Amazon Under the Hoop - Delilah - Aerial Hoop Class

Hi everybody,
I haven’t been here for some time now because i moved to Berlin and had to get all my things in order so sorry for that…
This lesson is about a very simple and beautiful move – The under hoop amazon or in it’s more known name Delilah.

Not only that this move is relatively easy, it is very beautiful and if you are a beginner and don’t manage to go on the hoop yet by doing Pike (The Ball), you can use this move to start your way up.

Here is the video:

Show me your Delilah!

xxx
Emily

Grand Split / Splits Away – Aerial Hoop Class for Beginners

The Grand Split is a beginner's move. It is a pose by itself but it is also a transition to a lot of other moves.

It is a relatively easy move, but the way you get in and out of it is very important.

I always teach this move on the 1st or 2nd lesson, because this is how my students start to understand not only the move itself but also how important it is to be smooth and to keep your movements clean.

In this video you can see how I get in and out of this position. See how I get out of the sitting position into the grand split, and how I come back into sitting position. I avoid extra movements or unnecessary touches, and I always remember to engage my shoulders and keep them down and very strong.

If you can't take your back leg to a split at the beginning, just point it down to the ground. Don't worry about it, in time you will manage to get your split on the ground, and this will help you to take your leg to the back and into the grand split.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think of it!

Emily Cage

Keeping Your Balance – Aerial Tutorial

The first thing I teach, after teaching How to Get on the Hoop, is how to keep your balance.

Finding your balance is very important both physically and mentally. You need to learn how to find your balance in each position on the hoop (as in life :) ) and so this is a good way to start.

Also, when you take 1-2 minutes to find your balance, you actually prepare yourself to start practice. It's like the mental process you go through when you warm up.

This balance that I bring on this tutorial is similar to the Navasana pose in yoga:

photo was taken from Wikipedia

You sit on your sitting bones, which is the lower part of your pelvis:

photo was taken from the website yoga.about.com

So here's the tutorial, please let me know what you think:

xxx
Emily Cage

The Ball – Pike – A beginner’s position

The Ball - Pike Mount - is a beginner's pose.

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 have any questions, i will be glad to answer!

 xxx

Emily Cage

Still Posting On This Blog

I have noticed that many of you still visit this blog, so i'll be posting my tutorials and articles here as well as on my website www.flyandfit.com .

I would love to hear comments from you guys!

xx

Emily

How to Get Stronger for Aerial Acrobatics - Post for Beginners

Hi everybody,

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!

 Go ahead and comment on this post.

xxx
Emily Cage

The Bridge - Aerial Tutorial

Hello everybody,

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 :)

All the best and have a great week!

Emily Cage

Semi Sidesplit - The Gazelle - Aerial Tutorial for Beginners

Hi everybody,

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.

Hope you will like it, let me know.

Emily Cage
xxx

Link for this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STf0qLNA4Z4

The Bird - Aerial Hoop Online Class

Hi everybody,

So here is another post this week, as promised!

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.

Let me know what you think!

xxx
Emily

How To Get On the Hoop for the Very First Time

Hi everybody,

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. 

xxx
Emily Cage

 

Warm-Up for aerial acrobatics - Beginners

Hi everybody,

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 :)

Have a great weekend!
 Emily Cage

How and where to grab the hoop

Hi everybody!

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:

 

If you can't see the embedded link, just click here to watch the video

 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.

xxx

Emily Cage