Monday, March 7, 2011

Back on My Skates

Well was I ever happy to be back on my skates. I was however also a bit worried about how awful I would be having not been on my skates for two weeks. Although I was a bit wobblier then I had been two weeks ago I  hadn't slipped too far back.

I certainly noticed the difference that the two weeks had made in the skaters around me. Many of those who had just started on skates didn't look that way anymore and the skaters who had been rusty weren't looking so rusty anymore. Gah! I had catching up to do.

In my absence the girls had moved forward but I was determined to claw my way to their skill level. I spent a lot of this session practicing skills we had already gone over and trying to catch up on things I had missed. I asked a lot of questions about what I had missed and a had the instructors show me the moves I didn't get, which they were so willing to do.

It was a very informative session but not that exciting news wise. The one neat thing we did do was jumps. I found out that one of the sessions I had missed they had done a class of jumps, so I thought they must all be pros at it. Luckily this wasn't the case and it turns out I was okay at them. I didn't even fall on my ass! That's always a good omen.

The other thing which we did that left an impression (because of how much I couldn't do it) was weaving between pylons on one skate. So that means after you have some speed just lifting one skate up (I can do that part) and then making yourself turn and weave using your body weight and skate edges to turn the skate where you want it to go.

When they did the demonstration of this skill we were all a bit frightened. Gliding on one skate is one thing but turning? I did my best here, but I have to say, I sure didn't get it. And, even the times I got a tiny bit close to doing it  I was always on my left skate, and we have to be able to do this on each foot, respectively, to pass our WFTDA test. Crumbs.  This will require some practice.

A number of us skating were a bit downhearted about this skill and our lack of ability in it, but one of the roller girls pointed out that this is a difficult skill and in fact kept her from passing her test on her first try. So, try and try again. And, try and try again.

Hopefully, eventually I will get it!

Coming Soon: Drilled Into Submission

4 comments:

  1. Welcome back!

    I hated cone weaving so much, until I got it and then suddenly was in love with it: "Look what I can do!!" It was a total Aha moment.

    Your instructors are probably saying the same thing, but it really does help to look ahead to where you want to be, not where you are. This means checking out the cones ahead continuously.

    And if you get a chance to practice, try with markers spaced out further than in the test, then see how tight you can get them. I like using water bottles instead of cones because they force you to be careful about form, they fall over real loud, and if the testers can't get into the equipment room, it's what's going to be used in the test anyway. :)

    I totally bombed my first test. It's not that big a deal: you get feedback and the women are great about helping you hone those areas.

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  2. Thanks misstrish! Yeah, looking ahead certainly seems to be part of it, pointing your shoulders and hips in the right direction, all made sense to me, just didn't seem to make it work. HAhahaha..of course, I know it's cause I'm not doing something right, but I will get it! It's nice to hear that it's not uncommon to bomb the first test, takes a bit of pressure off. Learning is good!

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  3. Been following your blog secretly... I'm so happy you found your way back to roller derby bootcamp, or whatever it's called. So excited for you. I know you'll do well. Keep it up!!!
    xoxox
    JT from Van

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  4. I love secret followers (hmmm, I had a good friend with those initials once upon a time), they make me feel special. Thanks so much for the good vibes, I appreciate them. I am technically called Fresh Meat now, I even got the t-shirt that says so! For how much I feel tenderized the name seems apt. Thanks so much for following along!

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