Me and Fer (fer.calisthenics) have wanted to meet for a little while and as I was coming into London for a ropeflow workshop at 1pm, the morning was the perfect time to finally flow together.
He met me at the station and was filming me arrive which I did think he may do as he does some more blog style videos but it still caught me by surprise. We walked and talked to outside LIFT gym which is his usual flow spot and he took me to a brand new coffee shop for my first ever black coffee.
We chatted a bit and he filmed some of our conversation, It felt very weird to be in front of the camera in that capacity, Usually I dont speak, and if I do it is a voiceover after filming rather than talking straight to a camera, in a coffee shop with other people. Creating content for me seems to be a gradual breaking of barriers and blocks of things I think will be cringe and or embarrassing. This is good, it takes me out of my comfort zone and helps me care less. Ropeflow does this too, It is not a popular type of movement so often people will stare or stop and watch a bit. I have since released a couple of videos where I am talking to camera which has actually been quite fun!
Finally, to the flow session. Our styles differ greatly. Which is one of the most interesting things about ropeflow. People can develop a style that is so unique to them and become experts in that style. Whether it be the pursuit of mastering the fundamentals and perfecting them like Alpacaflow, The tricking brilliance and breakdance inspired flow from Phil (goodflow), Or the martial intent of FlowwithAJ.
Fer’s style is also unique, favouring lots of one hand movements as well as precise and speedy turns. He incorporates his whole body cohesively into each move and pays attention to footwork and the kinetic chain of movement up to his shoulder and hands. If I was to box myself into a category, I would say I am more akin to Phil, favouring tricks and releases. But I am a long way off mastering as much of ropeflow as he has. A Phil from wish or temu, if you will.
Fer was a very good teacher and taught me some of his signature moves and we spent a bit of time working on the mic release. (Which is typically something that takes ages to get, not something you can crack in one session).
It was so good to share some movements, philosophy and theory with Fer as ropeflow is normally a solitary practise.
Fer had to bounce as he had a calisthenics meet up and I met some mates from secondary school for lunch. One of them had shown quite an abnormal proficiency for ropeflow on holiday a few months prior. We ate at Three Uncles in Brixton food market/hall.
I was really excited about this part of the day. A workshop with Tim from Wayoftherope, tI he biggest rope seller and teacher in the UK. I had bought various courses from Tim and was involved in the early version of the School of biomechanics which is another movement offering he provides. I don’t want to brownnose too much here but in the UK Tim can be seen as ropeflow royalty and one of the biggest people to begin popularising it over here. To summarise, I am a bit of a fanboy.
There was a beginners workshop before the intermediate one I attended which ran over for quite a while. This gave me the opportunity to chat with a few of the other people in attendance. I met Lonnie who I had previously talked with on insta and we had some ropeflow based chit chat: How long have you been flowing for, where did you get your ropes etc. I think I came off a bit keen as I had brought 3 ropes, two I had made and a vivid orange heavy rope from slushropes.
I also met Zyla who one of my first ropeflow friends on instagram had told me about and Ropeflowj (Jerome) who practises BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and flows with all sorts, nunchuks, ropes etc. He has a very martial inspired flow which I have loved watching.
Time rolled by and the workshop started. Tim allowed the session to be led by what people wanted to work on as well as incorporating some elements of his patterns of the moment. We worked on paradiddle, three beat matadors, then he moved onto sneaks. There were lots of people so I found myself giving some tips and advice on certain moves to help out. Some of the more experienced practitioners including myself found a place away from the main group to share ideas and do some free flow, as we already felt quite confident with sneaks. I had my first flow ever filmed from two angles which was so fun to edit and post. (Thanks Zyla and Jerome). Tim came in to spend some time teaching us backmills which was nice so we got a bit of time with him. I was shouting out ideas of what to practise next like a teacher’s pet.
At the end of the workshop Tim asked what my name was on Instagram, when I told him he said I thought I recognised you, Sam Gibson is it? (Oh my god guys he knows who I am don’t panic)
This was a lovely surprise to round off the day with.
After this, I met back up with my mates who I had lunch with and played spikeball. I was massively dialled in to be quite honest (I promise I am not usually this cocky). A whole day of being active and warming up my coordination, lubricating my muscles and joints and practising proprioception with ropeflow had made me smooth like butter. it was so so fun. I had been on my feet all day and done lots of walking, turning, pivoting and I had been wearing my barefoot shoes and my feet began to cramp up badly and I hobbled home. Hurting but happy.
My main thought on the way home was “Why did I wait this long to come to London to flow with some people?”
It was a nice realisation but a bittersweet one as I was about to leave for an extended period of travel. This meant I wouldn’t be able to do the same for over half a year. This, though, was soothed by the knowledge that I would be able to meet up with lots of people to practise ropeflow with on my travels, most notably in the Philippines.
Takeaways from the day:
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