I was never an athletic child. I did gymnastics for a few months in elementary school, and I joined my 8th grade field hockey team for part of a season. That's pretty much all the sports I did. My mom spent most of high school trying to convince me to join a sports team, field hockey, tennis, cheerleading, anything. She thought it would be good for me, though she always framed it as something that would be good for my college applications. I didn't really like sports though. I was tiny, skinny, and weak. I didn't have good hand-eye coordination, I couldn't run fast or for long distances, and when I tried I always felt like my ankles were giving out.
It wasn't until I was sixteen that I found a sport I enjoyed. Several of my friends owned horses, so once we were able to drive ourselves places, they started teaching me how to horseback ride. Horseback riding was frustrating and tiring, and it didn't come naturally to me, but I loved it. The more frustrated I was, the more I was determined to learn it and do it well. Luckily for me, my college offered discounted riding lessons through the equestrian club. I took lessons all four years, and I still can't really canter, but I loved every minute of it. I tried out dance classes, yoga, and pilates during college too, but riding was always my favorite.
In the normal world though, anything equestrian related is expensive- lessons, gear, horses, you name it, it probably costs an arm and a leg. This is especially true when you technically don't have an income. I tried to make myself go to the gym, but I wasn't good at going regularly, so I sought out a fun, interesting, inexpensive fitness classes in Phnom Penh- mostly to not feel like a lazy bum who went from sitting in front of a computer at work to sitting in front of computer at home, but also to give myself something fun to do outside of work (and you know that health thing).
What I found was the circus and aerial arts classes offered by the National Circus School of Cambodia. The school opened in 1980, mainly teaching students who had lost their parents during the Khmer Rouge Regime, and helped to resurrect traditional Khmer circus art. The Cambodian run school teaches young Cambodians both full time and part time, features performances at their own big top (these performances are sadly currently on hiatus because of storm damage to the tent), sponsors a competitive troupe, and offers drop in classes for locals and foreigners.
Since November, I've had the joy of attending tumbling and flexibility/contortion classes with two of the professional circus artists and teachers at the school (one of whom was a competitor on the show Cambodia's Got Talent). These classes are always both a challenge and some of the most fun parts of my week. It's been amazing to see how much I've improved in the past few months. When I first started I couldn't quite do a split with my right leg forward or hold myself in a bridge for very long, but now both are comfortable positions I can hold for some time. I'm still working on doing a full split with my left leg forward- hopefully I'll get there soon. I often wake up so sore that I contemplate calling in sick after tumbling, but for the first time in my life I revel in the feeling. Last week I attended my first aerial silks class (basically you do tricks while hanging from two pieces of cloth suspended from the ceiling)- at one point during the class I had a flashback to being a weakling elementary schooler who couldn't do any tricks on the monkey bars, which made me even prouder when I achieved the moves and poses. While the regular silks class does not fit into my schedule at the moment, I look forward to joining the classes in the near future.
Who knows, maybe I've finally found my athletic side?
