Introduction

Hello internet world.

I've been an avid blog reader for some time, and thought that I would give it a chance. Mostly, my blog will discuss my hobby, figure skating, but it may also discuss my full-time job- teaching.

I am 28 years old and last year, around Thanksgiving, I decided I needed something to do- and I chose figure skating. As a little girl, I loved watching the greats spin and jump on TV, but never had a chance to try it out. Now, as an adult- I have begun the learning process. It's an exciting time to be an adult figure skater- there are competitions, both local and national in both governing bodies- ISI and USFS. I currently skate under ISI (the recreational skating body), but I haven't discounted USFS completely.

At the beginning, I took adult beginning and adult workshop classes at my local rink. In April, though, I switched into the regular ISI curriculum classes. I've done the testing and have passed pre-alpha through delta, and am getting ready for my freestyle 1 and 2 tests. I've passed the freestyle 1 and 2 classes, so come September, I'll be signing up for freestyle 3. I'm planning on beginning to compete in November as a freestyle 2 skater. So what does all of this mean?

In ISI, each level is broken down according to specific skills that you must learn, starting with pre-alpha, which includes two foot glides, one foot glides, swizzles (forward and backward), and backward wiggles all the way to freestyle 10-- which is super advanced jumps and spins and combinations. At Freestyle 2, I can do all of my 1/2 rotation jumps- waltz, 1/2 flip, 1/2 lutz, 1/2 toe walley, and ballet jump. I can also do a one foot spin, spirals on multiple edges, and everything below.

Learning to skate as an adult is exciting- there are always things to learn and master and improve upon. It's a whole-body workout. It is an individual sport, but it's social too. Sometimes, when I look at the little kids doing elements that I can't even dream of- I both am jealous, but also say to myself "one day soon, I'll do that too".

Today in practice, I spent time perfecting my waltz jump- a tricky jump for me that is not consistent. In fact, out of all the jumps, it gives me the most trouble. I know when I get it- it's great...but when I don't, it's horrible! I also went through my program four times- it's so much fun to have a program. Not only do you have all of the elements, but you have them in combination and to music... it adds so much more to everything. I fell in love with programs today in practice, haha.

So...switching gears... I practice about 6 hours a week divided over 3 days. I do one early morning practice (6am), one evening practice, and one weekend practice. Each day of practice, I have a private lesson, and twice a week, I have group lessons. I would love to spend more time on the ice- but unfortunately my schedule does not lend itself to spending more time on the ice.

This will be all for now- over the course of the next few weeks I'll post about the various things I've encountered about the sport. I hope you will come back and read!