rockin' the trapeze

Spring break ended on a great note last weekend. Carol, Lorien, and I took a trip down to Escondido to take a trapeze class. Here is the "before" picture:

(Kris, Lorien, Carol)

We went to Trapeze High, tucked away in Escondido. We got there a bit early, so we were able to see people doing super neat trapeze tricks. Trapeze High's website warns that one of the first things that we will notice is that the trapeze seems much higher in real life. I had no idea what to expect, but it didn't look that scary. Because I used to dive, I put this into perspective, in terms of diving boards. Looking at the ground from the trapeze platform was like looking down at the water from the 5 meter tower. The distance from the trapeze platform to the net was like looking down to the water from the 3 meter springboard. More or less.

Our first lesson was to learn how to do a basic swing on the trapeze bar. On the ground, we learned how to prepare to swing by learning the proper stance, the commands, and how to hold the bar. The trapeze bar is surprisingly heavier than it appears.

We wasted no time getting up in the air for our first swings on the trapeze. As I climbed up the ladder, I started to get a bit nervous. (I should mention that I'm kind of scared of heights- seems like I'm subconsciously trying to conquer this fear) I tried my best to not look down and to just stay calm and focused. I'm not sure if I have an adventurous side, but I like to try anything once (or twice). Turning around and climbing back down the ladder just wasn't an option: I knew that I wanted to do this and experience everything. I didn't want to leave at the end of the day knowing that I hadn't given it my all and wondering what I might have been capable of accomplishing.

For the first swing, I just didn't think too much about what it was that I was doing, and I just trusted myself to listen to the instructor yelling out the commands. On my first swing, I got a little nervous (midair) that I wouldn't be able to hold onto the bar, but things turned out just fine. I concentrated on looking at my hands (I think this helps us maintain the correct position), which helped me stay calm and focused, instead of freaking out about flying around in the air. Flying through the air was such an adrenaline rush! When I landed in the net, my heart was simply pounding. Words cannot describe how much fun it was to fly through the air! I felt pretty badass.

After a couple swings, we went back to the ground to learn how to do a knee hang. Our next move on the trapeze was going to be a knee hang and then a back flip. I was pretty excited to try this out- it took me back to my elementary school days of hanging off the monkey bars. At this point, I kind of felt like a fearless little kid, ready to try anything. I climbed up the ladder, and I didn't feel too nervous, though standing on the platform and waiting my turn was kind of nervewracking. As the instructor yelled out the commands as I was flying through the air, I didn't really have to think about knowing when to complete all the steps to the trick. On my first try, I was able to wrap my legs around the bar and hang upside down, but I did not release my hands. However, I did get this right the next two attempts.

After hanging upside down and doing back flips from the trapeze bar, we learned how to do a catch. This was quite possibly the coolest part of the day. For this trick, I completed a knee hang and then stretched my body and reached for the catcher, who caught my arms. It totally rocked. I tried this three times, and the catcher caught me all three times. The first time I tried this, the catcher caught me, and I was so shocked that I actually got this trick that I looked straight up at him so I could stay focused. I joked that it was a good thing that the catcher was cute, and he said that it's easy to catch the cute girls. Then everyone laughed and offerred me breath mints for the next attempt.

It was a great day, and I was on such a high and so excited that I didn't really feel tired or sore at the end. However, two days later, my muscles are kind of achy, and I have bruises behind my knees. The war wounds are well worth it, though. I had such a good time, and I'm proud of us for trying something that many people would be too freaked out to do. The trapeze people talked to us about joining the trapeze club, which I would have been really tempted to do if only they were located in Orange County. The trapeze class was a good spring break adventure, and I'm so glad that I gave it a try. Next up? It might be pole dancing. Stay tuned.