First Ever Backsault Or Whatever
BREAKTHROUGH Movement Changes Lives. When you move differently the world becomes a different place.
What's it like? The adrenaline and thumping heart that almost makes you vomit and evacuate the bowel just thinking about what you're about to do!
The more you feel small, limited and incapable the less service you will be to the world.
RealMOVEMENT is about stepping up. Whatever it is that stands between you and your biggest project. That's what we're going after. Limitations.
"No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking." Voltaire
My childhood memories of the trampoline are of being double bounced by Rohan Smith and not wanting anything more to do with it.
STAGE 1
While living at Casa Guatemala during my first 9 month trip through Latin America I was smashing through limiting beliefs. I learned to juggle, speak Spanish and look after myself travelling alone away from all the safety nets of Australia and family. Here I started trying to do back somersaults off a 2.5m makeshift diving board.
I smashed on my back many times. I made it a few times. Eventually I even tried for a double and held myself under the water as the SLAP pain soaked in.
Fast forward through the next 9 years and the closest I came to a back somersault was watching the Indigenous kids in Finke jumping out of trees and down sand hills.
I was inspired but there was no path.
STAGE 2
I started RealMOVEMENT Project in 2014 age 31 (together with Drew and Ben from Primal Sydney who've since started their own business). Our first ever internship with with Dan Aubin in Bathurst. Dan is was a professional gymnastics coach and acrobat for many years, even still I remember the pure fear bouncing around on the trampoline attempting the simplest of moves. At that same camp I knocked out the front tooth of professional stunt man Kim Fardy who's been stunt double and weapons coach to Garard Butler among others. He's a good looking guy and that was almost the end of the line for me. I was scared out of my brain and left the weekend with a damaged achilles .
I took a session with Miles High at Sydney Uni and Russian Coach - Victor at Homebush Gymnastics
STAGE 3
I moved to Byron Bay and got a TopLine Trampoline for the backyard. I was still scared as hell and battling on and off with insertional achilles pain. Going backwards on the trampoline actually scared me a lot more than going backwards on the ground because of the extra height and the chances of a head clash on the trampoline or falling off.
By this time I had a good concept of what I was supposed to be doing and I had a feeling for some basic drills to build the sense for going backwards without becoming completely disoriented.
STAGE 4
Lessons with a Cirque Du Soleil artist at Byron Bay Circus School on various RealMOVEMENT internships helped dozens of RealMOVEMENT coaches BREAKTHROUGH that over powering fear of rotating backwards that only an adult learner can understand. The adrenaline and thumping heart that almost makes you vomit and evacuate the bowel just thinking about what you're about to do!
Lots of us got comfortable on the trampoline or jumping off mini-tramp but nobody was doing flips on the ground yet.
STAGE 5
Another 5 day gymnastics camp with Dan Aubin. Some bad attempts at back handsprings and some more saults jumping from a box to the mat. Still no confidence to go at it on the floor. I was now confidently rotating on the trampoline from dead starts and from bouncing.
STAGE 6
Pete and Ben came for a 3 day business and training camp. We started with movement. Ben has recently started doing back somersaults also conquering a long-time fear despite being comfortable going forward and generally on the trampoline (and in just about any other sport).
I'll have a go..
There was no intention before then to take my first ever attempt. Neither of the guys had any idea about spotting and we didn't have anything soft to jump on. I didn't start from elevation and work my way down. I just decided it's time to have a go. It seems like I've brain-washed myself with all this talk of living without limits.
Technically What Is The Best Path?
Build a general base of movement / mobility and body awareness. Shit can and will go wrong when you start to move.
Go Backwards - trampoline backward rolls, backwards rolls on the floor.
Tuck Jumps Backwards Onto A High Soft Box / Partners - this will help you get UP and start to rotate.
Same deal as 4. no boxes + spotter + soft landing surface
Go For It with a SPOT
Go For IT.
Pre-requisites - the more jump height you have the easier it will be to get around. The faster you can rotate and see the landing the less jump height you need.
Overnight Success a decade after my first attempts. It's hard until it's easy. I didn't start gymnastics training until I was 30. Now at 33 I can do some stuff that seemed impossible. I haven't done much work on acrobatics because it's the strength and balance work that really excites me. Still this is something that was terrifying that is now almost comfortable. I will work on technique. I need to get the left arm driving harder but the path is set.