2023-02-06

Teaching my regular classes at the Ross Farnsworth - East Valley YMCA.

My beginners seem to be having a lot of trouble with front snap kick, particularly kicking with force, so we spent more time using the ballet bars tonight. We all started facing to the right, with our left hands resting on the bar, left foot forward, and kicking with our right feet. Having their hands on the bar for stability allowed students to stop worrying so much about losing their balance and just kick hard. I told them they can do the same thing at home by resting their hand on the back of a chair, or their couch. The trick, of course, is to go from holding the bar, to merely resting your hand on the bar, and then to hovering your hand over the bar without actually touching it. At that point, your balance will be “solid” and you don’t really need the bar at all.