Sometimes I Feel As Though I'm Running On Ice

[anarchist_nomad]

I PASSED LEVEL SIX!!!!!

Ahem. Tonight, I had originally intended to have a social night, either at either the London Poly MeetUp or at Coffe, Cake and Kink. Those plans got the axe, however, on account of the need for an additional ice skating lesson.

Yesterday was week five of my Level Six course. At the end of it, I had passed three of the four skills for this level: a two-foot slalom, backwards chasses around a circle (both directions), and turning from backwards to forwards on one leg. I had not yet passed the "forward three-turn" -- a maneuver wherein one begins by skating forward, raises one leg, pivots to backwards on the other leg, and ends in a backwards glide on one foot. To pass Level Six, it was necessary to do the move on either leg. My turns weren't bad, but I found it difficult to end in a one foot backwards glide; the second foot kept coming down too soon.

Normally, this would not be a problem. After all, there is one week left in the course. However, I leave for the States (and P**T***!) on Thursday and will miss the final week. Whoops. To make up for the loss of a thirty minute group lesson, I sprung for a fifteen minute private lesson tonight. I would have preferred a different evening, to preserve the social night. Alas, this was the only evening that my instructor had available.

In any case, I am very glad that this worked out. We got me through the three-turn relatively quickly... so I am now certified as a Level Six NISA skater! We also had time to start looking at one of the Level Seven skills for next term: Backwards crossovers. Astoundingly enough, my first attempts at them were not bad!

Oh, my goodness. Eight months ago, I could barely stand up on the ice. Tonight, I just did backwards crossovers.

I can't wait to get to Rockefeller Center in December!!!

Comments

[skitten.livejournal.com]

I sucked at ice skating- I was just *bad* - my memories invlve a lot of awkwardness * fumbling :)
roller skating wasn't much easier *heh*

[skitten.livejournal.com]

walking,yoga & tai chi are the closest to sport-like things that I do & they aren't very sportlike ;)
I learned to ride a bike when I was twelve but I didn't do it well nor very often...

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

*grin* Is figure skating considered "jock-ish" now? :-)

Seriously, though, I do like to be physically active. Back in May, I hiked the length of the Isle of Wight -- twenty-seven miles over hilly terrain. In preparation, I spent the two months before going on walks of increasing lengths. First three miles, then nine, then seventeen, then twenty-two. Next year, I am toying with the idea of the London Bike-a-thon, basically a fifty-two mile cycle ride. I am never going to be an athlete (or a competitive skater!) but I like to use my body. As a child, I was largely sedentary, preferring to focus on developing my mind. Eventually, I learned that this was a mistake -- it isn't an "either/or" situation!

As for balance... well, you and I may share that awkwardness! Anything that requires balance does not come easy to me! I did not learn to ride a bicycle until I was twenty-nine years old! I had a doctorate before I could ride a bike! Similarly, as a child I could not roller skate, ice skate, ski, whatever. I am working on that now, first with the bicycle -- which has become my main means of local transportation -- and next with the figure skating lessons. Eventually, I will probably learn to ski as my next step...