that daring young man on the flying trapeze"
has it seriously been almost 3 months since i updated the blog? good lord, how time flies. i'm back in new york for a bit working out here and staying with friends (thank you holly!) on their couches and/or housesitting where i can. the fact that i have amazing people on both coasts who are willing to put me up while i'm "in transition" is simple incredible to me. i am lucky.
while working back in new york, a friend at an audio house asked me if i would want to take a trapeze class with her (duh!) to complete on my challenge list that still remains with about 7 challenges uncompleted. thank you sasha @ heard city for making this challenge come true!
Streb is a trapeze + tumbling school in the south side of williamsburg. sasha has been going for about a year now, and our other friend dana has been going for about 7 months. our class had about 8 people in it, all with varying levels of expertise ranging from n00b (moi) to this amazing girl who didn't even have to be strapped in to do a catch. sheesh. we had 3 amazing instructors - josh, ace, and thaddeus. since i had never done this before, i had a little private instruction beforehand on the logistics - how to grip the bar, how to swing and use momentum, and some terms for the trick i was going to do - the knee hang. they strapped on the tightest belt imaginable around my waist and we practiced a few times on the low bar before i had to climb the ladder to the platform and do a jump. i started to get extremely nervous during this point, mainly because my hands really hurt after gripping the bar and my first instinct was just to let go. apparently i am not supposed to do anything without hearing the instructor call it out first, including letting go. noted. nervously, i awaited my turn to jump.
i climbed the ladder to the platform and chalked my hands a few times since i was sweating so badly. i held onto the side of the ladder, and placed my toes so they were hanging over the edge of the platform like i was told. they pushed my hips forward so i was full on leaning over the edge, which is not a natural position you instinctively want to do. double noted. i took the bar in my right hand. i let go of the side of the ladder and i gripped the bar with both hands. i brought it to eye level. my hips were forward, my chest was out, they called "ready" and i bent my knees. the instructor yelled out:
"and HUP."
and i froze.
i heard some laughter from the group (and maybe me too?). i was so scared i couldn't convince myself to jump.
"let's try again meg. and HUP"
and i sucked it up and jumped off. and whoa, i was FLYING. i was TRAPEZING! i mean, i didn't wait for any instructions and pretty much panicked. but i jumped! i am pretty sure the instructor saw the terror all over my face but he said some encouraging things anyway and said i would get it next time. i believe at this point, body shaking with terror, i said i was going to make the trapeze my bitch. while i am not sure that i really got to "trapeze is my bitch status," i think i was able to do 3 complete knee hangs. which i am told is pretty ok! i wouldn't go calling the circus just yet, but it was a solid attempt. and i really did something that scared the shit out of me. i mean - full on shaking. even when i convinced myself i was ok i couldn't stop my body from shaking. i think i might be a little afraid of heights? whatever. i freaking did it and it was awesome. and i have some proof!
what's that quote about doing one thing ever day that scares you? is that a thing? or just one of those inspirational plaques you get at cost plus said by "unknown." regardless. i am a firm believer in trying new things, even if it's pretty much the scariest thing besides ziplining that you've done in 2013. no joke.
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| our instructor ace, sasha, me, and dana post trapeze (note the chalk) |
and next time, i will make the trapeze my bitch.
challenge #2 (post 30) - complete!
xoxo
meags
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