March 2021

[Silks Stars Team]

Option 1: Diamond Shape to Neck Hang Belay
Option 2: Diamond Shape to Belay Ground-Spin (Mini rig)
Share your comments, questions, and work from this month’s combination below!

[Jenny]

It’s such a beauty combo Brett! So excited to start working on it. Rachel and Brett it is such an awesome thing to look forward to every month! I am so greatful to have you guys stoking the creative fires 🙂

[Silks Stars Team]

Thanks so much Jenny! We so appreciate your support and positivity!

[Caro]

I love it how you look like you’re having so much fun in your inspiration example of this month’s challenge!

[Silks Stars Team]

Haha yes! Was having fun to the music for sure!

[LauraDP]

ah, maybe this one is too advanced for me T___T I tried it yesterday and the first part is almost impossible, is there a way to separate the silks in a fast and effective way? I take too much time, toss the silk with flexed foot, struggle to invert.. I made it only two times on more that 20 tries (wel, at last I did it somehow)… I know that the key is to keep the wrapped leg straight and high, but it’s hard! Let’s see if I can finish this month’s challenge ^^’

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Laura, this entry is very complex and challenging for sure. It may take many more days of practice to get it smoothly, and that’s ok! We strongly encourage you and anyone else who is struggling with it to share a video of yourself attempting the entry. That way we can give you some personalized tips 🙂

[LauraDP]

thanks, I’ll try my best!!!

[Jill.b.lovin.aerial]

I’m with you LauraDP! I’m STRUGGLING! That 1st part is tough! I’m going to keep at it, but I’ve had no successful tries so far.

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Jill, that’s ok that you haven’t gotten the entry yet, it’s a very complex one and it may take many days of practice and patience to get it. We mentioned to Laura above as well… we strongly encourage you and other members having trouble with it to share a video of your attempt of the entry here in the forum so we can give you some personalized tips! Sometimes it’s just a matter of one or two adjustments and bam you will get it! Also recommend watching other members who post their videos of it this month, as it’s really helpful for learning to watch others as well 🙂

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi again! On another note, we have been looking into the reason why your videos might be having trouble uploading.. if you have trouble uploading again this month it might be because you are filming in 4K. You could try changing the filming settings on your phone to 1080p and that should fix the issue. 🙂

[AmyFlory]

I was just talking to my coach about wanting to add a neck hang belay to a routine I’m creating and…ta-da!! one shows up in this month’s challenge! Perfect timing, yay!

[Silks Stars Team]

That’s awesome Amy, perfect timing indeed!

[SarahT]

Question for the group: I got the note to add music to my video this month. But my phone cannot both play music and record video at the same time, and a lot of platforms scrub the music when you post videos anyway. I guess that isn’t an issue if I’m uploading directly here, but how are people playing music and recording at the same time?? Just multiple devices?

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Sarah, I think most people do use multiple devices ipad/phone or computer/phone in order to play music while recording. I have also noticed some members use airbuds/headphones while in the air and listening to music and recording and then add music to the video afterwards (not required of course just what some people do), hope that helps!

[Carmen]

Hey Sarah,
I am not very tech savvy so I just use multiple devices. I play music with my phone connected to a speaker and then take video with my laptop using an external camera. There is likely some better set-up, but it works well enough.
Best, Carmen

[Jenny]

Yes it is so annoying that the phone can’t multitask! I use an old tablet to play the music (connected to a mini speaker) and record with my phone. Or get my training buddy to record me on their phone , play the music with MY phone and then have them air drop to my phone. 🙂

[Caro]

I use an old phone to play the music and my current phone to record.

[ellianajin]

Sarah – I use an app called VideoMuse on my Iphone. It is specifically designed to be able to play music while recording the video. It’s not a perfect app, ads can be annoying and sometimes it will skip a beat when you first open the app. However, this is what I use every time when I practice because I like to have the music playing while I practice.

[Caitlin]

I am with Jill and LauraDP, struggling!! Maybe this one is above my pay grade 🤪. A couple times, the silks separated (more) easily than the video below, but most of the time this happens to some extent, where I struggle to separate the silks, and the loop around my waist is loose.

Any tips or tricks would be much appreciated!

https://www.silksstars.com/community/caitlinpanis/media/

[Jill.b.lovin.aerial]

I just watched your video and YAY! I understand it’s not where you want to be, but I have no advice as I can’t do it at all, but loved watching yours. Thanks for sharing.

[Caitlin]

Thanks, Jill!! I was honestly surprised I could do it at all, so that’s good. More motivated to clean it up! And I’m sure you’ll get it soon too, and be far smoother than mine!

[Silks Stars Team]

You’re doing great Caitlin! This entry is tough. A couple things to try would be to lean back a tiny bit more and wrap the left leg a couple inches higher in the beginning… before you pass your right leg between the poles. Also see if you can lift your left leg a bit higher as you separate the tails with your right knee before you invert. Lifting just a couple inches higher with that left leg can make a big difference! 🙂

[Caitlin]

Great, thank you! I will try all that next time I practice!

[SarahT]

This entry is killing me…..I get my right foot and hip through, but then when I lift my left leg up, the tails just roll over each other and become impossible to separate.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by SarahT.

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Sarah, this entry can be frustrating for sure if the tails roll over each other. A couple things to help: make sure your tails are completely untwisted before you climb up, and also instead of wrapping your left foot climb directly under you, bend your knees up first and then wrap your left foot climb and straighten your left left in front of you so you are bit more in an “L position” before threading the right leg thru. That should help!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Silks Stars Team.

[Caro]

Here is my early attempt. I think the entry will get smoother the more I practice but any tips welcome! I found it tricky to spin with so much tail and to lift the tail up in that body position. I also found it really hard to judge whether I had a diamond shape. That may just be trial and error! Thanks. 🙂
https://www.silksstars.com/community/caro/media/

[Silks Stars Team]

You’re doing great Caro! That was definitely the diamond shape at the end there 🙂 . Lifting up all the tail to spin can be a lot to manage in the hands. I sometimes just get a good grip on the tail nice and close to my chest with one hand and then circle the tail below. Either way, gripping it close to the chest is definitely easier than gripping more toward the floor as then there’s more room to circle the arm/tail with the other arm.

[Caro]

Thanks for the hints above! I don’t have a newer video to share as I haven’t been in much due to illness. I do have another question though. Are there tricks to 1. getting the silk cleanly/beautifully off the horizontal pointed leg after the arabesque/diamond and 2. splitting the silks to come through to the stag and belay after that (mine seem to be quite tight together). Thanks.

[Jenny]

Had a go last night…it’s about the end of the wrap, separating the silks before invert. Also I agree with Caro, going into the spin is tricky so I will try your suggestion of gripping the silks close to chest. Tips for the wrap? Thanks guys 🙂

https://www.silksstars.com/community/jenny/media/771/

[Silks Stars Team]

Looking good so far Jenny! See if you can use your right knee (keeping it bent) instead of your right foot to separate the tails before you invert. 🙂

[Janice]

https://www.silksstars.com/community/janice/media/

I trained tonight and climbed many many times and only achieved 30% success rate in doing the very hippy entry. So if anyone else is feeling frustrated with the entry, remember you are not alone, and we can do this 🙂 My learnings:
a) I really hate it when the 2 tails overlap and I have to do crazy things with my foot and knee just to get them apart. When they overlap, I just do my best to pick up ANY tail…… until I learned that it matters which one you should get. It has to be the tail closest to the body, the one that is connected to the silk at my back.
b) The most important in the entry move is the part when you have to make the silk wrap around from your right-side-waist to back; and it has to stay above the butt.
c) When b happens successfully, the Tails are almost always properly partitioned already, and thus very easy to knee-in that closest Silk-tail.
Attached is the link to my training video. Warning – It is imperfect and with no flow yet. I’d appreciate feedback. By the way, I have this question- as I do the stag, can it be the right leg instead that goes between the poles so that my right leg is the one in front of me when I do the stag?

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Janice.

[Silks Stars Team]

Good work Janice, those are great learnings of the wrap! It will keep getting smoother the more you practice 🙂
You can definitely lead with the right leg forwards if you prefer to when you go into the double stag, it won’t change the wrap at all.

[Janice]

Thanks. Will keep practicing 🙂 I truly hope to achieve a smooth flow.

[Jenny]

Great tips Janice. for the b part I started to think it was important to keep the left wrapped leg high as well (parallelish to the ground?) … I also had about 30% success rate! LOL

[Caitlin]

That’s looking so good, Janice!! So smooth! Good tips too! I was also grabbing any tail I could at first, not realizing I have to grab the one wrapped around the waist. Glad I wasn’t the only one!

[Carmen]

Thanks so much for posting. I think that grabbing the wrong tail has been one of my problems. I would do the diamond shape and then go to the next part and find that I was not in a belay at all. It was quite puzzling.

[Yvan]

This is my first attempt… lots of work ahead… i focussed on the belay today… i will slowly add the shapes and the lines later…

The entry worked better than i had expected but my foot got stuck multiple times when trying to unwrap the leg… i should keep it pointed, right?

https://www.silksstars.com/community/yvanlp/media/

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Yvan.

[Silks Stars Team]

Good work so far Yvan! Yes keep the foot pointed, and also wait just a moment longer to separate the tails before inverting, that should help smooth it out.

[ellianajin]

This is the 2nd day attempt of the March 2021 combo. There are many clean-ups I will need to do and also places I can add a lot of flares! But I am very excited to be able to get through it. I had a similar experience as everybody else with the first part when I tried it. Struggling! The first five times, I kept sliding down without being able to invert. But it has slowly got better with more practice and I get to know the timing!

Questions I have and hope to be addressed during live Q&A this coming week: 1) when I try to spin with the tail right before going into the diamond shape, the two threads will twist together which are then harder to separate when I try to kick with my foot back to a straight line and extend my another arm. 2) how should I position my body to be a square diamond shape? I find myself pointing my leg (that should be paralleled to the ground) backward, which then creates not a too square diamond.

https://www.silksstars.com/community/ellianajin/media/

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by ellianajin.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by ellianajin.

[Silks Stars Team]

Looking good Elliana! Your entry is looking smooth! Those are great questions and will definitely dive deeper into those and demonstrate at the Q&A this week! A quick tip for the diamond shape is to square your chest to face the same direction of the arm that’s pushing forwards and rotating the back leg to arabesque a little bit more. That should make the diamond shape look more 3 dimensional versus 2 dimensional if that makes sense..

[canu_camcam90]

The entrance is suuuuuper challenging but I really love this combo. I kind of have it but it’s sloppy and my transitions are a bit clunky. I also read that not having your silks tangled helps and I cheated and climbed up one. I can’t wait for the final product!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PuKII-8PquwSknroadtpK8VS6sN0gfUD/view?usp=sharing

[Silks Stars Team]

Keep up the good work Cameron! Your diamond shape is looking solid/ great positioning! Yes, that entrance is tough but it will keep getting smoother. We’ll be going over it a lot at the Q&A this week 🙂

[Jill.b.lovin.aerial]

You say “cheated” climbing up 1 silk, I say “brilliant”! 🤣 I’m going to try and see if that helps me any. I still have not had 1 successful go at this one and your Diamond shape was gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your progress!

[canu_camcam90]

Haha hopefully it helps! It really helped me =]

[Silks Stars Team]

Hey Jill, Manon posted a cool variation (that her daughter discovered) in her profile of the first wrap into the diamond shape. Might be a bit easier if you want to give it try!

[Manon]

I’m with you Jill. So far, I’ve been able to separate the tails twice, but by the time they are separated, I don’t have any more grip to invert. 😩

[Caitlin]

I’m with you too! Have you tried the other leg? My right leg is stronger than my left, and I can lift it higher. So I tried wrapping my right leg instead, and it was slightly easier and the silks separated faster. Ever so slightly, but I’ll take what I can get! Maybe will help you too!

[Yvan]

Day 2… dramatic! I only had one shot, tried to add the arms and the spinning and I believe I almost managed to cross the silks in what looks rather like a shoe box than a diamond 😂. I clearly need to study a bit further your instruction video but I have a question regarding the belay. Sometimes the belay flows and others it gets stuck. Today I got stuck. Any tip to avoid that unpleasant situation? Thanks a lot! 🙏

https://www.silksstars.com/community/yvanlp/media/

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Yvan, when you create the diamond shape, see if you can start the arm that pushes forwards a bit higher towards the sky on the tail, it should point directly forwards from the chest, right now it’s a bit too down towards the ground. Once you get in the belay, see if you can loosen your grip a little more on the tails before turning to face the sky… you might be holding a bit too tight on the tails and turning too fast which is causing the belay knot to get jammed.

[Yvan]

Thanks a lot!!!

[Kaity]

The neck hang with arms out definitely wasn’t for me (headache and stiff neck for a couple of days + it tends to take the face mask off), so I am wondering if there could be an elbow hang or would you suggest something else in place for a final pose? I will play with it, but wanted to know if you had another suggestion for a pose.

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Kaity, yes neck hangs are harder on some bodies than others. An elbow hang is a great alternative and we will accept that for your challenge submission!

[Kary]

Primer día de entrenamiento reto marzo

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMTfedVAVOn/?igshid=12iwgeapbls14

[Silks Stars Team]

Great work so far Katy! Love your commitment to the neck hang, just inches off the ground! 😄

[Continue]

Hi! This is my nth attempt to get the right shot of final pose 😅
The spin stops after dropping into belay. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep it spinning until the ending split ?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMULEEWhQSN/?igshid=kga9f0d7jbjw

[Silks Stars Team]

This is looking so beautiful Continue! Love the personal style touches you are putting into it. As for the spin, it doesn’t last that long with this combo as the diamond shape makes the spin slow down… a couple options you could try: 1) make your transitions faster so you still have some spin once you’re in the neck hang, or 2) you could bring the tails together and add a little spin when you first get into the belay (facing the ground) before you half turn and get ready for the neck hang.

[Continue]

Thank you so much!
I tried option two and it did make a huge difference to the neck hang and ending poses 🥰

https://www.silksstars.com/community/continue/media/789/

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Continue.

[Silks Stars Team]

Beautiful!

[Manon]

My daughter came up with a modification to help me untangle the silks. With it, I had one successful inversion. I put the video in my profile but I don’t know how to upload it here ? If you accept that variation, maybe it could be share today in the Q&A.

[Janice]

Manon, your daughter has very high Silks IQ. Impressive 🙂

[Jill.b.lovin.aerial]

I agree with Janice! Thank you to your daughter!

[Manon]

Thanks Janice !

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Manon, that is such a cleaver and creative variation! We would accept that version for the monthly challenge. Unfortunately, we had the Q&A a couple days ago already, but we’d love to share this on the Silks Stars Instagram page if you can tag us there and make the post shareable?

[Manon]

I posted the video and I think I did the right thing to tag you. What do I need to do for it to be shareable ? I’m still learning a lot about all the social media.

[Silks Stars Team]

We re-posted on Instagram. Thanks again for sharing!

[Megup26]

Trial run #1 Trial Training #1 – March Challenge

**(Side note: this video is after 1 failed training session, a slightly better 2nd training session, then SUCCESS after reviewing the March Q&A). Sorry in advance for the lack of toe pointing and straight legs, I was just happy to finally get some consistency with the first step of the trick!

[Jenny]

Meg it looks great! first part so challenging! Nailed it!

[Silks Stars Team]

Looking great Meg!

[Yvan]

Slowly getting there! My attempt today went a lot better. The golden tip for my entry was to focus on the initial wrap being a front L-sit instead of a french climb. Thanks a lot Brett for that tip in the Q&A. I hope my attempt helps. Peace and love!

https://www.silksstars.com/community/yvanlp/media/

[Silks Stars Team]

Yess this is looking good Yvan! Your entry is getting so smooth now!

[LauraDP]

Third training! After the first inglorious attempt I didn’t give up and I started to achieve the entry. Sorry for floppy feet, bent knees and phone drop 😅 it was very windy today and I still need time to clean this combination

Windy day

[Silks Stars Team]

It’s coming along great Laura, keep up the good work! 🙂

[Caro]

Some months, mid month it feels like I’m going backwards! And this is one of those months. I’m not getting the initial wrap invert consistently at the moment, so fingers crossed it becomes smooth, and consistent! The neck hang seems to be improving or getting stronger/more stable – thank goodness. As for performance and musicality – I’m having a blank. I’m not gelling with anything I’m trying. Do you have favorite tips that you use when your creativity isn’t flowing? Prompts or funny little things to try or getting you thinking in different ways?

[Caro]

I also want to say that it’s really lovely and inspiring seeing what others are doing, and also seeing their progress across the month. It helps.

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Carolyn, have you tried practicing to different styles/ tempos of music? Sometimes just a shift in vibe can make a big difference in creativity for me.
As for the technique of that first wrap, it’s one of those moves that if you ‘overthink’ about it, it can go south. I find that when I focus on staying relaxed and ‘in the moment’ it helps when working on complex wraps. If you’d like to delete your old practice video and upload a new one, I can see if there’s anything particular tips I can give on technique. Could just be a small adjustment needed. You got this! -Brett

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Silks Stars Team.

[Caro]

Oh thanks! I’ll have a go with different music. I think first I might go back to focussing on the combo. I also learnt that I need quite a clean climb to make sure the tails aren’t too twisted at the top. I’m just uploading a video which first shows a run through today, where I only get the wrap on the 4th attempt. I was getting it consistently just over a week ago – I don’t know what happened? It’s a mystery. I also find it harder than a normal crochet to get the leg completely straight (it’s quite hard on my knee) and impossible to sickle in, not sure why. I am very excited to be getting a neck hang now though! Thanks for the encouragement 🙂 https://www.silksstars.com/community/caro/media/

[Niksa]

I just tried this months sequence for the first time :O let me know your comments 🙂

First attempt

[Silks Stars Team]

Impressive first training Niksa! Your neck hang looks fab! Try to lift your left leg up a few inches higher before inverting into the diamond shape, that will help the tails rise up the leg and separate easier so you can thread your knee between the tails versus having to use your foot to separate the tails. Overall great job!

[monica.xiong]

I’m not sure if this helps anyone, but I had a super hard time splitting the silks. Putting a “pause” in the middle really helps the silks split naturally! (And I was also able to recharge during the pause hehe)
Inspired by Manon. 🙂
https://www.silksstars.com/community/monica-xiong/media/

[Silks Stars Team]

And it looks cute, Monica! Thanks for sharing!

[Yvan]

I have only one more training this month… this might be my final submission for this month’s combo 🧐

https://www.silksstars.com/community/yvanlp/media/video/

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Yvan.

[Silks Stars Team]

Great job Yvan!

[Caro]

Hi guys. Would you be able to offer any hints as to what might be going awry if you have a chance to look at my video I re-uploaded? It’s the one where I get it on the 4th attempt. Thanks so much!
https://www.silksstars.com/community/caro/media/

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi Carolyn, you were so close the first 3 times! It looks like the one thing missing from those and the reason you got it the 4th time was because the tail across your lower back was higher above your booty (mainly on your left side)! As you pass your right leg between the tails focus on getting the tail that lays across your lower back a bit higher on the back. I think about sinking my hips down towards the right side strand just slightly until I feel that tail rise higher along my lower back before raising my left left leg / separating the tails for the invert. Hope that helps!

[Rbatignani]

Attempted the March routine to music! Woohoo! I need to smooth it out some more. The weather has been crazy so not enough time to work out all the kinks but here is my first try with music: https://www.silksstars.com/community/rbatignani/media/video/

[Silks Stars Team]

You’re doing so good Rose! Thanks for sharing!

[Nenedhel]

Managed to get some more training on this one. Can’t wait for things to open up a bit more so I can train more often
Challenge video

[Silks Stars Team]

Glad to hear you were able to get some more training time Nenedhel, keep up the good work!

[Nenedhel]

Thank you ☺️

[phoenixdreamtrap]

I tried uploading my video a few times but it hasn’t worked – please help? Thanks!!!

[Silks Stars Team]

Hmm 🤔 sorry to hear! Have you tried uploading from a different device? Maybe transferring to your computer and uploading from there? Let us know if that works.

[Gretchen]

I’m having trouble too!

[Silks Stars Team]

Please try again, we fixed the issue on the back end. Thanks so much!

[HaleneW]

I’m having trouble, too. Tried to upload and it said I exceeded my video uploading for the month. But this is the first one I uploaded.

[Silks Stars Team]

Hi guys, sorry about that, we had an issue on the backend of the website but everything is good now, you should be able to upload no problem!

[AmyFlory]

I was so excited about this neck hang belay entry this month but my work schedule at my clinic has been heinous the past couple of months! I’ve been watching this forum and watched the Q&A and just tried visualizing this move the entire month. Last night after a stereotypical Monday when nothing went right—- I even had to borrow gym clothes to teach my Lvl 1 silks classes—I was like, “now or never” and was very happy I could get through the sequence, with hiccups, of course. I forgot the tail prep for spinning—that would be helpful! I didn’t push my luck and left it at that https://www.silksstars.com/community/amyflory/media/

[Silks Stars Team]

Amazing Amy! Congratulations for making it happen despite alll those challenges! 🙌🌟

[Chris]

I really enjoyed working on the challenge this month! That first wrap was definitely the hard part for me, but it was so rewarding to work through that and explore this sequence. Here is the end result: https://www.silksstars.com/community/snow-aerial/media/847/

[Silks Stars Team]

Good work Chris! Way to commit to the spin at the end only inches off the ground!

[kittiekittie.bangbang]

Full disclosure: I’m not very happy with my submission for this month. March really did a number on me, leaving me with little to no time/energy for training. I had a vacation at the very beginning of the month. I was promoted at my day job to a management position, and we’ve been very understaffed, so I worked way more than I should have. Both my car and my significant other’s had problems. All four of my dogs were sick and needed to be taken to the vet. I’m exhausted. I’m disappointed that I didn’t have more time to polish this, and feel like this video is very rough. I’m trying to be grateful I had time to work on it at all, but can’t help feeling disappointment that I’ve ran out of time. Tomorrow is my next day off, so I may resubmit after I work on it again. I realize it won’t be in time to get 5 stars for the month, but at least I can try to be happy with my best being just a little late. March submission video

[Silks Stars Team]

Sorry to hear you had a challenging month Kittie, congratulations on submitting!

[kittiekittie.bangbang]

Thank you guys as always for everything! Here’s my much cleaner version from tonight. I’m so much happier but I know it still needs polishing. Any tips appreciated! So excited to go all out for April! New March submission

[Author]

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