Well, capoeira has taken on new meaning for me. I’ve been doing it for a while now and have really gotten the bug. First, as as someone who always wanted mass over anything…this is shaking my world. I am totally stiff as a board. I’ve learned over the last little while that the amount of muscle I have in no way justifies the lack of flexibility I have!
Bring On The Backflip
Jeff (Kung Fu) and I headed over to the gymnastics club after capoeira class last night and I started in the foam pit to get some basics in my brain to learn the backflip. Its a pretty normal thing to see people in capoeira enter the roda with a backflip. If you happen to be in there with this person…well, now you are thinking that you might be in a bit of trouble if you are a beginner like myself!
I’m going to get Jeff to send in his pics soon too.
Anyway, back to the backflip.
Step one – go to a club with foam pit. If there is anyone who continually thinks they can do more then they can its me. Lets just say that I’m glad I didnt try to do this on a hard wood floor….
Step Two - Its not the back extension that pulls you into the air. It is a push with the thighs and a swing of the arms, so no leaning forward.
Step three - The rotation comes from pulling your knees up into your hands. DO NOT DROP YOUR HANDS! This will stop your spin. You can see in the vid the differance as Jeff told me to make changes.
At this point if I tried a backflip on the floor I would need dental work, but its a start. I’ll keep a little side jounal of this and as I go through the steps I’ll keep you updated.