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Stop Pretending You’re Perfect! Circus and Honesty on Social Media

Are you perfect? Flawless? Everything goes well all the time? Shut up, you are not, and it does not. BUT, I’d never know it from your social media! I want to suggest something outrageous. What if we, as a community, acknowledged our struggles? Would it be so crazy to stop pretending that we’re all superhuman athletes who exist solely on lettuce and moonbeams with a beatific cloud of glitter circling our heads at all times? What would happen if we started creating a culture of honesty in the circus community?


“We are all failures – at least the best of us are.” – J.M. Barrie


What We Don’t Talk About

When I decided to talk openly about my return to active training, I was warned that it would “tank my business if I admitted I’d let myself get de-conditioned”. Well, it didn’t. And if any student decided against training with me because I talked about my struggles, well, I’m pretty sure we weren’t going to be besties anyway. It did, however, really get me thinking a lot about what we don’t talk about publicly.

We don’t talk about our failures. We don’t talk about the minute we woke up and realized we’d stopped training, gained 20 lbs, and couldn’t get through our routine without gasping and flailing like a goldfish on the carpet. We don’t talk about how crappy it feels to realize how much ground you’ve lost, or how daunting it feels to start over. We don’t talk about how scared we are that we can’t do it now that we’re abc age with xyz injuries. We don’t talk about our injuries. We don’t talk about how we thought we’d be farther along than we are, how everyone has that move except you (and you secretly hate your classmates for it), how often we wonder if we’re just not meant to do this thing. We don’t talk about how many of us as artists and students struggle with anxiety and depression, how we have never in our lives not finished the entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s, how we struggle to balance the demands of training with the (oftentimes louder) demands of family, other work, and life in general. Until we DO talk about it. And it’s kind of magical.

The Freedom to be Imperfect. Publicly.

I’ve noticed something. When we publicly open up about our struggles – training, balance, mental, emotional, etc – the community responds. Sure, some folks like to insist that all difficulty with life be kept private and under wraps. If that’s you, you do you and suffer quietly. We’ll be over here when you have your nervous breakdown. The vast majority of responses are supportive – me too, I also struggle with that, what helped me was, you are not alone, your timetable isn’t realistic, do you need a training buddy, you’re doing great, keep going, etc. From where I sit, this is what makes our circus community so incredible.

I’m not suggesting that we all use social media as a catch-all confessional and spill our guts on the daily in classes. What I AM suggesting is that sharing struggles – even small ones – helps keep it real for everyone. You might try:

  • Sharing the occasional fail video! Laugh and the world laughs with you. We too have wound up with our ass over our heads in that oh-so-dignified position.
  • Asking for feedback. Got something you’re stumped over? You’re not the first! Chances are pretty good that, if you put it to the (right) group of folks, you’ll get some great feedback to get you moving towards a happier place.
  • Sharing your stories of triumph! Did you FINALLY get that fancy pretzel shape with your legs after a year? Share it! Let people celebrate with you, and remind folks that what we do isn’t learned in a weekend workshop.
  • Being a supportive voice. Take a second to cheer someone on, point them towards good resources, commiserate, or offer encouragement. It’s incredible what a few well-chosen words can do.

We get to decide what our circus community will look like. Yes, we often live in (hopefully) friendly and healthy competition. Yes, it’s a business for many. Yes, we want to show our sparkliest selves to the world. That said, keeping it real gives us opportunities to thrive where other communities devolve into posturing and pecking each other to death. I know which one I’d rather be a part of. Go forth and fail publicly, friends! Love and pull-ups, Laura

I Love You, but ZIP IT: Let the Teacher Teach!

M’kay, Dear Danglers. I have to tell you something. There’s a little thing you may be guilty of doing that makes your teacher insane. It’s the kind of thing we have to take a deep breath and count to 10 over. I’m not even kidding. It’s a code red violation. What is this egregious transgression that makes teachers all over the country stabby? What do we bitch about the most in the teachers lounge? What behavior leaves us hyperventilating into a paper bag so we don’t kill you with our death glare?

Undermining our authority in class by trying to teach your fellow students.

Zip It!

Is your name Miss Laura? Are you the teacher of this class? The captain of this zany ship? The top gorilla in this jungle? No? Then zip it.

I know, I know – it comes from a good place! I know it does! You have something that works for you, and you want to share it with your fellow students! I totally get that, and it’s what makes us love and appreciate you. BUT (you knew there was a big old BUT in here somewhere), here are some things to consider:

  • One of the biggest parts of teaching is giving the student in front of you the instruction they need when they need to hear it. As a coach, there’s a constant ticker-tape of comments and corrections going in my head – safety, technique, aesthetics, student abilities, are they having a crappy day, can I push them, could that weird flamingo hand actually go into something awesome, etc. The wrong input at the wrong time is counterproductive for everyone. I get very protective of my students and their progress, and I don’t take kindly to things that sabotage it, however well meaning. Zip it.
  • Students need to hear one clear voice: the coach’s. I’ve been in sessions where I literally couldn’t hear the teacher’s voice because of all the extra “helping” going on. It’s confusing, panic-inducing, and dangerous. Zip it.
  • You don’t know what they’re working on. We can only focus on a certain number of things at a time. Doling out unsolicited instruction can overwhelm and discourage someone focusing on making small, specific changes. Zip it.
  • It’s rude to undermine authority. It just is. The assumption is that you know more than your teacher. If that’s true, find a new coach. But I’m guessing it’s just you being a little too big for your britches. Zip it.

 

Now, I’m not talking about helping a newbie find her footlock while your coach is spotting someone else, or stopping someone from making a bad choice when your teacher isn’t looking (if you see something, say something) – that’s being genuinely helpful and neighborly! I’m talking about interrupting your coach while they’re speaking, blurting out suggestions while someone is working, or making sure everyone in class knows that your old school did it differently. When you feel the urge to share with your fellow students, mind your business and focus on fixing your own darned self.

This Goes for Social Media Too

I’ll use myself as an example here. I’m working on handstands at the moment – they’re challenging for me, but I’m kind of cuckoo for them at the moment. I have A LOT to work on. A lot a lot. Like make-you-cry a lot. I like to post pics of my progress to social media to share my small successes. What’s not helpful? When I get emails from (well-meaning) folks with tons of corrections and suggestions I didn’t ask for. I wind up confused as to what I should be focusing on, and then I come into sessions babbling like a demented bumble bee about hand placement and ribs and feet and omg my butt won’t squeeze and my ankles aren’t together and why won’t my shoulders open and am I crooked and do you think I need canes or blocks or cookies. Then it all has to get untangled until I hear one voice again.

The moral of the story? Unless you’re someone’s coach, just be supportive. Like it, stick a heart on it, virtually applaud, and resist the urge to give feedback if they didn’t ask for it.

Your role in class is student. You can support your classmates by telling them how badass that inversion was, how much you admire that they do everything full out, how impressed you are with their colorful swear words, whatever. But leave the teaching to the teachers. Please and thank you. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Yes, Virginia! You Really DO Need Mats in an Aerial Class!

A couple of weeks ago, a number of videos surfaced from several studios featuring aerial fabulousness, but zero mats. What gives? Why the heck do we need mats? DO we really? What about “aerial yoga” or “aerial dance classes”? It’s time for a candid convo about (….. drumroll please……) APPROPRIATE MATTING!!!!

(In)Appropriate Matting

In order for us to have a meaningful discussion on mats, we have to chat about the WHY of mats. You’d think that was pretty obvious (to cushion us when we splat on the floor, duh!), but different mats are better suited to different situations. Here are a few of the most common:

  • Yoga mats – good for honest-to-goodness aerial yoga classes (see below), where poses are NOT dynamic, they are kept low to the floor, and the hammock is used as a prop, not an apparatus. Hint: these are few and far between. Most classes billing themselves as aerial yoga are closer to aerial hammock – see below.
  • Gymnastic flooring/foam floor – a good compromise for low aerial dance classes. It provides a bit of cushioning, but is still firm enough so you don’t break an ankle dancing in the floor segment.
  • Panel mats – I love firm panel mats for vertical apparatus! They discourage the “plop” factor (when students allow themselves to plop out of poses – BAD HABIT), while giving good cushioning for heels, butts, and other assorted body parts.
  • 4 inch firm squish – my very favorite! These cover a lot of area, so I don’t have to worry about falling off and twisting my ankle as I spot, but they’re also cushy enough so I rarely have to bring out the….
  • Crash mats! I prefer crash mats for bar apparatus & hammock, because slipping or missing a trick generally results in a few feet of actual fall. I also use them for drops on rope or silks where there’s a chance of a missed connection, or if I have a “let go” student and I don’t want to have to wear Depends during class. I don’t love them for daily vertical apparatus use as a coach, mainly because I’ve seen more ankle injuries occur with them than without (folks accidentally step off & twist an ankle). I tend to choose a firmer mat whenever possible if I need to be close to spot.
  • Foam pits – break out your flying tricks! This is generally for higher level moves, such as those worked on swinging trapeze, or catch-release partnering.

Professionals may or may not choose to use a mat for different things. They’re professionals, and know what they need. Mind your business. As a student, you almost always need a mat of some kind, even when performing.

A Class by Any Other Name…

Know what really gets me all fired up? When studios or coaches call anything in a hammock “Aerial Yoga”. Or when they toss basic safety protocol to the wind, and don’t put mats under drops. If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this:

It doesn’t matter what you call a class. Dynamic moves require mats. If a studio tells you they don’t, RUN. 

Anything in a hammock is NOT aerial yoga. Even with unicorn hair. Know what is? Actual yoga poses done in the air with the hammock as a prop (for a great example in NYC, check out Unnata Aerial Yoga). What I mostly see is a circus class masquerading as a yoga class. How to tell the difference? If your yoga class is including “tricks” or “drops”, you’re doing circus. You need a mat. And a more honest class description.

Just because you call a class “Aerial Dance”, doesn’t mean you don’t need a mat. REALLY?! Riddle me this: why would you need a mat for drops in a circus class, but that same drop in an “aerial dance” class is just fine on bare floor? It’s an egregious breach of safety protocol, people. Demand better. If your studio does not provide appropriate mats for these sessions, begin to insist that they do so. Or, move your a$$ along to a more safety conscious studio.

My general rule of thumb is this (studios differ in their policies). You need a mat if:

  • You are doing drops or swings of any kind.
  • Your apparatus is higher than waist height, or you roll up in it higher than waist height.
  • You are standing on your apparatus.
  • You are nervous about a move (call for a crash pad).
  • You are doing silks or rope at any level.

If mats are not available to you in anything other than a true aerial yoga class, you are being put at risk. Be a smart consumer – look for mats. Love and pull-ups (and MATS), Laura

PS – a note for teachers – MODEL GOOD AERIAL HABITS. Unless it’s a performance, please consider showing yourself using mats when you rehearse and train in your social media. It’s not a great time for “do as I say, not as I do”.

 

Come Baaaaaack! Training While Your Teacher is Away

So, it’s happened. Your beloved teacher – the one who totally *gets you* and runs the perfect class and is just SO GREAT – has booked a show or a tour, popped out a baby, or flown away to another place. While you’re delighted for him or her, you’re also panicked. WHO will you train with while they’re gone? WHO will suffer through all your (adorable) neurosis? You’re going to lose ALL your skills! Your abs will be jello! Your training life is oooooooooooooover! ….. Or is it?

Accept that Your Teacher will be Gone

After the tears and snot have flowed, and the hiccups subsided, take a deep breath. It’s happening, and, short of kidnapping them and stuffing them in your closet, there’s nothing you can do to keep them here. Step one is to accept that your teacher will be gone, BUT – that doesn’t mean your training grinds to a halt. In fact, we’re gonna turn this no no no no into a yes yes yes yes.

This is an opportunity to shake up your training – experience a new teacher, adjust your focus to another area (conditioning, flexibility, PT, etc), or try another apparatus for a little while. While it’s never fun to be separated from your favorite coach, it doesn’t have to be the worst thing that’s ever happened to your training. I swear.

Make a Plan

Know what you’re NOT going to do? Sit passively in a lump and moan and winge until they get back. If you want to take a break, take it! Sometimes, breaks are just what the doctor ordered. But, if your coach will be gone for more than a few weeks, or is moving away for good, it’s time to get proactive and make a plan.

  1. How long will they be gone? Find out what the timeline is, and adjust your plan accordingly. A few weeks? Consider taking a break, and/or focusing on a complimentary area (strength or flexibility, for example). Longer? If you want to keep your skills moving forward, you’re going to need a plan. Read on.
  2. What should you focus on to make the most of the time? Get input from your coach – I guarantee he or she will be HAPPY to tell you what you need to work on in their absence! It’s so worth booking a private, and talking through everything from alternate coaches to conditioning to training on your own. Come in with a plan you think might work, and let them “reality check” it.
  3. What are your options?
    1. Training with another coach. I know, I know, your coach is the one and only, and NO ONE else can take their place. Believe me, I get it! We get very attached to our teachers – it’s a tangled mess of trust, admiration, comfort, and bonding, and it’s very real. BUT, it’s so good to learn from other teachers! You get a different perspective, and will almost always come away with at least a few new things you like. Give them a chance, and consciously focus on what’s working.
    2. Training on your own. If you’ve reached a level of proficiency to have open gym time, great! Go over some goals with your coach in a private session, and structure your training so that you don’t spend the entire time talking with Bitsy at the front desk or scrolling through Instagram.
    3. Upping your conditioning, stretching, and PT. You have some weak and/or tight bits that you’ve been ignoring (I’m very psychic). Now is a great time to get that sorted.
    4. Dreaming and planning. Create your magnum opus! It’s never too early to start mapping out a small sequence piece. You can envision something you could do soon, or create your dream piece – no limits! Use YouTube, Instagram, stuff you’ve discovered, your favorite moves in class, etc. What matters is that it stokes your fire, and keeps your heart going pitty-pat for your chosen discipline.
    5. Try something new! Are you a silks girl who’s always wanted to try lyra? Now’s your chance! Love German wheel but curious about cyr? Get going.
  4. What will you do when you hit a wall? It’ll probably happen, so make sure you have a contingency plan for when you start running out of steam or get discouraged. It might look like reaching out to your community on FB, training with a friend or classmate, or setting a new goal.

Let this time be an opportunity to work differently – shake things up (and down)! You might miss your coach (I do – I put up her photo while I train because it makes me slack less), but this can be a great thing if you decide it will be! Love and pull-ups, Laura

Getting Bent Into Shape – Creating Meaningful Gains in Flexibility

Streeeeeeeeetch!

Hello Dear Danglers! It’s been a while! Know why? I’ve been training my a$$ off. It’s been great, it’s been hard, it’s been up, it’s been down. Literally. One of the MOST fabulous things lately has been a wonderful increase in my flexibility – GLORY BE! I’ve been workin’ it hard, and figured I would share my Magical Secrets with you today (hint: they’re neither magical nor secret).

Pursuing Functional Flexibility

How flexible do you really need to be? Is all flexibility “good” flexibility? WHEN WILL I SIT ON MY OWN HEAD?

Great questions. Different disciplines call for different degrees of flexibility. For example, as an aerialist, you will probably want a sassy split, a nice back arch, and strong but mobile shoulders. As a contortionist, you’re gonna want to pursue extreme front and back bending, over-splits, handstand strength, etc. You NEED to be flexible enough to move safely and confidently through the range of motion necessary for a particular skill (functional flexibility) – everything else is gravy. Does that take a bit of pressure off? I hope so, because sitting on your own head is probably going to take a while.

Now. Contrary to what Instagram would have you believe, all flexibility is NOT necessarily desirable flexibility, and no conversation about bendy-boos would be complete without its partner in crime: strength. As an aerial coach, uncontrolled flexibility is TERRIFYING – it’s like training a hot noodle. I’m not even kidding. You’ve gotta control that shizzle! If you’re flopping around like an oiled rubber band on steroids, you’re courting major injury.

There’s a sweet spot to aim for – strong & controlled, but bendy. Know what’s great for getting you there? A good coach to whack your butt into alignment! A fabulous physical therapist is also a must – even when you’re not injured, they can help KEEP you injury free by identifying weak areas you betta strengthen pronto.

OK – Yeah Yeah – How do I GET the Flexibility?

Exercise science has come a looooooong way – if all you’re doing is passive stretching a few times a week, or – God forbid – pushing students into stretches they’re not ready for, the 80’s called and want their training back. People – it’s 2017! Time to re-evaluate.

It’s worth noting that I’ve always been stronger than I was bendy. I have to fight for every inch of flexibility – it ain’t natural! There are a range of techniques that can produce good results; today, I’m going to focus on what’s produced big results in my own training: tissue prep, end range control exercises, and active stretching. Imma break down my process in 5 easy (HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!) steps, and point you towards my favorite resources. Here we go!

  1. Step 1 – Get with a program. Set a goal (straddles, shoulders, all-over general flexibility, etc.). My favorite thing is to find a stretching program, guide, or coach that addresses this area (see below for my favorites). A good program or class will address at minimum both the stretches and the strength moves required for meaningful gains; a great program includes tissue prep, nerve glides, anatomy, etc.
  2. Step 2 – Set your schedule. There are two kinds of people when it comes to stretching: those who say they want to get more flexible but never actually take the steps to make that happen, and those who do the work. Guess which group actually sees increases? There is no substitute for consistency. Set a schedule and stick to it (I watch trashy reality TV while I stretch – my IQ may be dropping at an alarming rate, but I now have an over-split!).
  3. Step 3 – Actually stretch. Most well-rounded programs include a variety of stretching techniques, each appropriate for different parts of the body, or different days. I prefer active or moving stretches, with short (30-60 seconds) passive periods when it feels right, and use lots of approaches to keep myself out of a rut and injury free – see below.
  4. Step 4 – Measure your progress. Depending on the stretch, find a reliable method of measuring your progress. It can be an actual measurement (distance of straddle to the wall, for example), a feeling (a feeling of greater mobility or ease), or progress in a connected area (like easier handstands because your hammies are more flexible).
  5. Step 5 – Evaluate, educate, change it up. If you’re making progress doing what you’re doing, great! If you’re finding the process miserable, regressive, or (GAH!) you’re getting injured, time to change it up. You’d think stretching was a pretty DIY kind of thing, but not so much. Having a good coach and physical therapist can make the difference between an over-split and a perpetually torn hamstring! Take the time to learn good technique (and have it evaluated by a pro), brush up on your anatomy & physiology, and get current on new techniques and exercise science. I also recommend changing it up here and there, as boredom makes you less likely to stick with a program.

New Flexibility vs Re-Finding Old Flexibility

For the sake of this post, let’s refer to “old flexibility” as the range of motion you had within the past 3 years (rolling thru middle splits as a 9 year old doesn’t count, unless you’re 11, in which case this blog is NOT for you! Go clean your room.).

Regaining elasticity is generally easier than courting new flexibility. For example, a few years ago I could easily get my cooter to the floor in an open split. In May of this year, I couldn’t (that’s what happens when you stop training, people). Regaining that cooter-to-the-floor splits is way easier than if I had never felt my lady bits hit the ground. Many students have a nice initial jump in flexibility simply because their bodies “re-find” what they’d had, and are disappointed when that progress slows down. But here’s an important concept:


90% of your effort will always be spent on the final 10% of your goal.


My goal is in INCREASE in flexibility – it’s my final 10%. I should expect it to take a good long time. Months or years, not days, people. If you’re looking for fast and easy, may I suggest taking up another pursuit? ‘Cause circus ain’t it.

To recap – set a goal, find a coach to check your form and progress, and set up a stretch routine for yourself (I alternate programs – upper back one day, then straddles the next, with a quick “all over maintenance” routine daily). And actually do it (that’s the sticky wicket, am I right?). Love and pull-ups, Laura

Resources

Here are some of my FAVORITE resources – enjoy!!!!

  • Jen Crane/Cirque Physio, Catie Brier, & PhysioFlex – amazing training designed by a circus PT and contortion coach. HIGHLY recommended, especially if you’re (ahem) of a certain age.
  • GymnasticBodies.com – good stuff!
  • Easyflexiblility.com – Haha – not easy. I do like the methods though – the dynamic/active stretches work well for lots of bodies.

Training Without a Coach – Step Awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay from that Edge

So. You’re a bazillion miles away from a coach, much less a circus school. Aside from gluing yourself to YouTube and Instagram, what options do you have for learning? Turns out, more than you may think.

Your Options Spelled Out

Back in the olden days, before the circus revolution, we had two options: Montreal, San Francisco. Small circus enclaves existed elsewhere, but unless you got lucky, you didn’t find them. Fast forward to now, where it seems a new aerial school is sprouting on every corner, and it’s a whole new world! You have more options for training than ever before – and that’s crazy exciting. BUT, you might not be near a studio, or despise the coaches that are in your area. Legit. What’s a circus lover to do?

  • Move. I’m not kidding. When I decided I wanted to be a career circus performer, I moved – first to California, then to Montreal. If you want to perform full time, a dedicated program might be a great fit for you. Consider packin’ it up, and moving to be a part of a program or school.
  • Commute. I have a 90 minute commute each way to teach, so I’ll admit – I’m not the person who’s gonna give you a lot of sympathy when you complain that the nearest circus classes are 45 minutes away (love you lots!). If you can’t commute weekly, what CAN you commit to? Monthly training is better than no training.
  • Train-cations and Intensives. Like to travel? Nearest school a flight away? Try to schedule a few “train-cations” each year, or create an intensive for yourself.
  • Skype. We live in the future, friends! Many coaches, myself included, offer Skype sessions to help with technique, vocabulary, and a variety of other sticky wickets. It does NOT replace hands-on coaching, but can help to tide you over until you’re able to train with a teacher again. Most teachers have an evaluation process to see if you’re a good candidate (aka not going to kill yourself in the first 30 minutes), and are strict about safety measures (always train with a friend, proper rigging & matting, low and slow, etc).
  • Books, manuals, and online resources. There are a number of phenomenal books (my faves come from Rebekah Leach), blogs, newsletters, and forums for everything from aerial work to rigging. Again – they don’t REPLACE your coach, but they can supplement your training in helpful ways.
  • YouTube and Instagram. You need to be at a certain training level to meaningfully grow your vocabulary off the internet. It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of students sourcing material & attempting to recreate it on their own, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Seeing what others are doing is fabulously inspiring! I think where online sharing really shines is when it helps us understand what we’re doing in classes a bit better – online tutorials, examples of other performers work, etc can inform our training in tons of helpful ways. BUT, don’t think for even a second that an online tutorial or a trick you swiped off Instagram replaces a coach. Train with live humans every chance you get.

But Laura, What About Safety?

Yep – I hear you. A few years ago, I took a great rigging workshop with Brett Copes. One thing that really stayed with me was the “cliff concept”. Imagine a cliff, with a steep drop off; every step we take back from the edge of that cliff is progress. Knowledge, understanding, and community all serve to take us a couple more steps away from the edge, and that’s a good thing. I liken it to abstinence-only education – you can tell the people not to try stuff they’ve seen on the interwebs, or not to train unless they have a good coach, but you guys – it’s happening. I hate that it’s happening, but it’s happening. If a student has to choose between training on their own with no input, or training with a skype coach and getting some input, I’ll always come down on the side of some input. BUT.

Students, hear me now. Nothing – nothing – replaces training with a good coach. In person. Private lessons are better than group, group are better than virtual, virtual is better than none. Training with a good coach will get you to your destination faster, with less wasted time and money, and GREATLY reduces the risk of injury – catastrophic, repetitive stress, and otherwise. I can always spot a self-taught aerialist – it’s in the technique. Do your damnedest to get to classes with real humans!!! But step awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay from that edge in every way you can. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Practice Makes Permanent – Are You Sabotaging Your Circus Training?

This week, the glorious Liza Rose from Fly Circus Space in New Orleans put up a delicious little blurb on the F-books about the importance of practicing good aerial habits. Are you drilling crappy technique into your body? Practicing things week after week with le poo form? Then friend, you’re in for a world of hurt when it comes time to clean that sh*t up.


“Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect permanent.”


I am not a huge fan of DIY in circus. I have no fewer than six internet-based handstand programs – some with training videos, some with PDF’s and photos. Know what none of them have? My coach. During a session, she never stops correcting, spotting, encouraging, educating, and reprimanding when I’m being a lazy ass. It’s constant – push here, squeeze your butt, you’re rotating there, close your chest, squeeze your butt, open the chest, push up more, squeeze your butt, that’s correct, everyone hates this, squeeze your butt, push up more…. Friends, I absolutely cannot evaluate myself that way, even with video. Even with online resources. Even if it *looks* right to me, it’s often only part of the equation.

Last year, I had a lovely student who came in from out of town. She had a few aerial classes under her belt, but had been training a lot on her own. I gave her a small sequence which required an in-air inversion.

Lovely Student: “Oh, I can’t do that, I’ve been trying to get that for years. It just won’t happen.”

Ms Laura: “I’ll bet it will.” She showed every sign of readiness, the technique was just off. Two corrections and one spot later, BOOM. Inversions.

What a Good Coach Really Does

Teaches you all the cool moves, right? Nope. That’s part of what I do, but honestly, a trained monkey could show you a bunch of fancy silk tricks. In a typical class or private, I will:

  • Build strong foundations. Every apparatus or discipline has “building blocks” – the foundation skills or movements that you’ve gotta be proficient in before you can move on to the bigger stuff. DIY students (and, let’s be honest, some teachers) often have NO IDEA what those are. Consequently, training frequently consists of flitting around to whatever you happen to have in front of you, like a demented bumble bee. No foundation = building your skills on shifting sands, and tackling training in a way that doesn’t make sense.
  • Determine readiness. I see it ALL THE TIME in students coming to me for the first time – the hunger to jump into moves they are nowhere near ready to be chasing. Whether it’s big drops or in-air basic hip key, I evaluate whether a student is ready – from strength to technique to the vocabulary they have under their belt. Flinging yourself into moves a couple of levels away is a one-way ticket to InjuryVille or CrapTechnique Town. Population: you.
  • Introduce appropriate progressions. Good coaches build bridges to address your particular weaknesses en route to a skill. For example, many students struggle with in-air inversions. Rather than have them repeatedly heave themselves backwards in hopes that they’ll get it eventually, we look at the kinetic chain for inversions (legs to 90, pelvic tuck, push). Where are they weak? What needs to be addressed? There’s an exercise or progression for that.
  • Correct. We boss you around! We also determine what corrections you’re ready to hear and apply. If I gave you all the corrections I had for you at once, you’d keel over dead. Seriously. There’s an unfolding of correction – from biggies (safety, general movement pattern, technique basics) to teenies (point your toes, dammit!). A good coach knows when you need to hear them.
  • Educate. We teach you the cool moves! And how they work and why.
  • Manage expectations. I tell you when that shizzle is HARD. I tell you how long it took me, and how long it may take you. I tell you that you will not be dropping that triple for a long time, and why. I remind you that you love this. I understand when you cry. I tell you to do it again, and not to get snot on my fabrics, and that I am invested in your success.
  • Encourage – a good coach knows when you need a win, when to smack you with a big old high five, or when to give you The Talk about holding yourself to a higher standard. It’s a lot of reminding students that a) this is hard, and b) if you train it correctly it will come.

 

CAN you train without a coach? You betcha! But the fact is that you will learn faster and better with a good teacher.

BUT, what if you live, like, 10,000 miles from the closest aerial or circus space? Tune in next week when we look at how the miracle of technology, connections, and some good old fashioned travel can make training with a coach a thing – even if you live a bazillion miles away. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Top photo by Brigid Marz

When You Just Have SO Far to Go – Circus Reality Hits Hard

So, today’s post was going to be all about flexibility, but then I had a really hard day yesterday so today’s post is actually going to be about that. Because training is hard and feelings are hard and tears happen.

*Also? This is a photo of my splits. My handstands are too awful to post photos of. You will get a photo the minute I get a pic I don’t squeal and delete immediately.*

In case you missed it, I’ve started training again after letting myself get super de-conditioned; I’m not being modest, I legit lost 90% of my high skills. In any case, it’s been going really well! I’ve been regaining my strength, training around old injuries, and making big strides in my flexibility. All wins and glitter, right? Not so fast.

Circus PT Jen Crane encouraged me at the beginning of this ride to drop an aerial class and pick up a handstand class to strengthen my shoulders. Please believe me when I say that I had never, ever considered training handstands. So, I jumped into the Muse’s Wednesday night group class (taught by the effervescent Ms Ivory Fox), and away we went. Everything was going along just fine until…. I realized how much I looked forward to Wednesdays. Uh oh. I DO NOT NEED TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER CIRCUS DISCIPLINE! But you guys…. I totally did.

Oh. No.

See, here’s the thing. When I don’t love something (lyra, Chinese pole, broccoli, etc.), it’s easy to do it because it’s good for me and leave it at that. But when I find something I love and a coach I really like – OH – the tears, the longing, the drama! First, I binge on YouTube videos. Then, I imagine myself doing whatever glorious thing it is. I sign up for all the classes, commit to privates, and then…. tears. I realize that I am just forever away from the skills I want and what am I doing and why am I spending all this money and time and I suck and I am the worst and most stupid human ever. And tears. And pity party. And delicious pint of Cherry Garcia.

The Arc of Training

There are phases we go through whenever we approach something new.

  1.  Infatuation/Honeymoon – In the beginning, everything is GLITTER! RAINBOWS! STAR DROPS! This is the infatuation phase, and it’s a serotonin and oxytocin-filled paradise. Enjoy! Revel in it! Spend hours dreaming, YouTubing, and planning. You’re essentially “filling the tank” for what comes next. Let yourself get really giddy and dream big, because soon….
  2. Reality Hits. One day, you will catch a glimpse of The Chasm. You’ll see – with stark, horrible clarity – how far it is from where you are to where you want to be. Years. YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRS. Years. It’s horrible. BUT. Don’t push this phase away too quickly! It also brings perspective. What you are doing is HARD, and that realization is essential if you’re going to actually get good at silks or handstands or macrame or whatever it is you’re trying to master. SEE the craziness of your pursuit, and, if it doesn’t send you running for the hills, embrace it with everything that’s in you. (Oh – and in case you think you pass out of this phase never to return, heh heh heh. You will bounce in and out of the Reality/Doubt Zone frequently. Sometimes daily.)
  3. Do the Work. Are you still in the game? Great. Now is the time to actually do the hard things. Set SMALL, manageable goals, celebrate every blessed victory no matter how tiny, and go hard.
  4. Small Progress is Made. One day, you’ll realize you’re not sucking as much. HOORAY! Now brace yourself – you’re probably about to be slingshotted back to phase 2 for a while when you realize it’s time to level up. Sorry.
  5. Big Progress is Made. One day, years later, you realize that you have achieved a major milestone: COMPETENCY. This is a beautiful thing! Congratulations! Mastery takes a lifetime, so don’t think you’ve reached the pinnacle of anything, but competency is a huge deal! Celebration wine! Now, get back to training.

Getting Through Phase Two Without Ben or Jerry

Phase two is le poo. It really is. In about 5 minutes, you go from a wiggly puppy of a student to completely smushed inside. If it had a sound effect, it would be the air being let out of a balloon. All my coach did yesterday was ask me to kick up into a handstand and let her spot me and DEMONS! FEAR! I CAN’T! THIS IS SO STUPID! I’M FAT! I’M WEAK! I’LL NEVER GET THERE! Oh my. Pass a spoon.


 We walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we don’t build a condo there. 


Luckily, everything can be fixed with a checklist. 😉

  1. Cry.
  2. Cry some more. Get it all out. Need a tissue? A spoon? It’s ok. You throw the biggest, best pity party you’ve ever thrown. You get one day, so make it good. Now – pick yourself up, step awaaaaay from that pint of Chunky Monkey, and repeat after me: we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we don’t build a condo there. 
  3. Accept that you suck, and will for a really long time. Please believe me when I tell you this is the most freeing thing in the world. Giving yourself permission to be a student means giving yourself permission to fail, to be just unbelievably awful, and to ask questions. It gives you permission to laugh at your mistakes, to be gentle with yourself (beyond a healthy discipline), and holds you to an appropriate standard of training. You suck. It’s ok.
  4. Make a plan and stick to it. What your plan looks like depends largely on your goals, but it should generally include solid training, open practice time, a home conditioning component, and supplemental disciplines (flexibility, PT, etc). Book a private with your coach to go over whether it’s too ambitious, solid, or not quite ambitious enough.
  5. Tell your inner bully to f*ck off. Your inner critic might tell you that you didn’t give your all during your lesson, that you skipped stretching and shouldn’t have, that you need to focus more during sessions. This is GREAT – you need that. What you don’t need? An inner bully. Your inner critic and your inner bully are two totally different things, can we all agree on that? My inner bully tells me I’m too old, too fat, too difficult, too scared, too much. He sounds like Trump. You know what? Fuck you, bully. I’m also happier than I’ve been in years, regaining my familiar body, and free to pursue whatever I damned well love. So suck it. Seriously – go f*ck yourself. Talk back to your bully, challenge all those automatic negative thoughts, and don’t stop until something resembling peace (or at least equilibrium) is more the norm than the exception.

So, the next time you find yourself walloped by Phase 2, remember that every single artist with a brain in their head has doubted, feared, worried. You’re in excellent company. Will it make you bitter or make you better? Now, get back to work. Love and pullups, Laura

 

Whoa, Nelly! What to Look for in an Aerial or Circus Class

As a coach, it’s impossible to go into other classes and not evaluate everything – how they’re structured, the feel of the class, pacing, etc, and reflect on whether you’re “delivering” for your own behbehs. Because students, particularly those new to circus, often have no idea what to look for in a class, here’s a (hopefully) helpful primer.

The Warm-up Should Be Functional

A warm up should prepare your body for the misery it’s about to encounter. What does that include? Excellent question, Watson. While warm-ups should be tailored to the apparatus or discipline (ideally with a spin towards what you’ll be working that day), you’ll likely encounter the following:

  • cardio to raise the body’s temp & get your blood pumping (for some classes, the cardio element is built into the warm up, as opposed to a separate section)
  • moves to “lube your joints” with synovial fluid
  • muscle activation to get your muscles firing
  • stretches to ease your body into the anticipated range of motion

I prefer an on-apparatus warm up for the most part, as I feel it increases familiarity with the silk/trapeze/bowling ball/whatever that you’re working with. That said, some coaches deliver an appropriate warm-up without it.

If each class starts with an 8 Minute Abs or Booty Blaster routine that pretty much has nothing to do with what you’re learning in class, you’re missing out on valuable training time.

Having a Teaching Philosophy is a Thing

Students will encounter two types of teachers: coaches who love to teach and have devoted time and energy to creating a style, pedagogy, and methodology, and those who teach because it’s a side gig. Aim for the first, folks. 

A good coach plans what they will teach, can easily rattle off the foundational skills of whatever discipline you’re working on, and has meaningful progressions in place to accommodate students of all levels. For example, aerial silks can be broken down into: climb, inversion, foot lock, hip key, ankle hang – everything else is a variation. You’re free to have a differing philosophy, but this is the framework for my classes. Almost every blessed session, students will do variations of those moves (including a split, drop, and sequencing). If, after a few classes, you still have NO IDEA what the building blocks of your apparatus might be, or your teacher asks (my all-time least favorite question) “so, what do you want to work on today?”, your coach may not have a developed teaching philosophy in place.

But what about progressions? Well, students come in at varying levels of strength, fear, flexibility, body awareness, etc. A great coach can break a move or concept down to teeny, bite-sized pieces, giving you challenging micro goals, attainable within a few sessions. No goal is too small. You should also have a good idea of what the end goal looks like. For example, when I give my handstand coach the “fear face” when the class is working on something terrifying, she gives me a crazy easy variation; she then helps me to connect the dots. BOOM. Progressions = progress.

Class Pacing – Faster…. Slower… a Little to the Left

A good pace is one in which students don’t feel rushed, but they also don’t have a lot of down time either (note to coaches – if you see phones starting to come out during class, and you’re pretty sure they’re not taking notes, adjust your pacing). Coaches structure classes differently, but you should feel reasonably engaged throughout the entire class. 

 

Theory & Technique

Theory is the “why”behind your discipline, technique is the how. It’s important that you, as a student, know how this crazy thing works, so that you can eventually pick up the reins and do some driving yourself. You really, really want your teacher to have a good grasp of why you wrap your thigh here, or how to avoid hitting your hoo-hoo on the pole there, or why you want your arms super straight in handstands (turns out, you fall on your head if they’re bent – who knew?).

Coaches who are light on theory are often light on technique, or have no idea what standard a student should be held to at any given stage in their progress. You want someone who knows where you ought to wind up, how to get you there, and what milestones you should hit (and celebrate – champagne and confetti!!!!) along the way.

Conditioning Should Be a Thing

That’s it, really. This is your time to safely push your muscles to fatigue (it’s why it’s put at the END of class), so don’t waste it. Again, it should be functional, and similar each time so as to actually accomplish the *conditioning* part of the equation. 😉

 

For more about choosing a great coach or class, here’s a bit more for you to chew on. I’m still learning every day, every class I take or teach, how to share what I love, and I hope it never ends. Love and pull-ups, Laura

 

The Post In Which Laura Witwer Has Her Ego Smashed

Oh circus training, you can be a cruel mistress. To catch yourself up on my recent circus comeback, click here. Or, you know, just dive in. I don’t care.

I knew it would be hard on my ego to “go back to school” and essentially rewind the tape on my training a bazillion years, but I was REALLY surprised at what shape my neurosis took as I hauled my ass back into classes.

ONE CLASS. That’s all it took for me to be a blithering blob of feelings sobbing in a corner. ONE CLASS. But, an hour and countless little tissue packets later, I was in a weirdly better headspace. Like, a better headspace than I had ever been in with training. I am not prone to cathartic moments of clarity and common sense, but I had an epiphany! Ready? Here it is.


Trust the process.


That’s it. I’m totally serious. But, it wouldn’t be much of a blog post if I left it at that, so I’ll elaborate. 🙂

Trust the Process

If you train, the things will come. Consistency matters. Did you miss that? I’ll say it again. Consistency matters. Want that inversion? Those splits? That muscle? Consistency, friends. If you show up and give 70-90%, the skill will come in time. Now, you don’t necessarily get to determine the time frame (thanks, Mother Nature), but you can rest in the process.

So, I promised myself I would schedule my classes, show up, and give 70-95% every time. Even when I didn’t feel like it. Oh hell, especially when I didn’t feel like it. And you know what? Progress happened.

Just One Thing

Measure your progress, but be careful how you do it. The barometer of your progress should NEVER be, “am I getting better at silks (or trapeze or farting glitter or whatever it is you’re trying to do)?” Too. Broad. Your answer will always be something along the lines of, “No, I still suck.” Enter: the micro-goal.

Instead of “trying to be better at silks”, set a series of micro goals that can be measured. No goal is too small. You heard me. Here are a few of mine:

  • 10 inversions in the air (micro-goal: I added one each week) CHECK!
  • kicking up to a handstand on my opposite side. CHECK!
  • doing my PT before every session. CHECK!
  • holding my handstand at the wall a full 30 seconds. CHECK!
  • Next week:  3 sets of pendulum inversions, kick up to a handstand on my opposite side again, and whatever else I decide is important between now and then.

I set a goal for each and every session, sometimes several. Sometimes, my goal is just to repeat what I did the last time. DO note that a goal doesn’t have to be result oriented (complete kick-up), but can be process oriented (practice kick-up 5x with good form). Practice counts, not just results!

I promised myself I would set and honor my micro-goals, and it’s been amazing.

Change Your Focus, and Let the Work Change YOU

Memory is a bitch. Remember when you could do 10 pull ups with one arm while reciting Hamlet’s soliloquy and eating popcorn? Remember when you were skinny? Remember when you could cough without peeing your pants? Whatever it is, make like Frozen and let it go. You are where you are, and you’re going where you want to go. Constantly comparing Now You to Past You is a recipe for self hatred, and ain’t nobody got time for that. Get going on your micro-goals.

What you focus on matters. Focusing on where you’re failing? How you’ve changed? How much you hate yourself right now for eating that entire box of ice cream sandwiches? M’kay, but what you focus on expands. Let the work be your focus, not you. Let the work change you.

Now, no discussion on focus is complete without a quick chat about judging results. Don’t. Evaluate, but don’t judge. I’ve thought a lot about this one recently since I’ve started taking handstand class. See, I can cartwheel just fine to my left, but my right side is HILARIOUS. It’s some weird sideways hop froggy thing that doesn’t even RESEMBLE a cartwheel. And, every time I do it, I make a face (I should never play poker for money), and Ivory yells “DON’T JUDGE IT!”, and I try not to judge it. Then I do. But, this week, my goal was to not judge my cartwheel – to try to find one inch of progress. I DID! I didn’t shriek when I did them. Don’t judge it. Evaluate it, “goal it”, and save the feelings for tonight’s episode of “The Bachelorette”.

I promised myself I would show up, be present, do the work, and just evaluate. I still have “moments”, but that’s all they are – moments. We walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, friends, we don’t build a condo there. Tune in next week, when being a student makes me a better teacher. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Have you signed up for a class yet? What are you waiting for?

Seriously - these classes are not going to take themselves! Jump right in. Whether you "have zero upper body strength" or have been around the aerial block a few times, I'd love to see you in sessions!