MIF practice: public or freestyle session?

[Meli]

I'm curious as to what kind of sessions others are using for their MIF practice.  Right now I'm working on the pre-bronze MIF, and only working on it during publics... which means trying not to behead the toddlers when working the spirals, timing the edge patterns so I don't get taken out by a hockey boy, and really just never getting to work things without a thousand interruptions unless the session is dead.

So what kind of session do you use for MIF?

[rd350]

I am at the beginning of pre-bronze.  Super hard on public sessions in the summer!  Where I'm skating it's much better when school is in session but there's nothing like a great freestyle session because everyone is usually on the same page.

[irenar5]

I prefer to skate on freestyles for all my practices.  That being said, some moves can be practiced on publics: alternating edges, perimeter stroking, waltz 8 (and various future MITF test moves).  Moves  that travel backwards and spirals are much harder on a public.

[Bill_S]

I practice MIF mostly on freestyle ice. There's too much of a crowd (usually) during my local rink's public session.

[nicklaszlo]

Above prebronze/prepreliminary, you should use freestyle.  For the highest levels, regular freestyle may not be adequate.

[sarahspins]

Honestly until you get to Gold or Juvenile, moves can be practiced fairly easily on any ice - and what is problematic there is the power circles, but they are truthfully only marginally easier on a freestyle, and depending on how freestyles tend to go in your region, it could actually be worse.  Freestyle does have the advantage of most of the skaters being familiar with your patterns, so they can usually avoid you easily if they recognize what you are doing.

I regularly work on the double 3's and brackets patterns from gold on fairly busy public sessions, and I haven't really had major problems doing so.  I happen to regularly get to practice on very quite (nearly empty) ice so working on power circles from gold and the slide chassé and spiral patterns from intermediate is reserved for that time

[Isk8NYC]

I practice MIF mostly on freestyle ice. There's too much of a crowd (usually) during my local rink's public session.

A member once suggested that MIF and Ice Dance should share ice, while freestyle ice should be for pairs and singles.  Makes sense if the rink allows it.

Only problem is that many rinks don't put restrictions on figure skating ice any more, because no one wants to be The Enforcer.

[nicklaszlo]

A member once suggested that MIF and Ice Dance should share ice, while freestyle ice should be for pairs and singles.  Makes sense if the rink allows it.

We have Dance/Moves ice sometimes.  It works most of the time.

I have never experienced a freestyle where dance or moves were explicitly forbidden.

[dlbritton]

My rink has rules posted prohibiting spirals and camel spins during public skate.

I have only been to "open" public skate a few times and it was almost impossible to practice front crossovers or 3 turns much less anything more difficult.

During adult only public skate there are usually 4-6 people skating laps and others using hockey circles to practice moves so it is very difficult to find enough open ice to work on moves like consecutive edges or any figure 8 patterns. Private lessons will cone off center ice on occasion for jumps and spins.

Once I start preparing for pre-bronze I will start using freestyle ice time.

[fsk8r]

Everything figure skating related (including moves in the field) must be practiced on freestyle at my rink. You're not allowed to do much of anything on public.

[davincisop]

On public, even when it's lightly attended, I can't do anything beyond bronze and even then I don't do spirals or backwards anything. The other guys (hockey) on the ice are too unpredictable.

That said, I do break down silver moves in the center. Like the first two lobes of the three turns. I can occasionally get away with power pulls and cross rolls on public though.

I need empty or light freestyles to go through my everything. The heavier ones terrify me and while I know the high level (triples) skaters can divert themselves, they still go hella-fast on crowded sessions, and that paired with all the young skaters that don't watch where they're going, it's a recipe for disaster.

[axelwylie]

I was able to do just about everything on public except for the power circles on the Gold MIF test. Although during crowded public sessions, I had to forgo a lot of the patterns and just work on the elements on their own or on a hockey circle (brackets, double threes).

My rink also prohibits camels and spirals but when I took the Silver MIF test, the spiral pattern was only in a straight line.

[jjane45]

how do you guys manage to practice 8 step mohawk on busy sessions, public or freestyle?

has anyone skated the moves to program music to get right of way on freestyle?

[jlspink22]

At one rink where my daughter takes privates, there is no way you can do much of anything on public ice. Lots of teens speed skating on hockey skates. But they have freestyle starting at like 6:30am that is nearly empty.

At another rink on the weekends (daughter takes groups there), I see kids/adults practicing in the middle on public skate (not super crowded in summer) moves and freestyle with coaches. I don't particularly mind except for this one older man who gets so miffed if anyone gets within 5 feet of him (my 4 year old accidentally got too close to him doing some fancy foot work one time and he gave her the look of death). 

So if you get annoyed easily, maybe find out the "empty" ice times....

[JSM]

Public sessions can be good for moves in isolation.  I've spent lots of time practicing twizzles on public sessions because they don't take up much room.  But like anything, it depends on the crowd and what you are working on.  If you are practicing diagonal patterns, even the semi-empty freestyles can be difficult to fit everything in where they should be. 

I find that freestyles with higher level skaters who can move quickly are the best for moves - in general everyone has an idea of the patterns and are aware enough of their environment to steer clear.  If someone is on pattern for a dance or a moves test, it's pretty obvious and I can get out of their way.

[robinsnest]

I am working on pre-bronze as well and practicing on public and freestyle at about 50/50 ratio.  Freestyle is better but I am pretty time-constrained so I will take whatever ice I can get to.

[ChristyRN]

I'm working on Bronze moves and practice on both. I prefer FS, but will take what I can get.

[lutefisk]

I've just started working on pre-bronze moves.  I like low population density public ice (as in early morning me and maybe one other skater publics).  Next choice is FS ice.  Lastly public ice with the usual crowd of suspects.  I adjust what and how much I work on according to the traffic. 

When, for example, I'm practicing front/back cross overs on two adjacent hockey circles it's nice to have the ice to myself when doing the swing roll/Mohawk that transitions from forward to back cross overs. 

Free Style ice has better skaters but can be a bit hectic at times, especially right before a competition when all and sundry are getting the last practice in.  During crowded publics one has to size up the other skaters and then not skate beyond what the traffic will permit.  I've seen good skaters basically march out into the middle of a busy public and take whatever room they need regardless of the crowd but I'm at the point in my life cycle where injuries take forever to mend so I "downshift" as required.  I figure the other skaters have paid the same as I have and that there will be other opportunities.

[Christy]

It depends who's on the public sessions - there are a couple of very poor skaters who refuse to skate in the same direction as the rest of the skaters and get in everyone's way (no rink guards) so if they are on the ice you have no choice but to spend the entire time avoiding them. There are also a few others who go in the correct direction but aren't aware of their surroundings / don't seem to look where they are going so they need to be watched as well - one day there were only three of us on the rink, and one of these women still managed to collide with me whilst I was doing 3 turns in the centre 

[AgnesNitt]

It depends who's on the public sessions - there are a couple of very poor skaters who refuse to skate in the same direction as the rest of the skaters and get in everyone's way (no rink guards) so if they are on the ice you have no choice but to spend the entire time avoiding them. There are also a few others who go in the correct direction but aren't aware of their surroundings / don't seem to look where they are going so they need to be watched as well - one day there were only three of us on the rink, and one of these women still managed to collide with me whilst I was doing 3 turns in the centre 

My experience on a virtually empty rink is that collisions are actually more likely because the skaters assume the other people are keeping the lookout, when actually no one is.

I was once on the ice with one other woman, and she slapped me in the back of the head as she skated backwards past me.

[irenar5]

My experience on a virtually empty rink is that collisions are actually more likely because the skaters assume the other people are keeping the lookout, when actually no one is.

So true!