Just dropped in to tell you that the new CD i ordered "Get Bent" by Fit & Bendy just got to my studio, can't wait to try it and tell you all about it!!
When I started learning aerial acrobatics I got very frustrated because I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't lift my body or my legs because my abs (Abdominal muscles) weren't strong enough and my biceps / triceps weren't strong enough and... I kept getting blisters on my hands. IT HURT!
I felt like I would never be strong enough, but I kept fighting. I kept trying to do what I could over and over again, and I won't lie - it took some time, but I got stronger. I did it on my own, and it worked.
As I got stronger, I started to understand what the main exercises are that made me stronger:
* First of all the warm-up - a good warm-up makes you more flexible and stronger. I added some strength exercises to the warm-up, and it made a lot of difference.
* Than there was the straddle, or trying to do the straddle.
My first teacher told me to try to do the straddle 10 times every time I practice, and this made my abs stronger, so even if I couldn't manage to do it perfectly, or even do it at all at the beginning, I still had a good practice and got stronger.
* Than there was the exercise that I've posted on this video at the end of this blog - it looks very simple, but try to do it 10 times, and you will feel your arm and your abs muscles. This is a very good practice for beginners.
So, in conclusion, if you are a beginner, most chances are that you need to get stronger. Don't be frustrated, this can be achieved through hard work and persistence, but I promise you that you'll get there!
Today I would like to write about The Bridge. This movement probably has many names, but we call it here in my studio - The Bridge.
The bridge is a movement that looks very easy but it is a bit misleading. When you see it you think to yourself that you need to pull yourself up using your hands but no, you are suppose to PUSH yourself up using your abs and your back muscles. Your hands should help of course, but this is what holds you in this position, not what brings you there. This is why I wouldn't recommend a beginner to do this movement, but to someone that already has some strength, especially abs and back.
I would recommend first to try to do this movement just standing on the floor with straight legs, hold on to a banister at your waist height and do the whole movement. First sticking your bum out and than push your way up to curving your back as you hold the banister. When you want to come out of this, your bum leads the way. First you let your bum down, and than the rest of the body.
It is very important to keep your legs straight the whole time, because this is what keeps your stability.
Here is the tutorial for this movement, please write me and let me know how you call this in your country :)
Today we are talking about the Semi Side Split - The Gazelle.
A lot of the moves we do in aerial have the beginners way of doing it and the advanced one. The advanced move is learned after you master the beginners move, and after you get stronger and feel comfortable in the beginners move.
The Gazelle is what comes before the full Side Split, or as some call it, The American Split, and it is also a very beautiful move by itself.
It is very important to master it before you move on to the full split, as it can be a bit weird to be upside down for the first time in this position, and it takes time until you feel comfortable in it.
It is also very important NOT to let go of the hoop before you did it a few times and before you feel really comfortable just being there.
If you don't have a full split, don't worry about it, you will still be able to do it, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THE LEG THAT NEEDS TO BE STRAIGHT - STRAIGHT.
This is also the most important thing I have to say about this move, KEEP YOU LEG STRAIGHT.
Please do not try to do this on your own, get somebody to watch over you.
The Bird is one of the positions I love best, because it is relatively easy and it looks so good when it's done in the right way.
Although this position is taught to beginners, it is actually hard to do and looks better when you get stronger and in more control of your body and the hoop, but it is very good to practice on it when you're a beginner, because getting into it and getting out of it makes good practice for your muscles.
**This position can be hard on your shoulders, so when you try to do it for the first time, don't put your arms too close to each other.
I'm sorry for my absent in the last week, I was working very hard, trying to set my things for my great trip that I'm planning, so this week I will treat you with 2 posts!
I was asked about getting on the hoop for the very first time, so i made a video for beginners that have never been on anything that is aerial, or for people that doesn't have the strength to hold themselves up with their arms.
In this video you need to put the hoop very low, as low as your hips or waist.
Please be sure to always practice with mattress. Take your time and do everything very slowly.
I know that things look very easy when you see them on videos, but it takes an effort when you do it for the first 2,3,4 times, and this is the way it suppose to be.
Please let me know what you think of it, and how was it.
If you can't see the embedded video, you can CLICK HERE.
There is something very primal and right about doing aerial in the desert.
For a long time now i've been wanting to go out and do aerial in different landscapes, and 2 days ago i finally did.
We were on the way back from a holiday and we stopped in the middle of the road next to a huge crater called "Makhtesh Ramon" where my rigger husband hanged my hammock and i did some aerial.
The feeling of the wind caresses your body when you are outside is so liberating and calming.
At the beginning i was a bit overwhelmed by the open space around me, but i got used to it quite fast, which left me "only" with my fear of height...
But, as you can see at the photos the hammock was hanged very low, so i could always take a look at the floor, and get my piece again.
It was very calming and liberating, and i am planning to do that again very soon.
I was asked to make a warm-up and stretches video - so i did :)
Warm-up is very important before starting to practice. It prepares your body and soul. It warms your muscles and it prepares you for all the stretches and the exercise you are going to do, and it also prevents injuries. So let's say it's not only important, it is inseparable from the practice.
This warm-up is for beginners, for people who just now starting to train and want to improve their flexibility.
On this video everything looks a bit faster than in life. Warm-up should take you about 20-30 min.
I know how difficult it is to start, so PLEASE try not to get frustrated if you can't do something or can't reach your knees, toes etc. IT WILL GET BETTER IN TIME - this much I can promise.
When i do my warm-up, i add strengthening exercises, i will put those on a different video.
Some say that it is better to do the strengthening exercises at the beginning of the practice, and some say that it is better to do it at the end. I think that if you are a beginner, it is better to do the strengthening exercises at the end, because you will ran out of juice very fast if you do those at the beginning of the practice...
So here it is, hope you'll enjoy it!
If you can't see the embedded video CLICK HERE to see it.
I also found this wonderful flexibility yoga video:
If you can't see the embedded yoga video CLICK HERE to see it.
I hope that these videos will help you, and please let me know if you have any questions.
The next video I will post will be the one to teach you how to go on the hoop for the first time ever, so be sure to come back :)
I have decided to make a series of posts about safety that I will post from time to time.
Safety is number 1 when you are dealing with aerial, so I think that it should be an inseparable part of my blog.
This time I will be talking about grabbing the hoop (this lesson is also good for trapeze grab).
The right way to grab the hoop with your hand, will be to put 4 fingers on the bar, and the thumb on the opposite side, right against the 4 fingers.
This grip is different than what we usually do, and I have noticed that this grip doesn't come naturally to most people, but this is VERY IMPORTANT!
This grip is safe because your thumb is closing on your fingers.
*Pole dancers tend to grab their pole with all their fingers at the same side of the pole, and because many pole dancers are used to that grab, they need to give extra attention not to grab this way the aerial apparatus.
So this will be the WRONG WAY:
And this will be the RIGHT WAY:
You put the hoop at the center of your palm, so you don't hang from your fingers but from your whole hand.
* * * * *
Now let's talk about the hoop, where should you grab the hoop?
Here is a short video about where you should grab the hoop:
Of course there are always exceptions, and there are moves that requires to grab the hoop at the lower points, but this video is for the main positions
This is also for beginners who tend to prefer to grab the hoop at the lower points so that they can lean on the hoop instead of pulling themselves up.
If you have any questions i'll be more than glad to answer.
This week's online class is The Upside Down Straddle.
The Upside Down Straddle is a very move when doing aerial of all kinds.
We use this move to go on an element, but we also use it as a shift between moves (especially on silks and pole dance).
The Upside Down Straddle has some levels of difficulty (as i show on the video). If you are a beginner, you might find it hard to get into the position right away, so the best way is to find a way to put both legs on the bar first (doing The Ball), put you hands on the bar between your knees and slowly get into the position you want to end up in. This will help you understand where you want to end up.
The location of the hands in The Upside Down Straddle is different than The Ball position. This time your hands are holding the bar next to each other and between your legs.
On this video I put 2 levels of difficulty. I know The Upside Down Straddle can be a bit hard to learn for beginners but don't give up. It is a very good workout for your abs (even just trying to get into it) and a very important move in aerial.
I also use it as an aerial workout by doing sets of 10s going up and down slowly.
So here it is, hope you will enjoy it and please if you have any questions - don't hesitate.
Emily
If you read this blog on smart phone you might not be able to see the video embedded here so here is
Many of my students ask me what to wear for a lesson and why.
The best thing to wear for an aerial lesson or a practice is a leotard and tights. Never wear Lycra though.
Lycra is very slippery and that is why it is very dangerous. One of the most frighting things happened to me during one of my shows, when i found out that my tights were VERY slippery and i couldn't catch myself or hang on to the hoop with my legs (This is a good lesson also, to always try your costume with your aerial apparatus before the show).
Why do we wear leotard and tights? Why not a track suit? or just a shirt with some shorts?
Well, leotard and tights are tight to your body, and actually give you the best protection. If you will wear shorts you will most likely to get burns from the hoop. The same will happen with loose pants.
Besides the protection, if you are upside down and you are wearing a loose T-shirt, it can fall over your face, and you don't want this to happen to you.
What about your feet?
We usually train barefoot, this is the best way to catch the apparatus with your toes and fingers.
Always remember to take good care of your feet, wash them and clean them when and if you are sharing mattress with other people.
You can always put some ankle supports to protect your feet from the pain (i will post a link to ankles support at the end of this post).
Here is a great and a very funny video blog that I found about cloths for training and performing called:
From time to time you tell yourself "ahhhhh i will never be
able to do this".
Most of the time YOU ARE WRONG!
I find myself saying that, in many occasions, when i really want
someone to tell me "You can do it!"
Well, i'm here to tell you that you CAN
do it. You can do anything you set your mind on doing, and this are not just
words.
A lot of our time we act according to social conventions, and this
makes us put ourselves boundaries that there is no reason to put them other
than the fact that someone else on some newspaper / talk show / internet told
us that we should put.
I find myself fighting a lot with the way i look, how old i am, what
is the "right" thing to be and behave, but at the end of the day, i
try to take all of these boundaries and put them in a little place up my brain
and to acknowledge that they are there, but now it's time to shut them up and
start do what i want to do, really want to do.
When i finish every practice i can't help but thinking if i'm tired
because i'm not good enough / strong enough / flexible enough and so many other
doubts, but then i remind myself that i'm doing it for the FUN of that, for the
good feeling in that practice. I'm not on a race to anywhere; i'm not in hurry.
I should respect my body, enjoy it and take a GOOD care of it.
Criticism is good.
When i need some criticism, i turn to the RIGHT people, the people who understand the profession but
alsoUNDERSTAND me. Criticism can
hurt but it can also make you GROW
and become BETTER.
But anyway, i always keep this video (it's a facebook link) to
remind me that there is anything i can do if i set my mind on it, and give
myself enough time:
So here we go, the first video is online and i'm very excited!
For the first video i picked The Ball position. It's a beginner's position.
That was my nemesis when i just started learning aerial hoop.
The hardest thing with this position is that in life we are not used to
make our abdominal muscles to work in this way, so please, don't get
upset if this doesn't work for the first time.
Practice again and again, do only part of this exercise if you can't do
all of it, and i promise you that in time you'll get there.
*This video contains annotations so the best way to see it is on full screen mode and not on i-pad, i-phone etc. because annotations need flash.
If you can't see the video on the blog, here is a link:
Hi there and welcome to my "Fly Fit - Aerial Hoop Classes" blog.
My name is Emily Cage and i'm an aerial hoop artist, an aerial hoop teacher and a visual arts performer.
When i started learning aerial acrobatics i soon understood that aerial hoop it the aerial apparatus i enjoy the most.
As i started focusing on it, i realized that in my country
(Israel) there were not many aerial hoop teachers, as aerial hoop was a
side thing next to the 'oh so amazing' silks.
Well, i didn't feel that
way and was forced to study from videos of shows on you tube, books i
bought but never a good "How To".
So, i decided to make a "How To" for all the people out there that would like to learn.
I see aerial acrobatics as a beautiful and amazing way to get in fit, to
try something new, to widen your horizons and to actually fly.
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