[Sportsandrec] Trapeze School

[Cervenka, Stacy (Brownback)]

Hey, all,
    Greg and I had a unique and fun sports and rec related experience we thought might interest some of you. On Halloween night, the two of us took a 2 hour long trapeze class at the Trapeze School of Washington, DC! I had gotten the gift certificate from friends for my birthday back in June, but classes fill up so fast that it was hard to find 2 spots together in the same class until last weekend.
    We both had a great time and would definitely do it again. In the first class, you learned how to do a basic swing, a knee hang, a back flip dismount, and (in some cases) a basic catch.
    Greg, being the consummate athlete, took to it immediately and did the knee hang on his first swing. He perfected this move on his second swing and added a back flip dismount on his third swing. On his fourth swing of the night, he tried a basic catch. This entailed Greg hanging from his knees and an instructor hanging from his knees on another trapeze bar on the other side of the net. As they swung toward each other, Greg arched his back toward the instructor, stretched out his hands, and the instructor tried to catch him. They missed each other on their first attempt. Then, on Greg's fifth and final swing of the evening, he tried the catch again. This time, they were successful and Greg was 1 of only 2 students in the class who was able to do it successfully. It was pretty cool!
    I was a little more swirly about the whole thing. Before we went over to the high trapeze, I tried a few things on the low trapeze and then, on my first jump off the high tower, I just did a basic swing. I wanted to see what it would feel like before I tried anything crazy. I used to love swinging around on the monkey bars in elementary school (does anybody else remember the baby cradle and the apple turnover?) and on the uneven bars in gymnastics, but it is definitely a whole different animal when you're not 12 years old and 75 pounds! The 2 things that surprised me the most were, first of all, how HEAVY the trapeze bar was. It was nothing like the fake little trapeze bars we used to have out on the swing set or like the uneven bars in gymnastics. It was slightly wider, rougher, and quite a bit heavier. The second thing I noticed was how heavy I felt hanging from the trapeze bar! I somehow don't remember feeling so ungainly on the monkey bars back in the day! My hands started hurting after even the first swing.
    On my second swing, I got my knees up over the bar, but I was like, "There is no way I'm letting go of this thing!" The instructor talked me into letting go with one hand, putting that back on the bar, then with the other hand, then taking off both hands together. Overcoming this irrational fear of letting go and realizing that I was not going to plummet headfirst to my doom was probably the most memorable and inspiring moment of the night for me. On my third and fourth swings, I worked on my technique and fluidity with the knee hang, and then on my final swing, I did a knee hang and then a back flip dismount, which was a lot of fun.
    We had signed up for the class online and on the application, where it asked if we had any physical conditions, I vaguely wrote that we were visually impaired (Greg is totally blind and I only have a little vision in my right eye), but when we showed up, they didn't seem concerned at all. They made no fuss about whether we could learn or whether it would be safe. They asked us to let them know if there was anything we needed as the evening progressed and assured us that we were about to have a great experience. Of the four staffers who worked with our class, there was only one who seemed a little more cautious; during ground practice, he asked Greg and I if we had any problems hopping and he also told Greg and I that he would help us up the ladder the first time. We didn't argue, but we asked to check out the carabiner system that's used on the ladder. He showed us how it worked and he must have realized that neither of us had a problem hooking the carabiners to our harnesses, because when it was our turns to climb the ladder, he didn't follow us up after all.
    For the rest of the night, we really were instructed based solely on our abilities and not on any preconceptions they might have had. They treated everyone in the class as individuals and, while they never forced you to try anything you didn't want to, they definitely encouraged you to try things you may not have felt you were ready for. Considering the fact that so many people often underestimate the capabilities of blind people, it was very refreshing to say, "Seriously?! You want me to do what??" :-)
    So, for anyone who lives near or will be traveling to the DC area, we highly recommend checking out the Trapeze School of Washington, DC. Their web site is http://washingtondc.trapezeschool.com/. I believe that this particular school also has locations in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. I know that there is also an unaffiliated school in the San Francisco Bay Area and probably other places throughout the country as well. We found it to be a very welcoming place!
Stacy
PS If anyone wants to check out the videos, email me off the list!

Stacy Leigh Cervenka
Legislative Assistant
Office of Senator Sam Brownback (KS)
303 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov<mailto:stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov>