Practice Makes Perfect

Figure Skating is a tough sport. It’s physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. It’s no wonder all of us have screamed, “I quit!” even if it was only a momentary lapse in self-control. For weeks now, I have been taking note of the art of practicing, not only in students, but in myself. The most significant observation I have made is that when anyone says “practice” it’s not welcomed with open arms, but instead is tolerated with sighs and eye rolls. It’s a shame really, as it is truly ones path to success…and may I mention, the only path to success.

In the article, The Importance of Practice: Use it or Lose it by Farnoos, the author makes an astounding point about practice as it is described as being a, “brutally honest friend, dropping rude awakening on your path on an idle Tuesday. Unsolicited, unwanted, unasked for but nonetheless, it shows up, telling you quite frankly why you are not good enough at something just yet.” It is no wonder some of us loathe the idea of spending time with this “friend”, yet if we are willing to embrace this truth and move forward, it is only then can we really grow; when we know exactly where we are so that we may have a clear vision of the path ahead.

I have also incorporated additional sections of Farnoos’ article as it is superbly written and couldn’t have been more appropriate. This advice is good for any level and any goal regarding anything you are trying to master!

What Happens When You Practice?

When you practice, you use your skills and you build on them. You start to break boundaries, the ones you swore you’d “never be able to do”; you push past your old edge and start playing around new ones. Simply put, you get better with practice.

Practice is intoxicating, brilliantly simple and simply brilliant and truly the best antidote for a dip in motivation. It empowers and enables. It reminds you that building a skill is difficult but not impossible. Practice makes things possible. Practice opens doors but only – and not a minute sooner than – when you are ready for it.

Consistent and regular practice has more of an exponential than a linear effect. If you practice your dance weekly, you advance very slowly over time but if you practice it daily, the jump is not linear. It is exponential – in other words, it’s a big jump, a huge jump, the kind of jump that makes the difference between good and great, mediocre and magnificent.

And practice rewards handsomely in all instances. It does not care about the state of economy, your business or even your relationships. When you practice something – anything – you improve, you grow, you advance, you gain a skill and heaps of confidence to boot.

What Happens When You Don’t Practice?

When you don’t practice, you lose your skills, not all at once – now that would be obvious enough to terrify you back into practice – but instead, one subtle muscle and brain memory at a time. At first, it is frustrating but hardly bad enough to sound a loud alarm. Then you notice that what seemed so effortless at the height of your practice now takes so much more time and energy.

You slip here and there. You lose your refinement and agility. You notice that the skills you once held at the palm of your hands are now slipping through your fingers and you wake up to reality. You have slowly lost your sharp skills for that which you swore you loved more than anything else.

Without practice and use, you lose what you built. The less you practice, the faster it fades and it is a terrible thing to witness so stop the insanity early on! Beware of the impending effect on your beloved skills.

Fall in Love with Your Practice

Practice is tangible. Motivation and inspiration are sometimes fleeting but practice, you can hold on to it. You can count on it. You can schedule it. You can plan it. You can commit to it. You can return to it anytime so long as you believe in its power and its rewards.

So whatever your goals, your desirable skills, your artistic aspirations and dreams of creativity, build a consistent, unshakable practice around it. Stay the course, detach from the end-goal and delve into the world and wonder of your practice.

Fall in love with the slow, the steady, and after a while, the significant progress which awaits you. Fall in love with your practice and compromise it for nothing in exchange on your path to greatness.

Because skating encompasses the physical, mental and emotional areas of the skater, there are different ways to practice. Obviously the ice is where you will get the best results, but there are other off-ice methods that can translate very well onto the ice.

Physically:

• Practicing jumps off-ice is the most obvious tool and is used frequently.

• Physically walk through your program off-ice while listening to your program music. Not only does this provide memorization (both mentally and muscular), but it also gives you time to hear the defining nuances to the music and allows you to get more involved in the movements as you start to master the choreography.

• Please do not equate a heart-beating, sweat-pouring skate to a practice. If a skater does enough jumps in a row I’m sure he or she will be sweating in no time, but how much time was spent making the corrections needed for a clean consistent jump? Big difference. The bottom line is it can show no results, just a sweaty skater.

Mentally and Emotionally:

• Mental Imagery has also proven to be an effective tool towards mastering a skill. Mental Imagery can be useful when memorizing a program as well as working on technique in jumps and spins, or even overcoming fears and anxieties.

• Check your emotions! Too many ill-feelings will only weigh you down and distract you. Turn the frustration and jealousy into motivators. Being frustrated is a natural part of the sport, but don’t let it take over. Allow yourself to have the emotion, but get rid of it as soon as you can and use that energy towards mastering your skills.

• Jealousy will eat you alive. If you can, get rid of it! It is very easy to compare ourselves to other skaters and literally put a halt to our practice time! It’s okay to appreciate the other skater’s talents, but remember you are talented as well! Stay focused on your practice. You aren’t going to get better by looking at somebody else!

Practice is blunt when showing us our faults, but very subtle when showing our growth, yet consistent. Over time, the art of practice will bring you steadily closer towards your ultimate goal, but it requires patience.

References:

The Importance of Practice: Use it or Lose it by Farnoosh on December 22, 2010 ·

http://www.prolificliving.com/blog/2010/12/22/the-importance-of-practice-use-it-or-lose-it/