Staff Challenge 2013 - Day 2

Today it has become very apparent to me that unless I concentrate really hard most of the moves, beyond a basic forward or backward figure of eight or rotor, seem to convert into something other than I thought I was trying to do. I believe this is because my muscles have a lot of similar moves stored in them from hooping, so my body, when my brain has drifted off in a daydream or is more interested in making me sing along to a song I'm listening to, does it's own thing, and it' own thing is more often than not a hoop move that is similar to the move I have started off with the staff. Obviously, this isn't always turning out too well as a staff isn't circular like a hoop. This has resulted in a lot of dropping and body bashing.

The way I plan to remedy this is to do some heavy duty drilling of moves. Repetition of the same move over and over, whilst in a quiet place with no distractions for my brain has been the order of the day, so much so that I've started not to be able to tell if I am in forward or reverse rotation. I think that bit might be quite bad, but on the good side I have managed to get double rotation figure eights solid in both hands in both directions.

Another oddity I have found today is that simple one beats are anything but simple for me. I have no idea why I find them so hard. After all, the only thing you are doing is drawing a circle in front of you with the end of the staff. My right hand does it, with some protest of wanting to do other things, but will my left hand do it? NO! My stubborn stupid left wrist has decided that it doesn't want to do that. Why? I don't know. I will be having stern words with it later to make sure it starts playing the game by the rules. If I don't stare at, and concentrate very hard on the end of the staff and watching it do the circle, it wonders off into a figure of eight.

I have a feeling that the first few weeks of learning the staff is going to be very frustrating for me and WILL involve a lot of rather rude words and a fair few toddler tantrums. BRING IT ON STAFF! I will win. You will do my bidding.... or at least I will learn how to control your bidding, so I don't end up black and blue.