If it's Thursday, you'll find me at our little rig in B'lyn...

throwing myself into the arms of a cute boy! Tonight it was our sweet Manny with his REALLY cool tattoo of a panther face on his left shoulder (and his nose ring).

Another great night. Here's Lisa, Tanya, Manny, me, Dino, Emily and Maryam...

We start each class working the basics. Dino let me take my Swing out-of-lines (OOL) for the first time on this rig. It felt amazing! Next up was my Half-turn with Board Remount...



Reached out with the wrong hand and grazed Dino's forehead on that one. Oops, sorry Dino! (Supposed to reach my right across my body to grab the left rail thus avoiding punching the guy on the Board.) I tried my Half-Half for the first time and it wasn't scary. I did get a wicked "Cross my Heart" rope burn from the safety lines...



I'm OK. It was sore but quick to scab over and well, I just don't think you're playing hard enough if you don't come away with at least a mark or two.

So then, I decided to further the torture and practice my half turn to the mat off my Split.



Yeah, I've still a lot to learn about staying tight and not piking my Fall. Manny likes to keep loose lines - makes for a rougher fall but that's how we learn to take responsibility for our own safety. A little thing we call TOUGH LOVE!

Enough abuse, it was time to practice my Cutaway Half. The Cutaway Half is a back layout with a twist. Dino explained to me, a person is either "Naturally Twisty" or they are not. Guess which category I fall into?

Apparently, I'm not "Naturally Twisty". So to help me turn, Dino suggested that when he calls my "Hands" release, I slap my thigh real fast, causing my shoulder to shift and initiate the twist.



Well, I had a perfect chalk hand print on my right thigh but as you can see...there was no twist. All I got was a face full of mat. I'll try again next week.

Since my Cutaway Half isn't catchable yet, I threw my "Go To" Split to Manny...



We had great apron work in this video but I was too quick off his hands to make the return. I didn't get the other two catches on film but arguably made both returns. Dino says my sideways, one-handed return doesn't count. NEVER take a one-handed return, a flyer can really mess up her shoulder. That was the first time Dino yelled at me...EVER!!! I know better but sometimes I just can't help myself...I want that bar!