Skating Fridays

Novice Moves – Rocker Chocktaws

Countless coaches and skaters warned me that Novice Moves was going to be hard. They said that the jump from Intermediate to Novice was a big one, and that these moves would test my ability as a skater.

These people were not lying. I definitely feel challenged with each of the elements on the Novice test. My counter patterns are decent, but the one element that is the hardest for me is the rocker-chocktaw. Sadly, these dreadful things appear twice in the test. Once in the first very move (and at a super fast tempo), and again in a slower version with a sustained backward outside edge.

While my quick rocker chocktaws are still horrendous, the slow ones have finally made some improvements. I’m still missing the push under on both sides so I am losing power and momentum. Perhaps it’s because I’m holding my breath so I don’t fall over? (totally not kidding there)

All jokes aside, I am proud of the progress I’ve made on this move. You all should have seen where they started. Too bad I didn’t get a “before” video to show you all!

Here is just a small snippet of where they are right now:

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