Prior to leaving Hawaii in 2012, I took an aerial silks
class with several girlfriends and we loved it. Our classroom was a park in
Hawaii Kai, and the silks we used to learn to climb were rigged in an old,
rugged tree. I tried to find classes in Tampa Bay that offered aerial silks but
didn’t have any luck until two months ago, when I saw the Aerial Dragons
perform live on silks and a lyra, a suspended hoop, at Gasparilla Music
Festival. I realized a studio offering classes, The Keep, had opened up at a
crossfit gym in Ybor about a year ago. I quickly registered for a beginning
silks class and convinced one of my girlfriends to come with me on a Saturday
morning.
 |
| Hawaii 2012 |
We had so much fun! Our instructor was wonderful – very
encouraging and supportive, and she taught us quite a few tricks in our 90
minute session. We learned the basic climb, how to wrap the silk around your
leg, and use your arms and legs to pull yourself up into a standing position
and repeat to slowly make your way up the silk. We were also able to go upside
down which we incorporated into a short but fun routine. I knew I was hooked. I
was very excited to learn the studio offered classes on many different circus
apparatus, including the trapeze, lyra and cube, and Spanish rope. Flying on a
trapeze had immediate appeal to me so I signed up for my first trapeze class
the following week. 
The Sunday after my aerial silks class, my boyfriend and I
went to Empower Adventures, a zipline and aerial obstacle facility that
recently opened up in Oldsmar. We spent a fun afternoon traversing 5 ziplines
and completing several obstacles including rope and cable bridges, and a log
swing. The only drawback was waiting for everyone to take a turn completing
each zip or obstacle so there was a little more standing around and waiting
then we would have liked. The highlight, and what I considered to be a
terrifying obstacle involved climbing up a 20 foot telephone pole, standing on
your feet on the top with nothing to hold onto or use to pull yourself up onto,
and then jumping off of the top (while in a harness and attached to a belay
line of course so it wasn’t a free fall). I don’t mind climbing up things but I
have a fear of heights and jumping off
of things so I knew it was going to push me way outside of my comfort zone.
One of the other guys in our group of 10, volunteered to try
it first. He didn’t have much problem climbing up but once at the top, he
wasn’t able to pull himself into a standing position. He ended up “jumping” off
the side of the pole and being belayed down. Two teenage boys in our group
completed the task easily and I wasn’t sure if seeing them do it was reassuring
me or making me more nervous as more time passed to opt out of the activity.
Another guy successfully completed it but his friend butt scooted into a jump
from the top which I thought, worst case scenario, I could go for the butt
scoot too. Eric went next and made it seem effortless. He had no problem
getting on his feet at the top of the pole and jumping off. I was next. I
climbed up but as I expected, struggled to make the final push onto both feet
on the top. I had one foot up, with my leg bent, but couldn’t bring myself to
push up all the way. Eric and the rest of our group below were cheering me on
and offering advice on how to best stand up. I think I was probably in a half
squatting position for almost 10 minutes before I somehow managed to accomplish
a fully upright position! It was liberating and I felt very proud of myself.
Next was the jump, which took a few more minutes of contemplation before I was
able to do it. My heart was racing as our group leader lowered me to the
ground, but I felt accomplished for facing two of my fears.
In continuing my adventures in aerial sports, I attended the
trapeze class on Tuesday evening. The class was fairly large and had varying
levels in it; one other woman and myself were the only brand new students. We
both jumped right in though and completed the warm up of pulling yourself up
and over the bar 10 times. Our
instructor, the founder of the Keep, was wonderfully supportive, and she showed
us moves to work on under the direction of more advanced students while other
aerial enthusiasts used the main bar in the class to elaborate on a routine
they were learning. Once we successfully mastered a few moves on the bar, we
then went to the main bar to serve as flyers to the students who were the base.
As a base, you have to hang upside down on the trapeze with your knees hooked
over the bar, and as the flyer, you grasp the forearms of the base and pull
yourself upside down and into various positions. It was quite challenging but
also an amazing experience and I knew I would be back the following Tuesday for
more. 
