Seriously??

After attending a one-day workshop that was an edge class at the rink, I decided to sign up for the group edge class at the same rink. This one was four classes, eighty minutes long and in the same vein as the workshop. I liked the workshop; I enjoyed the workshop. How much different could this class be? Apparently, quite different. It started off okay. The first week was fun with various levels of adult skaters. I was still wearing my wrist brace, so everything felt somewhat awkward. After several exercises incorporating parts of the Silve MIF, we broke off into groups. I opted for the lowest level of jumpers/spinners because of my timing issues with my jumps and spins and my wrist brace. I had already knocked myself in the face with that thing (putting on my coat) and also figured that sometimes you just need to work on the basics. The group was five of us; there was another lefty (YAY!!) and we worked on waltz jumps and Salchows. I still am not a fan of Salchows. When the instructor (whose name I still don’t know) came around, he told me that the edge going into my waltz jump wasn’t being held long enough and the distance between the take-off and the landing edges weren’t long enough either. Okay, I’ll agree on the first part; not sure about the second. He had me practice them from a T position. Okay. After about twenty of them from a T position, I went back-to-back crossovers… Nope. I had to do them from a T position. That did not do much for my timing, but the jump did get better. On to a Salchow. He had the same correction. I worked on it from back crossovers… Nope. I had to do them from a T position. There was a woman in the class who had never done a Salchow before. She could do them from back crossovers; not me. Again, the jump did get better. Fast forward to my lesson with my coach. My jumps had improved. I mentioned that the instructor said the distance between my take-off and landing wasn’t long enough and his response was, “Forget about that. Concentrate on the jump.” I pay him so I’ll listen to him. Don’t get me wrong, I pay for the class too.

The next class, we’re doing Cross Rolls, also on the Silver MIF test. I don’t have a problem with them, but they weren’t good as far as the instructor was concerned. I have actual edges on that move and you hear that ripping sound that you’re supposed to hear. Not good enough. Okay… We break off into groups and again I choose the lowest level. No longer wearing the wrist brace because it just gets in the way, I am determined to get my timing back. We’re doing scratch spins. My fellow lefty is not there, but that’s okay because I’ve been doing scratch spins for years. I do two crossovers and step into my scratch spin. I’m told that I’m stopping before I step in and I should practice Bauer Threes to prevent that. Okay. I start to do another scratch spin… no wait. I have to do it from a T position. I haven’t done a spin from a T position in so long, I don’t remember how to do it. My brain is not computing how to do it and I’m not spinning at all. While the other three women in my group are spinning from back crossovers, including one woman who has never done a one-foot spin in her life, I am spinning from a T position. I would like to point out that two of the other women stopped dead in their tracks before stepping into their spins. We tried sit spins for giggles. I had to go first, and I have a pretty decent sit spin. Nope. Not low enough (okay, I’ll take that), it wasn’t centered well, the edge going into the spin wasn’t long enough and I paused before stepping in. I was back to the T position. When we worked on waltz jumps, again my edge wasn’t long enough and the space between take-off and landing wasn’t long enough. I was back to the T position while the rest of the class was doing them from back crossovers, just as badly as I was. I’m not sure what was going on here. I would hate to think that this was some crazy form of light gaslighting. Either way, there are two more classes, and I will attend and get my money’s worth. As for any “corrections”, I’ll take them with a grain of salt. I spoke to my skater friend and her response was “That sounds like Ted.” For those of you who don’t know who Ted was in my life, he was an old coach I wrote about on June 20, 2011. She hit the nail on the head with her comment; this instructor IS just like Ted and I kicked him to the curb years ago. You can’t tell me to toss out everything I already know how to do so I’ll do it the exact way you want it. That’s not how the world works. I know how to do a scratch spin, a sit spin, a waltz jump and a Salchow. Go bother someone else. Once these classes are over, I will not be returning. And don’t call it an edge class/workshop if it’s really a Learn To Skate Class wherein an instructor will tear you down for shits and giggles.