4th Trapeze Class

We learned a lot of new things in our trapeze class last night. I knew I needed to go, even though I was starting to get sick with the same thing my husband has had all week. Luckily, I wasn't too sick, though. I wasn't coughing a lot of sneezing a lot - spreading germs and the like. So, I figured it would be ok to go. The only thing I was concerned about was feeling weak. Since the trapeze relies a lot on strength, I had to make sure I was careful so that I wouldn't fall on my head of something.

I felt a bit off at the beginning of the class. During the stretches, she told us to go down to the left, and I went to the right by mistake. I did that 2 times! It was like my brain was not connected properly. Then, the first thing up on the trapeze was actually the scariest thing so far. We used a different trapeze this time. It was a little more narrow and a bit higher in the air. The first trick was called the Egg and the Upside Down Egg. But, of course to get up to the trick, we had to double-up, double knee hang, L-Up, Pull Up to a Stand. On the first double-up, I felt weak. I was thinking, oh, no... Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The reason is that the "Egg" trick is where you're standing on the trapeze and you pull up into a tucked position - like a ball or an "egg". So, the only contact you have with anything is holding onto the ropes with your hands. This part was ok. Then, to do an Upside Down Egg, you have to press your body over your arms (still in the tucked egg position), and hang upside down. I did the regular egg fine, but again I felt weak. So, I declined to do the Upside Down Egg on the first try. It was ok, though. I made a joke that I was a "chicken" instead of an "Upside Down Egg". However, on the 2nd go around, I felt stronger and was able to do the Upside Down Egg. The scary part is that you're way up there. Granted, the instructor was down below. But, if you fell while upside down, hopefully the instructor would be able to prevent you from falling on your head. But, maybe not. So, I wanted to make sure I felt comfortable with things before I attempted a trick like that. Luckily, after that 1st time up on the trapeze, my strength seemed to return, and I was able to do pretty well for the rest of the class.

After the 2 times up with the "Egg" series, we learned the Double Arm Flag. For this trick, we did the double-up series to get up to sitting on the bar. Then, we pulled up to a squat. We wrapped each arm (one at a time) around the ropes and held onto the bar at each end. Then, we took our feet off the bar and extended down. We pushed out and forward with our arms. So, our body made an upside down "L" shape (the "L" part being the arms being perpendicular to the rest of the body). It was a really cool trick.

After that, she told us that we could practice on the 2nd trapeze while she was working with us one-on-one on the other bar. So, I wound up doing the Hammock series on my own. The guy in the class was there as sort of a spotter. I'm actually pretty good at the Hammock series. It's a lot of fun. Another thing we learned from a girl who had previously taken the class was the "Catcher's Hang". This is the hang that you see on the flying trapeze where the person catches the flier. It was fun, too.

Ok, so back to the formal instruction. The next trick was the Free Handed Hammock. This is a build on from the Arched Hammock from last week. When in the Arched Hammock position, you take your right foot and wrap it around the front rope. Then, you let go with your hands! It looks really cool, and I was able to get into a really good position with it. I would definitely say that the Hammock series is my favorite so far.

And, finally she taught us the "Lady Bug". This trick is all done below the bar. In fact, we don't even get as far as the double knee hang. What this is, is that you double up. Then, you wrap your knees around one arm. Then, you let go with the other hand. So, you're wrapped up tightly, hanging from one arm. I was actually really good with this one, and was one of the few who was able to do it hanging all on my own strength.

Then, afterwards we did 20 push ups and 30 V-Crunches (those are such a killer). Overall, I had a blast. I'm progressing quite nicely, I think. Our instructor said that our class has already learned all the skills for the level 1 class, so some of these are already into level 2 skills. I'm definitely glad that I got into a more advanced level 1 class. We're all learning really fast. We each have our different strengths and weaknesses (although I have yet to figure out what the guy's weakness is - I'm not sure he has any), but overall we're all doing really well.

Oh, and I found out that the performance is going to be Friday, January 16th. She didn't know the exact time, but she said that it would be at night. So, that's good. It won't conflict with work.