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Question: if I fail to grab the tail during airplane drop, will I still be secure, or am I going to fall?
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Here is my first stab at the November challenge, sans beat straddle inversion.
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Empezando a entrenar desafío noviembre 😀
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Training #1
Brett, you make it look sooo easy… I have some technical questions:
1. Is it OK to twist the silks behind the back only once instead of twice?
2. When transitioning from the pike to the airplane, I believe I hurt a bit my lower back. It is indeed a transition from a pike to a straddle with back bending, isnt it? So the lower back goes from flexion to extension? Any focus tips for that transition?
3. The beats… omg! no comments… I will keep on trying… fun to work on 🤩
4. The birds nest at the end is not releasing my back knot, any tips there?
Thanks a lot for this amazing combo and find below my training attempt from today.-
Good job Yvan and great questions! I’ll go over these in more detail tomorrow, but a couple notes from watching is hold a bit lower on the poles before going backwards into the airplane position, that may take some pressure off your back. The stretchier the fabric you have the harder it might be to get the timing of the beats as you have to work with the bounce! Looks like you almost have it though.. try to work with the timing of the bounce and hinge back a bit more as you invert, the class this month will help you practice that technique more as well, so recommend trying out that follow along class if you haven’t yet. Lastly on the exit after the kimono drop, once you regrip the poles, make sure your legs open and then bring them behind and then pass in between the tails as you invert into the birds nest, right now you are forgetting to do that part. Hope you can make the Q&A tomorrow, if not check out the replay i’ll demonstrate these tips 🙂 -Brett
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https://www.silksstars.com/community/susi/media/254/
Hello! Here’s my practice from today morning! there’s still a lot of work to be done! Wish you all safe, fun, success and enjoyable training! 😘🙏 -
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Training from today….lots to work on. Thanks for the live chat! You guys are the best! 🙂
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https://www.silksstars.com/community/ghinsman/media/258/
Here’s a video of the tails crossing in front of my body when doing the kimono drop. I can see that the tails get crossed behind my butt when I’m upside down before sitting up into the kimono drop. Is there a sure fire way to prevent that?
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Hi Gretchen, thanks for sharing your video! Yes, the sure-fire way to avoid the crossed silks behind the butt, is to make sure the silks are un-twisted before climbing up, and that there is no spin before doing this combo. That will help keep the silks stay separated and on their correct sides when you finish the airplane tail catch.
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Hi. I watched the Q&A replay. Thanks for all the coaching. I tried the tricks today and am challenged at Brett’s instruction of aiming to NOT hold the poles to invert, after the airplane drop. My beats are so awkward…. like there is no rhythm. When I sway my legs forward, I feel the momentum build up, but when they sway backwards, the momentum seems to reduce 🙁 Feedback on my video would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Thanks for sharing Janice, this is a great start! The biggest factor for getting a good invert after the airplane tail catch (without having to grab the poles, is making sure you don’t have any swaying or spinning of your silks when you first climb up to do this combo. I noticed your point was swinging a bit at the start of the combo, so i recommend that the very first climb from the ground you take, to make sure you are directly under your rigging point and very gentle pull up into your first climb. You should be completely still, no turning or swinging when you do the airplane drop. Doing the invert from there without grabbing the poles is advanced and takes a lot of hinging back and staying super engaged in your core like you’re passing through a front planch. It takes lots of power, so make sure you go for that invert the first time your momentum from the airplane drop swings forwards, rather than taking a second beat back. Also, we’re no expecting ‘Not grabbing the poles’ as part of this month’s challenge. That variation may take a while of consistent training to build up to, so it’s more of an ‘extra credit’ variation. Happy to see you working on it and looking forward to seeing your progression! -Brett
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Hi! I was able to complete the combi last night here from practicing for almost 2 hours. Just have to clean it up quite a bit, any tips would be great!
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Good job Eiz! Thanks for sharing. A couple notes would be to keep practicing the beat up after the airplane drop, making sure both legs are the same distance apart and drive back into the beat at the same time. Also try holding the outside tips of the tails for the kimono drop, which should help the tails land higher on your arms at the end. Overall looking good!
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Thanks for the feedback! Here’s another go.
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Hi! Today I tried the beat workout AND the full combo on my mini rig… Of course I couldn’t do it properly but I am proud of what I managed to do in such small space aahahah I couldn’t believe it. I wish I could show you all my bloopers before attempting to catch the tail on the airplane drop, I was so scared to beat my head to the ground. Next time I’ll try the modified version which looks easier and less scary for the height I have. Or if I have the guts to hang by a tree I’ll give the full combo a chance (I’m not a brave one and don’t like to try drops without crash mat, hanging from a tre, you know).
First try -
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I was able to start practicing this yesterday and am still mystified as to how to find the edges of the fabric for the kimono. I did realize that once I have the edges, I have to raise my arms much higher than I thought to have enough slack on the fabric to come to a “T” rather than have my arms pulled low by the fabric during the drop. I will work more on the momentum next time; I just needed to get comfortable with the pieces this time around. Also, Must Work on Straightening those legs in the inverts!
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Hi Amy, this is coming along nicely! Its possible the tails being twisted below you is giving you a bit of trouble grabbing the tips of the tails, I usually try to make sure the tails are completely untangled before climbing up for this sequence. It does take a lot of repetition to grab the tips of the tails in the right spot quickly. When first learning, it takes a lot of time to prep the drop, you are definitely not alone!
Also your beat looks pretty good here! Recommend trying to go for that invert the first time your legs swing forwards for more power 🙂
-Brett
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second try on a higer point! finally did the full combo. I must rewatch the live Q&A to see some tips for the kimono drop, mine it’s not fluid (I even covered my head with the silk the first time.. I looked like a ghost)
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Training #2 – November Silks Stars Challenge Sequence. I think i’m gettin’ there!
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Just watched the recording of QnA and did my first practice of this month’s sequence. I tried the low height version but:
1. I slid way low after the first part so had to re-climb. Did I not climb high enough?
2. The airplane, OMG. After watching Brett’s video I realized I held the pole too high, and my butt just slumped all the way down. Is it better to pike first before opening the legs, or just swing upside down?
3. Last part of the airplane drop is just big FAIL hahaha I think I was too tense and didn’t drive my heels down so I slid down and fell? I’m a bit chickened out when practicing drops by myself.Here is the practice video.
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Great questions!
1) the reason you slid in the first part, it looks like the tails fell off your shoulders a bit. Try to transition very carefully as you come upright, focusing on placing the tails as close to your neck as possible so when you come upright the tails stay over your shoulders… if the tails slide off the shoulders you will slide a bit.
2) Yes, holding low on the poles makes it much easier to transition into airplane. Try waiting to open out into your airplane shape until you lower down a bit further and feel the silks supporting your body weight. You’ll feel the silks give you support sooner when hold onto the poles as low as you can from the sitting position that’s the most important part to making that transition smooth.
3) take your time when walking down the drop. Remember to keep
Your legs really piked when you let go from the airplane. Then make sure you fully regrip the tails before un-piking the legs to come upright.
You’re doing good! Looking forward to seeing your progress 🙂
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Hey there 🙂 I am wondering what is the lowest height one can do both (or either) drop from safely? I am about 5’5-6″ tall (if that helps) and may have to bring my rig into the garage soon to get anything useful done. It’s been too windy and cold to safely train. My garage ceiling is about 9ft6in high (and the safety pad is at least 4in). Thoughts?
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Hi Halene, this is a tough question to answer as it also depends on how stretchy your silks are, and how low your gear above hangs down. It would be safest to start with the mini-rig variation taught in the Q&A replay, which you should have enough height if you bend your knees when you come into the iron cross/angel wing part).
You’ll be too low for the full combination, but you may be able to do the first part (crochet, climb up, and get into the airplane). Then instead of releasing quickly into the beat, try folding into a pike from airplane very slowly, then grabbing the tails and just slowly going into the front walkover to the mat (also demo’d in the Nov Q&A replay)
The kimono drop is hard to walk down slowly, and needs more space above to climb up into, so that would be the part I wouldn’t suggest trying with only 9ft. -Brett -
Thanks for the feedback 🙂 My silks aren’t terribly stretchy (low stretch, tricot?), but I haven’t put my rig up in the garage yet, so can’t yet speak to how low the above gear hangs in relation to an already short set-up. I did get a few “ok” videos in the beginning of Nov., So I’ll use one of those. Unfortunately it was before the Q&A, and it was too windy to safely record after I found a song to record to 🙁 Looking forward to trying the combo again with music in warmer weather. We’ve got snow today!
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So excited to have actually been able to rehearse AND film myself well before the end-of-month deadline so I can post for some feedback and suggestions! Thank you to so much for all you’re doing to keep us motivated and moving during this crazy year…
Here’s my early attempt video.
(Note: I realized after the fact that my phone wasn’t quite straight up and down, so that should explain the seemingly off-kilter look to the rig!)
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This is looking really clean Nikki! One suggestion would be to put a little more power into the beat back after the airplane tail catch, to help you with that invert back up again. That’s a challenging move, but it looks like you are making good progress on it, just keep giving it all the core strength you got, and remember to hinge back while inverting there. Your lines overall are looking really nice!
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https://www.silksstars.com/community/susi/media/294/ Hi all! So this is my videk from today practice, I’m still hoping to have the chance to practice more before the end of the month… wish you all the best! Happy training! 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘
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I am loving these monthly challenges, even though I don’t have enough time to practice and polish them. I will only have been able to do this combo one session this month. I posted video of me doing part of the beats workout on my personal page, thinking it looked funny what with kissing the tail, haha. But my friends and family are leaving lovely comments like “beautiful”, “strong”, “graceful”. Reminding me of how much my body has changed and that I really simply get so much joy from DOING these things! I’m so grateful for this platform, the work you’re putting in to it, and the community of athlete aerialists I’m meeting here.
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Hello silk stars friends!
Here is my november combination! I had so much fun pairing this one to music and working on the performance aspect. The beat to invert was very challenging and I tried to work to make everything flow. Thank you for this awesome combo Bret! I hope everyone has a great month! To those in the the US, Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
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Dear beautiful people
For now this is my submission for November. I did my very best to get the hands free beat, but one month was not enough. I blame it on the bouncy rigging point available to me 😅. I will keep on working on them for the future (and also on front lever which I think is useful here). I AGAIN enjoyed A LOT working on this combo. Thanks a lot Brett! ❤️ Stay well and happy Thanksgiving!! 🙏 -
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Hi guys, question about kimono drop with a short silk. How much of the spare silk is needed as a minimum? I can see Brad has quite a lot, way below his feet (before the drop). My silk tails reach my waist/tights before the drop – is that enough?
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Hi Kamila, good question! As long as you have enough tail to wrap completely and enough to prep the tails in your hands with your arms fully extended/parallel to the floor, the drop will be safe. Just be sure to squeeze your thighs together tight before letting go of the tails/regripping the poles in case your silks are slippery.
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Hi
I am working on the sequence, but the back beat to invert part is killing me. See for yourself https://www.silksstars.com/community/niksa/media/321/I’ll try again on Monday 30th, because I am in Poland so I am few hours ahead and I hope it will work out in the end. Any tips very welcomed!
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Hi there,
here is my submission for November. I am so happy I managed the airplane drop and inverting straight after again, I really struggled with it. My idea of the combo was to end it right after the kimono drop where I hide between the silk – this is also where the song ends. I added an exit with a split, but I prefered ending it right anfter the drop ;D
Submission November 2020 -
Hello, sadly I cannot submit anything this month. I found it challenging to train with my outdoor rigging point as weather started turning cold here in the UK. I also started learning the combo too late (half way though the month) and although I have a few ok takes, they never show the whole sequence completed as I worked on the final section of kimono drop (many times with my silk tails too short to perform kimono drop).
However, I really enjoyed learning this combination, so much that is became one of my favourite sequences so far (because of the kimono drop). I will actually continue to work with it in my training moving forward as it would look really good in an aerial act. Thank you very much guys! -
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Well… I barely made my entry on time this month, but I’m happy I made it happen regardless. Although this isn’t my best entry so far, and I do wish I spent more time working on it, I’m trying to be kinder to myself, so I won’t talk much about everything I think I did wrong. I will say that I’m going to work harder to create my submission videos with time left in the month to get feedback for improvements. I hope you guys enjoy, even though it’s very last minute. Excited for December!
November entry -
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