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