Today I shakily learned my first two-foot spin and attempted a Mohawk, which, unlike the hairstyle, entails switching from a forward glide to a backward glide in a single graceful bound. Now that I've been moved up (I was promoted to the general adult class from the exclusively beginner class, so most of my classmates are ex-skaters trying to get back in the groove), I'm the worst in my class by far, so I have extra motivation to practice. I feel like I need to learn the basics really well, though, before I move on to these new things, as exciting as they are--I mean, I can't do a Mohawk until I feel comfortable in a backward glide, right? And I won't feel comfortable in a backward glide until I can do perfect backward crossovers, and I can't do backward crossovers until I master my back inside and back outside edges...I need practice. I feel like when I practice by myself, though, it takes me forever, and I still don't know if what I'm doing is right. Perfect practice makes perfect. Misguided practice makes misguided habits. I don't want to dominate the attention of my teacher, a tall, graceful, thin blonde who makes everything look only beautiful but incredibly easy on ice, because I know my classmates are anxious to move on, so I'm going to have to catch up on my own.
My backward half-swizzles, though, that I worked on for so long last time I practiced, were perfect. :-)
Learn to skate with me!
Two-Foot Spin:
Plant your left toe pick into the ice. Extend your left arm straight out from your body and extend your right arm at a right angle from there. Use your right foot to propel yourself forward in a half swizzle without lifting your skate from the ice, and as you do so, bring your right arm into your left arm. Bring your skates together, cross your arms, and shift your weight to the front third of your skate as you spin.
Mohawk:
Practice by standing your feet heel to heel on the ice and gliding from one onto the other (don't change the direction of your movement, just change the way you face). Begin a one-foot glide on your right inside edge. Bring your left foot in line with your right foot, heel to heel, just above the ice. Quickly shift your weight and plant your left (backwards) foot downward to continue your forward glide on your left outside edge.
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