HP #12 - My perception of my progress so far
Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See my first HP post for the full notes on these.
Background: Quick departure from my usual HP style for some reflective thinking!
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I was now swimming with the bigger fish in the 5-8 group, the same group that I had once looked up at in wonder and awe as they sailed around with their advanced moves. It was strange now being in that class because, while I was a lot better than when I started learning, I still didn't feel like I had any "fancy moves" to show for my time in training. It's important to clarify at this point that I was (and still am) very much enjoying ice skating, but I was reflecting on the way my perception of what I'd learned had changed.
When I'd looked up at the 5-8 class when I started then it had it all looked so impressive and complex. But now I was in that class and I still didn't feel that what I was learning was really that complex and fancy even though it had seemed so back at the beginning. It wasn't that the things I had learned and was learning now had got any easier, a total beginner certainly wouldn't be able to do them straight off the bat and I had had to practise and struggle to get them smooth and earn my way up to the 5-8 class, so why was I so less impressed by now learning what had looked so inspiring when I started?
I guess that having learned more about ice skating and picking up more of the moves and skills you need was like being told how a magic trick works. The mystery and spectacle of those moves I had been impressed by when I started were moves I could now do and were laid bare before me, but I didn't feel as magical now knowing and doing them as I had felt looking up to them. The funny thing is that, to a complete beginner in rental skates, the skills I was learning probably still held all that mystique and flashiness that I had experienced in the beginning, because the curtain hasn't been drawn back for them. If I brought my non-skating friends to the rink and demonstrated a 3 turn, even though it isn't some complex spin combination, I imagine they still wouldn't be able to conceive how they would even begin to do one without training and practice.
But I still wanted more, I wanted something flashier, something more challenging. In many ways, I suppose that my perspective on learning to ice skate hadn't changed at all from those days as a beginner. And that's what's great about ice skating. There's always more, even if it's just more refinement. Every time you get good at a skill, your coach will add some new layer of intricacy on top. I knew the fancier, challenging things I lusted after were still to come. There were people on the rink doing jumps and intricate spins that I was yet to get to and that was what held the mystery and drama for me from where I stood now. Once I got there, would I finally feel that I had something impressive to show? I want to say yes, but I thought that about the 5-8 class and here I am writing about that now. Are all skaters this hard on themselves about their progress satisfaction? Will I ever be satisfied? I guess I'll have to do a follow up post to this at some point in the future to see if I am!
Background: Quick departure from my usual HP style for some reflective thinking!
-------------------------
I was now swimming with the bigger fish in the 5-8 group, the same group that I had once looked up at in wonder and awe as they sailed around with their advanced moves. It was strange now being in that class because, while I was a lot better than when I started learning, I still didn't feel like I had any "fancy moves" to show for my time in training. It's important to clarify at this point that I was (and still am) very much enjoying ice skating, but I was reflecting on the way my perception of what I'd learned had changed.
When I'd looked up at the 5-8 class when I started then it had it all looked so impressive and complex. But now I was in that class and I still didn't feel that what I was learning was really that complex and fancy even though it had seemed so back at the beginning. It wasn't that the things I had learned and was learning now had got any easier, a total beginner certainly wouldn't be able to do them straight off the bat and I had had to practise and struggle to get them smooth and earn my way up to the 5-8 class, so why was I so less impressed by now learning what had looked so inspiring when I started?
I guess that having learned more about ice skating and picking up more of the moves and skills you need was like being told how a magic trick works. The mystery and spectacle of those moves I had been impressed by when I started were moves I could now do and were laid bare before me, but I didn't feel as magical now knowing and doing them as I had felt looking up to them. The funny thing is that, to a complete beginner in rental skates, the skills I was learning probably still held all that mystique and flashiness that I had experienced in the beginning, because the curtain hasn't been drawn back for them. If I brought my non-skating friends to the rink and demonstrated a 3 turn, even though it isn't some complex spin combination, I imagine they still wouldn't be able to conceive how they would even begin to do one without training and practice.
But I still wanted more, I wanted something flashier, something more challenging. In many ways, I suppose that my perspective on learning to ice skate hadn't changed at all from those days as a beginner. And that's what's great about ice skating. There's always more, even if it's just more refinement. Every time you get good at a skill, your coach will add some new layer of intricacy on top. I knew the fancier, challenging things I lusted after were still to come. There were people on the rink doing jumps and intricate spins that I was yet to get to and that was what held the mystery and drama for me from where I stood now. Once I got there, would I finally feel that I had something impressive to show? I want to say yes, but I thought that about the 5-8 class and here I am writing about that now. Are all skaters this hard on themselves about their progress satisfaction? Will I ever be satisfied? I guess I'll have to do a follow up post to this at some point in the future to see if I am!
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