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Aerial frustration – I need to vent
I need to vent…. I am part of a show with several aerial acts, one of which is silks. Do I have a silks act? No. Do I know several silks tricks? Yes. (I perform several aerial routines on different apparatus, dabbled in silks but focused elsewhere.)
It came to my attention that the "silks act" of the show was without leadership, and that many of the girls were learning tricks… FROM A BOOK!! I stepped in (and over the head of their – non-present "act leader" ) and asked what was going on, do they have a plan, what tricks are they doing, etc. Not only were they attempting tricks WAY above their skill/ endurance level – but quite a few of them were WRONG! They were backwards, using the wrong leg, etc. OMG – so dangerous!
I am angry that their "act-leader" deserted them, frustrated that the tricks were wrong (mostly because of safety) and feeling bad for these girls who have been working so hard.
Aerial arts are NOT to be taken lightly, one fall could land you in a wheelchair for life! PLEASE be smart. Invest in lessons from qualified teachers, NOT a book, NOT Youtube, do NOT skimp on rigging – BE safe!
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38 Replies
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Depending on the book. The manuals by Rebekah Leach are outstanding and I know quite a few people who have expanded their knowledge of aerial through them. But to say pick up the book and become a performer without any formal instruction whatsoever would not be ideal.
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I couldn't agree more with you wildredhead.
I have the Rebecca Leach books and I use them during my training time, but I also have three years of classes, workshops, etc. under my belt. I also mainly use the books to refresh my memory, NOT learn a new drop or something. If I see something I want to learn, I'll ask an instructor. Which is exactly why you really should not learn silks on your own the way you can learn pole. Silks are very difficult- it requires enough upper body strength to hold yourself up for long enough to get yourself out of a pinch, and on top of that the fabrics are slippery and you can easily become entangled in them. If you wrap a drop wrong, you could fall out or dislocate something if you land wrong. I personally know someone who had a terrible accident that resulted in tearing one of th heads of his bicep in two, causing it to "roll up inside his arm like a window shade."
Frankly, the amount of traffic I've seen on this sight having to do with unsafe aerials is deeply worrisome. Whether it's people rigging their silks from a tree, or videos of people practicing with their silks tied to an upstairs railing (and that same person wrapped up wrong in the same video), it's a really bad sign. Until recently, you had to go to circus school to learn these things. As silks becomes more mainstream and more people hear about and want to do it, there will inevitably be a certain amount of cutting corners happening. I just don't look forward to all the accidents, some of them serious, that will inevitably happen too.
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I will assume that the girls who have been hired to perform in an act, which I will also assume is not a one time gig, have had training. I imagine they have probably had a few years of training if they are good enough to go out and be hired performers.
I just wanted that part clear.
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I took one aerial workshop. It was in a studio, with a professional aerialist instructor. The quality of the instruction was excellent and safety was the top priority. I enjoyed it, but I don't really want to pursue aerials any further. Why? Even with excellent instruction and spotting, it scared the crap out of me in a way that pole does not. Even on a pole, I always feel like I'm no more than 10 feet away from safety (less than 8 feet in my home). Even if I'm tired, all I have to do is make my way back to a pole sit or a basic invert position, and then I can safely dismount.
I scared myself on a lyra, because I realized the only thing keeping me from falling on my head was my own strength and fear not to fall and get seriously injured. I know pole can be just as dangerous, but I feel you work your way up to the dangerous stuff because strength limits you. You can find yourself in a dangerous position in aerials on day one.
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Funny, I feel the same way with pole. There’s nothing keeping me from falling on my head except strength and a tenuous grip of skin on metal. In silks, at least I’m tangled up for the most part.
That being said, silks aren’t to be taken lightly. Get a wrap wrong in a drop and that’s it. I can look at a pose in lyra or pole and figure out what’s going on (for the most part). That’s not true for silks. Especially when learning new skills, you need hands on training.
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I’ll be damned if I can even hold an invert on silks! I don’t like that you you don’t have something hard and solid to hold onto. And of course my instructor wont let us wrap the fabric around our wrist for extra support….. 🙁
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Interesting, jivete! I feel like I can get to a safe resting position a lot more easily on a pole (even if I'm still up in the air). On a lyra it seemed like the only "rest" position was having my feet on the ground! But that could just be my inexperience with the apparatus.
Getting tangled up in silks would be a nightmare for me. I feel like I would have a panic attack. Same reason I won't go scuba diving… you need to stay calm if something goes wrong.
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I stopped doing silks for the time being. I wasn't progressing because of lack of strength and stamina. Silks are HARD. I would NEVER attempt them without an instructor present.
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What Lyme?? Are you serious? The first thing I learned from both instructors was a hand wrap in several different ways, but each and every one involved wrapping the wrist. The only time I don't wrap wrists is when I wrap feet/legs.
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I’ve been tangled before and even though I was only 5 ft or so off the ground it was unnerving. You definitely have to keep calm and rest while unwrapping. Anymore, I always practice new wraps as close to the ground as possible, preferably where I can touch.
Just another reason silks shouldn’t be self-taught. Even kicking out of a footlock can tangle if done wrong.
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Every instructor is different in what they teach first. The first thing I learned was a footlock. Some teachers spend a lot of time with you in a sling before teaching that. Lyme's instructor probably didn't want her to wrap her wrists while inverting because you won't be building as much wrist/hand strength that way. Inverting without wrapped wrists is totally normal.
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Chem – my instructor wouldn't let me do it either, despite me being exhausted. It is considered "lazy." I just don't have the endurance for a 1 1/2 hour class where you climb the whole time.
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Serious Chem! So when we invert, it just just by grabbing onto the silks. My finger tips don't really have enough strenth to hold me! Now I can CLIMB but last week we had to learn back walk over and front walk over and I fell, because I just couldn't keep my grip. I have asked several times, can I wrap my wrist, then this wouldn't even be a problem for me and they said NO!
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I guess everyone teaches different, but damn it, let me do a wrist wrap! LOL
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Lyme – can you describe what you mean by back walkover and front walkover?
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I’m sorry, safety before style. Style comes with strength. Why an instructor wouldn’t allow modifications while learning is beyond me.
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Electra, a front walk over is taking the silks on both sides, bringing them behind your back, tucking forward and lifting your butt up and over. For the back walkover it is holding the silks on either side, tucking your legs up and flipping over….at least that is what they call it. I feel VERY unstable doing this just with holding on with my fingers.
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Elektra, my back and front walkovers were basically back rolls and front rolls. Started tucked, then worked pike then worked one leg at a time. When you go backwards your arms are now twisted in the fabric so then you roll forward to untwist them.
I just cannot imagine doing an invert without being locked in.
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Yes, just like Chem said! So the first time I did that, I totally lost my grip on my left hand and fell on my head….only a few inches but still!
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The only thing hurt was my ego….LOL. But still, I didn't want to do it again. I asked if I could wrap and they wouldn't let me. Therefore, I DID manage it.
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I am not talking about wrapping while climbing, I am talking about wrapping when inverting.
Kinda like this:
http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/297/173/297173101_640.jpg
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Not sure if this will post or not as it is from FB.
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/264802_10150231022599686_7720422_n.jpg
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Yes Chem, agree! I climbed the 20 foot silk withouth any locking of foot or hands but It was scary as hell trying to come down. I really had to use my feet for "braking". But going upside down, even from the ground, I feel like my hands should be locked.
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To make things more clear – the person in charge of the silks act has become "distracted" by her other acts in the show and has left these girls to fend for themselves. These girls have had just a few lessons between them. When confronted, her (act leader) defense was that the girls were doing just fine and learning new things by teaching each other.
Of course since they only have three tricks between them, the girls bought books to learn more things. After they asked their act leader for help and were denied. I am not angry with the girls, they are just trying to learn, however they are trying things way above their skill level. Two of them can not even invert and they are exhausted after 2-3 minutes in the air.
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The reason I asked is because it did sound like something you would use wrist hitches for. I know the excercise as a "skin the cat", and we do use wrist hitches. So, yeah, I find it a little odd your instructor would insist on you not wrapping your wrists. What I find really concerning, though, is that it doesn't sound like your instructor is listening to you. If a student says they feel unsafe doing something, they should not do that thing, regardless of the objective safety of it. Even falling onto a crash mat can be dangerous; I sprained a toe that way not long ago. Anyway, the next time the teacher tried to get you to do this, I would recommend asking them WHY they are insisting on not using wrist locks. My guess is that they want you to build grip strength. If that's what they say, you can simply ask if there's another way to build grip strength, say, by climbing, or doing some modified excercise like open-handed pull ups in the silks. (That way, you'll at least fall on your feet, not your head, if you let go)
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