You may have learned a regular foot lock on the first or second day of silks class. It’s one of our most useful tools but is also in the running for the messiest skill for students. There’s nothing more distracting to an audience than watching an aerialist fumble getting in and out of a simple foot wrap. If you can admit that I’m talking about you, never fear, here are five tips to smoother foot locks.
More Fabric
The most frequent fumble when tying the wrap is to not have enough fabric to get over the foot. A lot of teachers instruct students to pull slack with the free foot to create enough space. Unfortunately, pulling the fabric doesn’t always work depending on how sticky it is. Place the free foot at least a foot and a half up the fabric and you’ll have the perfect amount of slack to go over the foot but not so much that you lose height.
Turn In
I’m a ballet-trained dancer who usually equates a turned in and sickled foot as an ugly duckling. Generally, the goal in the air is to have pointed and turned out feet follows correct ballet technique. So it pains me to say it, but when you wrap a foot lock with a TURNED IN foot then you’re getting the job done the most efficient way possible. Let’s think about the mechanics of it. When the leg is turned out from the hip, the heel is in the way. The heel blocks the path to a smooth wrap over the toes. Instead, turn in the pushing leg for an easier transition. Give it a try and see if you agree with me.
Arms Straight Up and Leg Straight Out
If you’ve ever tried to wrap a regular foot lock with your arms bent and into your sides what I call short arm position) then you know that it’s not the most comfortable way to do it. It’s a struggle to look down and see what you are doing and the fabric often loses tension making it tough to place and push with the free foot. Instead, try this:
- Get a good grip.
- Straighten your arms.
- Keep the wrapped leg straight out at ninety degrees.
This way the fabric retains tension, you can see what you’re doing and it’s easier to grab more fabric.
Clean Up The Exit
Everyone has had that moment where you finish a beautiful sequence and are ready to get out of the lock only to ruin the moment with an ugly foot shake and a struggle bus facial expression. Here’s my step-by-step process:
- While standing, line up your baseball grip to your forehead.
- Sit back.
- Place your free leg on the pole in front of you and push it off.
- Without losing your base wrap, continue exiting by bringing the free foot around.
- Stand like you would for your regular climb.
You’ll be back to a neutral regular climb stance in which you can slide down or continue with choreography. If this is a challenge for you, practice getting into and out of it right off the ground without other choreography until you feel like it’s second nature.
The Foot Lock Climb
The foot lock climb, which is like if a bicycle climb and a foot lock had a baby, is one of my favorite tools for practicing and cleaning up this essential skill for all of my students.
- Start with a regular foot lock on either side.
- Bicycle into the pole.
- Stand up and release the original foot lock.
- Repeat this all of the way up the fabric.
It naturally alternates, so you’ll be clean and comfortable on both right and left sides before you know it.
All of these tips are individual pieces of the technique that I call L-Position. It’s when we are in a regular climb wrap around the feet and in a baseball grip with a ninety degree angle at our hips. It’s literally an L-shape. It’s the best way, in my opinion, to efficiently get into and out of regular foot locks. There’s also a bonus of it being clean and comfortable.
Working on your foot locks might not be the most interesting or exciting way to spend your training time, but it might be the difference between you looking beautiful or messy. Clean up this one foundational skill and see how it improves your entire silks practice.