Well folks, I survived my first week at International Stunt School! This week has been incredibly exciting and… eye opening. This just in: STUNTS ARE HARD. Who would’ve guessed? Day one focused primarily on basic falls and rolls, and boy did I learn my weaknesses quick; forward rolls are not my forte. I learned a lot that day, and we had tons of fun, but the next morning was absolute torture. I don’t think I’ve been that sore in my entire life, and that’s considering the fact that I used to do Shaun T’s Insanity workout on a daily basis. The pain continued through the next two days, which were focused on unarmed fighting techniques. Day two was all about learning various ways of pounding an opponent into hamburger, and on day three, we learned and filmed a short unarmed fight, receiving feedback from Mr. David Boushey himself. A little nerve-wracking to say the least, but extremely informative and helpful! On day four, we learned both knife and stick (or club). As a member of the SAFD and a certified actor-combatant, I was stoked to learn club technique, as it was never covered in the combat classes I took in college. I really enjoyed the flexibility the weapon provided in determining the circumstances of the fight. For example, is the stick a crow bar? A frying pan? A rolled up newspaper? Although I had previous experience with knife, it was interesting to learn a new angle on the technique. In college, I had been taught a more romantic/operatic way of handling a blade, so it was challenging and thrilling to make the fighting a little more “muddy” and gritty. We learned a few disarms, wounds, and kills, as well as how to amp up the illusion of danger in a fight. We did a lot of reviewing on day five, working on our falls, rolls, and knife/stick techniques. I also had the satisfaction of learning a hip throw (nothing feels better than slamming a dude twice your size down on a cushion). We then learned our choreography for knife/stick, and filmed it that afternoon. Again, it was a little intimidating having a fight critiqued by the founder of the SAFD and the USA, but extremely beneficial. So that brings us to today, our first day off. We have been told repeatedly to not go around hip tossing people or rolling down hills for practice on our breaks, and I can’t say I disagree. I’ve been teased a lot already for going to bed early (I’m still kind of running on EST), but honestly, at the end of eight hours of throwing myself at the ground, fighting, and being surrounded by tough, sweaty people, the last thing I want to do is go out for drinks. I’ve learned over the years, whether I was dancing, doing stage combat, or just working out in general, to listen to my body and follow its needs. If my eyes start closing at 10 PM, by gum, I’m going to sleep. And goodness knows that after being in a hot, sweaty room with 40+ people all day, I need solitude! So today, after my laundry is finished and this blog post is up, I intend to go for a long walk around campus, maybe head to the sporting goods store. More updates coming!
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Jessi's ThoughtsHey everyone! This blog is to keep you updated on what I'm currently working on. I will be posting show dates, readings, and other crazy stuff here. Archives
May 2018
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