Top of the Game

There are a number of tumbling sequences and passes that are so difficult that only the top and worlds best can perform them safely and accurately. These skills continue to amaze their audiences as they defy gravity and the human body. When I see any of these skills my mouth literally drops. Double Arabians in a pike position, double layout punch fronts, double doubles, triple twist series and more. Although this is a short entry the main focus is on these amazing skills and I hope they inspire all you trickers and tumblers to the top of your game!

Courage and Facing your Fears

Hey! I know its's been a while...a long while, but I'm back and this time for good! So on a personal note I got ym MRI results back and it was something no one was expecting. I actually didn't tear my MCL, Minisucs or ACL I dislocated my knee! The reason it caused so much pain was because it caused severe bruising so I am still off until January, however I am at hightened risk for this to reoccur. It turns out my knees are shallow and therefore very easily able to dislocate, which is an extreme drawback for any athletic activity. Anyway I will just have to deal with it and be fearless when it comes to pulling skills again.

I want to talk a little about being fearless. As I said this is something I must now experience, being brave and courageous in the face of adveristy. But I am on a much smaller scale than most. This is why since most of you have probably heard about the Newtown shooting the topic for this entry is about corurage and fearlessness. Many teachers and workers and children on Friday were afraid but they had to be courageous for others and for their well being. Although nothing can compare to your bravery, atheltes also have to be courageous and fearless too. We look up to you and know that if you can be so strong and brave in such an enormous task, we too can face our much smaller challenges.

This is such an important trait and I can think of no one who embodies it more than Canada's own Yiorgos. At my gym we look up to Yiorgos who is not only an amazing tumbler but a seemingly fearless one who always inspires us to try new things. You are truly amazing and teach us to face our fears like you. I think he's a perfect role model for this entry and surrounding the Newtown event topic.

 

Catch Up, Up, Up

So I don't really have an update on my injury situation, I'm still wearing a brace..everywhere, and I'm still not practising but I have a meeting with the doctor tomorrow which looks promising that it's not my acl! Just my miniscus and my mcl so far but I really want to get back into practice since first competition is 3 weeks away! I've had a replacement but tomorrow is the golden yes or dreaded no if i can go back to stunting and tumbling. But enough about me! You want to know about tumbling and I'm going to start with the good stuff first!

 
Like I said since it's been a while I figured to catch up my entry had to be good and it doesn't get much better than this I might say. Next entry I will get into some more technical talk about skills because some of you guys may not even know an overwhelming amount about tumbling so that should be good! But for sheer entertainment this video is fantastic featuring olympic American athletes like Alicia Sacramone, Kristen Maloney, Chelsie Memmel and most famously Shawn Johnson performing triple twists, front twisting, full ins, double layouts and much more! These tumblers are not only astonishingly talented but athletic giving them their powerufl and sky high tumbling. Up is for sure the word.

Definition: Extreme Tricking and Tumbling

One of the best events to watch is now the annual X-Treme Tricking and Tumbling event in Texas featuring some of the most prestigious athletes from Cheer Athletics, World champions Cheetah team in the Co-Ed level 5 division at Worlds 2012.  The second video begins at 1:10 for the tricks but it really is amazing to watch and incorporates so many different tumbling areas, which is the goal of my blog. It's just a short unreal glimpse and you'll even get to see famous athletes Jamie Andries and Peyton Mabrey, which reminds me of an entry coming soon on mor of my favourite athletes! Enjoy!

Canadian Eh?

As a Canadian myself I find true pride in our Canadian athletes especially the gymnasts and trampolists being close to my heart. Watching the Canadian gymnastic team qualify in the top 5 countries for the first time ever, Karen Cockburn competing trampoline at age 32 and Rosie Maclennan winning Canada's only gold medal in trampoline were all highlights to my Olympics. Tumbling however is not yet in the Olympics but I am very proud of these athletes as well. I think we tend to forget about many of our Canadian athletes for more famous American athletes and that's why I'd like to focus on a very impressive Canadian tumbler Dennis Vachon!

Dennis a World Champion Tumbler and Double Mini Compeititor from Burlingtion Ontario. He's one of my heroes and an amazing athlete. Here's a peak!

A Setback and Keeping a Good Perspective

I know my last article was a journal but something has happened to me recently that happens to many athletes. I got injured. I finally had done my layoutfull with a handspring on the floor and my last one in the gym that day I fell and twisted my knee. It turned out I had strained my MLa tendon and another tendon as well as the possibility of my ACL. I got x-rays and no bone fragments had broken but there is a possibility once the swelling goes down I might have to get an MRI to see if my ACL is damaged. If so this is much more serious and I am keeping an open mind that this is not the case, but for now I can not tumble for two weeks and am in physio for the injuries they are aware of.

 

This is a setback for my layout full, my stunting and the entire routine because we have a competition a month away. I am trying to stay positive and am still attending practices but it's disheartening. So for athletes especially the trickers, tumblers and gymnasts dear to my heart, do not give up and keep positive on your goals and dreams. My favourite motivator for this is a video of micheal jordan adapted to Maddie Gardner about working hard and never giving up. Hopefully it keeps you positive like I am trying to be and I will let you guys know about new information reguarding my injury and return to training!

Oh That Layout Full...A Practice Journal

Now this entry will probably only appeal to a very selct audience in terms of tips but will still I believe prove interesting to read to others. For the past three years I have been trying to get my layout full. It has been a very long process that has pulled me back to even working on the basics just so I can begin to twist out of my layout. For fellow tumblers I'm sure many of you can relate to the arduous twisting process. But about a month ago I finally landed my round off full twist. Now this may not seem like much of an accomplisment and I still have to add in many more skills for it to be a complete pass but it was a milestone for me. A few thoughts occurred to me as well upon landing my layout full such as now I must make it consistent, how can I progress to add backhandsprings and most importantly what helped me succeed in getting it.

Now I am well aware there are many ways to twist and having been taught many in attempt to learn it. I understand that some of my tips may not be applicable to you but there is many more tips then just the technique and hey if you're at a roadblock what's the harm in trying something new! To start off you have to ask yourself which way do I twist? This question alone lost me 2 years of painfully trying to twist left when in fact I was a naturally right twister. There are many ways to find out such as being pushed back and the foot you step back with (right or left) is the way you twist, or which way you fall when being pushed off a beam but hands down the most successful is simple WHICH WAY DO YOU CARTWHEEL? Not only we'll this make twisting easier but it also allows you to progress to other skills in which you cannot be twisting in opposite directions.

When you find out what way you twist it's also important to find your technique like I said above. I believe when you pull with two staright arms to the side you twist it is most effective because it twists your center of gravity to rotate, keeps your lines straight, and is fast unlike one armed which can be slow and crossed armed pulls which can be subject to bad body positions and moving centre of gravity resulting in a crooked twist. These were the main things I discovered but even things like giving enough space for your roundoff or roundoff handspring so your not undercutting your set is vitally important. These tips can apply to double twisting as well and as an example here's a video of a great twist (excuse the language). Until next time!

Rowlin' Nowlin

The first athlete I ever watched that really drove my passion for cheerleading, tumbling and tricking was Kiara Nowlin. Since I was young she has been one of my tumbling role models. Kiara Nowlin a 17 year old California native has a spot in my top ten favourite tumblers. Kiara, a world champion California Allstars cheerleader, tumbler and double mini athlete. She is a natural and has been competiting since she was 5. She has the current record for the most standing fulls (11) in a row on top of her many accomplishments. Kiara is extremely gifted and although I do not have a recent video to show you of her, this video really showcases a wide variety of her talent and I think it is rather good. Enjoy !

 

Starting off the Season

This past weekend was the Cheer Extreme showcase and if you follow allstar cheerleading I'm sure you were just a sexcited as me about it! Cheer Extreme from North Carolina has won many world championship titles and is one of the best known gyms out there responsible for world renowned "cheerlebrity" athletes such as Erica Englebert, Gabie Dinsbeer, Taylor Minchew and most of all Maddie Gardner. There senior elite all girl level 5 team has 2 worl championships it self from 2010 and 2012 and will be going for another this year. It proves to be an interesting year with the absence of retired athletes and introduction of new ones as well as the continuous compeitition from teams such as World Cup Shooting Stars and their ultimate rival, F5. It will be awesome to see who comes out world champion in 2013! For now senior elite has given us a sneak peak into their training and what's to come and I personally can't wait for more!

 

Inspiration of a Different Sort

Hey guys ! Today I'm going to be talking and giving you guys some inspiration of a different sort. In my mind I always tend to think about doing tumbling passes and tricks in a formal style and gym setting, because that is where a lot of my training takes place. Before I start talking about more technical tumbling I wanted to take time to appreciate those who have taught themselves a lot and complete skills in a different enviornment.

Danny MacAskill is a street trials cyclist from Scotland and a very talented one at that. He has released many videos of him doing tricks on his bike but he also competes at the XX games and is quite successful. He inspires me to go out and do the impossible because of his fearlessness. Although quite different than traditional tumbling his tricks require superior athletisism and talent and is a nice viewing alternative to the standard sport. Hope he amazes you as much as he amazes me!-SJ

Just the Beginning !

Hi im SJ! To start this blog off you are probably wondering a few things about who I am and what this blog is even about, given the allusive title. Firstly, I am a compeitive cheerleader as well as an avid and previously competitive tumbler and gymnast. I have been so for around 7 years now and it has become my passion and absoloute favourite topic and thing to do. I'm hoping to reach out to the cheerleading and tumbling world by posting links of the best routines and tumbling passes as well as discussing some renowned athletes and their accomplishments. My blog will also feature advice and tutorials for tumbling and tricking to those learning and trying new skills, which I hope will be of great assistance. Finally I'm hoping to do some entries about my life at the gym including some of my practice highlights and struggles along with tips about practicing. So if you are a tumbler/gymnast and or cheerleader or even parkour and tricking, this blog is the place to be and will offer lots in all aspects of the topic.

 

I wanted to talk about the title of my blog quickly before jumping into a real first entry because it's a rather funny story. All throughout elementary school I was always tumbling and tricking all over the place and you could never get me to sit still or even right side up! Because of all the sports I played to like flag football, track and field, cross country and more, I eventually was incorporating it into those without thinking sometimes. My gym teacher then deemed me rumble bumble stumble tumble and it caught on.

So with that I will begin with the wonders of tumbling and tricking by asking a simple question, what is tumbling and tricking? They are defined as "an acrobatic sporting discipline which combines some of the skills of artistic gymnastics on the floor with those of trampolining" and "A form of acrobatics where practitioners focus mainly on linking together chains of acrobatic kicks, flips and twists in combinations, or combos. Trickers train and can be found in many locations, including fields, Martial Arts dojos, Gymnastics gyms, and even public locales.". In my oppinion it is the ability to defy gravity and push your body to do things most cannot dream of doing. One of the best examples of this and the perfect way to start would be by showing you one of the most spectacular and one of my favourite athletes Damien Walters. From Derbyshire, England you can find him in all manner of flipping and tricking sports such as trampoline, tumbling and parkour. He is a world renowned athlete and his showreel from 2010 is a perfect combination of all of the above for an introduction to the sport in general that I would greatly like to share with you below, check it out! Until next time!-SJ