The Passive Hang

#74: Jason Lapiana: From Specialist to Generalist

Jason Lapiana (@jason.lapiana) from Clearwater, Florida is on the Passive Hang! Jason is a movement teacher who is the director of coaching at @move_training_calisthenics. Jason is an absolute weapon who is starting to share more of his insights online and is worth checking out. 

Jason used to be on the pursuit for professional baseball, before the pressure of competition and specialisation started to turn on him. What used to be fun, lost the fun. On a search for something broader he set on a path towards fitness before coming familiar with the concept of movement practice. Initially a skeptic, he gradually exposed himself more and more before reacquainting with a lost energy - the concept of play. A reminder of his childhood days in the NYC city block. 

Jason shares his journey of how he transformed his body and practice to a point where he can express himself as he desires - which you can see on his Instagram updates as he leaps and pivots in explosive acrobatics. But rather than just the pursuit of diversity and skills - Jason orients himself towards the cultivation and research of qualities. What does it mean to develop a quality vs skill acquisition? We discuss in this great conversation.

Thanks Jason! Check out his instagram and youtube for a taste of his insights.

#movement #movementpractice #thepassivehang

#73: Daniel Zivatovic: How to become a full time Movement Teacher

Daniel Zivatovic, Physical Empowerment (@denchija) is on the Passive Hang! Daniel teaches online and in London, as one of the teachers of @londonmovementgroup. 

I was super happy to connect with Daniel as we have been chatting online back and forth for a while now, and it was a pleasure to create the connection in conversation.

Daniel shares amazing content via Instagram and YouTube on movement education, I highly recommend you check it out. He moves with grace, fluidity and consideration. It wasn’t always like that, as Daniel shares - he used to be a couch potato, despite being a trained physiotherapist. He had motivation forced upon him as he became unemployed and out of work. During that period, he discovered the world of movement, and pivoted his life as he moved to London.

Diving deep into the movement world, Daniel learned from many of the best teachers around the world, before turning into teaching himself. He let go of working in a clinical setting as a physio, and moved into movement teaching full time just a couple of years ago - at the height of the pandemic. It’s an amazing story of self transformation and overcoming challenge. 

Daniel shares his learnings on his transition into full time teaching. I also get to hear his views on advancing strength in complexity as opposed to intensity and volume. All great stuff.

Thanks Daniel!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaAeBPgUWWIvmcB-0EUozcg

#movementpractice #movement #thepassivehang

 

#72: Lewis Yost: How to advance beyond the Straight, Tuck, Straddle Handstand

Lewis Yost (@lewisyost_) aka Lewdog aka Stan number ?? comes onto the Passive Hang! 

Lewis is a movement and hand balancing coach, practitioner residing in Perth, Australia, teaching out of Movement Co. I’ve connected and learnt from Lewis from the past 2 Gains at the Ghetto Workshops. Not only possessing unbelievable personal movement talent, Lewis is also defining a sharp edge to his coaching as well. 

Lewis started training from age 14, then was snatched from the cradle by Harry Williams into the world of handstands. The rest is… history. He’s taken to training in dramatic fashion, now being at 20 being Australia’s top handbalancer. 

We approach this as a follow up to Episode 21 with Harry Williams, with the topic being - advancing the handstand beyond the straight, tuck, straddle shapes. We cover when to let go of chest to wall holds, body line drills, and when to start working on shape changing, what shapes such as the seven and flags, hand walking and head positions. A lot of insight here for intermediate practitioners of hand balancing!

If you’re not in Perth, Lewis also offers online coaching, just get in touch with him on the ‘gram.

Thanks Lewis!

#handbalancing #handstand #movement #thepassivehang #movementpractice 

#71: Bren Veziroglu: Learning Strategies and the Psychology of Motivation

Bren Veziroglu (@brenveziroglu) is on the Passive Hang! Bren is a movement teacher based in San Jose, California. He runs an amazing YouTube channel with in-depth pieces on Movement Practice and strategies for learning movement. 

Bren has built himself from the ground up - being a kid who wasn’t physically gifted, but blessed with an ability to dedicate himself completely to what interests him. First it was maths, but then it transformed into the physical. His current passion for science carries through as you can hear him share enthusiastically his findings in modern research - fitting as he currently finishes his master’s degree in Kinesiology. 

This is a long conversation, spanning 3 hours as we go back and forth on the topics of learning and motivation in the physical realm. Bren goes deep into strategies for exploration and tinkering, with practical application to teaching. 

I also get to ask him about his recent video on YouTube about deciphering injuries and how to deal with them, the dubbed “M.O.V.E.R.S” method. I recommend everyone to check that out. https://youtu.be/2s2CpDlbrNA

Thanks for joining us Bren!

https://www.themovementcult.com

#70: Elia Bartolini, The Flexibility Guy: Middle Splits Deep Dive

Elia Bartolini (@elia_bodyweight), the Flexibility Guy - comes onto the Passive Hang! Elia is a flexibility and handstand coach living in Rome, Italy. I love Elia since he shares not only in-depth and tips for real flexibility development, but also loves taking th e piss of the culture of french fries fast information. 

We go deep on the middle splits in this episode, as Elia has… a great middle split. His inspiration comes from childhood, when seeing JCVD doing the middle splits over the chairs. Elia has worked out many ways of flexibility development, so much he has actually written books on it! He advocates for using a blend of traditional and modern methods, and we get to hear what he means by these terms. The great thing is Elia covers different approaches and considerations for you depending on your flexibility type - if you’re someone where relaxation comes easier, versus loaded stretching. 

We also go through breathing within stretching, what type of floor surface, and the role of hip rotation in the middle splits.

Thanks Elia! 

 

#69: Sondre Berg: Training methods for 90 degree handstand pushups and explosive legs

Sondre Berg (@sondre_berg) - the sensation from Norway is on the Passive Hang! Sondre is a coach living in Norway. Sondre amazes me with all the physical prowess he displays - explosive, skilful, mobile, taking on skills I haven’t seen before such as the one arm handstand pushup. It was a pleasure to find out that he also has the training wisdom and ability to teach that wisdom. 

So how does Sondre manage to do all that he does? One of the main points he raises in discussion is basic - relying on volume, and not underestimating how much capacity you have towards volume. It’s a simple message which we can forget. Repetition and recover. You can see how he uses this to devastating effect. Sondre not only has finesse with advanced one arm handstand skills, but also exuberance in explosive acrobatics. 

I also selfishly ask him about tips on the 90 degree pushup, something I’m working on. We go through some tips and tricks for developing it, as well as considerations for developing strength where skill is a big component. Sondre also shares some tools for developing power within the lower body. 

Sondre coaches in person and online, you can check it all out at www.bergmovement.com 

Thanks Sondre!

#68: Jon Yuen: Programming for Autonomy, and Your Significant Training Stories

Jon Yuen (@yuenjon) is on the Passive Hang! Awesome to connect with Jon as I’ve been a long time fan (like many others!). Jon is a movement teacher based in Norway. He also likes cats, very much.

Jon shares his time growing up in Norway coming from mixed heritage, and the influences that have shaped his training history. For someone so accomplished in movement - what drives him? What were the turning points? One poignant story involving a volcano and Rasta Dave both gets me laughing and appreciating Jon’s choices. 

Jon has an incredible approach to coaching - something I’ve heard from many peers. Autonomy is a key idea he tries to cultivate with his students. I see this being talked about a lot on the internet - but what are practical ways of implementing this within programming? Jon shares some of his approaches such as teacher-student collaborative program design.

An almost 2 hour long chat that went by like a flash; with a fantastic communicator, teacher, human. 

https://www.yuenjon.com

 

 

Episode #67: Micha Schulz, King of Weighted: The Planche, HSPU, OAC

Micha Schulz (@micha_bln_), founder of @kingofweighted shares his story and training insights on the Passive Hang! Micha is a coach who specialises in calisthenics skills and weighted calisthenics.  He is based in Berlin, Germany.

Micha’s content is always full of nuance and consideration, with a strong understanding of biomechanics. This makes sense as you hear that Micha has a degree in engineering, but he pivoted as he found his true passion in training calisthenics. 

Micha shares his insights into general programming considerations for skills such as the planche, handstand pushup and the one arm chin-up, differentiating sticking points between strength limitation vs technical skill development, and tips around avoiding injury. 

Check out Micha’s work over at @kingofweighted. Thanks for coming onto the Passive Hang!

https://www.kingofweighted-coaching.com

Episode #66: Rodrigo Salulima, Pratique Movimento: How to Start Your Movement School

Rodrigo Salulima (@rodrigosalulima), founder of Pratique Movimento (@pratiquemovimento) on the Passive Hang! Pratique Movimento is a flourishing movement school based in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. 

 

In this wonderful conversation we hear how Rodrigo built the community of Pratique Movimento, sharing his learnings and his approach to growing the school. How did it start? How did it grow? What types of people come to the school? What is his advice to others starting their own movement school? Rodrigo kindly shares his origin story - how he started in movement, and how pratique movimento was born.

 

We also cover his passion for syntropic farming, a regenerative method of cultivating land into a rich ecosystem. Rodrigo draws analogies from the farming practice to the movement practice, such as how syntropic develops from the simple to the complex. 

 

A wonderful conversation with a man who really, just loves Movement. If you go to Brazil, it’s a must stop destination.

 

References during the conversation:

Tribes by Seth Godin

10 Rules for Artists by Sister Corita Kent 

Episode #65: Joseph Bartz: The Map of the Physical Practice

The legendary @josephbartz is on the Passive Hang! 

Joseph is a teacher who guides others on the question of “What does it mean to live a good life in modernity?”. He is based on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. He teaches the physical practice as building foundations for taking responsibility for your own physical health and capacity, to give you potential for action. 

I approached Joseph after watching his YouTube video “Map of the Physical Practice”. In this video Joseph lays out an in-depth map to help a practitioner navigate the vast breadth of the generalist movement concept. We discuss specific questions, such as “How can we use the map to help us intelligently navigate our practice? When is it good to switch topics - to generalise, or to specialise? Why do we practice?”. 

Joseph covers other areas such as the “Shotgun” approach to injury rehabilitation, tension training vs looseness, thoughts on group training, considerations for introducing complexity within training, and his own current approach to practice.

A killer episode.

Find more of Joseph’s resources on:

https://josephbartz.de

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-SKEOM7_q2nEhqz08_n6EA

https://www.instagram.com/josephbartz/

#movement #movementpractice #thepassivehang