Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Follow your Dreams and be Glad... it's Still Okay to Do That.

So hear me out, this blog post IS indeed, about a success story.  And it IS about following your dreams.  If you are a skeptic and reading this, before you allow the sarcasm to consume your thoughts, about how this is just another story about someone who quit their corporate job to follow their dreams and join the circus in the Caribbean... let me tell you... following your dreams is hard work.  Everything is work, in some capacity or another, energy spent, energy consumed, and energy traded.  So a dream, is being able to expend your energy in ways that bring you great joy, and fulfillment.

Coach Katie - after teaching Lyra at Free Flow Academy for nearly 2 years accepted a job with Cirque Du Soleil at Club Med in the Dominican Republic.  
Now... I'm not saying anyone and everyone should quit their jobs to go pursue their dream, or passion.  Life comes in various seasons, and sometimes it is our season to enter the grind, put in our hours, and go home.  But if you don't see yourself working the grind day in and day out for the rest of your life, you may want to consider exploring or developing a passion for something, and start your custom "Lifestyle Design".

I grew up playing organized sports.  I was a competitive athlete, and loved nearly every moment of it. And like many competitive athletes, you work hard toward goals to get a scholarship, or maybe even play professionally.  It wasn't until I was introduced to the Arts that I realized I was missing out on a whole other world.  And I transitioned from the world of being a Competitive Athlete, to a Movement Artist. Funny enough, my involvement in the Arts landed me a career as a Sports Newscaster for a cable television station in San Bernadino County.  It was interesting to see how so many children and professional athletes had ended up in sports, only because the parents hoped their child would get a scholarship. Even if the kids didn't like the sport, that's what they did. Sports was not fun, it was a job, a chore, a means to an end.  A thing you did because it might possibly lead to money, and success.  It was then that I realized that the whole point of sports is to teach important life lessons in a safe setting.

I remember interviewing a star athlete; he was prospective recruit from High School to the NBA.  He had absolutely no interest in talking about Basketball.  His only interest was girls, and that was that. This kid seemed to have it all, on the surface, but I could see his passion for Basketball had long subsided.  But even though his passion had dwindled, he was still going to receive an incredible opportunity, that would lead to more opportunities. Training can feel like a chore on many occasions, but I think if you have goals, and find a real, true passion that can carry you through the mundane and the difficult, the skies the limit on what dreams may come true.

We live in a First World.  And with that, comes an exercise of privilege.  Many of us, do get to follow our dreams and explore the things that make us happy, excited, and passionate about life.  What an incredible life and gift to be able to follow, create, and live our ideal! Everyone has challenges, and certainly limitations, but it would be a gross underestimation of our capacity to create, if we live in a mental state of limiting beliefs about ourselves.  It is a also a gross underestimation of our capacity to innovate if the voices we most often hear in our mind is that of sarcasm, and offense taken to those who promote following your dreams with enthusiasm.  You have to admit, in this swankin' First World, So much of what we need to survive, is readily available.  And everything we could ever want, to thrive, is at our fingertips.  So why not follow a dream?  Why not create your ideal day, day in and day out?

When Free Flow Academy was created, our vision was to bring together movement communities from all over the world to collaborate and create together.  When we look at our business model, we see that we are truly in the business of building up communities.  And with that, we have created a support network for our students, and clients to truly thrive.  We have had many clients and employees go on to do incredible things, like compete on American Ninja Warrior, or like Coach Katie, become a performer for Cirque Du Soleil.  Whatever your passion, or your dream, we're here to support you and help you achieve your goals.
Katie's skills and connection with the youth landed her a position that allows her to continue her career as a professional aerialist, but also a Cirque Coach for kids on holiday.  She has expressed that her life has achieved a balance full of beauty and rewarding connections.


And there is also this reward.  When Coach Katie isn't performing or teaching, she's enjoying the vastness of beauty in her natural surroundings.  Not a bad gig I would say.

Now, if you are feeling a slight twinge of jealousy, and thinking, maybe you need to get off your computer, or phone, stop reading this blog, and get moving on the things that really excite you, consider that their is a whole network of people that have goals, who are trying to get into shape, have fun, build a new skill, meet new people, and/or find a creative outlet... Sometimes we just need a fresh dose of energy in our lives, and other people and networks can be just the thing that provide that.  If you feel you don't have a passion, or a purpose, maybe it's time you surround yourself with people who do, and see what happens.

Consider that it's a lot more fun to share your experiences with others, and to allow yourself a little room for exploring and being creative on a solo quest, with the balance of a little friendly competition with your peers.  One thing I have found that I LOVE about the Movement Arts, is that there are no set positions to play, you get to explore all the avenues you want, and see for yourself, the opportunities that are out there.  And if the opportunity doesn't exist, well, you can create it.  When you put yourself out there, and don't allow yourself to be limited by the possibility of failure, and you approach your challenges, or lack thereof, with optimism, you find that you grow inside and out, you make new friends and connections, and you give yourself the tools to find balance, beauty, and joy.    

And hey, if you're looking to join the Circus, we have just the thing for you.  Check out our Circus Camp next week:

6/13 - 6/17 - Circus Arts (Aerial Arts, Poi, Acro, Sword Wielding, Facepainting)
12:30pm – Arrive/Warm up/Game/Open Gym
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Skill Building (Days will Vary but will include the following technical performance skills in the following order Mon - Fri: Balance, Poise, Stage Presence, Theatrics, Facepainting/Makeup application)
2:00pm – 2:15pm – Break/Snack/Open Gym
2:15pm – 3:15pm – Skill Building (Days will Vary but will include the following:  Aerial Silks, Poi, Sword, Acrobatics, Performance ready!)
3:15pm – 3:30pm – Open Gym

We will have a performance for parents on Friday at 3:20pm


Knowing the Code - A Guide to Mental Awareness

Free Flow Academy works with thousands of youth each year, and what we have learned is that kids often need visuals in order to assist them with conceptual learning.  One of the things we are offering this year is our "Child Safety and Youth Achievement" summer camp.  This is an afternoon summer camp series that will teach kids the following principles in the realm of what it means to be mentally aware:


Our goal with this camp is to instill principles of situational awareness and develop skill sets such as threat analysis and risk calculation.  These concepts are useful in any scenario, including water safety, getting lost or separated from your group, fire and natural disasters, terrorist attacks, wild animal encounters, stranger danger, and more.

When it comes to "Stranger Danger", we've learned over the last 30 years, that "Stranger Danger" is not the most effective method of teaching kids about risks.  Statistics show that 93% of kids are victimized by people that they know.  39% of the time it is a family member.  We believe that empowering the kids, and teaching them to discern potential threats, as well as give them mental and physical tools, is the best way to keep our kids safe.

By playing games we can teach about the color code of mental awareness.  Having children as young as 5 be able to identify different colors and associate those colors with an emotion and mental state is a good way to instill principles of mental awareness.  Here is a brief summary of games we have developed and intend to use in our Child Safety and Youth Achievement Camp:

Game 1)  "Color Condition"

Objective:  To teach kids how to identify the "Color Conditions" and how that relates to mental awareness.  To teach how to quickly change your mental state in order to overcome any stressor that is introduced.  This is a fun and active game.

The Game:  This game is similar to "Red Light Green Light".  The kids line up and are taught that when "White" is called out, the kids drop to the ground and assume the "sleep" position.  When "Yellow" is called out, the kids stand up and are alert.  When "Orange" is called out they position themselves in the ready to run and hands up to defend position. When "Red" is called out, the kids sprint across the floor, until the next color is called out.  When "Black" is called out, the kids ball up and put their head down.

The goal is to associate "Condition Yellow" "Condition Orange" and "Condition Red" to be empowering states of being.  As the kids warm up to the association, we introduce "Stressors".

Stressor Variations:

A "Stressor" could be a coach dressed up in a Dinosaur suit, that hides and then jumps out to scare the kids during one of their Color Conditions.

Or it could be a a Coach armed with a foam noodle that intends to attack the kids, and if they get smacked with the foam noodle they have to do jump squats.

Another Stressor is that we will have the kids group up in teams, and the teams have to obtain a hidden object.  The ground rules are established ahead of time (such as, the team cannot separate and must stay together), but at some point the Coach will try to trick them and get them to separate or break the ground rules.  If  anyone breaks a ground rule, then the whole team has to do burpees.

Game 2) "Condition Yellow"

Objective:  To teach the kids the importance of staying in "Condition Yellow" as often as possible, as well as practice this mental awareness so that it will become an automated state of being. This is a fun and meditative game that brings lots of smiles and laughs.

The kids must sit in lotus position for 1 min - 4 min, depending on the age group.  The Coach has a foam noodle, and if a child falls out of condition yellow, the Coach "attacks" them with the noodle.  If the child blocks or dodges the noodle, then they don't have to do jump squats.  But if they are caught in condition white, and get smacked by the noodle, then they have to do jump squats.

There are lots of great programs online, books, and literature that give parents, teachers, and educators powerful tools to help keep their kids safe.  We have compiled some of those great resources below, for you to use and review.   Much of our programming is based on the resources we provide in this list.  If you have some other great resources you would like to share, please feel free to post in the comments!

Click the link to sign up for Free Flow Academy's Child Safety and Youth Achievement Camp, which takes place 6/20 - 6/24 & 7/18 - 7/22 from 12:30 - 3:30pm.

Child Safety Resources:

http://childrescuenetwork.org/about-us/safety-programs-to-protect-children/safety-tips/

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS.aspx

http://www.missingkids.com/AMBER

http://www.authormelissaharkerridenour.com/fiction-books.html

http://www.headlinekids.com/

http://www.protectchildrenonline.org/

http://www.childidprogram.com/

http://www.stopsexoffenders.com/




Monday, June 6, 2016

2016 Summer Camp Schedule & Itinerary

Free Flow Academy Camp Rules
Know Before You Come!
All students are “Challenged by Choice” and will have the option of participating or sitting out.  If they choose to not participate in an exercise due to fatigue or injury, they can sit out of the exercise, or call their parents to be picked up.  We allow certain times for open gym, and students not participating in the exercises will not be eligible for open gym privilege.  Camps are designed for practicing and fine tuning the fundamentals, as well as allowing plenty of time for students to play and connect with each other.  Please have your child dressed in proper work out attire (comfort fitted shorts or pants, low soled shoes, and comfort fit tee or tank).  Please pack high calorie nutritiously dense snacks and/or lunch.  Students will train at a steady pace throughout the day.  It is not our goal to send them home considerably exhausted or fatigued, unable to come back the next day.  They will have vigorous training, as well as steady low impact training, creating a good balance that should be able to sustain them throughout the entire day, as well as the week.  Considering students are at varying fitness levels, we ask the students to pay heed to their own bodies signals, and to work at a challenging but sustainable pace.  If a student feels fatigued, they should not attempt new movements.  Proper hydration and caloric intake is a must throughout the day.  All other gym rules apply during camps.  Those rules can be found at the following link: http://freeflowacademy.blogspot.com/2016/02/new-member-rulessafety-orientation.html

Camp Itinerary

6/13-6/17, 7/25 – 7/29 – Parkour & Freerunning (Half Day/Full Day Schedule)
8am – Half Day (HD) Campers Arrive/Warm up/Game/Open Gym
9am – Full Day (FD) Campers Arrive/Half Day Campers take Break
9:15am – Skill Building Game
9:40am – Break
9:45am – Parkour Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
10:45am – Snack/Break/Open Gym
11:00am – Freerunning Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
12:00pm – HD Campers go home/FD campers take lunch break
12:30pm – Parkour & Freerunning Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
1:30pm – 2pm – Open Gym
2:00pm – 2:30pm – Game
2:30pm – 3:30pm – Conditioning & Flexibility

6/20 – 6/24 – Parkour & Tumbling (Half Day/Full Day Schedule)
8am – Half Day (HD) Campers Arrive/Warm up/Game/Open Gym
9am – Full Day (FD) Campers Arrive/Half Day Campers take Break
9:15am – Skill Building Game
9:40am – Break
9:45am – Parkour Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
10:45am – Snack/Break/Open Gym
11:00am – Tumbling Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Rolls, Cartwheels & Roundoffs, Front/Back Walkovers & Kickovers, Handsprings, Front/Back Tucks, Hand Balancing)
12:00pm – HD Campers go home/FD campers take lunch break
12:30pm – Parkour/Tumbling Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions, Rolls, Cartwheels & Roundoffs, Front/Back Walkovers & Kickovers, Handsprings, Front/Back Tucks, Hand Balancing)
1:30pm – 2pm – Open Gym
2:00pm – 2:30pm – Game
2:30pm – 3:30pm – Conditioning & Flexibility

7/11 – 7/15 – Parkour & Martial Arts (Half Day/Full Day Schedule)
8am – Half Day (HD) Campers Arrive/Warm up/Game/Open Gym
9am – Full Day (FD) Campers Arrive/Half Day Campers take Break
9:15am – Skill Building Game
9:40am – Break
9:45am – Parkour Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
10:45am – Snack/Break/Open Gym
11:00am – Martial Arts Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Threat Analysis, Conflict Diffusion, Straight Strikes, Hooking Strikes, Straight Blocks, Hooking Blocks, Standup Defense, Ground Defense, Hard & Soft Weapons)
12:00pm – HD Campers go home/FD campers take lunch break
12:30pm – Parkour/Martial Arts Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions, Threat Analysis, Conflict Diffusion, Straight Strikes, Hooking Strikes, Straight Blocks, Hooking Blocks, Standup Defense, Ground Defense, Hard & Soft Weapons)
1:30pm – 2pm – Open Gym
2:00pm – 2:30pm – Game
2:30pm – 3:30pm – Conditioning & Flexibility

8/1 - 8/5 - Intermediate/Advanced Parkour & Freerunning (Half Day/Full Day Schedule)
8am – Warm up/Open Gym Jam Session
9:15am – Game/Skill Challenge
9:40am – Break
9:45am – Parkour Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
10:45am – Snack/Break/Open Gym
11:00am – Freerunning Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
12:00pm – HD Campers go home/FD campers take lunch break
12:30pm – Parkour & Freerunning Skill Building (Stations will include any/either of the following skill sets:  Vaults, Bars, Acrobatics, Precisions)
1:30pm – 2:30pm – Open Gym Jam Session
2:30pm – 3:30pm – Conditioning & Flexibility



Specialty Afternoon Half Day Camps 12:30pm - 3:30pm Schedule

6/13 - 6/17 - Circus Arts (Aerial Arts, Poi, Acro, Sword Wielding, Facepainting)
12:30pm – Arrive/Warm up/Game/Open Gym
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Skill Building (Days will Vary but will include the following technical performance skills in the following order Mon - Fri: Balance, Poise, Stage Presence, Theatrics, Facepainting/Makeup application)
2:00pm – 2:15pm – Break/Snack/Open Gym
2:15pm – 3:15pm – Skill Building (Days will Vary but will include the following:  Aerial Silks, Poi, Sword, Acrobatics, Performance ready!)
3:15pm – 3:30pm – Open Gym
We will have a performance for parents on Friday at 3:20pm


6/20 - 6/24, 7/18 - 7/22  - Child Safety & Achievement Course (Self Defense, Anti-Bullying using the "3T" method, Parkour & Ropes Course)
12:30pm – Arrive/Warm up/Game/Open Gym
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Skill Building (Days will Vary but will include skills and exercises in the following: Be Watchful of Tricky People (in life and on the web), Know the Code! MentalAwareness Exercise, Peer to Peer Conflict Diffusion with the “3T” method, Parkour Fundamentals, Martial Fundamentals)
2:00pm – 2:15pm – Break/Snack/Open Gym
2:15pm – 3:15pm – Skill Building (Days will Vary but will include the following:  Tactical Escape in a Vertical Environment, Stand up Defense, Ground Defense)
3:15pm – 3:30pm – Open Gym