I came across something recently that discussed the steps to becoming proficient at a certain task or skill. It didn’t take me long to see how this could relate to aerial skills.

What level are you? To break it down even further: What level are you at specific tricks or moves? Remember when you first started and you had to think about your climb? “Wrap the foot, make a shelf, use my legs, reach up high, step on fabric to brake” Now you shimmy all the way to the top and back while talking and laughing with your classmates. Make no mistake: I want you to ALWAYS be aware of what you are doing and to NEVER get complacent. However, it’s interesting to think about the specific aspects of aerials and at what levels we are with each.

Levels of Proficiency:

The first level of proficiency is awareness. At this level, a person has an awareness of the equipment and skill, but hasn’t practiced extensively and hasn’t developed muscle memory for the task at hand. A person with an awareness level of a certain skill really has to think about what to do.

The next level of proficiency is competency. A person who is competent at performing a specific task has practiced quite a bit and has developed muscle memory of their skills. They can perform the task repeatedly without mistakes.

The final level of proficiency is mastery. A person who has mastery of a skill or procedure has practiced it extensively under various conditions. They can perform the skill quickly, without making mistakes and without having to consciously think through each step.

      Skills are like muscles, if you don’t use them they get weak. You can develop mastery of a skill, but if you don’t maintain it, you may regress back to an awareness level. This is true even for specific tricks or moves. How many times have you heard or said yourself “Wow, its been a long time since I’ve done that one, let me think it through”

Bottom line peeps: When you learn something new, do NOT think you are proficient at it by only doing it once or twice. Also? Sometimes its good to review the basics. Go back through your notebooks that you should all be keeping (ahem...) and run through each skill. Uncomfortable on certain apparatus? Not a big fan of lyra or trapeze? Its probably because you are only at the awareness level. Think about how much we Really enjoy those tricks that we have mastered!!