Connecting Skating to Skiing

I took Xuân to ice skating because he was the only one who wanted to join me. I no longer made my kids come along if they didn’t want to. Even though Xuân hadn’t skated for a month, he still had his chops. We worked on his outside 3-turns, inside mohawks, and hockey stops, but he could do higher-level moves like spirals, lounges, and bunny hops. He will finish with Gamma class in three weeks. I wish he would continue into Delta, but he already wanted to quit.

I didn’t do much with Freestyle 3 on my own. Instead of learning new techniques, I returned to the power pulls, something I hadn’t been able to accomplish on one foot. As I was practicing the power pulls, I connected the dots to short turns for skiing. I realized that the parallels, the edges, and the movements were exactly the same. The postures were a bit different; therefore, I imagined holding the poles in my hands instead of moving my arms side to side. I also envisioned myself skiing down a bunny slope instead of an ice skating rink. I kept my feet parallel, bent my knees, and pulled from left to right. I did that for half an hour straight and I could feel the burn on my legs. I can’t wait to apply the techniques to skiing.

Skiing and skating are starting to make sense to me how they can be related. I love these three sports (skiing, figure skating, and rollerblading) and I hope to keep pushing myself to stay active. These sports have saved me from depression, stress, and addiction. They keep my mind strong, creative, and clear. These sports have brought the athletic side out of me that I thought I didn’t have. I might have discovered them too late, but better late than never.