Struggling Up High

Thursday night at trapeze was a bit rough. I hadn't done any working out during the day, so I thought that I would be pretty sharp, but it was a pretty off night for me. I'm back to brushing off the mod, and no progress has been made on the twist, so even though I videoed it, there's no point in posting since the twist didn't happen.

What's most frusturating to me is that I don't see skills from one location translate to another. Even though I managed 1 1/2 turns on the tramp, I can't transfer that to the trapeze.

Then...

Today Oleg drove me and the Things up to Getaway for a day of outdoor flying. We met up with Jeff, Elena and Suzanne. It was a gorgeous day, and a joy being out of the city. Fiji really loved being unleashed and out in nature. It was clear that he was totally in his element.

But...

Holy cow! Being on that board is scary. I had forgotten what it was like being outdoors and that high and on a shakey board. I was holding on to the riser for dear life when getting the bar and the lines, and was not in a hurry at all to get out of lines.

And here again is that point about translatable skills... at Streb I have no problem at all taking off on my own, swinging without calls or hepping myself off the bar. I have no problem with my turn around (comfort-wise, I mean, I know that that it still needs a lot of work), or facing off to the mat, or getting into a position out of lines, then coming out the back (and even theoretically taking it to my back in the mat... whenever management is as comfortable as I am with that notion...)

And yet. Today I was shaking like a leaf. Not in a hurry to swing out of lines, and in even less of a hurry to do a trick out (which ended up being the b/e planche. It felt pretty, but I don't know how it looked.) So why was it so utterly terrifying for me to fly out of lines today, when it is well in my comfort zone on a weekly basis in Brooklyn?

Still, I'm glad I went. While not exactly "fun" it was good for me to be up on that board, and flying out of lines. It reminded me what it is that we're doing and was a very humbling experience. Thank you for inviting me up, Jeff. I'm looking forward to the Getaway weekends to continue conquering that fear.

Suzanne was also granted swinging-out-of-lines priviledges by Jeff. Bravo Suzanne! And while we were there, a Getaway staffer who had only been flying since Friday (two days before) through his set heels-off out of lines, (no calls!) with a half-turn to net!! Wow! I was impressed by him, and also wondering if, despite my fear, we are being a little too babied...

I was also thinking, as I felt various joints ache and groan, that it's probably good that I'll be getting a month-long break from flying soon... although I am plannig a couple of tentative in-Israel flying jaunts.

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
-Frederick Douglass