Andy is always on the phone! Is he managing his other job? I was almost pissed at a point. But, well, I just practised myself then. Then I remembered how I was always on the phone in the last couple months in PA. Was John pissed? Anyway, I hope he's doing fine. He seemed like he was not only always on the phone, but kinda worried/ irritated, whatever you name it. Sometimes I wanna know more about him. Just like how Ben always talks to Sally and Eva about himself, more like friends. But he is who he is. I still think he's a good coach. Just let it be.
Waltz Jump -
Tried hard to do a moving Mohawk, but the more I tried, the weirder it got. Thus I had to go back to make it slower and cleaner with every single move. Andy wanted me to keep a more steady pace, even it means it'll be a slower pace. Feels like it's getting a little better. I gotta go back to try many of it until I can make it steady, then I'll make it faster and higher.
One-Foot-Spin -
Still very inconsistent, but getting better and better now. I can hold my free leg up higher and longer, and I kinda found the trick for the position to hold my free leg longer, it really makes a difference, but it's indeed easier to understand by theory than really doing it.
Toe-Loop -
Let me call it a cheated toe-loop, or a toe-waltz. Have been practising on the rail. I'm just afraid I'll get used to doing a toe-waltz and won't be able to develop it into a real toe-loop. Well, I saw Ben taught his students the same way, and saw some other youtube video with ppl doing toe-waltz and call it a toe-loop. Seems like it's the learning process.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Lesson 20
Thank you Andy, for your encouragement. I'm feeling much better now, knowing I'm not too stupid, but indeed above average, as you've put it. Thank you so much, and you're great too. I don't care what other people said, to me, you're a good coach. :)
Thank you Jeffrey too. Haha..... for thinking I'm younger than you and Andy. I think I'm at least 8-9 years older than you guys. But thanks for the compliment. :P
LFO3 turn + Landing -
Reviewed it. I thought I could do it though not smooth, but during the lesson, just figured I couldn't quite do it when I was restrained in a tight circle. It's all about edging. Thus I went back to practise more on my forward outside edges. Well, but indeed, it's backward outside and inside that I need to practise. But I think I haven't learned it officially.
One-Foot Spin -
Getting better and better, though slow, but I think I do get better.
Learned the crossed leg position. It was actually easier than holding my free leg out. Yea, it's all about practice, practice, practice.
Waltz Jump -
The position is OK, I guess. I just need to add more power to it. So Andy wanted me to add more speed, i.e. accelerate a little before entering to the Mohawk. So I spent quite some time after lesson to practise a "moving Mohawk" along the perimeter. I think I'm getting better, but yet to do it faster and more steady.
That's it for Lesson 20. Oh, well, a lot to practise.
Thank you Jeffrey too. Haha..... for thinking I'm younger than you and Andy. I think I'm at least 8-9 years older than you guys. But thanks for the compliment. :P
LFO3 turn + Landing -
Reviewed it. I thought I could do it though not smooth, but during the lesson, just figured I couldn't quite do it when I was restrained in a tight circle. It's all about edging. Thus I went back to practise more on my forward outside edges. Well, but indeed, it's backward outside and inside that I need to practise. But I think I haven't learned it officially.
One-Foot Spin -
Getting better and better, though slow, but I think I do get better.
Learned the crossed leg position. It was actually easier than holding my free leg out. Yea, it's all about practice, practice, practice.
Waltz Jump -
The position is OK, I guess. I just need to add more power to it. So Andy wanted me to add more speed, i.e. accelerate a little before entering to the Mohawk. So I spent quite some time after lesson to practise a "moving Mohawk" along the perimeter. I think I'm getting better, but yet to do it faster and more steady.
That's it for Lesson 20. Oh, well, a lot to practise.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Am I hitting the plateau already?
Frustrated!
Though I know I'm still progressing slowly, but..... just feeling frustrated. So many things I've learned, yet so many things I fail to do. The plate's so full. What did I learn in the past 5 months?
Forward crossovers, backward crossovers, backward wiggle, lunge, stop, 2-foot-spin, 1-foot-spin, LFO3, RFO3, LFI3, RFI3, mohawk, waltz jump, half-flip, cheated toe-loop, forward outside edges, forward inside edges, plus the combinations of some of the above moves.
What have I mastered? None.
But have to admit I have much better control on the ice than 5 months ago.
Oh, come on, I know I can do it, not giving up yet.
Though I know I'm still progressing slowly, but..... just feeling frustrated. So many things I've learned, yet so many things I fail to do. The plate's so full. What did I learn in the past 5 months?
Forward crossovers, backward crossovers, backward wiggle, lunge, stop, 2-foot-spin, 1-foot-spin, LFO3, RFO3, LFI3, RFI3, mohawk, waltz jump, half-flip, cheated toe-loop, forward outside edges, forward inside edges, plus the combinations of some of the above moves.
What have I mastered? None.
But have to admit I have much better control on the ice than 5 months ago.
Oh, come on, I know I can do it, not giving up yet.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Lesson 19
I got an hour long lesson today. I guess I was way too relaxed today and started to be "too myself" and said quite some mo liu stuff. I hope Andy didn't mind. Well, for some reasons, I thought that he was a mo liu person as well. But when I asked Wai Chai, he said he didn't quite know Andy and couldn't really tell, since Andy was quite serious most of the time. Wai Chai said most of the coaches would just treat their students as clients, thus won't show much true feelings, not even when they're being offended. But I see them as my friends. I really don't know. At least, I see Andy as my friend. But maybe I should show more respect to him, he's my coach afterall. Anyway.......
Backward Stroking -
We did backward stroking figure 8. Good way to practise backward outside. Then we processed to backward crossovers figure 8 with 3-turn transition. It was way too hard for me, thus Andy lowered the level to forward crossover & backward crossover figure 8 with 3-turn connection. A little easier, yet I could only do them when grabbing tight on Andy. I think my main problem is I can't do a 3-turn on a move. It was in my items-to-be-polished list: practise 3-turn w/ momentum instead of in a standstill position.
Waltz Jump -
Not much progress. Still the same. But I think I'm getting more used to swinging my right leg to the front. Just need more practise to anchor the position. Then practise on getting more speed and height. Also, need to have smoother transition from 3-turn/Mohawk into the jump.
Toe-Loop Jump -
Can't believe it, I'm learning a single toe-loop jump!!! Can't believe I'm learning to do a whole revolution. Well, I was actually not really doing a whole revolution. Andy actually just wanted me to get the feel of it. So he taught me to do a cheated one first. But I'm excited enough. Well, but indeed, I totally doubt my ability, and I don't even know if it's a good idea to learn a toe-loop now since I didn't even secure my waltz jump and my half-flip. I should work harder to master the half revolution jumps, since I'm thrill to be learning a single jump.
1-Foot-Spin -
Getting a little better, and a tiny little bit more consistence.
I'm slowing down a lot. Feeling like I'm not going anywhere and won't go anywhere from here. Will I?
Backward Stroking -
We did backward stroking figure 8. Good way to practise backward outside. Then we processed to backward crossovers figure 8 with 3-turn transition. It was way too hard for me, thus Andy lowered the level to forward crossover & backward crossover figure 8 with 3-turn connection. A little easier, yet I could only do them when grabbing tight on Andy. I think my main problem is I can't do a 3-turn on a move. It was in my items-to-be-polished list: practise 3-turn w/ momentum instead of in a standstill position.
Waltz Jump -
Not much progress. Still the same. But I think I'm getting more used to swinging my right leg to the front. Just need more practise to anchor the position. Then practise on getting more speed and height. Also, need to have smoother transition from 3-turn/Mohawk into the jump.
Toe-Loop Jump -
Can't believe it, I'm learning a single toe-loop jump!!! Can't believe I'm learning to do a whole revolution. Well, I was actually not really doing a whole revolution. Andy actually just wanted me to get the feel of it. So he taught me to do a cheated one first. But I'm excited enough. Well, but indeed, I totally doubt my ability, and I don't even know if it's a good idea to learn a toe-loop now since I didn't even secure my waltz jump and my half-flip. I should work harder to master the half revolution jumps, since I'm thrill to be learning a single jump.
1-Foot-Spin -
Getting a little better, and a tiny little bit more consistence.
I'm slowing down a lot. Feeling like I'm not going anywhere and won't go anywhere from here. Will I?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Lesson 18
Having so much fun skating lately. Not because of skating itself, but of all the fun things, friendship, so and so. Indeed, I'm getting more and more lazy and inpatient in practising, but on the other hand, more and more keen on seeing friends and chatting in the rink. Don't know if it's a good thing or not. Anyway, I still enjoy skating a lot.
Backward Crossovers -
Practised backward crossovers figure 8. Not much progress. Seems like it's still the same. Still fall from time to time.
Forward Crossovers -
Getting better doing crossovers at the perimeter of the rink instead of just in a small circle. Still tend to point the toe pick down after crossing over.
Haven't practised the clockwise crossovers for a while.
Oh, well, I really gotta practise more on my basics.
Waltz Jump -
Have Andy checked on my position. After doing several small jumps, he said I've improved a little on the take off. He gave me 70 out of 100. I know he's way too generous.
Andy told me to bend my knee upon landing. It helps a great deal in securing the landing.
We tried entering the jump from a Mohawk instead of a 3-turn. He said it looks nicer that way though I couldn't tell the difference. I just know it's harder since I still need more practice on my Mohawk.
1-Foot-Spin -
Sometimes I can hit that "sweet spot", that feeling was so good, I'd just rotate naturally, almost effortless. But I can't most of the time. I have to practise more in getting right on the "sweet spot" everytime. I'm indeed very frustrated now. How come I just can't do it? Just can't. The times that I could do it was more like merely out of luck. It's very frustrating.
Then on top of the pivot entry, Andy added a T-position entry. I just can't do it. Am I way too stupid or what? Sorry, Andy, I know you've been very patient. [sigh] I'll practise more. But somehow I just wonder if it ever helps practising more if I just can't do it.
Backward Crossovers -
Practised backward crossovers figure 8. Not much progress. Seems like it's still the same. Still fall from time to time.
Forward Crossovers -
Getting better doing crossovers at the perimeter of the rink instead of just in a small circle. Still tend to point the toe pick down after crossing over.
Haven't practised the clockwise crossovers for a while.
Oh, well, I really gotta practise more on my basics.
Waltz Jump -
Have Andy checked on my position. After doing several small jumps, he said I've improved a little on the take off. He gave me 70 out of 100. I know he's way too generous.
Andy told me to bend my knee upon landing. It helps a great deal in securing the landing.
We tried entering the jump from a Mohawk instead of a 3-turn. He said it looks nicer that way though I couldn't tell the difference. I just know it's harder since I still need more practice on my Mohawk.
1-Foot-Spin -
Sometimes I can hit that "sweet spot", that feeling was so good, I'd just rotate naturally, almost effortless. But I can't most of the time. I have to practise more in getting right on the "sweet spot" everytime. I'm indeed very frustrated now. How come I just can't do it? Just can't. The times that I could do it was more like merely out of luck. It's very frustrating.
Then on top of the pivot entry, Andy added a T-position entry. I just can't do it. Am I way too stupid or what? Sorry, Andy, I know you've been very patient. [sigh] I'll practise more. But somehow I just wonder if it ever helps practising more if I just can't do it.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Lesson 17
Since Andy was sick, we changed our lesson to Thursday instead. What's going wrong? Lots of people are sick; Andy's sick, Ben's sick, Sally's sick. Must be the sudden drop of temperature. I do feel cold sometimes, especially there's no heat at home, but certainly it's no where to compare to Philly's weather, shouldn't complain.
So both Wed and Thur before lesson, I tried a lot of inside and outside forward. And Thur after lesson, I did quite some 1-foot-spin.
1-foot-spin -
Probably Andy has spotted me failed on all of my 1-foot-spin during practice, he asked me to do a couple 2-foot-spin first. Though not perfect, I thought they were OK. But I failed again when he asked me to do 1-foot-spin. Then I mentioned the screws of my left blade was losen couple weeks ago, I fastened them back and seemed like I lost my ability of doing a 1-foot-spin afterward. (Well, I gotta blame on something else sometimes, hahaha......) Andy took a look at my blade, then centered it a little and put another screw on. It didn't help much, and too bad, I lost my excuse. hehe....... anyway..... but he gave me some more instruction on doing the spin, and told me indeed my position was correct, it was all about practice. After knowing the fact that it's quite normal to fail like that at the beginning, I felt much better, and the pressure was lessen. Certainly his instructions helped and I started to feel the position and the trick. So after lesson, I kept doing 1-foot-spin until my left foot hurt. I think I'm getting just a liiiiiitttle bit better.
Forward outside/ inside edges -
I think I passed the fear of bringing my free legs to the front. I could hold my free legs up front higher and longer. Yee has once told me I kept looking down at the ice, so I tried to look straight to the front instead, it also helped to stablize myself. More practice is needed, but I'm thrill enough at this point.
Waltz jump -
Yee said what Andy has said, yes, I tend to swing my right leg to the side instead of forward when I take off. It's kinda like a cheaty jump, since when I swing my right leg to the side, I already made a 1/4 rotation, thus I just need to do another 1/4 in the air before I land. I don't know when I've developed this bad habit. I gotta correct it before it's too late. Not only it doesn't look good, I can't jump high if I swing my leg to the side, I guess it also set a bad foundation if I'm going to do an axel later. (will I ever get to learn axel jump? oh well, doesn't hurt to dream a little) I did practise a lot on swinging my right leg to the front and try to make the whole half rotation in the air, but since I can't see myself, I don't know if I'm doing it correctly. I think I better stop for now before I develop any more bad position. I gotta ask Andy to check my position first, and I have to feel the right position before practising more to anchor it.
LFO3 & RFO3 turns -
I think they're getting better now. During the lesson, we tied them together. It was kinda fun. Andy said we were like doing latin dance. :)
Oh, I saw Marco demonstrated some jumps to his students. Wow.... he jumped so high with great speed. Nice. :)
So both Wed and Thur before lesson, I tried a lot of inside and outside forward. And Thur after lesson, I did quite some 1-foot-spin.
1-foot-spin -
Probably Andy has spotted me failed on all of my 1-foot-spin during practice, he asked me to do a couple 2-foot-spin first. Though not perfect, I thought they were OK. But I failed again when he asked me to do 1-foot-spin. Then I mentioned the screws of my left blade was losen couple weeks ago, I fastened them back and seemed like I lost my ability of doing a 1-foot-spin afterward. (Well, I gotta blame on something else sometimes, hahaha......) Andy took a look at my blade, then centered it a little and put another screw on. It didn't help much, and too bad, I lost my excuse. hehe....... anyway..... but he gave me some more instruction on doing the spin, and told me indeed my position was correct, it was all about practice. After knowing the fact that it's quite normal to fail like that at the beginning, I felt much better, and the pressure was lessen. Certainly his instructions helped and I started to feel the position and the trick. So after lesson, I kept doing 1-foot-spin until my left foot hurt. I think I'm getting just a liiiiiitttle bit better.
Forward outside/ inside edges -
I think I passed the fear of bringing my free legs to the front. I could hold my free legs up front higher and longer. Yee has once told me I kept looking down at the ice, so I tried to look straight to the front instead, it also helped to stablize myself. More practice is needed, but I'm thrill enough at this point.
Waltz jump -
Yee said what Andy has said, yes, I tend to swing my right leg to the side instead of forward when I take off. It's kinda like a cheaty jump, since when I swing my right leg to the side, I already made a 1/4 rotation, thus I just need to do another 1/4 in the air before I land. I don't know when I've developed this bad habit. I gotta correct it before it's too late. Not only it doesn't look good, I can't jump high if I swing my leg to the side, I guess it also set a bad foundation if I'm going to do an axel later. (will I ever get to learn axel jump? oh well, doesn't hurt to dream a little) I did practise a lot on swinging my right leg to the front and try to make the whole half rotation in the air, but since I can't see myself, I don't know if I'm doing it correctly. I think I better stop for now before I develop any more bad position. I gotta ask Andy to check my position first, and I have to feel the right position before practising more to anchor it.
LFO3 & RFO3 turns -
I think they're getting better now. During the lesson, we tied them together. It was kinda fun. Andy said we were like doing latin dance. :)
Oh, I saw Marco demonstrated some jumps to his students. Wow.... he jumped so high with great speed. Nice. :)
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