6th Trapeze Class

As I alluded to in my daily post, the trapeze class last night was the most intense so far. There were only 3 of us in the class, and we got LOTS of trapeze time. We have an assignment for next week - to bring in 2-3 music selections to decide between for our performances. Our instructor was unsure if everyone is going to get to do an individual performance or if we'll have some groups. She is going to take our opinions into consideration, though. The guy in our class and I said we both wanted to do individual performances. The ballet girl said that either way was fine with her. So, I'll have to see. The music needs to be about 4 minutes in length. I think I have my choices narrowed down somewhat, but I'll have to get the music ready on cd over the weekend.

Onto the details of class...

We started with our warm-up. We did lots of stretching and high kicks with each leg.

Then, we quickly moved to trapeze work.

We started by doing a split under the bar, transitioning to a 1-knee hang (can we say ouch), and then down. I was actually really good at this one. My flexibility helped a lot. We went from the split position into pushing 1 leg against the bar to press the split even wider. The entire sequence was well-suited for me. This was our first experience with hanging from one knee. It puts a lot of pressure on that one spot. Losing extra weight will be helpful for this. We did that sequence twice.

Then, we went into a sequence where we did a 2-knee hang into a 1 knee hang, moving the free leg out to the side, back, back to the side, and then back on the bar. Then, we went straight into a 1-knee hang on the other side (moving the opposite leg to the side, back, side, and then back on the bar). This was definitely a killer (pain-wise). It was also difficult moving the free leg into the different positions. It felt like I was going to fall off the bar. But, I stayed on. We did this one twice, and the 2nd time was much more stable.

Then, I did some practicing on my own on a different bar while others took their turns. I did the double-up, squat to stand sequence where you put the leg forwards and then backwards. Then, I also did the angel sequence with the ankle hang.

Back to the lesson: We did the Front Pull-Over, front balance, catcher's hang sequence. We did that from the low bar and then on the higher one so that we had to swing to get into the Front Pull Over. I did pretty well on these. This time, I went straight from the front balance, diving into the catcher's hang. It was awesome, but I think it's why I have a nice bruise on my thigh today.

Then, we did the Angel Sequence with the instructor, without instructions from her. That went well.

Then, we learned a new trick - the Meathook. This takes place entirely below the bar. You hold onto the bar with both hands. Then, you lift both legs (keeping them together), so that the your body is completely folded up along 1 arm. The legs, then hang over at a 45 degree angle, pointing towards the floor. Then, you let go with the other arm so that you are dangling by just 1 arm. It was a difficult trick. It's similar to the lady bug, but with the lady bug, you're wrapped up tightly. Here, you just have to use your muscles to keep your body tight.

Then, we learned the X-Back Arch. This was a really cool trick. We doubled-up, 2 knee hang, L-Up to a sitting position, pulled up to a stand. Then, it's where the trick started. You wrapped each leg 1 at a time around the rope, putting your foot back on the bar. It was essential to keep your legs straight . Then, you reached your right arm behind your head and grab the rope on the opposite side. Then, you take the left arm and reach forward to grap the rope on the right side. Then, you push your body so that you turn and the ropes cross, forming an X. Once in that position, you lean back through the top part of the X and do a back arch. It comes out looking really cool. Then, you unhook your left foot and uncross the ropes to get out of it. Then, we got back to a sit, and then we came back down. This was a relatively easy trick, although it was complicated to do. It was easy physically, but difficult mentally - if that makes sense.

Next we learned "Skin the Cat". This was an extremely difficult trick physically, and it's one you have to be careful with so that you don't injure your shoulder. For this one, we essentially doubled-up but kept extending backwards so that we would up with our feet coming down towards the floor. Our shoulders stretched quite a bit. That part was fine. But, then you had to let go with one hand, leaving all the weight on your weirdly positioned shoulder, controlling yourself to rotate around and then grab back onto the bar after you're back in a normal hanging position.

And, finally we learned Crucifix. We did a sequence to get into a seated position. Then, we held onto the ropes just below shoulder level. We lowered ourselves forwards and down. So, we were being held up by our biceps on the ropes and the bar across our backs just below the shoulder blades. So, our arms were stretched out, and our bodies formed a cross - like a Crucifix. I did really well with this trick, but I had major issues with getting out of it. She said that normally we can transition into a front pull-over or something. So, this won't be an issue normally. But, she had us try to slide down the ropes with our hands. Since I was short, there was a long way to go. I knew if I slid all that way I would destroy my hands, so I wound up simply dropping higher then normally, which worked out fine.

So, that was all the trapeze work. It was a LOT. Then, we ended with conditioning - 20 push ups and 30 crunches. Our instructor said that we have 1 more week of learning new tricks and then we're going to work on creating our performances (which can also involve learning additional tricks). This is definitely starting to be an exciting time.