World Ballet Day

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Published on Wednesday, 03 October 2018 02:02

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Some of the countless reasons why figure skating remains such a beloved sport include artistry, elegance, and grace.  However, these attributes are not always attributable to skating itself.  In academics, mathematics is foundational for the sciences.  In the arts, ballet lies behind all great figure skating.

Skating never taught me that a dancer’s posture is beauty itself.  Skating never taught me how to move my body with such precision and freedom.  Skating never taught me that one sweeping motion of the arm feels like motion lingering through time and space.  Ballet instructed me in the quick snap of a jump; ballet taught me to esteem both strength and flexibility.  Ballet instructed me its rich artistic history, its gorgeous lines, its movements, and its passion.

Ballet taught me in a way nothing else ever could to communicate the emotion of my soul in the motion of my body.

In celebration of World Ballet Day, I would encourage you to continue in ballet or sign up for your first class!  Ballet will not only mold you into an artist and increase your sensitivity to the feelings within music, it will also help develop your flexibility and strength (especially your core and static strength).

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out this clip of my favorite ballerina in my favorite ballet by my favorite composer:  Svetlana Zakharova and Denis Rodkin in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.  Also watch this rehearsal video from the Royal Opera House where Fumi Kaneko and Nehemiah Kish dance the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux from The Nutcracker.  (I have fond memories of watching The Grand Rapids Ballet Company’s version of this as a child in their production and it is still one of my favorites!)

Happy world ballet day.  May you jeté all day.

How Super Champions Face Challenges

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Published on Tuesday, 07 August 2018 18:27

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How do you face challenges? It can be tempting to be disheartened and demotivated but viewing roadblocks as stepping stones instead can make us tougher athletes and stronger people.  An article by Pecel, Collins, and MacNamara in Frontiers in Psychology found that Super Champions (“great” athletes) view challenges positively—even before they encounter them.

The authors studied the experiences of athletes across three differing levels of performance; Super Champions, Champions, and Almosts.  After interviewing the participating athletes, the authors compiled the experiences and began to see patterns of behavior that differentiated the Super Champions from the Champions and the Almosts.

One of clear distinguishers was simply how Super Champions faced challenges.  Notably, they often had a preexisting attitude of learning from challenges.  While some Champions had this outlook, Almosts, on the other hand, “seemed almost entirely reactive.”  Simply put, Super Champions are distinguished in that they view challenges as “catalysts for their development rather than roadblocks.”

Lesson Number One:  Before you face a challenge, choose to see it as an opportunity to grow. 

In addition, the Super Champions demonstrated a high level of commitment to their sport.   They were internally driven, very focused on details and improvement, and sometimes, in their retrospective view, a bit too critical of themselves.  In contrast, Champions and Almosts tended to be less committed, viewed challenges more negatively, and did not cope well.  They also were motivated to improve by comparison with others rather than on an internal drive.

Lesson Number Two:  Be whole-heartedly committed.

Lesson Number Three:  Be internally driven to improve yourself.

(Don’t be mainly motivated by outdoing your rivals.)  Work to be your best.

I hope the above study recap was intruiging and motivating.  (For the full study, please click here.)  And if you are an athlete looking for tools as you conquer your next challenge, you can find our comfortable and highly effective padding here.  Our final thoughts for the day?  Embody the Olympic Motto:  Faster, Higher, Stronger.