Notice that I did not say “Jo is looking up.” It would probably be stretching it to say that I am no longer staring at the ice a lot of the time. But it has been a really good skating week already, and it’s only Tuesday!

First of all, I love working on loops. I am working on forward outside and inside, and starting the back outside. I have only just begun to work on the Schafer push off for the back outside, but I love it already.

Round and round I go! I love working on loops so much! I love them even though Laurie gently pointed out at my lesson this week that I wasn’t really doing an outside loop, only scooting around on a circle and making myself dizzy. I need to bend my knee and ankle more to actually make that loop shape.

I am starting to love my swing rolls as well. Part of this newfound adoration is that I am realizing how to line up my torso over my skate using newly-discovered abdominal muscles (more on that later). Part of it is that I now have a two part knee bend: part one is the bend into the initial edge, part two is another little bend to initiate the free leg coming through (it feels like I’m lifting it through, not just swinging it through).

Only a short post for now, but I wanted to share the love. Back later!