Adult gymnastics #1
Oct. 16th, 2006 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flexagonThe adult gymnastics class was partially controlled chaos. There were only a couple of people there (out of ~12) who hadn't done some tumbling before, so after an inadequate yet exhausting warmup and a few stretches that my body was not warm enough for, the teacher threw us right in.
We did everything on one of those springy floors. Moving across the floor, we did: forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, kickup to handstand from lunge, other leg cartwheels, lunge-to-lunge cartwheels, and roundoffs, with VERY little instruction on technique or how it should feel. At that point I was unhappy, and had already landed wrong on my ankle once. I even thought of getting my check for 8 weeks of classes back, writing a new check for just a drop-in session and getting the hell out of there. However, after that we split up. I ended up in the group that was learning back handsprings, rather than the group that just started flinging themselves across the floor; somehow, later, a more basic group formed that was working on cartwheels in more detail. I'd have liked to be in that group... on the other hand, there I'd have been the best, and in my group I was sort of average. Oh, and no, we didn't do real back handsprings, just drills.
What I liked: controlled chaos does mean you can work on what you want to, and the teacher(s) is/are open to being grabbed by students saying hey, I really want to work on X. Also loved the springy floor. I worked a lot on springing into straddle handstands, which is easy on that floor, especially with a little prejump bouncing -- and a guy gave me a tip on keeping my legs straight -- and I actually straddled to balance for like 3 seconds, once. Some people there were playing with handstands a lot, doing presses and handwalking, which gives me some hope that despite the tumbling focus I can learn what I'm after.
A nice thing happened at work that I thought I'd mention. At about 4PM another group checked in something that broke our build. I calmly went, talked to the head of that group, figured out their intentions in doing the checkin, stated that our group should have been informed before people did things like that, came up with a plan, went and explained the situation (and my plan) to my boss, got the plan approved, got people working on it and sent out email. Afterward I realized that I hadn't even really broken a sweat... I just handled it. Nice job, flexy.
We did everything on one of those springy floors. Moving across the floor, we did: forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, kickup to handstand from lunge, other leg cartwheels, lunge-to-lunge cartwheels, and roundoffs, with VERY little instruction on technique or how it should feel. At that point I was unhappy, and had already landed wrong on my ankle once. I even thought of getting my check for 8 weeks of classes back, writing a new check for just a drop-in session and getting the hell out of there. However, after that we split up. I ended up in the group that was learning back handsprings, rather than the group that just started flinging themselves across the floor; somehow, later, a more basic group formed that was working on cartwheels in more detail. I'd have liked to be in that group... on the other hand, there I'd have been the best, and in my group I was sort of average. Oh, and no, we didn't do real back handsprings, just drills.
What I liked: controlled chaos does mean you can work on what you want to, and the teacher(s) is/are open to being grabbed by students saying hey, I really want to work on X. Also loved the springy floor. I worked a lot on springing into straddle handstands, which is easy on that floor, especially with a little prejump bouncing -- and a guy gave me a tip on keeping my legs straight -- and I actually straddled to balance for like 3 seconds, once. Some people there were playing with handstands a lot, doing presses and handwalking, which gives me some hope that despite the tumbling focus I can learn what I'm after.
A nice thing happened at work that I thought I'd mention. At about 4PM another group checked in something that broke our build. I calmly went, talked to the head of that group, figured out their intentions in doing the checkin, stated that our group should have been informed before people did things like that, came up with a plan, went and explained the situation (and my plan) to my boss, got the plan approved, got people working on it and sent out email. Afterward I realized that I hadn't even really broken a sweat... I just handled it. Nice job, flexy.
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 02:04 am (UTC)for a little less intense, you can also lay the forearm across your knees (while sitting in a normal chair, leaning forward, palm up) then use your opposite elbow to stroke down the length of it. also, flip your palm over, then use the elbow to stroke up the other side. maybe you knew that one.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-19 02:15 am (UTC)