Dive forward roll start :)

just a simple starting move that can look quite funky.

Have the staff lying on the ground, take a few steps back, then do a dive forward roll (like a normal roll except you do a little dive from your feet to your hands at the start) so that you grab the staff as you put your hands down. Then keep on rolling to stand up, and start spinning as usual.

You can also do this with a handspring, but at the moment I'm not bendy or strong enough to do those ;-) Gotta get that damn shoulder strength back. I've tried it with a cartwheel or roundoff, but it's kinda awkward. Might work better with a shorter staff.

enjoy

x

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the memories fire, the rhythm falls slow....

hey,

I was trying some tumbling today (bit bumpy) and I found that when the stick comes round into the right from the back and comes forward you can stop and go into a forward shoulder roll (a sword roll, from sword arm shoulder across the back) and come up spinning.

gotta work onnit with doubles.

xx

help

xaeda, now thats a cool start

nix, help, whats a shoulder roll or a sword rool, and where the staff/sword when ya do it

lots of gloves

g

Or for those staffers who work with a poi-er here is one based from Xaeda's dive roll....practice unlit though first!

THe poi-er sinks onto his/her knees and lays backward (it is important to keep your legs tucked backward by your hips and not stretch them out!!!). This person then does a butterfly over their chest while laying on the ground. The staffer then does a dive over the poi-er....it is easiest on the nerves to stand by the poiers head and dive over them lengthwise (so you land at their knees) and roll up from there. There are many cool doubles moves to get up from there.
Anyway, Prom,when he spun, and I did this and got some amazing reactions! Enjoy!

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Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

http://www.pyromorph.com

yo glass,

say for example your stick/sword is in your right hand. you tuck this hand into the body (the sword pointing in the direction of your left shoulder, blade toward the ground) and then roll from the sholder that holds the stick across your back and spring up from your left buttock (or ass-cheek, for all you USA types)

if you get it fluid (the secret being to make a nice curve with your back) you can do really huge diving rolls this way.

As for diving with doubles, where do you put them? one the ground?

Love an stuff

i?

I'm was going to play Charles' dinosaur card on this one. But i suspect that Charles does stuff like this and Pele too (?).
So I'll be in the garden, in subzero tempretures, tomorrow enthusiastically hurling myself round.

I've never broken any bones in my life. Maybe I should it on my list of things to do before I'm 30.....

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C@ntus

We are old, we are young, we are in this together, vagabonds and children, we're prisoners forever, with pulses raging and eyes full of wonder, Kicking out behind us again.

[This message has been edited by Cantus (edited 10 November 2001).]

Cantus, Yup, I do. I have a bit of a cheat card up my sleeve here though, I took gymnastics years ago, and dance as well as yoga and bellydance for some length of time now. So while my body doesn't move the same as when I was 12 and built like a rubber band, I can still pull off some of the rudimentary tumbling moves, even with a prop.
However, the more I work, the more difficult moves I can pull off so there is hope for you yet!

Just remember to roll over your shoulder instead of straight down the back of your neck and spine, saves pain this way!
And can you PLEASE video tape you rolling around your back yard? I would love to see it!!!!!
Much Love,

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Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

http://www.pyromorph.com

Oh and Xaeda, for a round off or cartwheel instead of having the staff laying across your running path have it laying straight on it. With a nice showy slow kind of tumble you lay one hand down and then the other so you put one hand on the staff and then the other instead of both at once (Imagine it like a balance beam with no margin for error), it is easier and smoother this way.
Next step, no handed cartwheels, spinning in an overhead helicopter the whole time. Trust me, I am not even close on that one yet but one of these day success will be mine!!!!!!!!
Mwahahahahahahahaahahaha!

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Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

http://www.pyromorph.com

yeah, cantus, send us a vid.....preferably with snow (you said subzero, after all....)

nix - yeah, I've started doing shoulder rolls too. I found it pretty straight forward with doubles, just one in each hand. Or you can throw one in the air, roll, then come up and catch it.

Other variations.....this doen't really work with dive rolls, cause you have to be tucked up quite tight, but you can hold a staff in the curve between your belly and your thighs as you do a normal forward roll. or a somersault, if I ever get that good again ;-)

Pele - that's sort of the way I tried the cartwheel, but I found when I came out of it the staff end closest to me got caught on the ground. Maybe it just needs more practice But I think with my short 1m staffs it might work better. I really want to learn aerial cartwheels too....I remember I could almost do them as a kid but I have no-one to spot me now ah well. I'm considering approaching the local gymnastics club to see if they'll let me use their equipment.......I don't want to do classes, but maybe they'll let me use it after hours or something. worth a try, anyway.

x

As to the video thing I fear a combination of paranoia and lack of recording equipment precludes me from such a venture.

Damn, I really gotta start practising some tumbling moves. Although I look flexible when I do staff, I'm about as flexible as a "(insert silly saying from 1st Blackadder series)".

My biggest problem (or excuse), is that my playground is central auckland, and I'm too chicken to try rolls and stuff on the concrete without practising, hence I don't practice.

Xaeda, how about taking a tumbling course at the Juggling Festival as well as staff?

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Charles (INFERNO)

newdolbel@hotmail.com
http://juggling.co.nz

Find a new playground charles :-) I reccomend somewhere with nice soft grass......what about the domain? Even in public parks there are usually nooks and crannies behind trees where you can prance around without being laughed at Or, go to a beach - it's amazing how forgiving sand can be (although it's not much good for learning on, you'll fall over too much). I usually play in the botanic gardens opposite my house, or on my 3 square metres of lawn ;-) Once my flatmates are all gone (I'm living alone over summer) I'm gonna drag the spare bed mattress into the garden and practise backflips ;-) yeeehah

I really don't want to teach a tumbling workshop, partly cause I'm not much good at it any more, and partly because being able to safely teach groups is much, much more difficult than just being able to do it yourself. Most of my remaining ability is just muscle memory, so even though I can do it, I can't always explain to other people just *how* I do it. Even in simple moves, there's always potential for serious (ie spinal) injury, especially if you're teaching non-bendy adults (kids bounce back okay from most things). Also I'm probably not strong enough to spot for adults, so if anybody messes up badly, there's nobody to help them out.

But as always, if people ask me to teach them stuff individually, I'll gladly show them what I can. I can teach you some acrobalance too, if you're keen - I'd love to get some fire-acrobalance things happening There'll probably be heaps of circoarts trained people there though, and if you hunt them down I'm sure they could teach you way more than I could. In fact I might hunt some down myself ;-)

x

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the memories fire, the rhythm falls slow....

Try this

http://akcity.govt.nz/around/parks/parks_in_auckland/

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C@ntus

We are old, we are young, we are in this together, vagabonds and children, we're prisoners forever, with pulses raging and eyes full of wonder, Kicking out behind us again.

Cheers Cantus.(sarcastic overtone)

Thanks Xaeda (looks at you scowling)

Now I'm gonna have to make up some other bloddy excuses for not tumbling!!!

Damn!

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Charles (INFERNO)

newdolbel@hotmail.com
http://juggling.co.nz

Ooh a bloddy excuse. The worst kind. Vicious little swines with pointy, pointy teeth.....

Better still, try this:
http://www.yellowpages.co.nz/for/ezi-lawn/

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C@ntus

We are old, we are young, we are in this together, vagabonds and children, we're prisoners forever, with pulses raging and eyes full of wonder, Kicking out behind us again.

xaeda-

i like this start havn't ever used a roll to begin a routine

Vikk

Cracked it straight away. A lot easier than i was expecting.
Needs a little practice, as i'm wobbly getting up, but fun all the same.

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C@ntus

Dance beneath the stars, we sound system, we the collective, with a open heart, we the solution - should be respected!

[This message has been edited by Cantus (edited 23 November 2001).]

I've had the benifits of training unlit firmly reinforced. Whilst trying dive forward roll (type thing) with doubles somehing went wrong (i dont know how it happened I guess i just got cocky/careless)

One end of the staff in my left hand connected with the floor as i went into the roll and my arm locked. The preceding jarring motion from the staff caught me in the belly and I was momentarily suspended on the tip of the staff - which hurts. A lot!!

My initial reaction was to pull my hands in towards the site of the pain. But I was still tightly clutching 2 staffs. So I basically ended up beating myself about the body with two big sticks.

My injuries were superficial. But, needless to say left me a little shaken.
Not helped by, when i dragged my wounded, winded, bruised and beaten body into the house, my father surrepticiously laughed uproariously.

But i must say that it could've been a lot worse if i had in fact been lit. I'm always stunned by people practicing new stuff lit. That's just me though. Not having a go at anyone who likes to train like that.

"Nice bedside manner doctor. And stop eating all my grapes!"

I like this thread a lot, and not just for the amusing tale of Cantus' experiments.

Another roll is to just tuck the stick to your chest horizontally, and just jump over it into a forward roll.