At training this week, we were talking about how difficult it is to remember all of the tricks you've learned or been shown. Now that we've spent a couple of years doing Aerial, all of a sudden something that we nailed no problem after a bit of practice a year or more ago, suddenly seems to have dropped out of our heads when you try and go back to it :(
Combine this with training at different studios, where everyone seems to have different names for the same move, it can cause real confusion... so we started talking about 'drilling' the basics.
Of course, it would take way too long to drill everything individually. If you took Silks as an example, and decided to train just climbs, you could quickly list... basic/french, russian, straddle, swim, bicycle, monkey, shoulder mount... and so on, and I'm not even stopping to think about them. You could probably spend an hour just doing those, let alone anything else!
So, here's a thought... I'm originally from a martial arts background, and I remember spending endless hours performing 'kata', which are basically a series of moves linked together. They serve a purpose for learning, demonstration/performance, but at the real heart of it they are designed to help you subconsciously begin to understand how the body moves from one position to another.
Let's put this into the Silks idea above - if you did a Straddle climb for example, it leaves you in a particular position (let's describe that: free hanging, silks together, both hands on) - that position implies that certain other moves are easier from there, without you having to split the silks, re-transition and so on.
So what we're thinking about is a list of moves that fit neatly together to help you practice efficiently, say as a warm up, or occasional refresher.
We'd love to hear from you if you have some 'drills' like this, where a series of moves help you repeat and improve the basics. We're not talking necessarily about performance routines here... they (naturally) should be a bit more flamboyant in how they are put together. Drop us a line if you do have them and don't mind sharing with the wider community - we'll be happy to post and share!
xx
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