2016 FLYING TRAPEZE RECAP LOOKING TOWARDS 2017

Annnnnd I'm back...I think...

So 2016's almost over, I can hardly believe it.  

It was quite an exciting year for me and there were quite a few highlights in terms of flying trapeze. 

I started off the year performing with the Salt City Big Top. I had so much fun flying with the team at Utah Trapeze. It was extra special to look over from the board and see my best friend sitting in the catch trap.

Over the summer, I traveled out to California and back up to Pali, where I spent two glorious days flying in the mountains with so many members of my trapeze family. It felt like coming home.

I also visited my friends at the Circus Arts Place for some flying time throughout the year. Their beautiful energy and presence in the air always inspires me. It was so much fun to take a few tandem swings with the ladies. And it was such a treat to see the great Tony Steele fly again!

And now, I'm wrapping up the year with my very own slice of trapeze paradise!!!! On October 8, 2016, Orange Blossom Trapeze was born.

Now that I am flying regularly again, I've been thinking a great deal about my goals and what I want to achieve in this upcoming year. I'm approaching this next phase of my flying career with a sense of calm acceptance, which is completely different than in years past. I've always placed unnecessary pressure on myself to do well, which caused me to taking my training days very seriously, but sometimes almost too seriously. It intensified the frustration and defeat I felt on the days that I did not perform so well. I'm still dedicated to practicing hard, but this time, knowing that I'm not counting down the days until I'm grounded again, I'm able to relax and just enjoy the ride.

I feel so out of shape and out of practice (I am and it's okay). But each practice I get stronger, my hands get a little tougher and I'm more mindful of what I'm doing with my body. Some days I have a major breakthrough and some days I fall back into my same 'ol bad habits (often during the same practice). But things are slowly coming along.

Right now I'm taking it back to the basics. I'm working on fixing my take off, swing and returns. If there is anything I hope to achieve in the next year it would be to have a strong swing and a polished look to my flying. I'm extremely fortunate to have a coach that is working so closely with me, breaking the fundamentals down into bite-sized pieces. Focusing on the individual components has allowed me to feel my swing in a very different way than ever before. 

This past weekend we had a fun little crew flying on the rig. Over the past few years, returning has become so inconsistent for me, however, I returned my tricks to the board the other day. Upon looking at the videos afterwards, I was pretty disappointed with how I looked in the air. All the hard work to fix my take off and tighten up my swing just went out the window. Even though I didn't have pretty feet and my old, ugly take off reared its head again, I worked well in-hands. I held my sweep nice and long and I stayed vertical in my press, making it back to the bar and back to board. My  round trips weren't pretty, but they felt like real progress AND THAT'S SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE.

As we get closer to 2017, I will write more about my goals for the next year and hopefully by then I will have some better video of my swing progress. Until then, I leave you with my new favorite net trick...

2015 Flying Trapeze Recap Looking Towards 2016

As another year comes to a close, it's another opportunity to review the previous 12 months and plan for the upcoming 12. I ended my flying year yesterday with such a fun and relaxing day in the air. I'm so fortunate for every opportunity to fly and my heart bursts with joy every time I get to share it with people I love. 

This was quite an interesting year for me in many ways, but this post will focus on my flying trapeze progress in particular. I only had four months of weekly flying this year. The rest of the year consisted of 1-2 fly sessions a month. But that being said, the intensive nature of my summer in California really helped me progress quickly in a few areas. 

I began the year with four main flying trapeze goals: swinging/returning (this is really two goals in one), layout, cutaway, layout full. Well, I have yet to begin working on the full, but I did start working uprise/forward over, which was unexpected. So with 2016 just around the corner, let's check-in with my 2015 flying trapeze progress.

Goal #1 - Swinging and Returning 

Swinging is a lifelong journey as they say, but I did gain some real traction with my swing by the end of the summer. I was pleased with the height I was building and the strength I felt after 10 weeks of serious flying.

Running Springs, CA

Now, after a few months off, I'm feeling somewhat sluggish and have regressed a bit, but in general I have a better idea of what I need to do (getting my body to cooperate every time, well that's another story). After chatting with a friend after our most recent fly session together, I realized that I need to think about really squeezing my butt tight (think about trying not to drop that $100 bill haha). Other areas that still remain a focus/challenge are getting my hips up on my force out and forward in my seven (squeeze butt!) as well as lifting the bar up with me in my seven. There's plenty of room for improvement but overall, I'm pleased with my progress this year on my swing. 

Returning...well that's another story. As a matter of fact, there has been quite a regression on this over the course of the year. The times when I did return, I was returning quite high, so that was an interesting adjustment. haha But in general, I found myself off-time in-hands, killing our swing by rushing and then doing something weird on the press pulling me towards the catcher. I had some interesting returns to the bar, including hanging by an armpit and one hand where most of my fingers were underneath the bar. So needless to say, this one is still a work in-progress. I did start working an angel return and it went better than the first time I worked on it, so that was encouraging. We just worked on it the one time, so there's not much to report, but I'm looking forward to working more on it in the future.

Utah Flying Trapeze - SLC, UT

Goal #2 - Layout

For the Seinfeld fans out there, the layout is my Newman, we're frenemies at best. Some days are better than others, but mainly this trick has been the bane of my (flying trapeze) existence. I had the goal this year to get it out of lines. And it technically is OOL, but it needs so much attention, that I put it back in lines all the time so I can work on it without added pressure. I've come a long way with the form of my body, but I'm struggling with closing at the shoulders. I've received some good coaching about ways to work through that, but I'm still navigating through what makes the most sense to me. I'm also releasing too early (that pesky rushing thing again). Patience!! One of my coaches recently told me to just think about the break and then let the trick happen. That was a big ah-ha moment for me, so I'm really going to focus on that, as well as my handstand to the sky. I think part of what causes me to close my shoulders is that I'm scared of peeling off the bar on the drive, which totally won't happen, but it causes me to overgrip as well as force the flip to happen. Anyone else dealing with that?

I wanted to have my layout on my own timing, but it's a long way off, so that particular goal will roll into 2016. This is not an excuse, but rather just something worth mentioning, I did not spend much time working on my layout this year. I probably should have given it more priority because it is such a fundamental skill and will do so in the new year.

Utah Flying Trapeze - SLC, UT

Goal #3 - Cutaway/Cutaway Half

The cutaway remains un-halved at this time. I did catch my cutaway multiple times, but it has a long way to go before it will be OOL or a cutaway half. I have been told I look like a fainting goat sometimes upon my release...whenever I do something weird off the bar, I stiffen up just like a scared fainting goat. It's funny because I know I do it. I had this awful tendency to force the trick to happen (at least I'm consistent), which resulted in bending in half. I've worked through through the urge to bend in half and now release from the bar in a nice flat position (usually). This is another trick that I need to relax and let the trick happen. It's been quite a while since I've thrown one, but they were coming along nicely for the most part. I would like to work on this one again soon. One time I did a split return on the cutaway stick, that was fun/ny. haha

Running Springs, CA

Goal #4 - Layout Full Twist

HA...HA HA... um, let's just say this will be a 2016 goal.

Added Bonus(es)

One random day right before the summer ended, I started working on uprises for fun. After one practice of doing uprise shoot, I moved onto uprise forward over. And Oh.My.GAWD, that day, I fell head over heels IN LOVE with the forward over. That trick came so natural to me, I had been so long since I had experienced something on the trapeze that felt so effortless...the last time must have been a set trick haha. Catching this trick was a wonderful way to end my summer and big run of flying trapeze.

Running Springs, CA

Also, just for fun, I threw a couple doubles. They are not even close to catchable and double back tucks are not a trick I am actively working on, but it was so much fun to play.

Gaona's Trapeze Workshop - LA, CA

2016 Flying Trapeze Goal Planning

I'm somewhat hesitant to actively plan additional goals at the moment since I already have so much I'm working on. So for the foreseeable future, I really want to focus on the tricks I'm currently doing and get them all solid and OOL. I want a beautiful, consistent, FLOATING layout, cutaway ---> cutaway half with force out turn around and tucked set position, forward over with a solid uprise and a straight-legged kip that rises UP off the bar. The journey of swinging and returning will continue as well as the search for a graceful take off and remount. 

The most important thing I will focus on this year is remembering to have fun. I take my training pretty seriously, but sometimes I can allow an off day on the rig to really get to me. I need to remind myself to never forget the reason why I do trapeze in the first place: I do flying trapeze because I love it and it brings me joy. So if I achieve only one goal this year, it should be to never lose sight of that happy place.

Without Trapeze

Grounded. Again. That's what it feels like.

Like a child who has been sent to their room, no iPhone, no Netflix, their favorite toy taken away. That's life for a flyer without trapeze.

It's been pretty quiet around here because there's not much to report trapeze-wise. I haven't been up in the air in two months, so rather than continuing to relive old memories, like I'm reliving old glory days on the football field, I've just been suffering alone in silence (sort of). 

The only up side is, the loss of grip strength has resulted in my fingers shrinking down to their normal size, which means my wedding and engagement rings now fit once again. And my palms are no longer terrifying to little kids (and my husband).

I know I'm not the only one of my Orlando friends fiending for flight. We talk about our lack of a trapeze home on the regular and discuss plans for a big family trip to a rig out of town. A date and location is still TBD. It turns out it's pretty tough to find a full-sized outdoor rig that is operational through the summer months. We have high hopes for the new rig opening up in Sarasota and look forward to making it down to the West Palm rig as soon as they are back up and running. 

The weather here is finally cooling down to a temperature where you aren't sweating the second you walk out the door. Great news for outdoor flying because that means the chalk will retain it's chalky-like texture and not turn into soap seconds after you apply it to your skin. While I love a nice, hot, sweaty yoga class, I prefer my trapeze at a temperature where I don't feel like me, the trapeze and my catcher are all melting.

This shift in weather also brings with it, a change to my status from grounded to flying trapeze mouse once again. This weekend I'll finally get to scurry up the ladder to my favorite perch in the air. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to fly with some close friends, at a place that's very special to all of us. 

Immediately when I found out about flying this weekend, I started running over everything I need to work on (my layout/force out/returning/etc). I had to literally tell myself to pump the breaks, reminding myself that this weekend is just for fun. A time to be with my flying family, enjoying our favorite activity together. I then made a promise to leave my A-type personality and the pressure I put on myself at the bottom of the ladder. If my forward over is there, it's there, if it's not, it's not. It doesn't really matter if my form isn't flawless or my harder tricks aren't solid, because what does matter is that I'll feel the air breezing by my cheeks once again and I'll feel the tight grip of my catchers hands around my wrists and the embrace of my friends as they scoop me back onto the board, tasting that freedom and friendship that drew me to flying trapeze in the first place.

My intention for this weekend is to RELAX and go back to a place where I was just grateful to be in the air, laughing on the board, cheering on my friends and making new memories.

With that, I'll relive one more old memory with you...

Last year on the board with Rob and Uncle Tony

How Are Your Hands? Part 2

"When you give a message, it is also a back scratch." (Kyla's 10 Ways to Spot a Female Flying Trapeze Addict). That is an extremely accurate assessment of a trapeze flyer's hands. Any mate of a bar-based apparatus student/teacher/performer can vouch for the legitimacy of this statement.

In my previous post about trapeze hands, How Are Your Hands? Part 1, I mentioned how we proudly wear our craft on the surface of our palms. In this installment, Trapeze Hands, Numero Dos, let's talk about hand care.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, so keep in mind I am just sharing what works for me. Please see your doctor if you have any questions about treatment and before caring for any open wounds.

Overgripping. Hot, humidity. Flying until my hands are screaming. I've ripped more times than I care to remember.

I am trying to be more conscious about my saving my hands, so I'm making hand care and hand mindfulness a priority going forward.

That being said, I've gotten my post-flying hand care routine down. I keep a pair of nail clippers in my grip bag. In the event that I rip, I try to trim off the excess skin as soon as possible. If I blister, I try to leave it alone and let it heal itself under its natural, protective layer. Which for me is a huge exercise in self control, because my instinct is to fidget with it until I can no longer take it and then clip it off.

Other supplies I also keep in my bag (pictured below) include unscented baby wipes and Joshua Tree Climbing Salve.

Baby wipes are awesome to remove the chalk from my hands, wrists (elbow, face...how the heck did I get chalk in the middle of my back?...) I prefer the unscented kind because they are more gentle on the skin.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will fly until my hands are burning hot and yelling at me to stop. Regardless of whether I rip or not, I always try to soothe my hands after a good fly session. I had some cuticle cream lying around and decided to try it on my hands after flying one day. I noticed it helped calm my hands and moisturize my sensitive, roughed up skin post-fly. It was particularly useful when I would crack, softening up the skin and taking away the stinging pain.

A few months ago, Jen, my fellow lady flyer from across the pond, recommended Joshua Tree Gymnasts Salve. She said it saved her hands during a week-long trapeze vacation to the Dominican Republic. By the way, pop on over to her blog and read about her trip and her experience at Kaiceitos Circus, it sounds like a trapeze dream come true.

When she mentioned it, I remembered seeing some sort of Joshua Tree hand cream at the climbing store the week or two prior. I went there to check out the carabiners and ended up sampling the JT climbing salve labeled "try me." Coincidence? After checking out the JT website, I noticed that the ingredients in both the gymnastics and climbing salves appeared to be the same. So I decided I'd pick up some of their climbing balm next time I was out that way. (And by next time I was out that way, I mean, the next day I made a trip out to Travel Country specifically to grab some haha!)

Joshua Tree boasts that its organic, unscented products moisturize and promote healing of skin without softening the calluses. The balm does have a distinct scent to it, probably a result of all the natural herbs and essential oils. To me, it smells like tea tree, which is one of ingredients. I used the product after I ripped BAD and I noticed that it appeared to heal my hands faster than any of the other moisturizing treatments I've used.

Recently I have been practicing lyra quite a bit. This gorgeous gal was gifted to me by a good friend...she's 7/8" hollow steel tube...sighhhh...so dreamy...

As a result, my calluses have built back up nice and solid, but my roughed up hands wind up feeling pretty dry. I notice a huge different in how my hands feel after I apply a light layer of JT across my calluses. It is a bit oily at first, but then it soaks into the skin, leaving the hands soft to the touch. I wish I could place my palm on the computer screen for you to touch and feel how supple, yet strong my calluses feel haha. I have been applying JT after I fly as well and IT IS AWESOME. It's definitely worth checking out if you are looking for something designed for people who use their hands like we do. While I'm sure my husband loves the back-massage-slash-back-scratch combo, it's nice to be able to tone down the intensity of my "construction worker" hands (as they've often been referred to). I try to apply one coat in the morning and reapply as needed throughout the day. The full usage instructions are available on the JT website. I saw Joshua Tree products in climbing stores in Salt Lake City as well, so it appears to be widely available.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but I assure you, I have not been paid for this review, I just cannot say enough great things about this product. Thank you again, Jen, for the recommendation!!! Unwilling to commit to a product I was unsure about, I just grabbed a sample size. I will definitely pick up the large tub next time!

Side note, if you're looking to buy any steel props/apparatuses, I know a guy and would be happy to put you in touch with him...and yes, this one is a sales pitch. ;)

Leave me a comment and tell me about your post-flying hand care ritual. Happy Flying!

How Are Your Hands? Part 1

"How are your hands?"

I can't even count on both hands how many times I've heard that phrase around the rig. Also common is hearing the follow up phrase, "Let me see." (translation: how much more flying can you do before we have to call it quits for the day?)

The trapeze flyer's hands tell a story. Take one look at a trapezist's hands and you'll see their journey marked across the palm in a bumpy and crooked path, dotted with extreme highs and lows. Their hands are a visual representation of all the hard work and literal blood and sweat that was shed along the way. They are a symbol of pride and every callus and blister is worn as a badge of honor.

While roughed up, callused hands are much desired, they do take some time and consistent flying to build up. And at some point every flyer will experience the dreaded rip. And flyer be warned, washing your brand new oozing tear will be painful enough to make you want to cry and never wash your hands again...just kidding. But they will be uncomfortable and possibly cause some unwanted down time. Flyers work their hands pretty hard on the trapeze (and on other bar-based apparatuses).

We rely on our hands, yet we sometimes don't treat them so well.

As flyers we should probably strive to avoid rips altogether, yet sometimes we just push ourselves beyond what our hands can handle and the result is less than ideal. My hands usually warn me when to start easing off during practice and I know well enough to listen to them, but being so eager to fly, half the time I end up throwing caution to the wind, pushing my hands well past their limits. And in true-to-me form, I don't stop flying until my hands literally cannot take it anymore.

Don't be like me, listen to your body.

Grips are great ways to prevent rips. There are a variety of leather grips that are commonly used. Until recently, I was flying on palm guards-style grips that I picked up at Trapeze Texas (formally Trapeze Austin). However, earlier this year I ditched the grips in favor of flying bare-handed because I was flying primarily on gauze-taped bars and I loved how it felt in my hands. After some time off from flying, the calluses I had built up softened and peeled off, which made flying difficult for me. My hands were getting red hot so fast! I wanted to swing and swing and swing, but my hands were screaming NO and NO and HELL NO. So I found myself fastening some tape grips on the fly (hehe trapeze pun) to help prevent (prolong) blistering and ripping. These are the types of grip I typically make:

Recently, I made the transition into wearing dowel gymnastics grips. Prior to purchasing my grips, I spent some time researching and discussing the different styles of dowels before selecting a pair that would meet my needs. I've heard many mixed feelings about the usage of dowels and the proper type necessary for flying trapeze. I've heeded the warnings about the dangers and listened to the suggested benefits of using them. Ultimately, I went with a pair that felt right for me and so far I'm pretty happy with them. I've only used them during one training session, but they did save my hands and I was able to fly for about four hours with only minimal discomfort. I did end up ripping on my very last swing though. I'm looking forward to continuing the dowel grip flying experiment.

Hopefully, the next time someone asks me, "how are your hands," I won't reply, "they hurt, I only have a one or two more swings in me" or even worse, "they ripped."