Hello once again!
I fiiiiinally have something new to write about, skating has unfortunately slowed down due to ice availability (At least locally) and so my skating related posting ability has been limited as well. Though that doesn't mean I haven't done any skating or anything skating related. In fact, I practiced my skating techniques in a public skating session for the first time just recently.
The company I work for puts on a free public skate for 2 hours on a Saturday every year and I decided to go and enjoy it. Not many people showed up so the ice was nice and open! There was about ten of us and I convinced myself to practice my figure skating in those two hours. I even got some compliments which made me smile. I'm never in it for the compliments, but they do feel good! Beyond that though I've been unable to get ahold of any ice time which kind of stinks!
Alas, I've had to look at alternate ways to improve my skating when I can't get ahold of the ice and through both research and the advice of friends I've found myself enrolled in Ballet. There are a lot of techniques that can be shared between the two sports and I'm told that it can help with a lot of the issues I imagine most guys have in figure skating which are posture, gracefulness and positioning. Or at least those are my struggles!
Today was my first lesson and as usual...I was nervous. Not unusual for me. Anxiety-man should be my superhero name with how nervous I get sometimes. But I made it to the lesson and I have to admit. It was both fun, interesting and informative. I really should stop being surprised at how much I enjoy doing new things. I've always wanted to try some form of dance class so this was an interesting step for me as I didn't think it'd be Ballet.
I learned plenty in the lesson and my instructor was very knowledgeable, and friendly. Which helped my nerves a lot and while I'd love to do an individual breakdown of the things I learned like I do with my skating lesson entries, for the life of me...I can't remember half the French words for all the moves just yet. I know we practiced basic Plie positions and I vaguely remember the word 'demi' used a lot when we were doing things half-way. Buuuuut alas, it was all so new and exciting that I kind of flubbed remembering all the wording. I'll make sure to include the wording and descriptions of what I did in future entries as I remember them.
Also, I move like an ox. Haha. I do hope in time these classes will help me be at least a touch more graceful.
Now, I recently had a discussion with my skating coach about skating and what makes her love skating and its nice to know that someone shares the same feeling as I do:
"I love skating. Something about it, just gliding and speed and riding the edges out of jumps. Expressing yourself through music and getting tossed around is fun. It's lonely, chaotic and full of life. A peaceful place to call home."
I couldn't have put that in better words myself. While I may not have done any crazy jumps yet or anything. I get those feelings and sentiments. There is just something deeply enjoyable about figure skating for me and seeing that answer really reinforces my choice of coach. It's one thing to find a teacher, but another to find someone who feels the same way you do about skating.
Just a bit of a tidbit in there, but thanks to my coach for being awesome!
Ciao for now!
Sam
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