So much for thinking I had it

Had my lesson today. I showed off my progress on stroking and the crossovers. Will said it was doing well, then promptly crushed me into a powder by saying that my knees weren't bent enough. He demonstrated, and he was right. What feels like bent to me looks pretty timid when he mimics what I'm doing. He also added some new nuances to start turning this into something closer to the style that ice dancers do it.

Damn. Two steps forward, one step back.

Sigh - he said to get used to it, and I'm trying hard to keep up my spirits. This is a hell of a lot harder that I ever thought it was going to be. The bright side is, when he showed me the stylistic things I needed to do, I grasped it pretty quickly and was able to do it, although inconsistently I did get it and he was complimentary. Hit me with a stick, then make me like it :) More new stuff to work on. I'm really looking forward to the day I can get around the rink and NOT look like a bloody beginner and KNOW that I don't look like a bloody beginner. It's really unbalancing to be back to not being able to move gracefully. I've spent so long knowing that I can take any step and make it look good that now discovering that I can take any step and make it look like crap is a hard lesson.

Will also gave me some stylistic tweaks to the crossover thing today - to turn it in a "progressive". More nuances, and I've got a ton of work to do now - again. I guess it's good that he's already starting to give me more detail-y things to think about, but the day I can do something and look like an ice dancer can't come soon enough for me! Oh, I also learned how to do a T-stop today. You see ice skaters do this all the time and is tres elegant. I was able to do it right a couple of times (first windmilling my arms madly like a goose with too much Starbucks, then finally figuring it out) so that's more to work on.

Good thing I'm at the rink most mornings. He's really pushing me hard, but that's just what my middle-aged butt needs right now, so bring it on!