filchyboy

Injuries

I have been hurting myself continuously since I was a boy. Perhaps it is messed up but I kind of see injuries as validation that you are doing things right. Now sure I know that you don't want to get too hurt. After all if you are too hurt you can't have any fun at all. But there seems to be a correlation between minor injury and pushing oneself to be better. Perhaps that is me justifying my clumsiness in order to make myself feel less "bad" about hurting myself. Whatever the case I have kept a weekly injury since I was about 8 years old. This weeks: Right foot mangled. Two toes possibly broken. Jammed entire foot. Bruising. Soreness. Using crutches as the swelling is bad enough that I can't really put weight down on it. Am encouraged by the rate of healing. Have been concentrating on stretching the foot and placing weight on it. Results positive. 4 days into this and I feel confident the worst is over. This reminds of the two times before I have broken my big toes but it's much easier. Right thumb still tweaked. Much better than last weak but still weak and painful at junctures. Good news is the left thumb has finally healed from the dislocation last month and feels as strong as ever. Toe on left foot still recovering. Good but slow progress. Same with middle finger left hand. Am kind of bummed at present as my right foot injury precludes play. But am happy I get this time to rest and heal up. As always I'll be back for more later. I never seem to stop.

Spinning with a Band

Saturday evening I spun my wheel at YogaGlo as part of an event organized by Josh Brill to raise money to teach in Israel and Palestine how to teach yoga. An admirable cause, I was honored to be asked to be involved in the night. It turned out to be life changing.

Due to space constraints it was never going to be the case that I had anything other than a slight role in the evening. I was to spin a bit before the event to give some visual direction for those arriving to the event. Normally the space at YogaGlo is a beautiful spreading of wonderful wood floor that would allow me to spin with great abandon. But that evening between the band set up, the kneeling carpets for guests, and guests occasionally walking into my circle the spin was diminished and awkward. I wasn't concerned though as the event was important and the vibe was healthy and strong.

But then, and here's the life changing aspect of this, I fell into a groove with band and felt everything change. Josh's band was in sound check and jammed a song about freedom, aren't they all, when it happened. A surge in the drums, a recognition in my bones, and suddenly I was spinning in concert with the band. For a split moment as I my face spun around to the stage where they played I saw the entire band looking at me as I looked at them. All of us with smiles on our faces. I don't know how many measures it lasted. It couldn't have been very long as a woman walked into my circle and I stopped the wheel. But for those measures my spinning became somehow more than I am capable. I was stronger. My timing more precise. My confidence in handling the wheel increased demonstrably. It was a sheer joy.

There were so many highlights to that special evening. So much tremendous music. So many wonderful people I met. I couldn't begin to tell it all. Josh and his friends made quite the impression. Experiencing tabla for the first time was a divine experience in itself. But the take away for me more than anything is that I want very much to explore further spinning to a band and seeking that connection again. Namaste.

Flags

I recently got to the point where I can throw my body directly into a perfectly horizontal flag. When I first began learning to do them this seemed like an impossible feat. Now that I have begun doing it it doesn't seem as impressive to me. It's a very strange sensation. Not the being able to do it but the anti-climatic nature of it.

Both my foot flags and hand flags feel real solid now. The next trick is to learn how to move between them without using the ground.

Song for People

I shot this video last year. The video is Song for People by the band People. This was a really fun experience. The people were very cool. Unfortunately I got the gig because Atlaz had been injured. I think it should have been Atlaz in this but I am glad I was in a position to step in for him. I look on it as a team effort. Very cool.

People - Song for the People Music Video (2009) from KNR Productions on Vimeo.

Roué Complex - The Walking Machine Remix

Some 3 months ago Bob Chapin and I made a little film set to Walking Machine.  It was a lot of fun.  I spun the roué cyr wheel during this period with as much speed as I could muster.  For many months after I learned to spin really really fast that's all I wanted to do.  This video represents, for me, the culmination of that period.

Roué Simple from Christopher Filkins on Vimeo.

Esoteric Athletics

Have you ever done something you are pretty sure noone else has ever done?  As I get older I realize more and more how difficult such a thing would be.  People have been here pretty much forever and in that time we have developed so many ways to amuse ourselves and others.  Surely somewhere in that history of finding things to do someone sometimes comes up with something new.  Well that's what I am interested in exploring.

I'm a big fan of esoteric athletics because it's a major part of how I amuse myself.  I'm what some call a sort of circus freak. I spin the roue simple and swing on the travelling rings.  If you are like most people you don't even know what it is you just read.  If you are regular reader around here you are already aware of the travelling rings but probably know little of the wheel as I have rarely mentioned it.

Well all of that is going to change.  A few months ago I got an iPod Touch so I could lay in bed at night and watch Youtube videos of esoteric athletics.  And now I'm going to start sharing all of this with my readers.  In addition I have a lot of stuff already written on my own activities which I'm going to be sharing.  I have been managing a regular roue simple get together in Venice now for almost a year on Sunday mornings.  On any given Sunday as many as 6 or 7 folk may show up to learn to spin and to watch us crazy kids with our new fangled wheels.  The numbers of people are growing.  The interest in this activity and others continues to grow. 

So stay tuned.  Up next...where did this roue simple wheel come from and why has it taken over my life?

Whirling Dervish

My dad shot this and put it together with the song to which I commonly spin. I can really see my problems with this so it's nice to have such a document so I can work harder to fix my mistakes. The wheel is called a simple wheel, or a roue cyr wheel. Interestingly enough the French word roue means "the wheel on which a man is broken". Trippy because it does feel as though it will break me.

Roué Cyr Wheel - July 20, 2008

Roue Cyr Wheel - July 20, 2008, originally uploaded by filchyboy.

I laugh every time I see this. It's like Elton John got on a wheel to spin and pose. So funny!

Known By Face

This is a nice shot K took. I know the guy but can't recall his name right now. Nice shot though.