Being a Left Handed Rhythmic Gymnast

So many celebrities like Anna Kendrick and Jennifer Lawrence are left-handed. But rhythmic gymnasts?

Stumbling across a left-handed rhythmic gymnast is like stumbling across a giant rainbow four-leaf clover. The chances of stumbling across it ranges from zero to five percent. Leaning more towards the zero for the giant rainbow four-leaf clover.

Yet I'm a left-handed rhythmic gymnast!

The only Olympic rhythmic gymnast I currently know of that's left handed is a Canadian woman who was a part of the Canadian group at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Left-handed rhythmic gymnast's have a major disadvantage in rhythmic gymnastics unless they have magical coordination with their right hand. Why? Because of apparatuses, that's why.

And I can't even catch a ribbon with my left hand let alone my right hand!

- Colour Fluff

Bridges in Pandicorn Pyjamas

Well, hasn't it been a while (or just nine days)?

I apologise (but I also don't) because it may only be the third week of school but my teachers are already giving out assessments to study for.

And I also ran out of things to talk about that are rhythmic gymnastics-related.

I have a cousin who's less than a year older than me that doesn't do dance, cheer or gymnastics. Yet she's so naturally flexible in her back and therefore my "backspiration" right now.

When it comes to my flexibility I'm a mixture of being naturally flexible and the fact that I excessively stretch every day (or every two to four days).

I've also started working on my back flexibility by doing bridges and I can even do a half backbend on to the couch *I applaud myself*.

Do you like the amateur bokeh effect I did on this photo with Ribbet?

- Colour Fluff

I Realised Something About Rhythmic Gymnasts

I've realised that if a rhythmic gymnast works hard enough, they usually make it to the world circuit within 10 - 12 years of doing RG.

Take Danielle Prince for example. She started RG at age 11. At the age of 23 she went to the Worlds at Stuttgart last year.

I also realised that at the age of 13, I need to be working really hard if I ever want to get to a higher level.

And be able to do a freaking handstand.

- Colour Fluff

A Few Things About Rhythmic Gymnastics and I

Here's a bit of a Q and A thing. I haven't been doing rhythmic gymnastics my whole life or anything drastic like that but...

I do it recreationally currently.

How many hours of rhythmic gymnastics do I do every week? One and a half.

How many hours of dance did I used to do every week? In 2006, half an hour. In 2009, three quarters of an hour. In 2012, three quarters of an hour. In 2013, one and a half hours. In 2014, one and a quarter of an hour. In 2015, two hours and a quarter of an hour.

What's my favourite rhythmic gymnastics apparatus? It'd have to be ball. But not too far behind would be hoop.

Who's my favourite elite rhythmic gymnast? Danielle Prince because she is so far (that I know of) the oldest to start at rhythmic gymnastics but still get to world level. As she started RG when she was 11 years old. She'll also most likely be the wild card entry for Australia for the 2016 Olympics.

Have I done a dance competition before? Technically I did one last year for school.

Have I done a rhythmic gymnastics competition before? No, I don't for a few reasons actually. The first one being that my gym doesn't do competitions for RG. And the second reason being, that I've only been a rhythmic gymnast since October 2015.

What level am I in rhythmic gymnastics? Level two unfortunately. If I was six or seven years old I'd be doing competitions but I'm thirteen. People my age are going to the Youth Olympics. I'm pretty sure the average level for a thirteen year old in RG is around six or seven.

Speed round:

• Can I do a backbend? No.
• Can I do right splits? Yes.
• Can I do left splits? No.
• Can I do middle splits? Yes.
• Can I do a cartwheel? Yes.
• Can I do a handstand? No.
• Can I do a front walkover? No.
• Can I do a back walkover? No.

- Colour Fluff

Rhythmic Gymnastics GIFs

Any type of GIFs are amazing.

But rhythmic gymnastics GIFs are even more amazing,

Especially the ones that are made by me.

I even make reversed versions.

- Colour Fluff

Is This the Best RG Video Ever?

I stumbled across a video on YouTube (Where else would it be? Daily Motion? Yeah no.) by MarchingBalletDancer about the fifteen rhythmic gymnasts who will be going from the worlds to the Olympics.

And it is utterly amazing!

When I first watched it, it had 4,000-ish views. Now it's on the verge of 10,000.

But please watch it if you can. It's absolutely amazing!

- Colour Fluff

Handstands and Cartwheels (and why I can't do them)

As a dancer, being able to do a handstand or a cartwheel just wasn't necessary whatsoever.

But when I started doing RG, it became the centre of everything. In a previous post, I've mentioned a girl I do rhythmic with who can do an aerial cartwheel.

Meanwhile my handstands look like this:

I have now realised that I need to straighten my legs when doing a handstand or cartwheel.

I used to be able to do a proper handstand and cartwheel. But we're talking six years ago and about a seven year old Colour Fluff.

It was also with my left side, not my right side.

- Colour Fluff

Arched Feet

I've only known that arching your feet is a thing for less than a week now. I have practiced arching my feet in front of my friends at school and usually they ask if I'm breaking my feet or, the more common question, "Does that hurt?"

Yes, it does hurt.

Practicing arching your feet is the reason why Anna Rizatdinova can do this. And back flexibility. That too.

But it doesn't hurt in a I-think-I'm-about-to-break-my-feet way. It hurts in a this-reminds-me-of-doing-the-splits way.

The exercise I am talking about of course is a standing version of this:

- Colour Fluff

RG Moms (RG version of Dance Moms)

Set around episode one of season one of Dance Moms. But the rhythmic gymnastics version.

It was first day back at rhythmic gymnastics and Abby was telling the girls - or most so, yelling at the girls - what they were going to do this season. Whether or not they wanted to do what she wanted for them, they had to or else they'd lose their spots at her prestigious gym unfortunately.

"Alright, this is the first day of practice for the competition season. Ladies, you all know why you're here. You are the cream of the crop in your age group, and I have lots of new ideas in store. I am going to do something no other gym in the country has done before."

"Every single competition, we are doing a new routine." The girls looked behind them to their mothers to see what they thought and Abby immediately scolded them for that. "Don't look at your mothers! I am the coach. I am the teacher."

The girls stared back taking it all in. They were going to have to work hard for the next few years.

"I can make you or I can break you." Abby was meant to help her students achieve their dreams of being the American version of Evgeniya Kanayeva but it also meant enduring her harsh teaching methods.

At least it was sort of worth it.

Abby turned the blackboard to reveal the pyramid for the week. Maddie was on top to no one's surprise.

"Whoever is on the top can't make a mistake. They are holding that group together."

Abby looked up to the photo of Maddie and pointed at it. "At the top right here I have Maddie, because she is dedicated, and because of her stellar record last year."

Abby looked back to the group of girls sitting on the floor in front of her and told Maddie, "Are you ready to be front and centre? Can you handle that pressure?"

Abby moved on from the pyramid to tell the girls where their next competition was. "Our first competition is going to be in Phoenix, Arizona. Ladies, I chose Phoenix, Arizona because I want you to see some of the best rhythmic gymnasts in the country."

They had already gotten into learning their routines and Abby was listing off the first combination of the ball group routine. Mackenzie couldn't be a part of it due to the five-person limit and being too young for the rhythmic gymnastics world youth circuit.

"Throw it twenty feet up, do a front walkover, spin two times, catch it, then roll it from your right hand to your left."

Abby started working with Paige and Nia for some elements in the ball routine.

"Alright, stop!" she yelled to them and they stopped their elements and listened to her criticism. "I've told you three times in five minutes that it's not left splits, it's right splits! Do it right!"

Abby stood against the barre leaning on it, "Suck it up, I don't want to see those tears."

And that's all I'm going to do because it is very hard work!

- Colour Fluff

My Athletic Background

Unfortunately I relate a lot to Danielle Prince (an Australian rhythmic gymnast) with the fact that I started rhythmic gymnastics extremely late.

Like Danielle Prince, I had a background in dance before starting RG. I started dance when I was only three years old in 2006 and did a weekly jazz class for that whole year.

Then I didn't do dance for the next six years.

I tend to exaggerate my dance background by saying that I've done dance since I was three (while I technically haven't).

Five years later when I was eight I did martial arts for a third of the year before abruptly showing no interest in it anymore.

The next year however, I started doing dance again (still a weekly jazz class) at the age of nine.

The year after that at the age of ten, I did my weekly jazz class with a weekly hip hop class. I only did the hip hop class for three quarters of the year but still got the trophy at the end of the year for participation in grading.

2014 was an even better year for dance when I got into an invitation-only cabaret class (while also still doing my weekly jazz class).

The next year, I had gotten into a competitive jazz class after successfully auditioning the year before (but I only did that class for half the year and didn't do any competitions). I was also still doing the cabaret class and jazz class.

However in September, I realised that subconsciously I had wanted to do rhythmic gymnastics for a couple years now (I just had no idea what it was). So I abruptly quit dance and started a rhythmic gymnastics class.

A rhythmic gymnastics class with kids that are mostly between the ages of eight and ten. Which is a little embarrassing for a thirteen year old to be put in, but I still haven't gotten the hang of apparatuses yet.

And I couldn't even do a cartwheel. Which was also a little embarrassing because there was a nine year old girl who could do an aerial cartwheel.

- Colour Fluff

How I Stretch

I usually stretch every day if I can so I don't lose my middle and right splits. I'll be honest, that currently I'm working towards my right splits again because I lost them after not stretching for the two days after getting them.

I've realised that I haven't been warming up before stretching so I'll be adding sit ups and planks to my rhythmic gymnastics stretching and strength daily routine.

Keep in mind I have no idea what the actual names are for most stretches.

What I've been doing currently however starts off with sitting down, bending my right leg into a triangle position and bending forward so my torso is parallel with left leg.

Then I change the position of my torso so I'm on my side. Then I do those two things with my right leg with my left leg bent.

Afterwards I do butterfly and do it as far as I can (which is as far you can in butterfly). Then (I know I really shouldn't because I pull a muscle) I go into middle splits as far as I can and count in a very unique way.

I tend to count a lot faster than a second a number when I'm in "pain" so I now count differently:

2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 ... 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.

I count that way so I'm only doing each stretch for approximately 20 seconds.

After doing twenty seconds of the middle splits, I do a forward lunge for my right splits. Then I go as far as I can and count from 2001 to 2020.

After doing my splits stretches, I work on back flexibility. I lie down on the ground on my stomach than I push myself off and back as far as possible while keeping my legs and lower torso to the ground.

Then after twenty seconds, I do a bridge as a long as I can before I get tired and exhausted.

After doing my back flexibility, I return back to splits stretches and go as far as I can into each splits.

With my middle splits however, I work on over-splits by placing my left foot on the edge of the couch and go down as far as I'm comfortable with.

And that's how I stretch every day!

I will definitely start warming up before I stretch now though!

- Colour Fluff