- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
Came across this on Instagram today and thought I'd share. Youtuber Michelle Khare took lessons with 5x Olympic pair skater Lloyd Eisler for 8 weeks with the end goal of competing. She skated 5x a week for 2 hours, did ballet, strength and flexibility training, and worked with a choreographer.
https://youtu.be/bL28tcsAVJs
A few of my takeaways...
-I thought a good portion of this was pretty realistic for what she tried to accomplish. I liked the fact she put in the work and commit to it and knew she wasnt going to be landing triple lutzes in 8 weeks. She progressed quickly for only 8 weeks.
-im happy she ended up getting real boots and blades that were right for her and learned the pain and challenges of breaking them in.
-i was confused at how cold she said she was after practice. I guess it could have been from not training programs at that point, but I always came off the ice in a tank top and dripping sweat after a session.
-im also confused why she was taught a flip first instead of a salchow or toe loop, as flips are usually learned 2nd to last due to difficulty.
-it was great how she didnt let her temporary move stop her, and she drove 2 hours round trip to the rink and even did open skate sessions late at night just to train for that time period. She understood she had to stay committed.
-Once she started training a program she learned how different and hard it is to do jumps in a program vs out
-the "competition" at the end was a sad mockery of what a real one is like, even at the club level, although I cant say I expected it to be realistic after everything shown in every skating movie ever. It kind of tainted my opinion of the whole video since it's the last thing shown...she talked the whole thing about her real experience with learning the sport but then kind of ruined it with the show costumes/programs from the other skaters, the older woman competing with young girls, skating under a spotlight, getting flowers and medals on the ice, and the "judges" holding up paper marks. It was honestly the farthest thing away from a real competition, but she would have had to join a club and wait to attend a real USFSA sanctioned adult competition if she had done it correctly.
Anyway, I always love to see people who have hardly ever stepped a foot on the ice really get involved with it and realize how difficult of a sport it is. It is definitely an interesting watch if you have some free time!
https://youtu.be/bL28tcsAVJs
A few of my takeaways...
-I thought a good portion of this was pretty realistic for what she tried to accomplish. I liked the fact she put in the work and commit to it and knew she wasnt going to be landing triple lutzes in 8 weeks. She progressed quickly for only 8 weeks.
-im happy she ended up getting real boots and blades that were right for her and learned the pain and challenges of breaking them in.
-i was confused at how cold she said she was after practice. I guess it could have been from not training programs at that point, but I always came off the ice in a tank top and dripping sweat after a session.
-im also confused why she was taught a flip first instead of a salchow or toe loop, as flips are usually learned 2nd to last due to difficulty.
-it was great how she didnt let her temporary move stop her, and she drove 2 hours round trip to the rink and even did open skate sessions late at night just to train for that time period. She understood she had to stay committed.
-Once she started training a program she learned how different and hard it is to do jumps in a program vs out
-the "competition" at the end was a sad mockery of what a real one is like, even at the club level, although I cant say I expected it to be realistic after everything shown in every skating movie ever. It kind of tainted my opinion of the whole video since it's the last thing shown...she talked the whole thing about her real experience with learning the sport but then kind of ruined it with the show costumes/programs from the other skaters, the older woman competing with young girls, skating under a spotlight, getting flowers and medals on the ice, and the "judges" holding up paper marks. It was honestly the farthest thing away from a real competition, but she would have had to join a club and wait to attend a real USFSA sanctioned adult competition if she had done it correctly.
Anyway, I always love to see people who have hardly ever stepped a foot on the ice really get involved with it and realize how difficult of a sport it is. It is definitely an interesting watch if you have some free time!