August 2000
Week of August 7, 2000
Inline Update
Prior to the week I spent with my father, I did very little skating, primarily due to the large groups that invade the mall rink (which I was lucky enough to find out about in advance of making the long drive) and rainy weather that kept me away from the park. Of course, my father lives in a rinkless community, except in the winter if the weather cooperates. He took me to the construction site of the town's future high school where I discovered a new running track that would have been ideal for roller skating, had I brought my skates. Upon closer inspection, I found the surface to be littered with granular material in the form of sand, pebbles, rocks and soil; rendering it unskateable. Leaving the quad skates out of my suitcase had not been a mistake.
After missing almost two weeks of skating, I happily went to the park to practice with my freestyle inlines and to quad skate on the path. This summer, I have only inline skated ten times, or possibly less. However, I have made significant progress since that first embarrassing episode on the street near our vacation house. The smooth basketball court in the park provides an accommodating surface where I have become comfortable with forward and backward crossovers in both directions. My forward outside edges have begun to take form, while the slightly more difficult forward insides lag behind. I have not attempted backward edges yet. I perform arabesques with more confidence, and my forward outside three turns have improved from the choppy forced movements of a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the inside threes remain less developed.
A half hour of inline skating is about all I can tolerate, due to the heat and my limited skills which make the sport somewhat boring. For the first time, someone approached the basketball court planning to use it for its intended purpose. An adult male bounced a ball down the path, and took the far end of the court without disturbing or acknowledging me. I continued to skate noticing the poor fellow was about as mediocre a basketball player as I am an inline figure skater. After I relinquished the court, the groundskeeper asked me if I was skating
Frustration could have depleted my interest in inline figure skating. Originally, I hoped to spin with ease comparable to ice skating; but my few experiments with a basic two-foot spin resulted in wheels unable to skim the ground, seemingly stuck to the blacktop like putty. A layback is not on the agenda this summer. Additionally, the linear wheel arrangement accentuates technical errors in stroking and turns, which are about all I can do on these skates. Rather than becoming aggravated, I use the inlines as a barometer to measure subtleties of technique. Transferring lessons learned on inlines to ice blades has improved the quality of my stroking and corrected some long-standing deficiencies. My goal is not to do an axel on inline skates, but to use them for exercise. If they happen to improve my ice skating, that is a fortuitous benefit.
Week of August 14, 2000
No Comment
After nearly three weeks off ice, I returned to a public session at the mall rink. Stepping onto the ice, I rediscovered my fascination with gliding. Having done a significant amount of roller skating this summer, I almost forgot the sensation of frictionless movement over a perfectly smooth surface. Usually I step onto the ice with no special appreciation other than default enjoyment. I skated a few laps to become re-accustomed to the ice. A break from skating permits more than healing of soreness and minor injuries; it allows skaters to take a fresh perspective. The body remembers technique, uninhibited by the mind. Without excessive contemplation, I turned a flat three and launched into the largest flip jump I can remember.
Unfortunately, the session was fairly crowded. A group of children, no more than junior high school age, decided to mimic me and make fun of figure skaters. The little troublemakers danced around the center of the rink kicking themselves in the backside as they leapt into the air mocking waltz jumps and toe loops. One girl in hockey skates curved her arms over her head into a malformed circle turning on the tips of her blades like a disabled jewelry box ballerina.
I avoided the children realizing they enjoy this type of foolishness. As I skated passed this group of kids later in the session, one of them shouted, “Triple lutz!” His cohorts laughed at his cleverness. I paid no attention to their behavior. Finally one boy called out to me, “Can you do a triple axel?” Again, I ignored the pest, assuming he would simply go away. This child could not be so easily discouraged. The tormentor followed me around the rink yelling the irritating question. Finally I faced the boy, gave him a serious look, and wordlessly continued skating. This kid did not want to hear an explanation about why a triple axel is a difficult and rare skill. His sole purpose was impress his friends by needling me. I have adopted a “no comment” policy with these brats, rather than opening my mouth and potentially saying something I might regret. Of course, I will happily discuss figure skating with any individual who approaches me with sincere interest.
As a young girl, I would have never even considered teasing a woman old enough to be my mother. My parents taught me to respect authority figures and other adults. I accept children teasing and making fun of each other as an unpleasant but natural part of growing up, but antagonizing a mature adult takes an unthinkable amount of nerve. It is not cute or funny; this behavior is obnoxious and ill mannered. Everyone has an opinion on the problems with today’s youth, and mine is no more valid or enlightened than the next. However, the
The session was not a total loss. In addition to long-distance flip jumps, I worked on a layback-change-back
Week of August 21, 2000
Pleasant Surprise
After weeks of crowded public sessions, I was pleasantly surprised when the masses departed early, leaving the well-worn but still inviting sheet of ice to me a few other adult skaters. This slice of heaven lasted for over an hour. Although I cannot count on summer public sessions accommodating serious practice of difficult maneuvers, I happily seized the opportunity to work on axels, a skill I have neglected for a month.
I found my axel right where I left it; certainly no worse and maybe a bit better. Even though I sloppily two-footed a few attempts, I only fell once and landed the majority of axel jumps. In the spring, my success to failure ratio rarely exceeded fifty percent, so this constituted significant progress. Encouraged, I completed numerous axels in a more crowded session later in the week. Children still do not gather to admire my little axels, but they tend to be impressed by my spins. One young teenage girl commented on my
In that practically empty rink, I jumped like a kid preparing for competition until my aching legs refused to eject my full-grown body from the ice one more time. Quad roller skating, my low-impact answer to jogging, may preserve my cardiovascular conditioning during the summer, but it does little to maintain my jumping muscles. I hate to admit exhaustion. During the regular season; I can skate undaunted for two hours, two and half hours for comfortable weariness, and three hours usually results in fatigue. Determined to keep skating, I worked on monotonous three-turns on a hockey line, a few moves in the field and then butterflies. According to
I would have felt guilty if that ice stood vacant while I unlaced my skates, dog-tired and defeated. Fortunately, the rink got its second wind and a substantial group of recreational skaters laced up rentals and filled the frozen void.
* Sports Illustrated Figure Skating: Championship Techniques
by John Misha Petkevich
Sports Illustrated Winner's Circle Books; New York, 1989.
Week of August 28, 2000
Summer Summary
This is the last week of summer skating before the kids go back to school and skating sessions return to normal. Unfortunately, I did not make progress toward my three objectives: the axel, double salchow and flying sit spin. Children who participate in skating camps for forty hours per week while they are out of school for the summer can expect significant progress toward their skating goals. I could not count on similar results. Due to my home rink’s inflated prices and inconvenient schedule, I opted to skate at a shopping mall ice palace, which was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. With a few exceptions, I could practice for a good hour before the place became over-populated.
Whenever conditions permitted, I worked on my goal elements, usually beating myself over the head with one or two of them, but rarely all three in the same session. Some things I will not try in even a moderately crowded rink, for fear of injuring myself and potentially someone else. Young people in public sessions are generally not experienced skaters, tending to be out of control and unaware of others around them. Glimpsing a clueless bystander in my peripheral vision, I will abort a move or become distracted and fall. However, even under the worse circumstances, I could always carve out a patch of ice to practice single jumps and spin combinations, which is where my summer improvements occurred.
The flip jump, which inexplicably vanished for a few weeks this spring, has grown to impressive proportions covering enough distance to make me think about trying a double under my coach’s guidance. My best jump, the loop, has undergone similar improvement. Now all I need to do is rotate twice while suspended in the air for that prolonged amount of time. In the spinning department, I spent time working on a layback-change-back sit spin combination, a move I played with occasionally without any real commitment. Lacking space for flying spins, I practiced and conquered this combination. Another troublesome combination, the forward sit spin-change-back camel, has also improved tremendously. Both of these elements are difficult, though not impossible like the aggravating double salchow. With practice, I can learn to perform almost any spin commendably. However, I wonder if I will ever do a decent double jump. The flying sit spin may be the exception to my spinning achievement rule. This move is ridiculously difficult to execute well. Yes, I can do a weak flying sit spin, but the take-off edge is incorrect and the “fly” looks more like a lethargic hop.
When I get back together with my coach this fall, I plan to work on the axel and double salchow in the harness (and maybe a double flip!). Additionally, the harness may help me to achieve better air positions in splits, stags and butterflies. Maybe I can overcome my flying sit spin deficiencies with a few harness lessons. In spite of numerous problems, I hold out more hope for a flying sit than a good double.
 |
 |
 |
The content of this site is copyright by "Kay" K. J. N., 1999 - 2001