FAQ

Info You May Or May Not Need

Seminars/Workshops
I teach workshops on handstands and acrobatics along with the attributes(physical and mental) required to safely train the skills.
Workshops can range in duration from 90 minutes all the way through multiple day events.  These workshops are specifically designed for the learning process of an adult, so while children are welcome to attend; my adult classes usually move a bit slow and are too heavy in theory for kids’ interests.  

Potential Workshop topics:
-Handstands for any level, absolute beginner through advanced
-Gymnastics tumbling
-Capoeira/tricking Acrobatics
-Moving with and across the floor
-Bodyweight strength development
-Rope Climb
-Ring strength
-Flexibility
-Prehab/recovery
-Approaching any of these subjects as a complete beginner

I am very flexible with this, so if there is any specific workshop you would like to see there is a good chance we can make that happen. Feel free to contact me for more information about this.

Weekend Seminars
This is my preference when it comes to teaching, as I am able to get to know the students better.  With a longer event I can provide attendees with a more complete experience as well as more thorough information and instruction.
In general I have a very loose and open teaching style, so I don’t really have a rehearsed seminar that I teach.  Each event is different because the curriculum is decided by the level and desires of the group as well as the facility we have available.  

A weekend seminar consists of four 3-hour sessions over two days. A typical day is morning training from 10:00-13:00, a two hour lunch break, and an afternoon session from 15:00-18:00.

I offer 3 different kinds of themes when it comes to weekend seminars:
Hand Balance
The weekend hand balance seminar is split into 2 levels.
Note that while the beginner sessions focus on basics, this is where i offer more theory and teaching cues so these classes can also be useful for instructors.
Likewise even though the int/adv classes have a recommended skill prerequisite, beginners are still welcome to attend. The skills may be beyond their level, but they will have a different experience working the scaled down versions and observing the higher level students while listening to the theory.
All students are welcome to attend the whole weekend for the full experience, and will receive a small discount for doing so.
One more note is that ultimately the group determines the session, so beginner and advanced sessions can be very different depending on the level of the community. Depending the detail we go into we may not cover all of the topics listed, or we may completely go off topic on a separate tangent. I’m absolutely fine with this as long as it’s what the group wants to do; this is what makes each workshop unique in its own way.
Final note is that all of the skills and concepts we are discussing are learned over a long term. I have no expectation for a student to “learn” or “master” their handstand over the weekend, and neither should they(though it is common to see marked improvement). It’s better to think of this weekend as not learning the handstand but learning more about handstands to apply that knowledge into one’s personal practice.

The beginner sessions will focus more on physical preparation, theory, and development of the basic techniques in order to get students more comfortable on their hands and create a good base for more advanced skills.

Prerequisites: none
Topics covered:
-Physical Preparation for wrists and shoulders
-Alignment for the handstand, and how to get around restrictions
-Arm support using the body’s physical structure to its advantage
-Building comfort and awareness during inversion
-How to perform use the wall to build your HS without building bad habits for the future
-How to safely bail out of the handstand to increase confidence and help prevent potential injury
-Developing balance in the handstand using a deliberate and methodical method
-Entries into the handstand and how to make them consistent
-Developing confidence and consistency in the freestanding balance
-Different methods of using the body to correct the balance to increase control and versatility
-Learning to break the line and return in preparation for advanced skills
-Handstand Walking
-Spotting a handstand in a way that will help the student learn on their own
-Teaching cues to help dispel the ‘common myths’ and bring about efficiency in learning

Intermediate/advanced sessions are for students with experience and will focus heavily on skill development at a faster pace.
Recommended prerequisites:
-a consistent 30 seconds freestanding handstand with a decent line. Not necessarily required but students will get more practical benefit from the sessions having met this basic proficiency.

Topics Covered:
-Refinement of basics to a high degree of precision
-Adding complexity to the basics to increase the challenge
-Testing the balance to sharpen the reflexes
-Common and uncommon handstand shapes and transitions between then
-Movement in a static handstand
-Technique for press handstand and stalder presses
-Handstand Pushups
-Hollowback or Mexican handstand development
-Jumping in a handstand
-Developing the one arm handstand(Very complex topic with many sub-topics of its own)
-Theory on how to stay healthy and reduce injuries during the training
-Theory on how to structure training for skills, strength, conditioning, and endurance

Acrobatic Movements
This seminar is designed to take participants into the world of acrobatics, floor movement, and unstructured play while still taking into account the specific demands of the adult learning process.
The goal of this event is to help guide attendees on how to start applying these movements and concepts into their own practice. Also important is teaching what mistakes to look out for that can later hinder the progressions.
The movements and progressions draw inspiration from gymnastic, circus, capoeira, martial arts, tricking, and dance.
This seminar will be divided into a beginner and intermediate/advanced. The beginner classes will focus a lot on physical preparation, coordination, and learning basic moves. The int/adv classes will focus a bit more on skill progressions, variations, transitions, and combinations.
Regardless of level, I still recommend attending the whole seminar for the complete experience.

Beginner sessions will introduce participants to acrobatics and floor movement to give them a wider perspective of the art.
Prerequisites: none
Topics include:
-Physical preparation so the body can stay healthy,  properly handle the demands placed upon it and reduce risks of injuries
-The role of body tension in acrobatics
-The importance of fear and psychological restrictions in skill progression, and how to overcome them
-Technique, timing, and coordination for jumping and landing in regards to acrobatic skills
-Learning how to fall safely to increase confidence and reduce risk of injuries
-How to build and dissipate momentum
-Different perspectives of rolling on the floor
-Progressions for gymnastics floor skills
-Progressions for some capoeira floor work
-Progressions for some tricking moves

The intermediate sessions are for students with a bit of experience in at least basic floor acrobatics, i.e. cartwheels and rolls.  These classes will still spend time in injury prevention and physical preparation but will move much faster into the skill progressions. Because the group levels can vary significantly, there are many options as to which direction these workshop can go. One thing I also try to do is give students both the perspectives of the gymnastics style of this training as well as the tricking and capoeira methods; as they differ greatly but both offer huge movement potential.
As far as what skills we actually work on, I can make no guarantees as it will depend on the level/interests of the group as well as the equipment we have access to in the facility.
Prerequisites: Familiarity with rolls and cartwheels
Topics:
-Physical preparation and injury prevention
-Importance of body tension and timing
-Breakfalls to reduce risk of injury
-Basic coordination exercises to use as warm up and progressions for skills
-Refinement of basic acrobatic movements
-Variations on basics
-Speed and tempo changes of movements
-Gymnastics tumbling progressions
-Capoeira and tricking progressions
-Combinations and transitions
-Partner work to present new challenges and increase awareness

Physical Attribute Development for the Pursuit of Acrobatics
This seminar will be the most open of the three as far as content goes, and also probably the most friendly towards complete beginners. The idea here is not to focus as much on the technical aspects of the skills, but rather on how to develop the physical attributes that make the acrobatic skills possible. In addition, we will discuss some theory on overall physical health, injury prevention, recovery, and different training perspectives.
Not everyone needs to be an acrobat, but there are definitely benefits to including variations on the training in one’s physical practice. This seminar is one way to approach a few perspectives on the training without going too deep into the skill work. This event is open to anyone, as all topics can be scaled accordingly for all levels.
Flexibility/Mobility:
-The different kinds of flexibility along with their benefits and drawbacks
-Techniques and progressions to develop the following positions: full squat, back bridge, pike, pancake, and splits in 3 directions
-Flexibility work for specific joints such as shoulders, chest, ankles, wrists, etc.
-The mental process required to get more loose; it’s about a lot more than stretching the muscle
-Roles of tension and relaxation
-Using flexibility training to also build strength and resistance in end range of motion
-How to practice or teach differently for hypermobile and hypomobile students
Strength:
-Basic Upper body support and pushing progressions
-Basic Upper body hanging and pulling progressions
-Straight arm versus bent arm movements
-Using decreased leverage to increase difficulty: planches and levers
-Conditioning for press handstands: where does flexibility come into play?
-Strength work on the gymnastics rings
-Rope Climbs
-Bodyweight Leg strength: progressions towards one leg squats and beyond
-Theory on maintaining flexibility while building strength
-Theory on strength versus technique when it comes to movement
-Building resilience in the joints to be able to handle force
Coordination:
-Progressions and variations on basic plyometrics; Jumping and landing as well as learning how to dissipate force
-Progressions on breakfalls; very important for injury prevention
-Rolling on the floor from several different perspectives: gymnastics, martial arts, parkour, and dance
-Progressions and variations on cartwheels
-I believe that rolls and cartwheels are useful for anyone to learn, acrobat or not
Recovery Work:
-Soft tissue release techniques for different areas of the body, plus the importance of releasing accumulated tension in the musculature
-Recovering from injuries
-How to structure a “recovery” training session and when to use them
-Balancing out “hard” and “soft” training
-Learning how to undo the damage done from training, sitting, etc.
Additional notes:
There is no way we can cover all of the above information in only a weekend, especially if we go into any real detail on a specific topic. Ultimately the curriculum will be decided by the group and the facility and equipment we have access to.
Required Equipment for this seminar:
The minimum as always is just floor space, however I like to also have: rings, rubber bands, mats, stall bars, rope, pull-up bars, dowel rods, lacrosse/massage balls, massage rollers, etc. The more equipment we have, the more options it gives us on where we can go with the seminar.
In the case of single loop rubber bands, if the gym or participants are interested I have the option to bring some for purchase, but I need to know ahead of time.

Mix and Match Event Structure
Ultimately, the gym I am visiting will know their community better than I do. If there is any particular way you want to structure an event I can be very flexible in this regard.
Just let me know if you have anything in mind that would deviate from the above events and we can work it out.
One option that works well is: beginner handstands, flexibility, advanced handstands, and acrobatics as the 4 sessions to get a bit of everything in.
If you have something else in mind please feel free to contact me.

Other Events

I also deviate from the weekend seminar by occasionally offering 3-day immersions or week-long intensives for those who wish to delve deeper into the training. So far I am typically hosting these in my home base of Las Vegas once or twice a year. However, I am available to travel for these types of events if there is interest.
Additionally, I am available to speak or teach at conferences, festivals, retreats and other such events. If you wish to hire me as a guest teacher or speaker, please feel free to contact me directly.

Hosting an Event

I try to make hosting and organizing an event as easy as possible for the gym. The following is my basic protocol for a weekend event:
-My minimum to travel somewhere and teach for a weekend is 10 paid participants at the current rate. If you specifically want to run an event for less people we can work out something else.
-I give an early bird discount that ends typically 4-6 weeks before the event. The idea is to reach minimum participation before this date so that I know I have sufficient commitment to go ahead with flights, etc.
-I pay for my own travel, but factor it out of the profit split.
-Typically I cap my events at 20 or so people to ensure everyone is able to get some individual feedback if they want it. Feel free to contact me if you wish to run an event for more than 20 people.
-Host studio is given two comp spots that do not count for the minimums or profit split
-The host studio(or organizer) receives a portion of the profits on a sliding scale that goes up with registrations, ranging from 10-30%.  See the following:

10-12: 90/10
13-14: 85/15
15-17: 75/25
18-20: 70/30

What I will do is take the total profits and subtract my travel costs(flight, accommodation, transport) from that sum. Then I will calculate the profit sharing from the updated sum.

-If an event does not reach minimum numbers by the cutoff date I can decide whether to run or cancel it. In the event of cancellation, all participants receive full refunds. In the event of running the seminar with less than minimum numbers, the studio’s comp spots are still honored but the profit sharing is no longer applicable.
It will never cost the gym anything to run the event.
-Promotion is a cooperative effort but it is ultimately the gym’s responsibility to ensure minimum numbers are met.
-I kindly ask that host studios not run classes or open gym during workshop hours. This is to minimize noise and distraction and will  help ensure that I can provide a high quality experience to the participants.
-Lastly, different seminars may require different equipment to be able to cover certain topics properly. Below is a basic breakdown.

Handstands: Minimum of hard floor and wall space. Matted floor is not ideal because it can dampen the sensations we need to feel for proper balance control; however this can also be remedied with wooden boards.
Recommended would also be parallettes, blocks, etc so we have different surfaces to balance on, and maybe some bars or rings to perform hanging work as part of recovery.

Acrobatics: The most important element for this seminar is just open floor space. I prefer it to be matted, as many of the movements we work on will not be without impact. Tatami or puzzle mats work great for flooring. Panel mats and crash mats are added bonus that allows us more options to work with.
Sprung floor will also allow us to work more advanced acrobatic movements, but is not necessary by any means.

Physical attributes: This one is a bit more open as far as the course material goes, so I can definitely work with whatever we have. Here are some items we can work with: rubber bands(I have a deal with a manufacturer so talk to me if you want me to bring some over to sell), rings, floor, crash mats, dowels, kettlebells or other weights, parallettes, wall space, bars, etc.
We don’t need all of that but it definitely gives the group options on what we can work on.

Private and Group Training

I offer private training in my home base of Las Vegas or if I have some free time while I am abroad.
Please contact me for more information on rates and times.

Online Coaching

Additionally I offer the online coaching service for students unable to train with me in person who still want some individualized critique.

We can do this in one of the following ways:
-Critique and assessment of your videos and technique
-Question and Answer session
-Real-time Coaching of a training session

The cost is $75 USD for a video call or $60 for a phone call lasting up to 40 minutes.

Discounts and Refunds

-No refunds given after one month prior to the event(with some exceptions for extenuating circumstances). By this point I have already committed to the event under the pretense that a certain number of people had signed up.
-In the chance of an event cancellation, all participants will receive a full refund.
-Most events will feature some sort of early bird discount to encourage participants to register sooner. This also serves as a cutoff date for minimum numbers with respect to confirmation of the event.
-Already attended a 2-day or longer event with me? Enjoy a 25% discount on any full day or weekend event.
-Attended two weekend or longer events with me? Enjoy a 50% discount on any full-day or weekend event.
Note that only two days or longer events qualify for additional discounts. As an example, if you did a weekend course, then later took a full day course at 25% off, you are still only eligible for the 25% discount.
-3 day and longer courses will also have a similar associated discount, but will be unique to the event.
-I do not do student or couples discounts.