Dealing with my crossover obsession

[sampaguita]

I've been obsessed with forward crossovers since I started skating. I've tried them in so many different ways, and there were times when I thought I had it and that practicing the same technique would make it perfect. But the I would watch my crossover video(s) again and again, frame by frame, and I would be just so repulsed by my crossovers that I would examine crossovers of other people (also frame by frame) to see what makes my crossovers different from them.

One of my previous coaches told me that there's more to figure skating than crossovers, like jumps and spins, but somehow I just can't let go of this crossover perfectionism! And the worst part is, although I've tweaked different parts of the crossovers, they still look pretty much the same!

I think I would be happy if I just had Mao Asada's forward crossovers and Kim Yu Na's backward crossovers, even if I don't have good spins or jumps. Is anybody in the same boat as I am? There's a perfectionism thread in the same board, but then the OP was posting about perfectionism in learning jumps. I don't know if I'm dealing with perfectionism in doing crossovers, or if this is just the beginning of wanting to have perfect footwork, but it's taking a lot of my time and I need to know how to deal with this. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

[fsk8r]

Asada and Kim are both still working on their crossovers. It's something that no one ever perfects, we just slowly improve. But the more you skate and work at them, the better they will become (or at least if you focus on the technique).

[Sk8Dreams]

It's something that no one ever perfects, we just slowly improve. But the more you skate and work at them, the better they will become (or at least if you focus on the technique).

ITA.  My first coach said that skating was like peeling an onion; there's always another layer.  It might help you to quantify your efforts.  You could try the "rule of 10."  Do 10 circles (figure 8 pattern) of forward crossovers in each direction and the same of back crossovers.  Then move on to the rest of skating.

[sarahspins]

You could also work on some things that include crossovers, like some of the MITF

[icedancer]

Everyone has their obsessions in skating - that is part of it!!

Honestly I would rather see someone obsessed with cross-overs than in jumps - I have seen some of those jump obsessions and it is NOT PRETTY!

[jjane45]

I think I would be happy if I just had Mao Asada's forward crossovers and Kim Yu Na's backward crossovers, even if I don't have good spins or jumps.

IMO that's harder than landing the double jumps lol.

I don't see anything wrong with the obsession as long as you acknowledge they are work in progress.

[techskater]

I think you need to moderate the obsession.  Basically, they get better over time and you need to work on them, but the progress will be incremental.  That's the whole think about skating - it's incremental progress...

[Doubletoe]

Well, I, for one, find your obsession refreshing.  So many beginning skaters underestimate the importance of good stroking technique and think it's all about the jumps and spins.  Maybe you can work with a coach who is an ice dancer and will share your obsession!