Catching up

It's been a while since I've posted, both because my camera wasn't working, and because I haven't been in the blogging groove, since I didn't do any flying in Israel. So, this post will be an Israel wrap-up, as well as talk about my 3 recent flying expreiences.

Israel

After camp was over for the Things, we took a day trip, along with some relatives up to Havazelet-HaSharon for some horseback riding on the beach. It was great fun, though the group was a bit on the larger side:









Thing 1 (in the green shirt) came along for that ride, with one of the guides pulling reins for her, but Thing 2 threw a fit about the helmet not fitting her right, so stayed back with my cousin (which is a generic way of saying anyone related to me beyond immediate family.) After the group came back, one of the guides was nice enough to give her a short ride around the stable area:

That was a fun day, and although I called the stable about setting up a lesson for the girls, so that they could both learn to manage their own reins, they were way too busy, as camp was done for the summer for all of Israel, really, and families were on vacation.

Then the day before I left Israel, I finally got to get together with my friend Itay (Ziv), an ex-GO that I met in Turks and Caicos. He's part of CircusY, a group that performs in Israel, and are setting up a school as well, from what I understand. So I watched them rehearse for a performance they had coming up. They were doing some interesting stuff -- they had a number that they performed on an upright net, silks, and also a synchronized bungee number (that they didn't practice that night) The group was pretty cool, and very friendly, and invited me to train with them next time I'm around. Also, by bizarre coincidence, one of the performers had been my yoga instructor for the one class that I took at ella yoga, in Tel Aviv. Yes, Israel is a very small country.

As is the case every summer, I didn't want to leave. I was on the brink of extending our stay for another two weeks, but needed to get back to work. (Of course, since the Things don't have school yet, and are with me all the time, I really can't get much done, and can't take them to the office every day, but still, going in 2-3 days a week is better than none at all...) Maybe I'll have myself organized enough so that next summer I'll be able to stay in Israel from last day of school to labor day...

My last observations:

-sidewalks and car lanes are a lot narrower than here. Despite this, many cyclists ride their bikes on the sidewalks -- probably because its safer.

-in direct contrast, there are also many people who ride their bikes on main roads (think highways or freeways).

-I really wish that there was more green construction, taking advantage of solar power, etc. Unfortunately, it seems that as the country becomes more affluent, its forgetting the cost-cutting (and environmentally friendly) measures that they were taking before, such as smaller cars that are more fuel efficient... but it is helping me solidify the direction I want to go in, once I do my M.Arch. (if I get in to a program, that is)

Club Getaway

Getaway for me was all about assessing how being away from trapeze, or really any physical activity for the past month, has affected my performance. I swung a bit, did some splits, planches, and mods. On the plus side, I was able to do them (last year when I came back it took months before I was able to regain comfort with the flexus). Plus, I was comfortable on the board, and didn't feel my heart in my stomach like I did when I was at Getaway in June. But clearly, my swing isn't as strong -- my abs and lats are a lot weaker, and it will take some time for me to build up power again.

It was a really nice weekend. Lovely seeing Dino, Jeff, Fran, etc. And Fiji had a blast running all around. I'm looking forward to the next one, since many of the old-timers will be there. Now, if we could only convince Marisa to sign up...

Flyinging out in the Hamptons

On Wednesday I rented a car, packed up the girls and Fiji, picked up Fran, and we went out to fly with Peter Gold and Randy out in Bridgehampton.

It's always interesting flying with different instructors, and this time was no different. Peter made a few suggestions regarding my force-out, and I tried, with varied success to incorporate them. I played with the mod a bit, and threw splits and planches to catch. Then, as per Peter's suggestion, I decided to finally stop flirting with the Layout, and to commit to practicing it in earnest (as opposed to throwing one at the end of a class at random). On the plus side, because I haven't really practiced it before, it was a little easier to try and incorporate suggestions as they were given.

Peter and his wife were really lovely, as was the rest of the crew. I'd love to see some of Peter's wife's stretches, since flexibility is always a good thing, and I'd love to improve mine (she's a contortionist). The Things had fun playing in the playground by the rig, and giving Randy a hard time. Fiji fell in love with Gia, the Golds' dog.

An interesting thing: they had me practice the layout off of the 2nd rise. This brings up yet again (together with Thursday night's practice) the issue of throwing tricks off of the board vs. off of the rise. On the one hand, when you practice off of a rise, you can focus on the trick, and not on working the swing that leads up to it. Theoretically, the trick thus improves faster. Plus, apparently, circus performers throw the layout off of the 2nd -- apparently that is the "standard". On the other hand, working the trick off of the board (particularly in practice) forces one to work the swing and get stronger. It can be argued that if you need to go off of the rise to work the trick, maybe you aren't ready to throw it.

On the whole, I like practicing off of the board, going to a rise at catch-time. I feel like I get the benefit of the practice off of the board, with sufficient height at catch time. At STREB, I throw everything off of the board, since I seem to get enough height there regardless. If my layout isn't high enough there, that means my swing need work.

So, where do others weigh in on the rise vs. no-rise issue? When is it "okay" to go off of a rise? Hox Saultos? Layouts? B/E tricks? What is the line and why?

STREB

On Thursday, the Things and I headed to Brooklyn for some flying at Streb. It was really nice being back at the rig that I've considered as home for the past 9 months...

All the flying that I had done over the weekend and at the Hamptons finally had an impact on my performance. My abs were weak, and the force-out pitiful. Plus I was trying to force up quickly, as Peter suggested, and it wasn't really happening.

So again, I practiced the layout. Apparently strides have been made. I feel like each one is different, and better than the previous, but I have no idea what they look like.

Although the class was pretty full (8!) it moved along pretty quickly, and it was nice flying with peoeple I hadn't seen in a while. (I'm sure I'll forget people, so I won't mention any names...)

As I was leaving, Nicole came in, and I had to ask her about a funny coincidence in Panama... I had heard one version, and hers helped it make sense. Anyway, we laughed about it, and it's all good.

All in all, not bad. Back for a week, and have flown on three separate rigs. I'm hoping to get out to the Hamptons again before the guys there fold up and head to their next location, and also can't wait for the next series to start up at Streb...

And I got a new camera today, so pics and vids will be back next post!