Happy Birthday Robyn!

Thank you for all your hard work as camp director, this summer! And thanks for getting the kids to show support for our soldiers serving overseas.

I look forward to working with you again for our advanced class.

This video is right up your alley:

Isaac Obrist in the 21st Century ~Special Edition~

This is a very minor update of Isaac's video from last Christmas. Meant to do it a long time ago. Better late than never, I suppose.

The Chronicles of Thea finally continues...

Thea's the only kid whose gymnastics career I've been charting since her first backhandspring. There's a big year-long gap between this and her last video. I plan to fill in that gap someday (there's one project that's just been gathering dust, but might one day see completion). The problem I ran into, is too much footage to sift through (most of which I should just delete, as I capture a lot of "worthless" stuff, rather than stellar milestones) for one; and lack of creative juices, for another.

I've wanted to keep a constant theme and continuity with her videos, using dramatic music- even though she's actually got a rather goofy personality, much of the time. After the Conan music ran out in her videos, so too did her progress in developing the kind of strength that I think makes her stand apart from the average gymnast. Being able to do 10-20 handstand presses in a row or a V-seat and planche just aren't emphasized.

She's capable of demonstrating good posture and form in her gymnastics; but seems to seldom display it. And with inadequate dance training, she still often looks rather sloppy, with messy legs and posture. Which isn't to say she isn't making progress. To me, it's just a bit weird and uneven; but it could just be me.



The title of the video (like many of my videos) is silly, as my original idea when I first started making videos is to parody movies. Thea and I both like the Narnia books and the music to the movies. What I love in this particular video, is the transition from SMGC to LASG. If I remember Prince Caspian correctly, a subway train rushes by the kids, transitioning them to Narnia. As luck would have it, when I was out filming in front of the SMGC building, one of the vehicles that went by was a FedEx truck. Just by luck and without the intention to do so (I only had the germ of an idea, not yet fully developed), when I filmed in front of LASG, I also happened to capture a FedEx truck going by. When going through the footage, I put 2 and 2 together, and had my transition.

There really isn't much gymnastics in the video; I think if you remove the opening and closing credits, it amounts to about a 2 minute video. But it's the drama of the music that creates a story to tell.

I think the quote at the beginning is perfect for the gym transition we went through this past year (carrying on a "tradition" in the Thea series of videos), from mourning the closing of SMGC to celebrating the excitement of change provided by LASG, just around the bend.

Oh, and lest I forget: Today is Thea's Day Thursday. It's Thea's birthday. Happy 11th to someone who, each day, never fails to make me feel cherished and appreciated. I hope I never fail to reciprocate the sentiment.

Happy Birthday, Thea!

Try this at home....

A few months ago, I was inspired to try doing handstand pushups with a "monkey" on my back, thanks to this father and daughter video:



I used kids who weighed around 40 lbs and only tried it a few times, near a wall in case I lost my balance while I experimented. I remember using Anna or Malaika, and the first time, she panicked. The most I managed were two handstand push ups. Haven't worked on it lately; I keep forgetting.

The guy in the video responded to a comment I left 5 months ago on his video, letting me know his daughter now weighs 50 lbs, and felt challenged to up the ante. So here, he does 5 handstand pushups with his 50lb kid, while hula hooping!



I think this one is more up coach Jamie's alley.....(Olga, you better start guarding your rhythmic hoops!).

LASG Summer Camp Kids Support the Troops

Camp is winding down; but camp director Robyn managed to get some of the remaining kids to write cards to be sent to soldiers serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Quote of the Day

"That's too girlie!"
-Nava Lewine, age 7, resistant to learning the level 4 floor routine, because of the dance elements. August 26, 2008

Because I Said So

Keesha Scott is a beautiful singer/songwriter with a vivacious personality. Over a year ago, she took some gymnastics privates and was a lot of fun to work with. From her MySpace page:

I grew up smack dab in the middle of the country in southern Indiana. My house stood on a cornfield, and even though my family didn't own the field, I could tell you everything that there is to know about corn. For instance, did you know that there is male and female corn? Weird. Not only was I the coolest star that my grandmother's video camera had ever seen, but I sang everywhere, and I was the best little actress on the planet! ? I sang at everywhere!My mother raised me as a country girl, making me one hell of a country girl at heart!!

It took me over a year of editing to complete this video. Actually, I had pretty much finished it quite some time ago, but had to shelve it due to some computer issues; then I thought I lost the project after taking my computer in for repairs and having the letter assigned to my disc drive, change.

Last week, I had taken my computer in for repairs; and once again, it came back to me with letters scrambled. I didn't want to lose any more projects, so I Googled a question, and figured out how to go into disk management and change the drive letter and path. Phew!



I don't think the song on this video quite fits the footage; but I love the song, and definitely wanted to use her music in the video.

She has a terrific personality that demands attention and deserves stardom. I wish her all the best of luck in her personal and professional endeavors.

Don't forget to do your sit-ups, Keesha!

Child Abuse or Champion-Building?

A young Chinese athlete exercises in front of a Chinese flag at a gymnastics hall at the Shichahai sports school in Beijing December 5, 2007.
REUTERS/David Gray


What is the secret to China's success? Well....besides this, there are other cultural-political matters of deep significance:




A coach counts down the time as boys hang on a bar for five minutes as part of a training session at the Gymnastics Hall of the Shanghai University of Sports August 7, 2007.
REUTERS/Nir Elias


Is this type of spartan training and coaching chlid abuse or champion-building? Keep in mind, that what you see in the videoclips might appear to be worse than is actually going on; and that this sort of intensive molding and shaping of young athletes is not unique to Chinese culture or communist states.

Also see CNN coverage of elite gymnasts at Parkettes.

On Cheng Fei: Chinese gymnast endured childhood sacrifice

"Our family was poor so we hoped Cheng Fei could in some way change her life," said her mother, Xu Chunxiang. "So we thought maybe being a professional athlete is good for her."

But now that decision is history, and all that remains in the young woman's quest is Olympic gold, and the riches that come with it.

For every gold medal Cheng wins, the state authorities are expected to reward her with more than $150,000 in cash and bonuses, a huge sum in a country where college graduates are fortunate to earn $500 a month. There could also be lucrative marketing deals.

But Chinese athletes are taught that they are competing for national glory, not individual achievement or future riches. And Cheng, puffy-cheeked with a penchant for reading military books, seems unlikely to pursue a career in the limelight.
She rarely grants interviews. Her parents say that in telephone conversations with her, she often responds by saying little more than yes, no and O.K.

And after winning three gold medals at the World Cup in Tianjin, China, in May, dominating a tournament in which the U.S. team did not participate, Cheng pouted at a news conference and declared: "I think I can do better. I wasn't at my best."
Friends say it was a glimpse into the character of a young gymnast who, initially driven by her parents and the state, now pushes herself to the limit.

Cheng's road to Beijing began in central China, here in Hubei Province, a bleak industrial region where her father worked as a shipping clerk and her mother toiled in a tire factory.

She was born in 1988, an only child in a nation with a one-child policy. From the beginning, her parents say, she looked like a boy, so they treated her like one. Her father, a disciplinarian who had studied martial arts, pushed her from an early age, even pressing her to do calisthenics every morning before primary school classes began.

"I trained her like a military soldier," said her father, Cheng Ligao, who now owns a shop in Huangshi. "She followed me step by step and I shouted to her, 'One-two, one-two...."'

Yao Juying, her first coach, recalled a remarkably disciplined and focused child.
"I cannot believe how hard-working she was at that young age," Yao said. "I've been doing this for 24 years, and I've never found a second one like her."



~~~

The hardships imposed on athletes in China's national sports system are well-documented. Under pressure to produce athletes of gold-medal caliber, coaches typically force children to endure painful stretching and muscle-building exercises.

"Gymnastics is a really painful thing, especially for pretty young kids; it's torture," said Zhao Hanhua, Cheng's coach at the Wuhan Institute, where Cheng's portrait now hangs on the wall as inspiration to other youngsters. "So we tell the kids, 'This is your lifetime challenge."'

Cheng's coaches say she went through excruciating pain to make her feet turn inward so that she could perform better on the balance beam.

"The training was pretty tough, especially during leg stretching," Cheng's mother recalls. "She cried crazily, like she was dying. Her father and I accompanied her and our hearts almost broke into pieces when she cried that heart-wrenchingly."
At one point, Cheng pleaded with her parents to let her quit and return home. "We asked her to hold on because we had invested so much and lived so bitterly," her mother said.

It's Not How Old You Are.....?

Gotta love controversy.

Caption This

Alicia Sacramone of the U.S. competes on the balance beam in the women's team artistic gymnastics final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 13, 2008.
REUTERS/Mike Blake

"What's that? Up on the Ceiling? It's a bird, it's a paper plane...no it's an incoming rhythmic flying object!"

At SMGC, there have been times where we've had an adult come in to open workout, and practice with a rhythmic hoop or clubs. Ceilings at SMGC weren't that high, and the last time a rhythmic gymnast worked out there, one of the ceiling lights got busted.

At LASG, identifiable flying objects seems to be a regular occurrence. This includes shattered lights.

Sometimes it can be quite funny to see rhythmic objects flying where they weren't meant to go.

Last Sunday, Julia had a private with Marena. I wasn't there, but Julia told me the story. She submits the following:

Last Sunday Marena was in the gym and her daughter, Diana, was there as well doing rhythmic. Somehow, Diana's rhythmic ball managed to fly out the door, over the wall and into the the "beautiful" LA River. Marena went nuts saying things like, "Oh my god! One hundred dollar ball!" and went chasing after it, hop[p]ing the fence and going into the river to get it. But once she got her hands on the ball, she couldn't get back out of the river, so Vladimir came to the rescue with one of the bars that was under the trampoline and stuck it in the river to help pull her out.

Too bad I wasn't there to record that posterity-rich moment. Here is a clip of the garage door leading out to a view of the LA River:

Ceilings are much higher at LASG than they were at SMGC; but seeing ropes get caught on pipes and lights is quite common. It's always quite interesting to see the instructors and gymnasts put their precision and dexterous coordination to work in knocking the ropes down by using the hoop.

Here is Olga Fadeeva, rescuing one of her student's ropes from off the ceiling lights (particularly challenging, not to hit the fixture):

On an unrelated side note, Julia left today for New Orleans with her youth group to help rebuild houses damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She writes:

Each day of our trip, I will be adding new posts to my blog with stories of what we did that day to help the community of New Orleans, including pictures and videos.

While we're off-topic, Al's daughter Carol is selling leotards on ebay, leftover from SMGC. Too bad LASG students are required to wear School uniforms and not allow for more variety.

Quote of the Week

"I can do a handstand for a minute....I just can't prove it."
- Nava Lavine, age 7, advanced class
August 5, 2008

LASG Anthem

*Note: For those jumping out of their seats from an auto-start video, scroll down and shut it off. I apologize, but I uploaded a previous video on Gymnast Tube, which doesn't appear to have anything but auto-start mode on their videos. So until that particular post gets pushed down off the frontpage of this blog (or, I get smart, and upload it to a different host), you'll have to scroll down and turn the video off.

*UPDATE*08/10/2008: Thanks to Coach Jamie, he pointed out the change I needed to make in the embed code, to shut off the auto-start.



This video has been in the works for about 2 months. I could have completed it about a week ago, but wanted to get Alla (owner of LASG) in the video. I didn't realize she was going on vacation (I would have gotten her sooner, had I known; same with Yefim, who took off for Beijing), and she was back in the gym yesterday.

The song choice is from American Anthem, which everyone involved with gymnastics back in the 80's probably remembers. Kids nowadays are not familiar with it (being a box-office smash hit and all.....[/sarcasm]). I think the germ for the idea happened with something making the song cross my mind, and Ita's clapping. Ita loves to clap. Everyone knows it's her when she does it, while warming up her classes.

I tried to get a representation from all the programs offered at LASG. Parkour is the only major one that I didn't capture on film.

Even harder to get everyone into the frame of a 4 minute song, and I tried not to dwell on the guilt-factor and worry about "equal representation" (some people appear quite often); so I mostly stuck in what clips I had that fit the "theme" or "feel" of the video. A lot actually had to be snipped out, as I can only squeeze so much in. The good thing is, I have some good stuff to use in future vids, too.

Brief Clips from College

This is just a few random clips from an old vhs workout tape. Even though I could hold crosses without a false grip and had a record 7 cross pullouts in a row, I had chronic problems with my right shoulder (had arthroscopic surgery after my first year) and didn't hold my strength positions in workouts as long as I normally would in competition. Could never really do inlocate to handstand, due to the stress-load on my shoulders, which were tight then (and ridiculously tight today).

Political Gymnastics

Did you all know "August 4th, 2007" was "National Gymnastics Day"?!

Matt Reese is a good guy. He doesn't teach at LASG much anymore, but still comes in for special needs kids on Friday.

When I had to haul equipment, doing production for a Tylenol commercial out onto the Cal State Northridge track & field under the blazing sun, Matt spent his valuable time the day before, making sure I knew how to assemble the spare ring tower, hidden away under the platform. This included figuring out how to improvise Al's uneven bar portable platform. Took me 4 hours, by myself, to pack much of the equipment into a Uhaul.The only thing I didn't have room for was the balance beam and beam mat. Buried in that picture, is a pommel horse.

Anyway, one of the few YouTube videos out there tagged with LASG, is this one by Holiday Man, and featuring Matt Reese. Enjoy.