Lunch Time Practice

Crazy tossy hook sticks. Let me say it again: crazy tossy hook sticks!!!

Go figure. I mention that yesterday was blah, and what happens? I pull out the double cane and get reminded that there’s a whole realm of technique to explore. At points I was just tossing one cane in the air to see how I could catch it with the other cane. Wicked good fun. This year’s going to be so very exciting.

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Lunch Time Practice

It’s a rather boring week in the land of practice. I’ve been doing a bit of single-cane, double cane, and staff. Nothing really stands out, though. It’s all just basic technique practice. Perhaps I’ll have something more exciting next week.

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The Buffalo Free Market

Yesterday was started with a pleasant surprise, I had woken up exactly when I’d planned to, 5am. So I got dressed, packed up my violin, and went on an exciting 4 hour drive to Buffalo, NY through car tossing winds. I don’t recommend driving through car tossing winds. It engenders a white-knuckled driving style I find quite tiresome.

Finally, I reached my destination, Buffalo’s shiny new Free Market. There, I caught up with Shea Ackers, a fellow fire spinner, one of Buffalo’s social instigators, and, in this case, a driving force behind the market. I hadn’t quite what to expect before heading out. So I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that it was a gift share. People set up their items on blankets, tapestries or directly on the floor, free for the taking. One couple came with flyers to introduce people to a company devoted to creating web sites for individuals and small businesses that were lacking a web presence. A local group that runs a Food Not Bombs provided a delightful dish to share. And a couple of us provided musical entertainment from time to time in order to keep things lively.

Then there were the people. True or no, I tend to consider myself a bit shy. So I was quite impressed when I managed to strike up conversations with no less than a bassoonist, a ukeleli player / conceptual writer, an individual who had attended Rochester’s School Without Walls, and several others interesting and engaging individuals. With such an open group, I’m quite certain that the Buffalo Free Market will become a shining beacon within the local community.

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Basic Meteor

If you’re not a fire spinner, this video may be dreadfully dull. For me, it’s an ah hah! moment. As in, “Why haven’t I tried this before?” I know. I know. I got obsessed with “developing my own style” and couldn’t be bothered to learn other props while I was working on it. Been there. Done that. Still need to make the t-shirt. Time to spread out to every prop I can find.

While you’re at it, check out the rest of Rovo’s channel on YouTube. The man is a phenomenal fire spinner.

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Lunch Time Practice

Today was so warm, I decided to work on my juggling. Still in the 3-5 catch range for 3 balls. You’d think waiting for a ball to fall into your hand would be easy. Noooo…. And throwing from side to side instead of reaching forwards? Forget it.

Bah. I’m taking out my staff tomorrow.

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Lunch Time Practice

A modest day in the world of practice. Walking out to lunch, I worked on my single cane technique. Horizontal, vertical, in front, behind the back, etc. Then I realized I could toss the cane while in a ceiling plane spin. While it needs quite a bit of work, the first attempts were quite satisfactory. Walking back, I worked on center-of-gravity and toss-grabs. There was a just noticeable improvement in my technique. It is a good day in the world of practice.

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Happy Something or Other

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I…  Well I pulled out my brand new fire staff and started practicing. First a bit of traditional: backwards, forwards, one-beat, two-beat, three-beat, and more. Then contact: conveyor, angel rolls, and whatnot. My technique was rough, but not as rough as I feared. I’ll just have to keep practicing… In between cane practice, of course. =)

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Lunchtime Practice

Today, I practiced simple synchronized motions in double-cane style. There were butterfly wings, scissor isolations, cane-on-cane balances, and hook-stick spins. While the comfort with which I worked the double-canes was gratifying enough, the true excitement was from the lack of pain.

Since digging deep into double-cane style last summer, I built up an enormous amount of difficult-to-release neck and shoulder tension. I got massages (very helpful), and started doing yoga (also helpful), and generally tried to start stretching more. In the end, what is finally breaking the pain is neck stretches, abdominal activation, and lat and mid-trap activations. It has shown me just how important it is for me to learn how to use my body, especially by studying with those who are already experienced in the art.

If it works for the body, I wonder how well it works for the mind?

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A few self-observations

  • Instead of just saying something, I often try to paint pictures with my words.
  • When I get excited about something, I get extremely passionate about it. Sometimes it leads to burn-out. Sometimes it makes me later question my sanity. And sometimes it leads me to get into something truly fantastic.
  • After a bit of excitement, I need to remember to spend some quiet time incorporating the experience, cooling down, and re-focusing on the humdrum, day-to-day needs of life.
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Lessons in Strength

Went to Bex’s (Sense of Motion) Honoring the Body workshop yesterday. It was a pilates heavy workshop on warm-ups, exercises, and stretching for fire spinners that focused on the upper body. Good thing to. Between the core body training and those small muscles (smart muscles, as Bex would say), I have my work cut out for me.

In short. Everything hurts, and the parts that hurt the most need the most work.

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