Progress

Our last trapeze class on Monday morning was a lot of fun.  I started out by revisiting the splits, a trick that I had tried and failed to perfect last summer.  To my surprise, this time I was much more comfortable doing this trick and managed to master it during the first half of the class.  In the meantime, Margaret learned the set whip (the trick that I had been working on earlier in the weekend).

After that, we both learned a new trick called the single reverse knee hang.  This one is a little bit tricky because of the takeoff.  Your right hand starts out on the bar, palm up, and then the palm-down grab with the left hand is on the other side, so your hands are crossed at takeoff.  Then your body does a half turn during the first swing, and you have to let go and re-grip with your left hand so that both hands are facing the same way.  Immediately after this, you pull yourself up and hook the bar with one knee.  That part is not too difficult, but it's kind of challenging to put it all together when doing all of these new things at once.

I only got to try this new trick one time, and here is a video of my first, and only, attempt.  It is pretty rough, but that's often how it goes the first time trying something new.


Afterwards, I got to try a catch with my splits, and I was able to do the catch both times.


Margaret also caught her set whip, the trick she learned that morning.


Next time, I will probably work on my straddle whip again, then possibly learn how to swing (it's a lot harder than it sounds!).  Once we've got that technique down, it opens the door for many other tricks.

We had such a great time taking trapeze classes over the weekend.  I really wish there was a flying trapeze rig in Portland!  For now, I will have to wait until my next trip to New York.

One-Handed Takeoff

We arrived at trapeze school Sunday afternoon still sore from our previous class, but ready to learn something new.  Our teacher for the day decided that a good next step for both of us would be the one-handed takeoff.  This is a basic building block that a flyer needs to master before moving on to more advanced tricks, and provides more independence up on the platform.

After a few warm-up swings, we learned the mechanics of the one-handed takeoff.  Grab the bar with one hand, bend your knees and simultaneously dip the bar down, then swing it up to parallel as you hop off the platform and grab for the bar at the same time.  It is a little bit terrifying the first few times, and then eventually feels completely natural.  Here's what it looks like.  I'm doing the whip again so that I don't have to work on two new things at the same time..



Margaret caught her straddle whip at this class.  Here's her catch, along with the one-handed takeoff.


In general, this class was not quite as much fun as our first one.  It was full, so the pace was a bit slower, and while we did learn a new technique, it was somehow less satisfying than learning a new trick.  It probably didn't help that I was very sore and also that I didn't make either of my catches...  But it was really helpful to learn the one-handed takeoff and by the next class I felt completely comfortable with it.  And I'm glad that I had a chance to practice my whip a few more times.  That trick is my current favorite.

Set Whips

I took a solo vacation to New York last weekend to visit family and take some trapeze classes.

Our first class was Friday night, just a few hours after I landed at JFK and took the subway to my sister's apartment.  The class wasn't full, so we were able to take a lot more swings than usual, which was fun but perhaps not the best timing considering that we hadn't been up on the rig in almost eight months.  After getting our bearings, we both learned a new trick called the Set Straddle Whip.  Margaret did really well with it, but I had some trouble.  Here's a video of how it's supposed to be done.



After falling out of this trick a few too many times and feeling like I just didn't have the strength to complete it, I moved on to a different trick called the Set Whip.  You'll notice that my feet are between my arms, whereas Margaret's feet were outside her arms.  I was able to catch the whip that night, which was a great feeling for me.



We left the trapeze tent feeling exhilarated and very tired.  I was also covered with bruises on my feet, knees, elbows, wrist, and chin from a few unfortunate landings in the net.  I looked like I had been in a fight, and the next day was even worse since every muscle in my body was sore.  But we couldn't wait to get back to our next class two days later.  Stay tuned!

The Splits

I never did end up writing about my second trapeze class last summer. Perhaps that's because it was less satisfying than the first one. Or maybe because I didn't really get any good videos of myself doing the new trick.

Anyway, we went into the city a second time while we were in New York for the summer. This time, we learned a much more difficult trick, the splits. I was able to do the "heels off" trick again with no problem, but had a lot more trouble with the splits. It just didn't work well for me, and I never really felt comfortable doing it. I was kind of off-balance and felt awkward. Margaret was good at this one, and was able to complete two catches, but mine didn't work out as well.

This was my best swing:


This is how it's supposed to look:

I really loved having the chance to take a few trapeze classes this past summer. I'm hoping to get back to New York for a long weekend sometime early next year so that I can take a few more classes. By then, I'll probably be a few pounds lighter (I've already lost ~10 pounds since the summer!) as well as stronger and more flexible from the yoga classes that I started taking this month. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a few new trapeze tricks as a result!

She swings through the air...

Ever since we spent a week at a Club Med in 2005 and tried the flying trapeze, I have been wanting to do it again. We almost went on a trapeze vacation to San Francisco a few years ago, but then it didn't happen. Then a trapeze school opened in NYC, but by that time I was pregnant with Jude, then busy with Jude, then pregnant with Ada, and before I knew it five years had passed. This summer, even though we have a very young baby, I decided that I just had to get out on the trapeze rig again.

I was worried that I'd be unable to do any of the tricks, since my body has been through a lot in the last five years. I haven't really exercised in months, and a lot of my muscles are pretty weak at this point. But once I got up on the rig and started swinging, it felt like I had been doing this for my whole life. We were put into the beginner group since we hadn't done trapeze for over a year, which meant that we got to do three practice swings and try for two catches. The more advanced students in the class got to do about twice that, but it was just as well that I didn't do more for my first time back because I'm incredibly sore as it is. Here are the videos of my two catches.

I had a great time and we're hoping to go again before returning to Portland. It was kind of a pain to get there, and Ada didn't make it through the whole class without needing to be fed, so I had to take a break and give her a quick meal right before my last catch. I was a little bit rushed and flustered because of that, but everything worked out in the end. Next time, I'll get to try something a little bit more advanced. The two tricks that I did the first time are the two easiest ones that all beginners learn first.

In other news, Jude learned to swim this weekend! Check back soon for proof.