Teacher Tidbits Corner - JoAnne Stout
Teacher Tidbits Corner - JoAnne Stout
Feb 2022
Consistency
I’m sure everyone has heard one or more instructor say that the “pinchiness” will get less uncomfortable over time, or that your hands won’t be as sore over time, or that you will be able to remember the names of the poses over time. We say this, not only because we want to see your smiling faces each week, but also because it is true. Consistently coming to class will help minimize these concerns. Below I offer a few examples of how consistency will help you progress through your aerial journey.
Grip Strength
When you first start training on an apparatus, you may find that your hands and forearms become sore very quickly. This may be due to a lack of grip strength. The muscles of the hand, wrist, and forearm are small and somewhat delicate and are often overlooked during strength and mobility training. As grip strength is very important with all aerial activities, it’s important to strengthen these smaller muscles that tire quickly. Developing your grip strength will also help us to avoid injuries, and from a safety aspect, allows us to have the strength necessary to hold and exit poses safely. Grip strength will help you to actively hold your weight, invert, and be confident with your hands while moving through poses. When your main focus is not wondering if you can hold on to the bar or fabric, you can focus on proper form and mechanics. Grip strength develops over time with experience and practice, so consistency is key!
Muscle Memory
Anytime I’m driving down the highway towards Newark, I find I turn into the studio shopping center, even when that’s not where I’m intending to go. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to turn around and hope to get my step-son to the bus stop in time. I’ve driven to the studio so often that it’s like I’m on auto-pilot. I’m sure most people are familiar with the phrase, “It’s just like riding a bike”, meaning once you’ve learned it, you’ll always remember how to do it. These are both loose examples of muscle memory. A more formal definition is that when a motion is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed with little to no conscious effort. Repetition can be achieved by consistently coming to class!
Memorizing Pose Names
What I hear the most from students is that they find it challenging to remember all the names of the poses. We end up playing numerous games of charades trying to figure out what pose they are referring to at that time. You have probably also noticed that many of our pose names are unique to our studio. One of my funniest stories involves our “Cat Stuck in the Tree” pose. That pose is one of our student’s superpowers. So much so, that in one of my classes, we have changed the pose name to “Pat Stuck in the Tree”. A newer student came back to class, and said she tried to google “Pat Stuck in the Tree”, so she could practice it at home, and she said she didn’t have any success finding that pose. We all continue to laugh at that! I use numerous fun ways to try and help. The one I use most frequently is flash cards. Once every couple of months, each student randomly selects flash cards that have a name and level of a pose. We then take turns turning over the cards and all doing the pose. Another method I have used is having a “warm up” flow that we do at the start of each class for a month or so. I’ve seen other instructors dedicate a class to poses that are similar, such as “bats and butterflies”. While all these methods should help you memorize the pose names, the best method is to consistently come to class!
To stay consistent with the theme of my article, SEE YOU IN CLASS soon!