I really really really appreciate that they took the time to list all of the tricks that happen on screen. Something like this could make it really accessible for new trickers and people outside the community to understand (or begin to understand) the amazing amount of variety in tricking. It's not all corkscrews, even though they happen pretty often.
Also giant kudos to the insane level of tricks and editing. Bravo bravo.
I saw this girl in 2008 at Loopkicks and she was blowing my mind - I'd never seen a girl do a corkscrew, and get this - she was 11. Now, 2 years later she is showing some really high level skills and shining bright in a very male dominated sport. I have nothing but respect for her and her insane work ethic. I can't wait to see what the future brings for her tricking career.
No, not the champagne, and yes, the kid who did the handbalancing act with the mannequin. Eike is one of those people who can have an act on pretty much anything he wants. He's a superb handbalancer but also an extremely strong all around acrobat. Trickers will appreciate the corkscrew that he uses to kick off the act. It's got a lot of inventive skills and creative images, very distant from traditional chinese pole acts. I especially like when they both jump up and freeze at 4:40.
I want to jam with that guy.
Remember how I was complaining about teasers 4 weeks ago? Here's what he came out with. It's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Kind of like Vellu in the tricking scene: this eastern European kid comes out and just bursts the difficulty bubble with one bonkers video. He's surprisingly well rounded - he shows off some trampoline, tumbling, tricking, and he even does air flares. Seems like the kind of guy who could learn anything in a couple of tries.
Nice hair too.
Sorry I've been lacking in posts. I'm in Montreal right now, seeing some incredible stuff. Greg Kennedy is amazing, but put him in a Cirque du Soleil production and it reaches a whole new level.
Maybe I'll write up some reviews of the shows I'm seeing here. Stay tuned!
Lewie West never fails to impress. He combines tumbling, tricking and bboy moves seamlessly into his own incredibly unique style. He makes the tumbling look a little more raw, the tricking and bboying a little more polished, and just utterly controls his directions with brilliant transitions! (Back handspring into swipes! Bailed aerial to bboy cork! Who thinks of this stuff!)
His progression is very apparent. He's put out a few videos like this all at Circa training centre in Australia and each one gets a little better. His lines keep improving, his gymnastic tumbling is getting higher (double full in this video is finally looking solid!) and it's really exciting to see him develop. I'm so enthusiastic to see him take it to the performance realm where it can hopefully coagulate into something where he can take his creativity and originality and turn it into something beautiful.
John Vanek is ridiculous. Rudy is just as nuts. Put them together at Epic gathering, which I so idiotically miss, and this happens. Double back over a (round off to) double full. Keep it up, you insane, ridiculous people. I'll catch you at a gathering sometime soon!
(Remember when Neil ran under Vaughnya's double cork at LoopkAcks? I think this wins!)
My relationship with tricking has changed a lot since I started. For most people who do it, it's an extreme sport where the goal is to the most difficult and creative tricks and kicks. Since I've decided to pursue performing, it's become less important to be the best tricker and more important to do good looking tricks. Coming from a gymnastics background, I try to do my corkscrews with locked knees and pointed toes as much as I can. I think it makes it easier for general audiences to appreciate a skill if it is done with form - with the intention of having it look presentable regardless of its difficulty. Most trickers seem to be doing it for other trickers who can objectively identify skills, making classical form less important.
So for a person like Tim Man, a professional stunt actor, you can tell that he wants everything he does to be performed with poise and polish. Instead of landing a combo and walking off looking at the floor, it's a point for him to land in a fighting stance. His flexibility allows him incredible extension for all of his kicks, making it easy to communicate exactly when and where he is kicking.
My favorite part is the bit on the punching bag: training to attack with realism while still looking visually intricate. Extra badass points for letting the hair down.
If you like what you see, you must see him in action in this. A "cover fight" if you will of a scene from the Jackie Chan film Gorgeous. He also makes appearances in the critically panned Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li as well as Tony Jaa's Ong Bak 2.
After Scotty did it, Guthrie did it. Then he did it in a combo. Now this? Such a monster at only 18, wow.
A lot of tricking loses its martial arts quality in the pursuit of bigger, spinnier tricks. Danny, however, makes everything FIERCE. Amazingly fierce. Every kick looks like it could take your head off, even if it comes after 720° of spin - that's not easy.
His arms are always moving efficiently to speed up his movements, which takes an extremely long time to develop. Nobody tells you where to put your arms most of the time in tricking, so you need to figure it out through experimentation. You can really see it in him.
Danny is currently performing with Jon Chu's Legion of Extraordinary Dancers on the Glee Live tour.