I like to consider myself a bit of a flow specialist when it comes to Acroyoga.
It's one of the aspects of Acro that I've always loved, and for me it's a fun challenge to make movements so smooth, fluid and seamless that they really FLOW!
Now obviously all acroyogis who are experienced can make things flowy and elegant, but there are some who are better than others, and you can just see the smoothness and grace in their practice.
Some examples that come to my mind would be acrowithjon, flutuante.acroyoga and vancityacro.
If you haven't before, search these guys on Instagram and you'll see what I mean.
I like to think that with some of my training partners that I'm well callibrated with, we can also manage some nice smooth levels of flowyness in our acro practice.
So I wanted to share a few pointers or ideas about how to also makeyour acro more flowy!
1. Practice, practice, practice...
This one is obvious, but can't be stated enough.
To really achieve full flowyness you need to utterly master the movements and transitions.
Often times things don't look smooth and graceful because the technique just isn't refined enough.
Trust me once you've done a ninja star 1000 times I guarantee you it will be hella smooth and flowy!
2. Callibrate with the same regular training partner
If you really want to make a smooth and beautiful flow then train that specific thing over and over with one dedicated partner.
Also try to avoid switching with so many partners while you practice those moves until you have it really consistent.
This is because every partnership is different, everybody does things in different ways, and so getting really dialled in with one person for one flowwill really help.
3. Learn how to maintain the direction of the flow
Okay this is probably the most significant tip, so pay attention.
In my opinion a lot of people get this wrong.
In acro, washing machines and flows tend to move in some form of rotation or direction.
It's my opinion that flows look most beautiful and elegant when they tend to follow a natural direction of movement.
What this means is if you are rotating in one direction through a ninja star, if you then transition into a different direction it can interrupt the flow.
I'm a big fan of continuing the flow in what feels like the natural direction and continuation that feels right.
So you can film a flow and take a look at it while you're creating it and consider...
What is the direction of the movement now?
What feels like a natural direction this movement wants to continue in?
I really can't stress this point enough, because I see so many people creating washing machines and flows that just don't obey this and they end up looking a bit clunky.
4. For some added flair, add a nice entry and exit
Linking with the previous point, pick an entry and exit that start and continue the movement as feels natural with the direction of the rest of the sequence.
Spinning or walking in to the shot are great, but make sure it fits the tempo of the rest of the flow and the movements.
Sometimes I see people walk into an acro entry so smooth and slow and graceful, and then the next movement is a super fast pop and spin and again it loses some level of elegance and flow.
Creating flows is so much fun, and they really are inspiring when done right and are just beautiful and wonderful to watch.
So I really hope this gives you some inspiration to go make your own, or improve them if you already do.
Also to let you in on a little secret...
I have a plan this year to create a beautiful high quality video production acroflow for our youtube channel.
It might not be for a few weeks or months still as I need to practice hard to make it perfect, but I am sure it's going to be EPIC!
I'll let you know once it's closer to happening, and it's nice for me to state it here as I now feel accountable, haha.