A cool place for friends and family members of Santa Monica Gymnastics Center to come hang out. So nuke the popcorn in the microwave; Snoopy dance...dance..dance around the room...then pull up a chair, and be prepared to laugh and cry; to feel embarrassed and inspired; and to just sit back, relax and enjoy these music videos.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Starfish Flyaway Drill
Zac of Aerials Gymnastics has been playing around with the following flyaway setup over the trench pit:
One of the things that Neil Resnick brought up during the first day introduction at Bars Boot Camp, was how those who stick strictly to following the compulsories without ever looking outside the box can have the athleticism sucked out of them- the kind that comes from a sense of fun and play and exploration.
One of the things that I notice about a number of team girls I work with, is how so many of them wait to be told. Not too many seem to have a sense of adventure and ambition. Al Luber used to bring this up when I was at Santa Monica Gymnastics Center. He told me how back in the 70s or 80s, he had this one kid who asked when she'd be ready to try her tsuk by herself. He told her when she could land to her upper back on a stacked resi consistently, she'd probably be ready. Next thing he knew, he heard her say, "Hey coach....watch this." And she did a tsuk by herself without ever being spotted. It horrified and angered him from a safety standpoint since she took the initiative without seeking permission and a coach's supervision. But he also admired her gutsiness, which he says was more common back then in comparison with the kids he was getting these days. She took his advice, figured she did as she was told as far as progression, and had the confidence to believe she was ready.
When I was at UCLA, I remember how much play some of the guys had- like Tony Pineda and Brian Ginsberg swinging high bar with their motorcycle helmets on, before Art would arrive into the gym.
Resnick and Forster both emphasized that sticking to standard routines is what wins competitions; not the creative with the big flashy skills. But they also talked about keeping the fun and the spirit of play alive.
I love this video for the "time wasted" on inane tricks that no one will ever compete or stuff they will never try again and that no one else will ever do or dream up:
This is where innovation begins.....living outside the box and the constraints of competitive, artistic gymnastics with its rules and routines shaped by the code of points over the freedom of wild abandon.
However, it's a bit expensive for my budget right now (I don't own an IPad 2, either); and after reading this endorsement a couple of weeks ago, I just invested in a Casio Ex-FC150, which fulfills my needs. This camera is waaaay cool!
I can film at regular speed and toggle it to film in slo-mo right in the middle of recording! I'm still learning how to work all the features (the instruction manual doesn't seem to explain much and I learned most of my info from a YouTube video about it). Here's another example I took last Wednesday, right before leaving Los Angeles for my trip:
The camera was a little over $200 including shipping through Amazon and came with a tripod, memory card, and 3 rechargeable batteries!
I'm excited in the investment and look forward to using it in the gym when I get back. Biggest problem I've had in using past cameras for instant playback/feedback for my gymnasts is in not being able to slow the frames down. With this camera, you don't even need to film in slo-mo to play it back at slow speed; or, to click frame by frame. ALSO, there seems to be a "slow" button you can hit and it has a Tivo effect where the image on screen is delayed, but not recorded. So a gymnast might be able to take a turn, and then come look at what she just did. Not sure yet how long the delay is on it, but I'm sure this would work well for vault.
