the Get Rolling Orbit

The martial art of Tai Chi offers many well-documented benefits. Now that I’ve been practicing the Guang P’ing form for a year, I can point out those I find specific to inline skaters:

• Balance – slow and constant motion, many one-foot stances
• Coordination – complex transitions involving every body part
• Strength – the knees are always bent, loading leg muscles
• Flexibility – everything from wide lunges to high kicks
• Mind-body – moving meditation, mindful breathing

Master David Bernhardt is at far right  Read more... (457 words, 1 image, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Heads up fellow inline skating instructors. Whether intended or subconscious, the attitude you display toward your students has a big impact on how much they learn and how much fun the activity is—for you and them. Here’s a personal experience from the receiving end that drove this home for me.

By the time our  one-hour Thursday Spin class had ended, I’d decided there was no need to follow the substitute teacher’s directives because, really, that class was all about her, not us. Within half an hour, I felt disengaged from her and the group experience, and decided I’d have to get the best workout I could on my own.  Read more... (579 words, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)