There is surprisingly a dearth of blogs on BodyJam training experiences! So I'm just jotting whatever I can to inform and guide future trainees.
I'll be trained on BodyJam 45, which is the coming release. I'm both happy and terrified. Happy because BJ 44 kinda sucked and was very low on innovation and the fun factor ("Stronger" kept dragging on and on...!). Terrified because I wouldn't have any chance to preview the moves since instructors only get their DVDs the weekend before my training. I consider myself a fast learner, but it's still kinda hard without having done the whole release before going for training.
And oh, there's that butterfly jump I'm deathly afraid of.
You can see a preview of the butterfly jump (or twist) around 1:02 in the video above. Looks really cool, but also hard to get it right. During the training we're supposed to present 2 tracks over the weekend. My greatest fear would be to present the tracks with the butterfly jump. Yes, there are options to take but I'm a perfectionist and I wanna be known as an instructor with good technical skills, so I'm gonna have to brush up on my jumping ability.
Furthermore, we'll get drilled on performing each move over and over and over again. I can imagine practicing this butterfly jump countless times. And it's not the safest move to execute in the first place. With my unflattering history of lower back pain and knee arthritis, I risk injuring myself if I land badly or I twist too hard. I can't afford to get injured when I have to look my best! This is also a fear that's stopping me from jumping too high.
This is the age of the Internet so it's YouTube to the rescue! Apparently the butterfly twist/jump is more common in kung fu and figure skating than it is in dancing. But the videos I found below provide some helpful advice.
First off, knowing the difference between a good and bad butterfly twist:
All in one tutorial:
Series of more in-depth tutorials:
All the best... to me!
3 comments:
Hey Zemien! Thanks for all the videos on the butterfly jump. We're experiencing BodyJam45 in our quarterly this weekend and falling flat on my face or kicking someone in the face is a big fear of mine on that jump.
Good luck in BODYJAM training! Have you seen my blog entry on my training? I don't think people write about the entire thing because for one reason, the training material is copyrighted and we don't want to give too much away. If the videos are for instructor viewing only, what more the training experience, right?
P.S. It's not a full butterfly twist like in the martial arts videos you supplied. :) Think of a spinning starfish.
Hey Noelle! Thanks for dropping by! Yes I've been to your blog a few times.
I just finished training this evening with Arnold & Fetty, and I enjoyed every minute of it. (Well, not exactly the drill parts!)
Agreed on the butterfly turn. There's no need to twist 360 degrees. The hardest track is still Harder Better Faster Stronger.
Take care!
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