I will be honest... most of my focus when I practice is on things I learn from ice dance lessons. I know I need to be more balanced and work on a little bit of everything when I’m practicing to make sure I’m improving my skating in more than one area so I can see an overall improvement in all my skills. I don’t want to be a lopsided skater skill wise and that’s kinda where I’m headed at this point if I don’t shape up and get back on my basic skills track!
I think I just wanted to be able to nail the first round of dances because my dance coach is going to be moving soon and I wanted to be able to test with him before he goes. Maybe that was a reach for me given how long it takes me to get the tiniest things but we DID manage to get the Dutch Waltz, Rhythm Blues, and the Canasta Tango pattern wise! Not with music yet and with some more tweaks and things I need to fix on my own but it’s still something!
My practicing leading up to today’s dance lesson was somewhat obsessive. Last lesson, my coach had me do outside swing rolls (something I had neglected on individual skill practice) and he kept adjusting me as I went so I knew I had to work on my outside swing rolls until I got them down. It took a lot of trial and error but I eventually managed to finally work my body to a muscle memory point of understanding how to make it work without losing speed and maintaining proper shoulder counter change with each swing. Naturally, since I obsessively practiced that one thing over and over while trying to test it out in full pattern run through on my own, he didn’t ask to see them individually at all. Just my luck.
We did a couple run throughs for the Dutch Waltz and Rhythm Blues to start. Major notes were my leg needs to stay in proper extension and I need to push harder.
“I need you to push. I am carrying you across the ice!”
“I AM pushing! At least a some of that had to be me...”
“Okay, on a scale from 1-10 how much were you actually pushing me through?”
“I am just kidding! It’s hard to say on a scale... Just push harder.”
Ask and I shall deliver. Wanting to prove myself has its advantages because next run through I was pushing a lot more and it was up to the coach’s standard. Then came the Canasta Tango... the dance I somehow managed to memorize in the midst of trying to perfect outside swing rolls. I was able to do the pattern without forgetting anything but as usual there are some tweaks to be made... and then there’s the awkward feeling of the reverse killian position. Not a fan but I gotta work on it to get better!
Overall, today was a good lesson day. I don’t know when I’ll be seeing him again though so I guess I’ll just have to be more disciplined and push myself on my own. Even if my skating journey with him ends some day soon, I’m happy and thankful for everything he’s taught me this far and I wish him the best.
For my own future practices, I think I’m going to keep a list with me of what I need to work on and try to focus my practice on going through that list to ensure overall growth for everything. I’m also considering filming myself so I can analyze what I’m actually doing and what I need to fix.
Here’s to continuing to improve and grow as a skater!
