Your personal progress - Please share your updates! | Golden Skate

Your personal progress - Please share your updates!

Snorlax

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Country
United-Kingdom
Hi there,

I may have overlooked something, but it seems like there's no thread for sharing personal progress, although I'd really like to know (and share myself)!

So...

What does your personal progress look like at the moment?

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with?

What's the latest achievement you're proudest of?

What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life?


Please share! Anything from techniques over purchases, coach changes, human interaction, lightbulb moments, competitions... I wanna hear everything - stories, happiness and frustration alike! Also, feel free to come back and share again if you have any news!

I'll start:

I'm super excited as I'll have my first solo-lesson with a coach tomorrow! Also, I'll join the rink's skater club and I'll also order my first decent boots tomorrow, after having my feet measured again! Super chuffed about it, although I'll be very very broke afterwards, but it's totally worth it!

Alright - now it's your turn! Cheers!
Snorlax
 

bunnybarista

If I risk it all, could you break my fall?~
On the Ice
Joined
May 27, 2018
Nice idea for a thread, Snorlax! I've seen something similar on another forum and enjoyed it. :)

Currently I'm gearing up to compete, which I'm really excited about but also pretty nervous about! I'm proud of all the days where I didn't feel like getting out of bed to skate before work, but where I still got up and went to the rink to put in some hard work to make this dream a reality! Currently, I'm frustrated with ice conditions at my rink, and frustrated with myself for sometimes popping a specific jump in my program. However, I'm trying to remember to be kind to myself! :)
 

Snorlax

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Country
United-Kingdom
That sounds amazing! I don't think I'll ever compete in figure skating, I just don't feel the urge, however I know from other hobbies how amazing the excitement can feel. What's with the ice conditions at your rink? I sometimes get annoyed at the the ice quality at our rink, too, especially when some overly confident idiot tries to do something 'cool' and then ends up shoveling a big hole into the ice with their skates.

Thanks also for responding! I hope this thread gets a bit more attention. I'd really like to hear more stories, I'm dying for some experience exchange from other skaters!

I had my first session with a coach now, and it was awesome. I had just passed Skate UK 4 officially, but because I was self-taught before, my coach spent most of the time going through some elements to see what I can and cannot do. She was surprised how much I could do from higher levels (e.g. Forward Crossrolls). She told me that I will pick up the elements I haven't done before quickly, and we found out that my self-taught limits lie mostly in the fact that I just wasn't aware I need to use my arms to learn some elements! :) Now I have someone to tell me how to do that, and I hope to improve soon.

Have also ordered black Chorus boots, and am super excited and just waiting for a call from the rink that the boots have arrived. The staff at the rink have been super helpful and supportive with my journey, I joined the club as well and once I have the boots, someone will take their time with me and mount the blades properly, with watching me skate on a temporary mount, then readjusting etc.

:)
 

Nimyue

On the Ice
Joined
May 15, 2018
What does your personal progress look like at the moment?
- 2S getting more consistent and larger, 2T rotating all the way though landing two footed still.

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with?
- Backspin was the biggest struggle of all. Axel is no picnic. Working figures has greatly improved all my skating though.

What's the latest achievement you're proudest of?
- Backspin - definitely my proudest achievement of the past year.

What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life?
-Axel. Just F this jump lol
 

Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
What does your personal progress look like at the moment? I'm working on Silver MITF and am making some slight progress with my back 3 turns so that they're not as shaky. And I'm properly landing every 2 out of 10 flip jumps, so it looks like I'm a toe jumper now where as in my teens my loop jump was my most consistent jump. Now that has one has gone totally awol. My coach wants me to test Silver MITF soon, which we'll see as I feel as if everything - especially my forward 3 turns to back 3 turns are just horrible, although strangely I am exceptionally good at double three turns?

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with? Learned: Rockers and counters. Improved: Back cross rolls are now fun! Edge pulls are slightly better but not where I want them to be. My sit spin is starting to look like i'm sitting and not just awkwardly squatting. Struggled: Backspin, really just getting over my left side. But at least they're getting kind of fast.

What's the latest achievement you're proudest of? Landing my flip jump! Now onto relearning my lutz and not having my half-lutzes be flutzes.

What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life? ~EvErYtHiNg~ but my loop and backspin, and watching other adult skaters have most of their single jumps even if they just basically hop in place. (Even if I'm two footing everything, at least I get some distance and height.) Yeah, I am incredibly petty and competitive when it comes to skating.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
What does your personal progress look like at the moment?/What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life?

SLOW. Because time and money. :laugh:

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with?

Everything I could already do improved instantly once I got new skates. Unfortunately, the guides mostly go by jumps or instructional levels and don't account for hours of edge/knee bend drills or for hydroblading and spread eagles and all the other fancy boot-destroyers I love. :laugh:

Everything I've been working on but haven't gotten yet also improved immediately, but I've barely had time to practice. Fortunately, things at work seem to have calmed down right when I was starting to get reaaaally salty about not being able to skate as much.

What's the latest achievement you're proudest of?

I landed a flip for the first time since my old boots broke down, and finally found the sweet spot on my spin rocker. On my birthday. :biggrin:
 

jersey1302

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Country
Canada
The other day I landed 5 pretty decent double loops.. I havnt done that in.. probably 15 years.. im 34 now lol. so that was nice. Im also proud that Im getting the hang of newer spin positions that I never have done before like that pancake spin ( i dont know what else to call it) and a tuck behind position.
 

jcskates

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 17, 2020
Country
Canada
What does your personal progress look like at the moment?

-slow. Im 25 and only started skating last septermber. I progressed fast but as the elements got harder my progress became slower. Plus it doesn't help that I have foot problems.

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with?

- I can do a catch foot spiral for more than 10 secs last week and somehow I can barely do more than 3 secs today. I did improve on my two foot to one foot spin, I got 2 revolutions on one foot. :laugh: and my bunny hops look a little bit more graceful (it looked like an ugly galloping horse who stepped on poop, now just looking like a galloping horse)


What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life?
-time and money. wish i had more time in a day to skate, wish I had more money so I can get private ice time, get a private coach, and buy new skates. Though I am saving up for all of these.
 

MiraiFan

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Progress in the past year:
Way better edges
Improved speed and power in crossovers, etc.
Reworked jump technique
Reworked spin entries
Consistent front scratch and lower sit spin
Loop jump fully rotated (on harness)
Stag jump mastered
Toe loop technique reworked
Backspin progress--3 rotations consistent

Goals:
Continue improving Adult silver MIF patterns
Master backspin (speed and multiple rotations)
Master camel spin
Master a loop combo
Start working on lutzes
Put a Bronze-level program together
 

ladyjane

Medalist
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Country
Netherlands
Just for fun this, as I don't do competitions. It's all recreative for me. Also, I'm 53 and didn't start FS since my 49th. The one thing I learnt is that when you start off at this age, there is a lot of fear of losing balance and falling (even if I haven't really fallen that painfully any one time, the fear remains).

Progress:
Improvement general skating skills (edges and such)
I'm getting really close to executing the loop jump (single) well.
Have a proper sit spin
More speed in crossovers

Goals:
Have fun
Generally improve.
 

Arwen17

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
I'm currently working on getting up to Adult Gold FS standard. I made myself super sore a few days ago getting my camel leg totally straight and my sit spins low enough: https://www.instagram.com/p/B89Y9sZpC_7/ But this is the level where I've really got to fix it. No more mercy in this level for slightly bent knees or sit spins slightly too high if I want to pass Adult Gold FS test some day.

Axel remains my biggest frustration. Closely followed by twizzles on the Intermediate MIF test.
Twizzles are getting there, just gotta be patient. I've been DOING them for a long time. Getting them up to test-passing standard is harder.
Axel is looking smoother and more fluid, but still doesn't have enough height nor fast enough rotation, so I'm still under-rotated, even if it looks prettier now.


I passed all Adult MIF/FS tests in just 3 years, except for Adult Gold FS. Working on that and Intermediate MIF right now. Follow my insta if you want to see the madness continue: https://www.instagram.com/crystalized.skates/
I also started ballet 2 years ago.... you know, just to make sure I have no free time left. ;)
I'm hooooping I'll be getting the OK to go on pointe at the end of this semester.

I skate almost every morning of the week. I do ballet in the afternoon almost every day.
I just turned 29. Started skating at age 26 in January 2017. Started ballet in August 2018.


Goal is to hopefully pass Intermediate MIF by the end of this year. And I will be skating an Adult Gold length FS program at the end of this year, but I have no idea when I'll be ready to pass the actual test. All depends how fast I can improve my height and rotational speed issues to finally get a fully rotated axel and build up the stamina to make my spins hold perfect position all the time etc.

I don't compete. I just perform and test for fun. Long-term goal is to get all the way to senior-level tests if everything continues to work out.
 

skybrigade

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Oh these threads are fun! All of us 20+'s, it's kind of nice knowing a lot of adult skaters. Makes me feel less bad about the 16yo's kicking my ass.

What does your personal progress look like at the moment?

I started taking lessons consistently right after my 29th birthday. It'll be officially Year 2 next week! We do ISI at my rink and I'm working on slowly preparing for my 2nd competition. I wanted to compete a level higher than my last one (in October), but I'm not rushing my progress and have been having trouble finding time to practice my weak spots. The nice part though, my group coach teacher asked me at the start of classes if I was going up a level, because she fully expected me to with my current skill set. So that was nice!

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with?

I remember when I first started skating, I was having the hardest time getting 3-turns smoothly. Now, I'm struggling with edge jumps (I can't properly land a loop without near wipeout yet), but apparently my "I'm pretty sure this was garbage, sorry" salchows are decent according to both my coaches. I honestly wasn't expecting to get this far.


What's the latest achievement you're proudest of?

I nailed a backspin! I managed to almost get it once (wiped out smoothly enough too), and my coach said me falling meant I was going in the right way, but I managed to actually get the right edge. My last 2 lessons were fantastic. And then we found out the rocker on my skates is near dead.


What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life?

I had no clue trying to buy new skates without breaking the entire bank was going to be such a hassle. Also managing to find time to go more than twice a week and still have energy. I work 45-60hr weeks so usually it's evening public skate and... hoping they aren't all in the way.
 

Snorlax

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Country
United-Kingdom
Working on that and Intermediate MIF right now. Follow my insta if you want to see the madness continue: https://www.instagram.com/crystalized.skates/

I skate almost every morning of the week. I do ballet in the afternoon almost every day.
I just turned 29. Started skating at age 26 in January 2017. Started ballet in August 2018.

I don't compete. I just perform and test for fun. Long-term goal is to get all the way to senior-level tests if everything continues to work out.


This is a wonderful approach and even though I'm nowhere near your level, I try to follow the same mindset! It's nice to see someone's progress live, I don't have any videos yet although I'm dying curious and want to see how I look when I skate! I should ask my coach to take a few vids.

Also, I'm 5.9 too! Hello fellow big girl!! :))

@skybrigade: Anyone is welcome to the iceskating world in my eyes, doesn't matter whether you're 12 or 70! Especially because 99% of skaters don't want to compete on world/olympic level!

We actually have a super lovely older lady skating at our rink, she is an absolute sweetheart and gave me some really useful advice that made me get my forward crossovers right.

Speaking of my own progress...we are still going through elements to test what I can and can't do, but the progress is there!
Last session was the second session with practising 1-foot 3-turns and I actually managed to get a really smooth one for each direction/edge! Most of them are still very wonky though :)
Last session I also did my very first two-foot spin. It was ridiculous because my trainer showed me how to do it, and I was like "Oh ok, this is exactly like all the videos I watched!" and then I tried it and did one perfect spin with a few revolutions...and afterwards, couldn't repeat that, no matter what :laugh: :whack: We were like "Woah" at first and then "Oh god what is happening here" the next few minutes :palmf:

Also started learning inside Mohawks! Much to learn, long way to go, but it's loads of fun!

And I'm still waiting for my new boots to arrive...they didn't have them in stock because I'm a big foot, and they're coming from Italy! I'm soooo impatient and want to have them, like, now! :biggrin:
 

skybrigade

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Also, I'm 5.9 too! Hello fellow big girl!! :))

@skybrigade: Anyone is welcome to the iceskating world in my eyes, doesn't matter whether you're 12 or 70! Especially because 99% of skaters don't want to compete on world/olympic level!

We actually have a super lovely older lady skating at our rink, she is an absolute sweetheart and gave me some really useful advice that made me get my forward crossovers right.


I'm ALSO 5'9! T'is the season for talls!

And That's my thoughts on it! Two of the ladies in my class are over 50, one's as old as my mom and we cheer her on every time she lands her jumps because she's afraid of falling and getting hurt (again). We're just excited to see everyone building their confidence. The older ones always have such neat advice too. Congrats on the 3-turn progress, Snorlax! They're tricky but you're getting there~
 

Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
I'm ALSO 5'9! T'is the season for talls!

And That's my thoughts on it! Two of the ladies in my class are over 50, one's as old as my mom and we cheer her on every time she lands her jumps because she's afraid of falling and getting hurt (again). We're just excited to see everyone building their confidence. The older ones always have such neat advice too. Congrats on the 3-turn progress, Snorlax! They're tricky but you're getting there~

Wow, we could form a (very bad) volleyball team. I'm also 5'9". :)
 

FigureSkater2625

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 27, 2020
Country
United-States
What does your personal progress look like at the moment?

Working on getting my two foot spins and starting the entrance to a waltz jump.

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved, or really struggled with?

I’ve recently learned the bunny hop, and two foot spin. One thing I have really struggled with are backwards crossovers and backwards one foot glides.

What’s the latest achievement you’re proud of?

Today I managed to pull my two foot spin into a bit of a one foot spin, with my foot at my ankle and I actually stayed balanced for a revolution or so and it felt really cool!

What’s the biggest frustration in your current skater life?

Backwards everything really... concerning the crossovers and backwards one foot glides I mentioned above, as for the crossovers it’s not that I can’t get the cut back (sliding?) motion down, I pretty much have that on both legs, my problem is that I can really only seem to do one crossover then I stop and have to do a quick swizzle or something and do another one. They’re consistent in the sense that I can do them successfully, but I cannot for the life of me do them one after one after one. Another thing is I have a bit of a hard time trying not to make sure my feet are performing the correct motion while I’m looking backwards (even though I know they will because my brain is telling them what to do) so I’m really trying to train myself out of that and as for the backwards one foot glides I can’t ever get my foot more than an inch up my other leg when attempting it which just really makes me upset because if I can’t get comfortable with a free leg up when going backwards it will completely hinder me going forward with my skating. Another frustration of mine is that I feel like I’m on a timer. I started last year at 19 and I’m 20 now but I feel like if I can’t get my doubles or even singles by the time I’m thirty I’ll never be able to do them. Even 21 or 25 I feel like I have to conquer the whole universe of skating while I’m still in decent shape, I want to compete in competitions and I know I started retiring age- late but I hope to do some adult competitions and I feel like I’m constantly running out of time to master one element or another so then I just continue to put more and more pressure on myself.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Now that I'm less busy: Coronation Aces are amazing, I'm amazing, everything is amazing. I CAN FINALLY SPIN. :biggrin: Scratch and sit, too crowded to try camel but I'm sure I'll get that soon since I had no trouble getting into the position in my old blades (revolving was another story...).

My sit spin was much slower than my upright spins, so I just went for it full steam ahead to some nice power metal. :laugh: I did not think it would work that well, that soon. Now my sit spins are lightning fast, yay! I always skate better to a good beat. :rock:


Another frustration of mine is that I feel like I’m on a timer. I started last year at 19 and I’m 20 now but I feel like if I can’t get my doubles or even singles by the time I’m thirty I’ll never be able to do them. Even 21 or 25 I feel like I have to conquer the whole universe of skating while I’m still in decent shape, I want to compete in competitions and I know I started retiring age- late but I hope to do some adult competitions and I feel like I’m constantly running out of time to master one element or another so then I just continue to put more and more pressure on myself.

I'm in my early 30s and in more than decent shape. I've been skating on and off since I was 10, so I do have that advantage, but I'm progressing even faster in my 30s than as a kid thanks to better instruction, proper skates, and being in much, much better shape.

Of course things like injury and illness can happen to anyone, but beyond that, how good a shape you're in at any given age is largely within your control, especially if you start taking care of your health young. I was lazy as heck and the poster girl for skinny-fat at your age. Now I'm not. :)
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
Another frustration of mine is that I feel like I’m on a timer. I started last year at 19 and I’m 20 now but I feel like if I can’t get my doubles or even singles by the time I’m thirty I’ll never be able to do them. Even 21 or 25 I feel like I have to conquer the whole universe of skating while I’m still in decent shape, I want to compete in competitions and I know I started retiring age- late but I hope to do some adult competitions and I feel like I’m constantly running out of time to master one element or another so then I just continue to put more and more pressure on myself.

You have decades ahead of you to - hopefully enjoy - competing. Relax and enjoy the journey. Because it is all about the journey and it's one that doesn't end so time limits don't apply.
 

davincisoprano

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 19, 2015
What does your personal progress look like at the moment?
Slow. I'm coming back from being sick for a few weeks so my stamina is shot. I am lucky if I manage 40 minutes on the ice right now. :-/

Any elements or techniques you learned, improved or really struggled with?
Working on Gold MITF and Juvenile MITF and working on improving technique so I don't look like an adult skater on test day.
Knee bend is improving. It's not consistent yet, but it's coming along.
Struggling with getting out of my head and focusing on keeping my face up. I'm trying to leave looking down to the first few minutes on the ice so I can figure out where the hockey divots are. I skate on a very empty public, but there are some hockey dudes that will come and absolutely carve the heck out of sections of the ice, so for my own safety I like to map out where those things are at the start of the session so I'm aware of them.

What's the latest achievement you're proudest of?
Knee bend getting better and flow improving.

What's the biggest frustration in your current skater life?
Not getting on the ice enough. My stamina.
 

Snorlax

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Country
United-Kingdom
Happy Snorlax needs to post updates! :hap93:

My new skates (Edea Chorus) finally arrived and today I had the chance to test them, they were amazing! Only about half an hour mild pain (I've had worse when I got back into skating some months ago!)

My edges feel much much stronger and more stable, but I need to get used to the slightly shifted balance towards the ball of the foot.

However, I was able to do most of my elements more or less stable after a session of about 1,5hrs - and I know that once I get really used and comfortable with these new skates, I will be able to do...great things! :yahoo:

Today I realized how unsuitable my old skates were for me, no wonder I couldn't do 3-turns on them properly, with the lack of stability. I actually did a number of very nice and smooth 3-turns today so THAT was a surprise!! :party:

I was so happy I wanted to hug everyone at my home rink (didn't, but may have given a few people some good reasons to chuckle, because of my excitement) and I need to say special thanks to Ic3Rabbit who insisted on her recommendation to get Chorus boots! I felt so intimidated by that stiffness level, but now I can tell that it was much needed. (Lesson learned - listen to the pro!) :laugh:

Now a tired but adrenaline-pumped Snorlax will go to sleep! Nighty-night! :bed:
 
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