Me When I Get A 5/10 On A Science Test: Oh Well Shit Happens

Turns and Steps, Explained (1/2)

Okay party people, after jumps and spins, are you guys ready to take your figure skating watcher know-how to its next level with turns and steps?

To avoid indigestion and to keep the post within not completely outrageous length I’m going to divide and conquer ‘em this time. This first post will cover the turns. A second post will follow to cover the steps and some additional interesting tidbits.

Before we get down to business, there’s one topic we must go over as a primer. I’ve actively tried to avoid mentioning it in the previous tech posts because according to my experience, bringing it up is a surefire way to turn off any spark of interest new fans / casual viewers might have in a skating discussion. However with turns and steps we cannot, repeat, cannot, circumvent this topic. So, let us talk about edges.

Now there are only 3 possible states a skater’s skating blade can be in at any given time on the ice: inside edge, outside edge, or flat edge. In order to tell them apart you just need to answer this question: is the blade leaning toward or away from the center of the skater’s body? If it’s toward, they’re on an inside edge, if it’s away, it’s an outside edge, and if it’s neutral, it’s a flat edge. Once we’ve established that, the next step is to check out the direction of the skate, is it backward or forward? Combining these two answers, you’ll get to whether it’s a forward inside edge, a back inside edge, a forward outside edge, or a back outside edge.

(In case you’re still wondering why you need to know all this stuff, well that’s because a turn is, by definition, a move in which the skater changes edges or changes directions or both, on one foot. A step is basically the same thing, but with a change of foot as well.)

Here’s an example on how to “read” edges: Yuzuru’s triple Axel at Skate Canada 2015. He entered the jump on an outside edge (note that since it’s a spread eagle, his left foot was on a forward edge and his right foot on a back edge). He moved to a forward outside edge on his left foot to take off for the Axel, finished 3.5 rotations in the air and landed on a back outside edge on his right foot. He transitioned out of the jump into another outside spread eagle and then changed edge midway to turn it into an inside spread eagle - pay attention to that subtle shift in center of gravity at the edge change. (And that, kids, is how you get a perfect score for your triple Axel.)  

Here’s the jump and transition in all of its real time glory to get your eyes some practice: 

With that done, we can move on to examine the 6 types of turns in figure skating. They are: twizzle, bracket, loop, counter, rocker, and three-turn. 

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自信 (zi4 xin4) - self confidence; literally: 自 = self 信 = believe

Ex. You can increase your 自信 over time. It is something I try to improve everyday.

自信是成功的第一秘诀。

Self-trust is the first secret of success.

🌼🌻study smarter🌻🌼

(here are some study tips straight from my psych notes)

1. interest: the brain prioritizes by meaning, value, and relevance so u remember things better if ur interested

find a study partner

do extra practice or research

teach it to someone else (this works so well!)

2. intent: be actively paying attention. very little learning actually takes place without attention

use a concentration check sheet (every time u get distracted, put a check on ur sheet. this is supposed to program ur mind to pay attention)

while u read, talk back to the author

ask questions during lectures (this is scary ik!! but do it!)

3. basic background: make connections to what u already know

preview and skim the material before u read it. or google it!

write out a list of vocab words before a lecture and leave some spaces between them to fill in during the lecture

read ahead of lectures

watch crashcourse tbh

4. selectivity: start by studying whats important

look for bolded words, graphics, pictures, chapter review questions in ur readings

listen for verbal clues like emphasis and repetition during lectures

make urself a study guide as u read and write down questions for urself to answer later as review (kinda like cornell notes)

5. meaningful organization: u can learn/rmr better if u group ideas into diff categories

apply vocab words to ur life

make flashcards and sort them (try not to have more than seven items in one category!)

use mnemonics

6. recitation: saying ideas aloud in ur own words strengthens synaptic connections! when u say something aloud u r forcing urself to pay attention

after u read, ask urself questions

talk abt what u learned w/ classmates outside of class

again, teach someone else

7. visualization: ur brain’s quickest and longest-lasting response is to images

convert info into a chart or graph

draw it out

make a mental video of a process

look at picture/video examples

8. association: memory is increased when facts are consciously associated w something u already know. memory = making neural connections

ask urself: is this something i already know?

9. consolidation: give ur brain some time to establish a neural pathway

make a list of what u remember from class

review notes at the end of the day, every day

stop after reading each prg to write a question in ur notes

make ur own practice quiz

10. distributed practice: we all know cramming doesnt work but we do it anyway! but yeah short and frequent study sections work better

make a daily/weekly study schedule

create a time budget/time tracker (track everything ur doing for a week and see how u can be more efficient w/ the time u waste)

divide the reading/vocab by the number of days before an exam and do a little bit each day (u can use sticky notes to divide ur reading)

other tips:

stop stressing! this sounds stupid and it isnt going to be easy, but anxiety causes u to lose focus. try ur best to think positively. sleep a lot. minimize ur caffeine intake. take a walk maybe

when u need to remember something, look upward or close ur eyes (when ur eyes are open ur using visual parts of ur brain that u might not need to be using)

find a rival! (like the person right above u in class rank) secretly compete w/ them (envy can improve mental persistence bc it makes u focus more intensely) but dont overdo it! 

walking and sleeping build memory storage in ur brain

eat flavonoids! (grapes, berries, tea leaves, cocoa beans make neurons in the brain more capable of forming new memories + increase blood flow to the brain)

obstacles force ur brain to try harder, so space learning lessons apart or create a puzzle to solve or change ur physical setting

丰收不靠露滴，而靠汗水。

It is sweat, not dew that helps the harvest.

没有斗争，就没有进步。

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

弗雷德里克‧道格拉斯 Frederick Douglass

人们需要知道他们的行为会影响其他人。所以谨言慎行，不只是为了你自己。

People need to learn that their actions do affect other people. So be careful what you say and do, its not always just about you.

03.06.19 - monday

during exams i used to get really stressed out about not having enough time to study between, so i designed myself a lil study planner that maps out my week

it has a section for events, a checklist, and a time tracker so i can tell myself to stop freaking out :) if anyone wants the pdf, lemme know!

Super helpful Chinese grammar post! 😄

Chinese Grammar: Comparisons

My first grammar post! I hope there will be more to come. =}

Here are ways to compare things whether they be the same, or different, and also how something has improved/changed.

比 - bǐ: to compare/something is more ___ than something

我弟弟的个子比我的高。 (Wŏ dìdi de gèzi bĭ wŏ de gāo.) - My little brother is taller than me./ My little brother’s height is taller than mine.

我不比她高。 (Wŏ bùbĭ tā gāo.) - I am not taller than her.

…跟… 一样 - …gēn… yiyang: the same; as… as…

这本书跟那本一样长。(Zhè běn shū gēn nà běn yīyàng cháng.) - This book and that one are both long.

这个故事跟那个不一样好笑。 (Zhè ge gùshi gēn nà ge bù yīyàng hăo xiào.) - This story is not as funny as that one.

越来越 - yue lai yue: more and more

他的个子越来越高。 (Tā de gèzi yuè lái yuè gāo.) - His height gets more and more tall.

Now, with these types of comparisons, you never add 很 (hěn) before the adjective. Usually to really add depth or exaggeration to just how something is much more than something else, add 多了(duō le) after the adjective.

e.g： 他比我高多了。 (Tā bĭ wŏ gāo duō le.) - He’s much taller than me.

H.O.P.E.

坚持住, 痛苦终会过去。

Hold On, Pain Ends.