Okay--icky question....
Whenever I do a 20 minute set I do a really nice opening number and then after that I do a routine and sometimes end with a sword dance. My question, is that I find it harder to balance my sword on my chin because I am sweaty. What can I do? I wa sthinking of putting a small amount of baby powder on the blade edge of the sword---but then I dont want powder chin--any suggestions?
Whenever I do a 20 minute set I do a really nice opening number and then after that I do a routine and sometimes end with a sword dance. My question, is that I find it harder to balance my sword on my chin because I am sweaty. What can I do? I wa sthinking of putting a small amount of baby powder on the blade edge of the sword---but then I dont want powder chin--any suggestions?
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Boston
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 6:14 AMI have this problem too! I'm interested to see if anyone has a solution to it... -
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 3:08 PMIt is hard to balance on sweaty areas. You may try a little beeswax or surfboard wax on the balance point.
I generally don't do chin balance, first because I think of it as kind of a "men's thing", second because it would make me lose connection to the audience (can't look at them) and third because my swords are too heavy & they'd leave an ugly line where they rested on the chin.
You could just chose to balance somewhere else--fingers, wrist, shoulder, head, forearm, hip, thigh...so many choices.
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Fri, June 8, 2007 - 12:45 PMhmmm, bad me.
I realize I may have quashed potential posters with my comments... Although I personally don't do chin balance, I am sure many others do, and do it well! I have seen several men do this chin balance, and it can look really great, especially with a lighter sword that does not leave a big red line. I've seen a couple of women dancers do the chin balance, too. So, please...back to the original post...how do you keep it on a sweaty chin? What are your tricks, folks?
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 2:43 PMNo offense taken, but the chin balance is kind of a signature move for Shakira (that is, the dancer from Ohio;not the singer from wherever). Shakira's the finest sword dancer I've ever seen, so I invited her up here to Maine a couple of years ago to teach.
This may not help with the sweat, but may. Shakira's heavily into "feldenderiess" (which I'm certain I spelled wrong) which is all about body mechanics. She taught how to elongate body parts rather than scrunching. So, in this case, in order to get the chin as parallel to the floor as possible, instead of dropping the head back until the vertebrae stop you, elongate your throat until it's as long as possible. Sounds weird, but really works (I now apply the same philosophy to beckbends).
Kitty -
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 10:33 PMKitty, I think you mean feldenkrais - www.feldenkrais.com/ (not too familiar with it, but I knew what you were talking about!)
Can you elaborate on your analogy to backbends? Are you elongating your abdomen? -
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Tue, September 18, 2007 - 5:43 PMAnd it fits in this thread, too, since I like to balance my sword on my forehead or chin during backbends!
Yes. If you try to do a backbend by bending backwards (go ahead, I'll wait) you may find that you're limited by your vertebrae. They will move together quickly and stop you. But...if you deliberately work at curving your abdomen-or actually the front of your torso-while bending backwards, you'll find that you can get quite a ways further back without strain. Yes, I know it sounds strange; when Shakira first explained it I snorted. Then, following her instructions, I did it and it does make quite a difference.
I usually demonstrate its effectiveness with students with a variation: ear to shoulder. Again, if you try to drop your ear to your shoulder you won't get much motion. But try it again by moving the other ear away from its shoulder and see how much closer you get.
Of course, I could be totally insane....
Kitty
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Mon, September 10, 2007 - 1:03 PMJust crusin' through and saw this one . . . beeswax or "bowler's wax" (aka: pro-grip) will help, but you're gonna have to wipe that chin off. I've been dancing with swords for over 25 yrs, and the one gal is correct . . . you can end up with an ugly red line across your chin, but it is an impressive movement. When I choreograph sword routines for my gals, I actually incorporate time for "the wipe!" into what we're doing. It not only makes the chin balance do-able, but it kinda signals to the audience where the sword will be going . . . vs holding it in your teeth : ) I'll also lift my sword off my head, drop the head back to do the big wipe, then look back at the audience and make some cheeky comment to make sure they're still engaged before balancing it on the chin. Just some random thoughts : ) -
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Mon, September 10, 2007 - 1:11 PMWhat move do you do to incorporate the "wipe"??
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Sun, September 16, 2007 - 3:10 PMI do sweaty sword tricks first in the set before my body has a chance to get sweaty. Then if you really wanted to finish with sword do tricks that dont use sweaty skin. Waxes and baby powder dont work for me and to me its simpler to be flexible and just do the skin balances first.
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Re: Sweaty Chin
Tue, October 23, 2007 - 11:08 AMmy instructor does a chin balance in her club performances, but she does it early on before she gets too sweaty and she uses a light weight sword. then she does back bend with a turkish drop, then a turkis roll before getting up and doing about 30 spins with it! Fantastic!
