Had my second lesson this morning, and the early returns are positive! Will complimented my control in forward stroking, and said that it normally takes students weeks to get to the point I'm already at. That's the dance training kicking in, and a validation that I should be able to learn this stuff! Good news all around.
At the last minute, I got pulled into an early morning meeting at work yesterday, which meant I couldn't go to the rink for my normal practice time. To make up for it, I went early today and put in a full hour before my lesson. And yes, my ass is killing me, and likely to stay that way for some time. Oh, and I had my first technicolor, windmilling wipeout today :0 Glad that's over finally.
After working on my forward stroking and doing some fine tuning (more work to do!) he started me in on a second way to stop, and on edge control exercises. The new stop was the classic hockey stop (the one that kicks up a spray of snow). I get how it's supposed to work, but I've got some ground to cover to get confident enough to actually commit to the movement. That wipeout came when I tried it the first time. SkitSkitSkitSkitBOOM! Quick check to see if I'm a)still breathing, b)still in one piece and c)whether anyone saw me do it. Yes, yes, and (sigh) yes.
Edge control is going to be fun, once I get control of it. Basically, you do half circles first on one skate, then on the other, using just one of the edges on the blade to support you and lead you around the curve. The one time I did it right this morning, I actually felt like a real skater! Will said I have to do this like I would do a barre exercise - just do it over and over and over. I told him that's the way I approached the whole week, and he said that's why I am making such good progress. The discipline from all those years of dance very much translates. I "get" that you have to do a lot of piddly shit exercises over and over to develop the fine control, and am used to it. Dance is hours of mind-numbing boredom that leads to a triumphant 15 minutes on stage. Skating is turning out to be no different.
I took a break between my workout and my lesson and got to watch a high school guy figure skater work on his short program. It really took me back to watch him. He's tall and decidedly NOT willowy - in other words, built just like me, and he has very much the same body I had at the height of my dance career, right down to the thinly developed upper body and the hemispheric butt. In spite of this, he was landing double-double jump combinations that look all the more dramatic simply because he's so big - that's that powerful ass making it possible, just as it was for me as a dancer. It was a pleasure to watch him and not a little slice of nostalgia. It also made me rethink not learning to figure skate - maybe I could do jumps after all. Plenty of time for that - I'm just going to enjoy learning the fine control for now and watching my younger doppleganger skate.
So after a week, I think I'm really going to enjoy this. I am getting back into the swing of the physical discipline and enjoying that laser-beam focus that I used to get when doing ballet exercises - where the whole world goes away and it's just you and the mirror and the pool of sweat... and a smile.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I think I actually have TWO coaches....
Had my second practice session today. As I had hoped, giving my brain a day to assimilate what I'd practiced yesterday was very productive - you really do need to sleep after new learning, whether it's academic or physical. There's something that happens overnight in the brain, and you wake up the next morning with a better command of what you learned. It was that way for me. Stopping (which I spend half an hour on the previous day) came back well and I had pretty good control of it - so much so that I really didn't have to focus much on it. Instead, I worked more on my forward stroking (that bend-the-knee-glide-forward thing).
The difference this morning was that my coach and his dance partner were there doing their own workout. Will came over, said HI, and complimented me on my stops (I'd been doing some to warm up). Later as I was working on my forward stroking, his partner came up and said "this was driving her crazy and she HAD to fix it".... in other words, I think I've just grown a second coach. :) She told me I was killing my forward momentum by not bending my standing leg enough, then proceeded to grab my arm, press down on my shoulder and keep it there while I tried to move.... it worked, of course- I got the difference immediately. She allowed as how she's "not as nice as Will" as a coach - I think I'm caught in the middle of a "good cop, bad cop" thing - which isn't bad at all. I just hope she doesn't feel obligated, and that she's doing it because she wants to help. :) I very much appreciated the correction.
After just going back and forth on one end of the rink the whole morning, at the end I decided to take a risk and try to connect strokes together and make it around the rink... Remember, the place is FULL of people who know exactly what they are doing, and I live in terror of running into one of them in my inexperience. When you do this right, you spend most of your time on one foot or the other gliding, and one mis-step and I catch a toe pick and barrel into some unsuspecting kid in the middle of a spin. Kind of like bowling, except I'm the ball.
Here's where my acting training came in handy. I just put my courage together, remembered how I'd seen skaters all my life lift their chins, reach out with their arms, an just GO - and that's what I did.... and it felt right. IT FELT RIGHT!!!! I got all the way around the rink, stopped in a controlled fashion at the gate, stepped off the ice, and nearly screamed for joy!
By the way - it's amazing how much sweat you can generate standing on a block of ice. Counter-intuitive, I know... just one more weird thing to get used to. I have to start wearing layers that I can peel off during a practice. By the end, I could feel the sweat trickling down my back - but didn't care because it was well earned :)
The difference this morning was that my coach and his dance partner were there doing their own workout. Will came over, said HI, and complimented me on my stops (I'd been doing some to warm up). Later as I was working on my forward stroking, his partner came up and said "this was driving her crazy and she HAD to fix it".... in other words, I think I've just grown a second coach. :) She told me I was killing my forward momentum by not bending my standing leg enough, then proceeded to grab my arm, press down on my shoulder and keep it there while I tried to move.... it worked, of course- I got the difference immediately. She allowed as how she's "not as nice as Will" as a coach - I think I'm caught in the middle of a "good cop, bad cop" thing - which isn't bad at all. I just hope she doesn't feel obligated, and that she's doing it because she wants to help. :) I very much appreciated the correction.
After just going back and forth on one end of the rink the whole morning, at the end I decided to take a risk and try to connect strokes together and make it around the rink... Remember, the place is FULL of people who know exactly what they are doing, and I live in terror of running into one of them in my inexperience. When you do this right, you spend most of your time on one foot or the other gliding, and one mis-step and I catch a toe pick and barrel into some unsuspecting kid in the middle of a spin. Kind of like bowling, except I'm the ball.
Here's where my acting training came in handy. I just put my courage together, remembered how I'd seen skaters all my life lift their chins, reach out with their arms, an just GO - and that's what I did.... and it felt right. IT FELT RIGHT!!!! I got all the way around the rink, stopped in a controlled fashion at the gate, stepped off the ice, and nearly screamed for joy!
By the way - it's amazing how much sweat you can generate standing on a block of ice. Counter-intuitive, I know... just one more weird thing to get used to. I have to start wearing layers that I can peel off during a practice. By the end, I could feel the sweat trickling down my back - but didn't care because it was well earned :)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
New definition for the word "intimidation"
in-ti-mi-da-tion, (n) The act of walking into a skating rink for your first practice session and seeing a couple step onto the ice and proceed to do the most breathtaking dance combinations together.... and they are 14 years old.
So I figured out over the weekend that, if I'm going to be serious about this, I need to plan on getting to the rink every morning for an hour's practice. I have a lot of ground to cover and it's going to take that kind of focus to get me there. So at 6am, I was at the rink pulling on my skates for only the second time, trying to remember what Will taught me last Friday, and screwing up my courage to actually get out and do this. Surrounding me were about 15 other skaters, about half adults and half kids, who quite obviously knew exactly what they were doing and had the confidence that I can only dream about right now.
I decided today that I should probably concentrate on practicing stopping. With people whizzing by me in every direction, I hugged the wall and starting working on my snowplow stops. Lap after lap after lap, dodging people doing double-axels, little girls with their coaches practicing spins, and two sets of couples (including the middle-schoolers), I skated forward and stopped, skated forward and stopped. First on the left, then on the right. Like a baby giraffe learning how to walk on newborn stilt-like legs, I circled the rink - ungainly and feeling very VERY self-conscious.
I have to tell you - that was one of the bravest things I've ever done.
Partway through my laps, a guy about my age came up and introduced himself. Shawn. He's one of those couples (ice dancers) out on the ice this morning, but I have to tell you, it really helped have one of "them" notice me and take the time to welcome an obvious neophyte to the rink.
The good news is that, after 30 minutes of stopping, my body started to figure it out and it became a lot easier. As I'd hoped, my dancer instincts are kicking in. I stepped off the ice for a quick stretch (oh my god, my hips are going to be sore tomorrow) and then decided to switch to forward stroking. This was a little eaiser. I know what the position should feel like, and my dance instincts give me good information about what I need to be correcting (arch the back, square the shoulders, squeeze the buttcheek, etc.) so this went a little better. I still have a tendancy to drift to the right when on my left leg, and I have to remind myself to extend the backleg out toward the side more than I'm used to - but all in all, this worked out better than I expected.
The 45 minutes went by really fast. That's how long the first block of time was for - you pay for each block of time on the schedule. I left the ice (stopping quite nicely at the gate - no more running into walls for me!) and went to change back into my street shoes feeling like I'd made a good start.
Still intimidated as all hell, but at least I've gotten past my first practice session without making a spectacle of myself - and there was some noticable progress.
And those middle-schoolers were still whizzing around the rink when I left. I found out they are on the USFSA development team. They are damn good. I guess it's OK to be intimidated by a kid after all.
So I figured out over the weekend that, if I'm going to be serious about this, I need to plan on getting to the rink every morning for an hour's practice. I have a lot of ground to cover and it's going to take that kind of focus to get me there. So at 6am, I was at the rink pulling on my skates for only the second time, trying to remember what Will taught me last Friday, and screwing up my courage to actually get out and do this. Surrounding me were about 15 other skaters, about half adults and half kids, who quite obviously knew exactly what they were doing and had the confidence that I can only dream about right now.
I decided today that I should probably concentrate on practicing stopping. With people whizzing by me in every direction, I hugged the wall and starting working on my snowplow stops. Lap after lap after lap, dodging people doing double-axels, little girls with their coaches practicing spins, and two sets of couples (including the middle-schoolers), I skated forward and stopped, skated forward and stopped. First on the left, then on the right. Like a baby giraffe learning how to walk on newborn stilt-like legs, I circled the rink - ungainly and feeling very VERY self-conscious.
I have to tell you - that was one of the bravest things I've ever done.
Partway through my laps, a guy about my age came up and introduced himself. Shawn. He's one of those couples (ice dancers) out on the ice this morning, but I have to tell you, it really helped have one of "them" notice me and take the time to welcome an obvious neophyte to the rink.
The good news is that, after 30 minutes of stopping, my body started to figure it out and it became a lot easier. As I'd hoped, my dancer instincts are kicking in. I stepped off the ice for a quick stretch (oh my god, my hips are going to be sore tomorrow) and then decided to switch to forward stroking. This was a little eaiser. I know what the position should feel like, and my dance instincts give me good information about what I need to be correcting (arch the back, square the shoulders, squeeze the buttcheek, etc.) so this went a little better. I still have a tendancy to drift to the right when on my left leg, and I have to remind myself to extend the backleg out toward the side more than I'm used to - but all in all, this worked out better than I expected.
The 45 minutes went by really fast. That's how long the first block of time was for - you pay for each block of time on the schedule. I left the ice (stopping quite nicely at the gate - no more running into walls for me!) and went to change back into my street shoes feeling like I'd made a good start.
Still intimidated as all hell, but at least I've gotten past my first practice session without making a spectacle of myself - and there was some noticable progress.
And those middle-schoolers were still whizzing around the rink when I left. I found out they are on the USFSA development team. They are damn good. I guess it's OK to be intimidated by a kid after all.
Friday, October 24, 2008
First lesson today! 644 Days to the Gay Games.
How weird is this - I'm a middle-aged, male software geek and this morning at 7am, I was at an ice rink for my first ice dancing lesson. Yes, I said ice dancing. I have this silly idea of training to compete in the next Gay Games. I have a lot of friends who have been, and they've all come back with amazing stories - I want that experience for myself. The good news is that, at the Games, you compete at your skill level and within your age bracket. It's all about participation anyway, so they've set it up where you can be a beginner and still be involved. Kinda nice that way. I don't have a lot of time (the next games are in Cologne, Germany in 2010) but I should be OK enough to compete in a beginning bracket and not make an ass of myself. Of course, I EXCEL at making an ass out of myself, so this may be harder than I thought.
Plus, there's that little matter of a partner.... and I want to compete in the same-sex partner category if I can. They have both categories, so I could go with a female (you don't have to be gay to compete) and I'm told it's not hard for a guy to find a partner - there is no dearth of men in the sport, I'm told - but I'd rather do a male/male competition. Perhaps I'll find both a male and a female partner to train with eventually. They encourage you to compete in more than one event when you are there. That might be fun.
So let's do the math - I have to find a guy, who is a beginning ice dancer, who is near to my height (6'3"), and willing to be a bit of a spectacle at the rink when we practice together. Hm - that narrows the field just a bit.
We will see. Gotta have a goal, right? Maybe the games after that (when I'm 50) will be better, and a nice 50th birthday present to myself. 644 days to the Games - opening ceremonies are July 31, 2010.
I'm going to keep a journal of this strange little journey - both for myself, and for you - the person with not much else to do but read about me :)
Actually, this morning wasn't as much of a train wreck as I thought it would be. I'm a retired professional dancer, and I had hoped that my prior dance training would give me an "edge" (pun intended - sorry) in learning how to translate all of that to ice.
Yes, and no.
Yes, in that knowing my body well, and having the instincts that help me understand what's going on and what's not right, was a real asset this morning.
No, in that there are a LOT of differences, and in some cases I have to unlearn a bunch of things if this is going to work out. For starters, rising up onto your toes is second nature to a dancer - and will lead to an inevitable face plant on the ice when your toe pick catches. Been there, done that. Also, you spend nearly all your time with your knees bent... which means I'm either going to get back my killer thighs or just be in pain all the time.
My poor coach. When Will and I talked via email, I gave him full disclosure on what he should expect - that is to say, a train wreck in slow motion. :) He seemed game, so no surprises!
The good news is that things actually went better today than I expected they would. He threw a lot of stuff at me today, and after a few tries, I at least understand what it's SUPPOSED to feel like, so I can practice on my own this week - and practice I will have to do. A lot.
Here's what we covered in the first lesson:
1. Falling down without hurting yourself. The key is, the moment you feel yourself about to take a tumble, curl up in a fetal position (once the pain hits, you are going to do that anyway, so I guess the theory is that you get there sooner). It's designed to keep you from breaking a wrist, I guess, but it does look pretty silly on me. Note to self - don't fall too much. Note to self - who are you kidding.
2. Stopping. I've been rollerblading for years, and actually can already get around a rink on ice skates pretty well, but somehow I never learned how to stop... or rather, stop without running into a wall. So as it turns out, when a skate blade is flat to the ice (both edges down) it actually doesn't have much traction (how counterintuitive is THAT?) and it will slide sideways, kicking up a snowcone in the process. I'm going to have to work on that one, because all my instincts tell me it will lead to a face plant...
3. Forward stroking. OK guys - I have to tell you - even just skating forward like an ice dancer is hard - REALLY hard. There's the whole bend-your-knee-the-extend-the-other-leg-back-and-then-straighten-the-knee thing that takes a while to figure out. I can do that just fine, but doing it without looking like a ruptured chicken is another matter altogether. That one is going to take some time. On top of that, the position is really different from how you would do it in dance. In arabesque, the toe of the back leg should be in line with the heel of the supporting leg (sort of "six o'clock"). In ice dancing, it's more like 5 o'clock, a little to the side. I get why (tried is both ways) but WOW is that going to be hard to unlearn.
4. Curves. OK - this one is really weird. If you've ridden a motorcycle, you know that you have to lean into the turns. You don't fall over because of the centrifugal force you have in that turn. Curves is exactly like that. You are on one leg, then you lean to the outside and the skate takes you around in a circle - but it only works if you lean away from your center of gravity and sort of trust that the curve will happen and the force will keep you upright. My initial response? HELL NO. ICE IS HARD! I finally got it down, after a fashion, but I think that's what I'm going to have to spend the most time on this week. It was a couple of weeks before I was comfortable leaning into a corner on my motorcycle, and it's probably going to be the same way on skates. I will keep you posted.
Plus, there's that little matter of a partner.... and I want to compete in the same-sex partner category if I can. They have both categories, so I could go with a female (you don't have to be gay to compete) and I'm told it's not hard for a guy to find a partner - there is no dearth of men in the sport, I'm told - but I'd rather do a male/male competition. Perhaps I'll find both a male and a female partner to train with eventually. They encourage you to compete in more than one event when you are there. That might be fun.
So let's do the math - I have to find a guy, who is a beginning ice dancer, who is near to my height (6'3"), and willing to be a bit of a spectacle at the rink when we practice together. Hm - that narrows the field just a bit.
We will see. Gotta have a goal, right? Maybe the games after that (when I'm 50) will be better, and a nice 50th birthday present to myself. 644 days to the Games - opening ceremonies are July 31, 2010.
I'm going to keep a journal of this strange little journey - both for myself, and for you - the person with not much else to do but read about me :)
Actually, this morning wasn't as much of a train wreck as I thought it would be. I'm a retired professional dancer, and I had hoped that my prior dance training would give me an "edge" (pun intended - sorry) in learning how to translate all of that to ice.
Yes, and no.
Yes, in that knowing my body well, and having the instincts that help me understand what's going on and what's not right, was a real asset this morning.
No, in that there are a LOT of differences, and in some cases I have to unlearn a bunch of things if this is going to work out. For starters, rising up onto your toes is second nature to a dancer - and will lead to an inevitable face plant on the ice when your toe pick catches. Been there, done that. Also, you spend nearly all your time with your knees bent... which means I'm either going to get back my killer thighs or just be in pain all the time.
My poor coach. When Will and I talked via email, I gave him full disclosure on what he should expect - that is to say, a train wreck in slow motion. :) He seemed game, so no surprises!
The good news is that things actually went better today than I expected they would. He threw a lot of stuff at me today, and after a few tries, I at least understand what it's SUPPOSED to feel like, so I can practice on my own this week - and practice I will have to do. A lot.
Here's what we covered in the first lesson:
1. Falling down without hurting yourself. The key is, the moment you feel yourself about to take a tumble, curl up in a fetal position (once the pain hits, you are going to do that anyway, so I guess the theory is that you get there sooner). It's designed to keep you from breaking a wrist, I guess, but it does look pretty silly on me. Note to self - don't fall too much. Note to self - who are you kidding.
2. Stopping. I've been rollerblading for years, and actually can already get around a rink on ice skates pretty well, but somehow I never learned how to stop... or rather, stop without running into a wall. So as it turns out, when a skate blade is flat to the ice (both edges down) it actually doesn't have much traction (how counterintuitive is THAT?) and it will slide sideways, kicking up a snowcone in the process. I'm going to have to work on that one, because all my instincts tell me it will lead to a face plant...
3. Forward stroking. OK guys - I have to tell you - even just skating forward like an ice dancer is hard - REALLY hard. There's the whole bend-your-knee-the-extend-the-other-leg-back-and-then-straighten-the-knee thing that takes a while to figure out. I can do that just fine, but doing it without looking like a ruptured chicken is another matter altogether. That one is going to take some time. On top of that, the position is really different from how you would do it in dance. In arabesque, the toe of the back leg should be in line with the heel of the supporting leg (sort of "six o'clock"). In ice dancing, it's more like 5 o'clock, a little to the side. I get why (tried is both ways) but WOW is that going to be hard to unlearn.
4. Curves. OK - this one is really weird. If you've ridden a motorcycle, you know that you have to lean into the turns. You don't fall over because of the centrifugal force you have in that turn. Curves is exactly like that. You are on one leg, then you lean to the outside and the skate takes you around in a circle - but it only works if you lean away from your center of gravity and sort of trust that the curve will happen and the force will keep you upright. My initial response? HELL NO. ICE IS HARD! I finally got it down, after a fashion, but I think that's what I'm going to have to spend the most time on this week. It was a couple of weeks before I was comfortable leaning into a corner on my motorcycle, and it's probably going to be the same way on skates. I will keep you posted.
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