Things are getting harder! Only two students in class today. Here's what we worked on:
Backwards Crossovers: I'm trying very hard to not lean forward so much with these. My instructor had me work on the crossunder and maintaining edges, as I tend to miss that. She showed me how to do a half swizzle, bring the skating leg to the front while crossing under with the other leg, then holding that position - legs crossed. It's SOOOO hard, but worth it because it forces me to find the inside edge. My CW crossovers are miles ahead of my CCW.
Backwards Edges on a circle: This is the hardest element on Adult 3 for me to "master". I have a heck of a time getting the BO edge. It helps if I put my weight on the ball of my foot and near my little toe, but I seem to loose a lot of momentum with that. And it seems that a month ago I was doing great. Maybe I'm thinking too much about it...
On to BI edges, which are much easier for me get, but harder to control - I end on the inside edges too much and nearly spin. The thing I mostly struggled with with the inside edges was the arm position, which is opposite of the arm position for BO edges. My feet and arms don't communicate well and I ended up doing more BO than BI edges! And my BO edges that time around were ok! (See - I think too much about it when I'm trying to do it) These edges will take A LOT of practice in the coming weeks if they are going to be passable.
Mohawks: Mohawks feel nice and look pretty when done right. I've practiced these a lot this week and my LFI mohawks are good - not nearly as over-rotated as before. My RFI mohawks are lagging, but I somehow did a couple of good ones when the instructor was watching. :)
Lunges: I've done these before in the past in rental skates, but that was years ago! I tried one, and caught my edge while coming out of the lunge and did something funky to my hip and felt something *pop*- but it's OK now. Just felt weird. I almost did that fun breakdancing move where people spin around on their back!!!
Hope to make it to the rink a couple more times this week. I am determined to get those backwards edges!!!!
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5 comments:
Started doing continous BO edges last week. One thing that I read somewhere that is meant to help is (if you have the free leg extended in front of you) to make sure that your free leg is not left open, but crossed over somewhat in front of you. Not hugely, but have your free foot in line with your skating foot.
Be patient - and persistent - back edges are hard!
And regarding what Amanada said about BO edges - if the free leg is extended in front but hip is open, your weight will be pulled out of the circle and you won't be able to stay on the outside edge. So concentrate on keeping the free leg/hip *closed* - this is surprisingly hard. I used to spend *hours* on the hockey circle drilling BO edges, and it has really paid off.
3turn
What does it mean to have a hip "open" or "closed"?
Also, I know that if I bring my free leg hip up when doing FO edges, it helps me a lot with leaning into the edge. Does this work going backwards too??
stand up, balance on one foot, free foot at ankle.
point (free) knee straight ahead, and hip should be in nuetral.
rotate knee out to the side and your hip opens. rotate knee in (across your body) and your hip should closes.
absolutely you should keep your free hip UP on edges - and turns, and everything. a dropped free hip will pull you to a deep inside edge and you won't be able to hold *anything*.
3turn
Aha! Now it makes sense. Thank you so much! Some of the little details like keeping a "closed" hip, and lifting the free hip up, get missed with the group classes. I don't know where I'd be without your advice!
I've been reading about skating journals on the Skating Forum and think I should keep a notebook in my bag with all these tips, as well as what I learn in class.
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