Damn! there are too many.

I honestly had moments when I felt exactly as the facebook skater. I was brave for maybe a month after I started with my private coach and then I told him that I cannot handle so much instruction and corrections. He said, "Oh, no! I don't expect you, or anybody, to work on (or to remember) all the corrections at a time. The reason I give so many corrections is because different people pick up different things to correct and get stuck on different things. Just choose few of them, 3 maybe, and correct those, then I'll give you the rest of them again, and... add to them. Aha!

A few weeks ago, I did mention it at the time, my coach said that I hit some milestones to my forward chasses in alternating lobes. Not easy, beginner stuff, but more towards intermediate, like lean and correct change of lobes direction. And immediately he said in a devilish, satisfied that he can pick on something, voice "but your free knee is bent". Thoughts were running trough my mind: "No my knee is straight, I corrected that a year ago".  I had to work hard not to burst into crying. Actually it wasn't like that at all, but that's what it felt like :) In reality, he was very excited about my progress and said in a neutral voice that my knee is bent... He didn't even say straighten your knee, it was obvious that I can and I will. Me wanting to cry, that's real. After few minutes of gathering myself, I thought to ask why I don't do the things I CAN do? He said that when I concentrate in doing a specific correction I let go on the things that are not yet body memory. It seems that it takes an even longer time than I thought for some skill to become body memory...

Some random things different coaches said, related with critiquing...
- well, sometimes you have to take it with a sense of humor (the temporary failure in doing something, and the repeated corrections/ nitpicking)
- the hardest part in a coach's job is to trick the student into doing something she doesn't want to do

To draw some kind of a conclusion, nobody likes to be criticized, it's important to think at these coach's critiques as corrections or constructive criticism. Also, the coach cannot know how you feel if you don't say. So the student should say if she/ he is overwhelmed, or needs encouragement. I've got into the habit of asking my coach if I improved a certain skill. I ask specifically about something. For example, it seems that I grossly misjudge my speed and flow (power) improvement. As I test at standard level I need to show power. I'm always on the hunt of that, especially because it's against my personality. It seems that I improve steadily, and I don't realize because I'm comfortable and in control skating with this increased speed.

I also do agree that not all personalities work together. I believe that sometimes, despite everybody's best intentions and effort a relationship doesn't work. On the other side of too much criticism, I would mention that I had a coach that was so nice that I didn't feel she was drawing out of me all I could give.

Working towards my first program part 1

If you've red some of my older posts, you know that I was doing Freestyle group lessons for 5 years, then I hurt my left ankle so I stopped jumping and spinning. I started Ice Dancing and MITF (moves in the field). That was more than 2 years ago. I've always had the intention to come back to jumping but there is just so much training time in a week and I was filling it with Ice Dancing and moves. Now, as I hurt my left hip 6 months ago and I couldn't work on power and extension that I need in Ice Dancing and MITF, I was thinking how to still learn something while not pushing my body physically. So I thought to to link all I have together and to have a program choreograph for me. It's gonna be an USFSA pre-bronze program for testing. I wanted to maybe be able to use it as an ISI Artistic program to show it at my rink very casual summer competition, but I think the requirements don't mach.

An USFSA pre-bronze Freestyle test doesn't actually require a program, but you can do one, if you choose. The requirements are 2 jumps (could be 2 half jumps, so easy jumps), 2 spins (I think they require a 2 foot spin and an one foot spin), forward and backward crossovers and a spiral or lunge. The program could be maximum 1.40 minutes. My choreographer/ coach would like to put 3 jumps in, just in case I mess up one, so those plus the spins will take a lot of time. It's not gonna be much time left for the artistic side. An artistic programs requires strong edges, flow, choreography, innovative moves and musical interpretation and is has no score for the technical elements.

My goal in doing figure skating in general is toward enjoyment and self expression. That made me want to progress as much as possible so I can move more freely and securely. I use the process of testing to structure my training and progress. Similarly, I would like to use the process of learning and showing a program not for competing but for developing knowledge to choreograph myself, again not for a competition program but for moving around the rink for my own enjoyment.

I work with a new coach because my main coach doesn't do programs (he is a busy Ice Dancing coach). We had 4 lessons and we plan on few more before really choreographing the program, just so he can see what I can do. But he's teaching me in between all the planning, both technique, and how to approach the elements so I can eventually put them together myself.

The first lesson was about arm movements. He was asking me to do things I know (like power crossovers) and he showed me different arm movements to add to those. Meanwhile he also judges the quality of my elements. He introduced the choreography concept of stepping outside the circle, making a new circle, so creating interesting patterns on the ice, while teaching some arm movement on left forward crossovers and then step on a right forward outside edge.

The second lesson was about turns (steps). Programs ask for a step sequence made of turns (like mohawks and 3-turns for this level). The same turns  are used between jumps and spins and are called transitions. Again, he judged what I can do. For example I can do Ice Dancing 3-turns (dropped 3-turns) faster then the Freestyle power 3-turns... He put together a third of the rink circular step sequence that was 2 strokes, right forward mohawk, 2 right backward power 3-turns  and a double back 3-turn. We got stuck on a pretty flourish on the inside edge of the double back 3 turn. That I could almost do :) And I've got an update on the 3-turn instruction that was all things I knew. But just hearing it from a different voice sometimes helps. I told him after this lesson that I would like easier steps (then back power 3-turns and double 3-turns that I never did before) so I can have more speed, less struggle and feel more artistic. I think one of the purposes of a program is to push you to improve your technical content. I just feel that this being my first program, I'm all pushed already. We decided on the music. I had in mind a piano intro to a song I love but was just 1.30 min. The coach wanted 1.40. So I tried Audacity software for the first time. I was trying to add  from the main song and cut from the piano intro but it seamed to have no focus. Then I tried to chose a part from the main song and I didn't like it. I ended up copying a little of the piano music and pasting it somewhere. Now I have 1.45 min and it's fine as long as I don't move the first 5 sec. I think it's actually great to have 5 seconds to breath before skating.

The coach saw me trying some Salchow jumps just before starting the third lesson. He asked if I wanted any help. I hesitated because I didn't do jumps in a while and I was struggling to remember the entrance and the motion of the jump but I said yes. I was also planning to work on jump technique with my main coach and I was worried not to get confused between the two of them. But I'll have to put jumps in my program and with my main coach I work hard on dances, it doesn't seem I'll do Freestyle soon. I was again happy with him refreshing what I knew. He also added to it! And I felt it helped... Then he gave me some steps that  would potentially work on my music. I was soo happy that I learned them quickly. It was a huge worry for me that I won't be able to remember the choreography. But, I have to say, I really think he explains it so it is easy to remember...

Last week was about how to continue after a jump landing. And the coach gave me 3 options. Step forward on the left leg and continue with forward crossovers on a new circle. There is a little bit of a tricky part when changing the orientation of the upper body. I definitely needed it explained. The second option was to step into a left forward power 3 turn and change direction. AND, the third option, a tap toe for those times when you don't lend perfectly... As I said, I feel he teaches me strategy and choreography options. Exactly what I asked for!

One thing he insists on from the first lesson, and I'm not doing it yet, is to add an intro and an ending to each element I do. So, few strokes, add arms, turn, then jump or spin, then few steps out and arms again. I think it's a very good advice to get used with connecting steps.

Skating technique: Beginner Forward and Backward Skating

It seems that my blog unfolds as a presentation of skills, starting from beginners ones and growing in difficulty. If you read my view on Figure Skating Levels, I have an Intro to skating category before the Beginner level.  So I'll go over the skills in the Intro level and that is equivalent with the first levels taught on group classes I took under ISI (Ice Skating Institute) curriculum. Here is the link to their page, they also have videos! Today I'll cover the Pre-Alpha, Alpha, and Beta levels.

So these are skating exercises for the first times on ice Beginners to Low-Beginners, (disclaimer: as I understand them). 
- learning to fall, described here
- learning the "safe" posture: with feet hips apart, bent knees and ankles, straight back, core engaged, feeling your hips "underneath  you", so over your feet, arms relaxed, palms facing down at waist level, looking up. This is the posture used as a beginner. Later it's gonna be improved. And, spoiler alert, the posture skating forward is different than the posture skating backwards...

Going forward ( use the "safe" posture for all)
- for skating forward the balance point of your blade, where you feel your weight falling on, is on the back part of you foot arch, some call it the back of your blade, but it's not really that back.
- march on ice holding the safe posture (on the whole blade as you cannot step heel to toe)
- march into a two feet glide gliding in the safe posture position and one foot glide lifting one foot straight up to the ankle of the skating foot.
- swizzles - you do eights on ice starting with the feet heels together, bending the knees and ankle, pressing into the ice, coming to hips apart straightening the knees but not locking them, then again heals together, on bent knees. These are done on an inside edge.
- swizzles are helpful to learn the balance point on the blade for going forward
- half swizzles on a straight line where you'll start to have to shift your weight on the skating hip
- half swizzles on a circle, you'll shift you'r weight even more
- learn the alignment of the upper body for weight transfer for a one foot glide (bring an imaginary neck zipper on the same line with with your belly button, hip, knee and foot. The ankle and knee are bent and the knee can and will go forward over the toes (I didn't know this until recently)
- understand that "bend the knee" means bend the ankle too and press into the ice. I heard that you should bend 90 degrees and I had an image in my head that the thigh should be parallel with the ice, that would make the tibia perpendicular to the ice, so no ankle bend. Actually the 90 degrees is between the thigh and tibia and there is lots of ankle bend!
- forward stroking: push with your blade at 45 degrees not using your toe pick (so from an inside edge) into an one foot glide. The skating foot will be on a slight outside edge for a little while, then will be flat for the glide, and will go on a slight inside edge just before the next push, to help with the push 
- consecutive pushes on a circle on the same leg and that will be on an outside edge
- beginner crossovers: on a circle, you push on an outside edge using the alignment described on the previous point, and twist the upper body towards the inside of the circle, look towards the inside of the circle, then, with the weight transferred completely over the skating hip, lift the free foot, cross it over the skating foot and place it on an inside edge. These are beginners crossovers, they'll get way more complicated and better looking...
- stopping. The easiest one is the snowplow, when with the weight equally over both hips, you pigeon toe both feet and apply pressure on ice. Or you transfer your weight over one hip (for me it's easier on my left hip) and pigeon toe the right foot. Well, the easiest stop is going into the boards, no shame in that... It's very important to learn to stop on ice, not into the boards, because if you know you cannot stop, you are afraid of the other skaters moving, so you are afraid to skate.

Going backwards (again, use the "safe" posture for all).
- the balance point on the  blade for going backwards, is the forward part of your arch foot, just after the ball of your foot
- I find that the most important thing for skating backwards is maintaining the posture. The first place where I lose my posture is while pushing, if I don't keep the core strong, it makes me break at the waist (stick the butt out, lean the upper body forward). The second way is by looking down. I don't know why I look down, but I do it a lot. The third way is by looking back to be sure there is nobody in my way. Instead of turning my head around and using the peripheral vision, I turn around from the waist and break at the waist again... So, don't do any of these!
- The second important thing in skating backwards is to find the balance point on the  blade and keep it. Losing the posture is one sure way of loosing the balance point on the blade. Another way would be improper pressure into the ice, learning that takes some mileage...
- backward wiggles
- backward swizzles
- the backward swizzles will help you find the balance point on the  blade
- two feet and one foot backward glide
- half swizzles on a straight line
- be aware of the weight transfer on the the skating hip  (move the imaginary zipper and belly button over the skating hip, knee, and hip)
- backward stroking. The push is a quarter to one third of a swizzle (on inside edge), at that point you pick up your foot using your core and turn it out pointed and you shift your weight on the other foot. I heard the push being described as scooping ice cream.
- half swizzles on a circle shifting the weight
- half pushes on a circle. With the weight transferred on the hip towards the circle (outside edge on that foot), the upper body turned towards the inside of the circle and looking inside the circle, outer arm and shoulder in front, inside arm  and shoulder back. Push with the foot outside the circle, extend the foot in front after the push.
- beginner backward crossover. Push with the leg outside the circle as I just described, lift the foot and place it over the other foot, inside the circle. Now push the foot from inside the circle with the outside edge, laterally, underneath you, then extend it towards the outside of the circle and then it's placed beside the skating leg.

I've learnt all these in group lessons. The instructors didn't explain much, they were more "monkey sees, monkey does". I wish I had the awareness that all these exercises had a purpose (discovering the posture, the alignment for weight transfer onto the skating hip, the inside and outside edges feel, the knee bend that goes together with the ankle bend and pressure into ice). I look back and I realize I was doing everything kind of half way...

Skating technique: edges - Forward Edge Presses and my Warm up

Edges - part 5.

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.

Edge presses is an exercise I do every single time I'm on ice, part of my warm up.
My warm up:
-As soon as I step on ice I do forward slalom, trying to get into ice and to get awareness of edges. Then, I do backward slalom. Here I look for finding the right posture when going backwards. I don't find it instantly, as going forward, so I have to work for it. I also pay attention where my weight falls on the blade (should be on the front side of the arch of your foot).
-Then I do stroking, usually just forward, but thinking of it, I should add backward.
-Then, forward and backward alternating crossovers with an inside edge on the alternating lobe. That's part of the Pre-Juvenile MITF test i'm working on. But i do them as warm up, I don't "work" on them. When I work on them I think of "attack", more knee bend, more lean, I count the crossover push 1, with special attention to hold the under push 2, and hold the inside edge for 3,4.
- Lately I do the power pulls from the same test in the warm up, and I work again on them later.
- And then I do the edge presses.

Edge presses (I consider them and advanced-beginner skills) are a prep exercise for the more advanced  Deep Edges. In fact, the inside deep edge the ice dancers do in the video linked in that post, is the edge press I do. Here is my Forward Outside Edge Press.

You start with few strokes to get some speed.
For the Forward Outside Edge Press you start with the chest towards the inside of the circle, so opposite arm and leg like the deep edges, not like the basic edges. For the Forward Inside Edge Press you start with the back at the inside of the circle, so opposite arm and leg, like the deep edges and like basic edges. During the lobe, the upper body is square and perpendicular with the circle line. I heard it described as the hip bones are a car headlights that travels on a curve. At the end of the lobe, the upper body will be align again as as the beginning of the lobe, but on the other side.This opposition of arms and legs gives the body a controlled twist, that helps changing from a lobe to next lobe that goes in the opposite direction. I described more of this transition in the Deep Edges post.  This is used  a lot in Ice Dancing as you change the directions with every single step.
After the initial push, you bring the free foot at the ankle, and keep both legs bent. This gives a stable position, where you can concentrate in achieving a good posture, good ankle press into the ice, and you can practice to lean towards the inside of the circle. Then, as you feel more stable, you'll go faster. Bigger speed will allow you to lean more so you'll get deeper edges and lobes.

Skating technique: edges - Deep Forward Edges Outside and Inside

Edges - part 3.

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.

Continued from the previous blogs where I covered the importance of Edges and Lobes, and the Basic Forward Edges.

As I was saying, the deep edges are not a beginner figure skating skill. I would say it's a intermediate level. They are a basic skill for Ice Dancing and are done on deep lobes. For Freestyle, good crossovers can use them as a foundation. I also see Freestyle skaters using a version of them called edge rolls, as a warm up. These are done quickly and on straighter and smaller lobes.

This is how Deep Forward Outside Edges should look like. Now, they are national ice dance competitors, what I'm doing is not quite that. I think is fair to say I'm working on it...

These are the differences of forward outside deep edges from the basic edges.
1. More speed, way more speed. You start with taking 2 strokes along the end of the rink to get some speed and you do them on alternating direction lobes on the length of the rink.
2. It's all about the lean: blade into the ice, ankle and the whole body are leaning towards the inside of the circle. The body should look like a straight line, tense, core engaged, hip shouldn't stick out. To achieve this takes probably years, so practice, practice, practice...
3. At the beginning of the lobe the body is positioned with the chest towards the inside of the circle (like crossovers), not with the back towards the circle as the basic edges.
4. The extension is held from the initial push to I would say 3/4 of the lobe, and it is not on top of the tracing of the lobe, but 45 degrees laterally towards the outside of the circle, to give you balance for the body leaning towards the inside of the circle.
5. You finish the lobe with a very quick roll from the outside edge to an inside edge... whaaat? This took me a while to understand, and it's a work in progress.
So... When there is a 1/4 left of the lobe you start to rise/ gather/ draw the free leg in, while still on an outside edge. This is coordinated with an upper body counter movement. It's important to stay on the outside edge until the axis. It actually feels like I'm deepening the edge and I'm crossing the axis to continue the circle. Then, as you are on the highest point of the rise, while still keeping the weight on the skating foot!!! very important, you roll/ flip from the outside edge to an inside edge and press and re bend to have a strong push. And here is what the ice dancers say.
Update 4/20/209: The point of balance for these is, as for all forward skating, the point of the blade align with the back of your arch foot. The body alignment is an imaginary neck zipper over your skating foot.

And here are the Deep Forward Inside Edges.
3. On this, you start the lobe as on the basic edges with the back at the circle (more like the free shoulder forward).
4. The video shows the free leg brought at the ankle of the skating leg, but it could be extended too.
5. There is no roll when you start the new lobe. The trick here is to and to have your weight over your skating hip and foot and allow some space between the skating foot and where you place the new foot and not to drop the weight on the new foot too quickly.

I like to remember the important points on each skating skill. On deep edges they go hand in hand... Still, they are: speed, lean, pressure into ice, square body (perpendicular to an imaginary tangent to the circle) while riding the edge, posture. Roll on an inside edge before you push on an outside edge. Be sure to place the blade on an outside edge to start with. The point on your blade where you feel the weight of your body is still on the back part of your arch of the foot.

Skating technique: edges - Edges and Lobes

Edges - part 1.

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.

The figure skating blade has curved shape (a rocker), and is sharpened to form 2 edges, an inside edge and an outside edge. I would say the all figure skating is done on an edge, so on a curve. I cannot thing of anything but beginners moves that is done on a flat. Freestyle jumps and spins enter on edges, MITF turns are edges and Ice Dancing is all about edges on lobes.

Depending if you go forward or backward, on the left foot or the right foot, and if you press onto inside or outside of the blade there can be 8 possible edges. LFO is Left Forward Outside and there are LFI, RFO, RFI, LBO, LBI, RBO, RBI.

So skating is done on edges that form curves that we call lobes. An imaginary line called axis is the line where a lobe starts and ends, and many skating skills are done on alternating lobes to the left and right on that axis.

There is a quality associated with edges as with any other skating element. So there are basic edges that are learned as beginners and deep edges that are a more advanced skill. There are also skills you practice to get there. The difference between them is given by the angle of the blade bite into the ice, the lean of the ankle and boot towards the ice, the lean the body, the speed, the depth of the lobe (curve) created and the quickens you achieve the lobe.

The deep edges create deep lobes quickly. To get deep lobes you need the deep bite into the ice. For that you need speed to create that centripetal force. You also need your body to lean towards the inside of the circle, without breaking at the hip. As I said this is an advanced skill, a beginner doesn't have the kind of control to be able to do that.

The basic edges introduce the notion of lobes. I think the most important think to understand is that the lobes start perpendicular to the axis and then they curve around, finishing perpendicular to the axis. They are quite slow and the lean of the body and blade is small, so the upper body is used a little to help steer into the wanted direction. Working on basic edges helps the beginner find the balance point on the blade and understand the idea of staying over the skating hip. Basic edges also teach upper body and lover body coordination and the concept of being square (shoulders and hips are forming a rectangle on the same plan).

A more advanced edge skill (still beginner level) I can think of are Circle Eights where you hold an edge all around a circle not half circle and edge presses. At this level I fell you learn to stay square to the direction of travel and you work on gaining speed and balance.

I'll cover each of these skills in future posts...

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!!!

Falling and injuries

Falling in figure skating is... inevitable. But you cannot be afraid of falling if you want to progress in skating, because you would concentrate on not falling instead of learning new skills. Tell that to an adult figure skater! Adults are more aware of the danger of falling than children and afraid of the possibility of injury.I fall mostly when I learn or correct something, like a jump or the posture. But I also fall because somebody crosses my way or I just catch something in the ice. Some days I fall few times, but I also have weeks when I don't fall at all.

Good news, falling on ice is not like falling on concrete. The fact that you are sliding after the fall, makes the force with which you hit the ground dissipate across the surface. So falling on ice while figure skating doesn't always hurt and doesn't automatically mean injury.

There is a "proper" way of falling. I was taught in my first beginner group class, first off-ice and then on ice, to fall on the lateral part of the buttock and  roll on the side, similar with how you would fall in martial art. My most important points are trying not to break the fall with my hands as wrists are sensitive, not to fall on my tail bone and not to hit the ice with my head. All this applies when you fall backwards or to the side, falling forward while rare for me ,it's harder to save, I use my forearms to break it, again not my hands, and usually I end up with blue knees.

There is also a proper way to get up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oE5Tn79U6o

If you are prone to fall on a particular body part, you can use pads or guards, wrist guards, knee pads, hip and tailbone silicone or foam pads, a thick head band.

My worst fall was from just standing on ice and looking down at my skates, then, as I looked up, I lost my balance and I fell straight down on my left wrist. While it wasn't broken, it was tender for months. The next one was while doing backward crossovers and  playing with leaning more into the circle I lost an edge and I fell kind of forward but at an angle. I used my arm to break the fall and my shoulder was sore for few days but I hit the inner side of one knee hard. It also felt like I twisted the knee. Again, nothing serious but it took probably a month to heal completely. 

A skating  injury worth mentioning is the overuse injury. That happened to my left ankle because of a series of technical mistakes (not transferring the weight but picking laterally on the ballet jump, stopping the back spin with a lateral hit of the toe pick, then pre-rotating the Salchow on the toe pick...). I started to hurt even when spinning. I stopped doing all those moves but I kept skating and that's when I started ice dancing.

Almost every figure skater I know has a story about falling... off ice... like ice in the parking lot, in the house catching the rug corner... and me.. I fell on the slippery laundry floor. I had the basket full of clothing in my arms and I didn't se the floor was wet. It wasn't a terrible fall I though, but it bothers me for a month now! It seams that I pulled a muscle. As the pain wasn't so bad, even if I felt I didn't have my usual muscle power, I continued skating for a week. It was not only that that particular spot wasn't healing but everything around started to hurt, down to the ankle! I learnt that that is called overcompensation. So I cancelled my lessons, took one week break, while icing, rolling and lightly stretching. I'm determined to let it heal completely before starting to train (push) again. Last 2 weeks I skated very lightly and just 3 days.