In Pursuit of Many Dreams

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Wicked - Defying Gravity (2003)

An apt song choice for an adult beginner like myself, this is a popular song choice, but one that would be fun to skate to nonetheless! Enjoy this storyboard version of the full song I found that I liked~ 

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Exercises for Adult Figure Skaters

I follow the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Committee on Facebook, and oftentimes they’ll share useful resources for adult learners like myself. One such resource is one they posted today, and that’s a video series on YouTube of exercises specifically for adult figure skaters. The most important thing to remember as an adult skater is that while young skaters or career skaters more frequently suffer overuse injuries, adult skaters tend to suffer more from acute injuries, which are more severe. According to an article from the Professional Skaters’ Association, “a program to reduce risk of injury should include off-ice balance training and an on-ice program that focuses on skating skills, such as proper stroking technique, including knee bend, posture, and ankle control.”

So to help mitigate the possibility of acute injury, Team USA physical therapist Melinda Couch teamed up with the USAFSC to create such a program. The playlist can be found by clicking on this link here! This is INCREDIBLY helpful, especially for me, because I’ve been looking for an exercise regimen geared toward improving my skating but couldn’t find one that wasn’t too rigorous for me to handle at my current fitness level. I hope it helps you!

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo (Red Devil) (2006)

I’d forgotten how much I loved these guys! This song appeals to my Latina roots and it’s just a fun song to listen to, I’d love to see what a choreographed program to this looked like. So high energy and fun!

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Fall Skating Update~

I’ve only been to two classes so far this session, but it’s been a lot of ups and downs.

The first class was the last day one of my adult skating friends could attend, because she moved out of state. On top of that, this session the practice ice is before the lesson instead of split between or after, so warming up and getting back on the ice for the first time was rough as it always is. And it was compounded by the fact that I was breaking in new skates. Needless to say, I was a little bit more than a little discouraged. 

But our instructor this session is the instructor I had for Adult....2? Or the one I had when I went to the makeup sessions on Mondays in Adult 1, and she’s one of the best instructors, in my opinion. She has a way of simultaneously breaking the skills down into bits that are easier to replicate and pushing you past your limits so that you come away feeling like you’ve accomplished something. 

The first class, I focused on forward crossovers and doing those cursed backwards one-foot glides. They’re...kind of awful. But I said that about the left one-foot glides and I managed to get them down eventually! So I’ll just keep at ‘em and I’ll get them before I know it.

The second Saturday I missed, because 1) I woke up and my back condition was flaring up so I wanted to take it easy, and 2) the highway I normally take to class was closed for weekend construction. There is a way I can get to class going on city streets, but it takes me through some less than savory areas of town and it’s considerably slower (almost an hour drive, compared to 15~20 minutes depending on traffic). So I went yesterday to make up the missed class.

Yesterday’s class was also practice ice first followed by the lesson, and there were a bunch of little girls playing tag on the ice and darting in and out of the skaters trying to practice. The other adult skater was as frustrated as I was but it’s kinda hard to scold them when their helicopter parents are just on the other side of the plexiglass...

In any case! I also almost exclusively focused on forward crossovers and outside edges yesterday, and it’s very encouraging how much progress I feel I’m making. I even fell and only had a minor heart attack! I also worked on the two-foot moving turns again, which still need some polishing. No wonder I was having trouble with the 3-turns, I was doing the two-foot turns. 

I think next session if the road construction continues to be bad, I may consider going to the other club that’s about equidistant as far as commute goes but has easier highway access. I like my club and when I started, their class hours were more conducive to my schedule, but between the commute becoming near impossible, and the fact that the other club has apparently a bigger program for adult skaters, I figure it’s at least worth checking out.

That’s about it for this update! If anything interesting happens in the next class I’ll write up another update, and in the meantime, I’ll keep working on the resources guide and program music ideas :)

Edit: I forgot to mention, I officially got my first ankle bruises from doing too many crossovers 8D it’s probably not something I should be celebrating but it makes me feel like an official figure skater haha!

[magicaleggplant]

Zahra Lari (UAE) competes in the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy ladies’ short program, 9.29.2017 (x)

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

A little too late for Monday Motivation, but congratulations to Zahra for competing! Dare to dream, girl~

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Adult Learn to Skate Instructor’s Guide!

So you may or may not remember that back in June I volunteered to work as a camp counselor for my club’s annual summer skate camp. The whole process required me taking an online course and registering as an instructor with the committee in charge of Learn to Skate through U.S. Figure Skating. All that fun red tape.

Well, last week I finally got the instructor’s manual that comes with being an instructor. Well, techinically. I wasn’t really doing any of the instructing, I was more herding the masses than anything. ANYWAY. Wayyy back when I started this blog, I posted a link to the curriculum in Adult 1 through 6. It’s a comprehensive list, but it doesn’t explain the material very well. 

That’s where the instructor’s manual comes in. It explains what is expected of a student in order to pass the skills test, what the focus of a particular skills is, as well as a helpful explanation of the move. That last category is unfortunately better suited towards actual instructors, but it does provide some insight. 

The pictures I have of the manual are pretty terrible quality, so I will go back and type them up for you at some point. For now, though, here’s the Adult Learn to Skate curriculum as described in the instructor’s manual:

Please let me know if you would like for me to share the other curriculums in the instructor’s manual, as well!

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

James Swearingen - Exaltation (1978)

An oldie but definitely a goodie! God, I haven’t heard this song since middle school. It’s a song band me beeegged my director to let us play but he didn’t want to spend the money for the sheet music. I figure if I couldn’t play it in band back then, why not skate to it now?

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Journey to Skyhold (2014)

I know, I already included the main theme for DA:I, but then I stumbled on to the soundtrack for arguably the most epic cinematic cutscene in gaming history. AND it’s already the perfect length for a pre-Bronze or Bronze level Adult skater? Sign me the heck up! I’m torn between this and the Breath of the Wild main theme for my debut competition *____*

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Technical difficulties?

For some reason some of the video posts for the program music ideas seem to stop working on occasion. Something’s wonky with youtube’s embed code or something. I went back through all of them to ensure it wasn’t the case that a video had been removed or anything. Please let me know if you run into any technical difficulties when browsing the blog!

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Tuck Everlasting - Main Theme (2002)

Let’s be real, when I saw this movie, the whistling bit was stuck in my head for months, which is the only reason I remember it now. But the fiddle and the Irish whistle would make a great step sequence, and the music box at the end is a nice touch. 

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Fate of the Gods - Steven Reineke (2001)

I’ve been loathe to include tone poems in this section of the blog just because most them are so darn long. I’d be afraid of ruining the story the composer wanted with the piece by cutting it for a program. But this was, by far, the most enjoyable and memorable song I ever played in high school symphonic band (even though we only sight-read it...) and I... I just couldn’t resist. Color me nostalgic.

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Celtic Woman - Tír na nÓg (2016)

Three words: Jason. Brown’s. Riverdance. If Jason Brown can pull off Reel Around the Sun, Tír na nÓg would make an amazing program with more nods to the Celtic heritage! 

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Happy 100 Followers!

Thank you everyone who follows this blog! It’s been kind of slow the last few months, but hopefully I’ll have more content for you now that skating season is starting up again/I’m starting fall lessons. 

I’m also considering posting film updates of my progress! Thoughts? Comments? I’d be happy to hear from you!

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Christopher Tin - Madokara Mieru (Through the Window I See) (2009)

This song is so epic and the ideas for all the different edits you could do to make a program are endless! Just a beautiful piece. The hardest part would be how to not include the entire song. 

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

Lindsey Stirling - Master of Tides (2014)

Ahh yes, another Lindsey Stirling piece. I can’t help it, her songs are just so good!! *___* I love the Celtic, pirate-y feel of this one. It’d be fun to design a costume to this one! 

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - The Battle (2005)

There are so many good things about this song, I don’t even know where to begin. For starters, I’m almost certain I have seen this in a skating program before, but can you tell I love those epic soundtrack pieces? Haha. You’d probably have to decide which segment of the song you liked the best and focus on that just because the piece is so long, but there’s a lot to choose from.

[inpursuitofmanydreams]

2CELLOS - May It Be (2017)

As a general rule, unless I’m really in love with the skater, programs with slower music tend to be a little boring for me. With this song, that would not be the case. I don’t even want to skate to this one because I don’t think I could do the song justice. I would pay good money to see someone skate this, in total seriousness. I love love love the Enya version, but this. This is perfection.