POST by RENZ: Aben's First Flight

Aben in Fancy Dress

When Aben was a child, about 13 years old, he liked to watch a lot of action movies and movies where people would be flipping all around the place. He would say to himself "Ah that is really cool, but what they’re doing is not real."

One day, at Aben’s house, he was having a lot of problems that were humiliating and offensive to him. So, he left everything and went to his aunt’s house.

When Aben got there, his cousin, who is more like a brother to him, was already at the house. Having Aben’s cousin there was like a gift from God because at that moment he did not know it, but his life would have a new beginning because he did a flip, which was the first trick that Aben had seen in real life.

When Aben saw his cousin flip he could not believe it, but it made him feel excited and he liked the tricks a lot. Aben did not know what gift God had given him but through his cousin he found out that his gift was an acrobatic sport called “tricking.”

Aben Tricking

The best thing about being able to do tricking is that he can teach other people how to do the gift that God has given him and now there are a lot of people that do tricking, because of our Nicaragua boy, Aben.

God loves all of us the same and we all have a place with him but we have to find him.

Aben performing with Stivey, Lorenzy, Jose, Eliezer & Jonny

POST by FRAN: Family Fun in the Sun, whilst getting some serious Tricking Done

Competition time!!!!  Saturday morning was interesting; I woke up with a stuffy nose and a sore throat. All the tricker boys had gone home except for Yordy and Eliazer. I cooked some eggs and made myself some tea. The boys were sitting outside on the couches watching tricking videos of Michael Guthrie and Vellu Saraela, and their other tricking heroes.

I went out and sat opposite them and began to eat my scrambled eggs. Then I said “let’s go practice tricking after this.” They looked up at me and nodded their heads very slowly. “Well Mum said that we could do a little competition with the little kids,” I said. Then there was more excitement in their response “dale pues!!! (Ok then!!)”

All the little boys: Sezni, Rafael, Billy, Brian and Oliver were all playing Wii inside, on the volume-less and colourless television that some good friends of ours gave to us. I walked over to them and asked them, “Who wants to have a tricking competition?” Many voices came in both English and Spanish “Yo… Me… I…yo quiero! Me too!” “Well get something to eat and then we will start the competition!!!” “YEEEEAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!” and then running feet was what I heard, if the TV had volume I would probably have heard the cries from the ‘Super Smash Bros’ Wii game as well!

I have seen little boys eat fast and slow or not wanting to eat at all, but this was the time when I saw boys eat like lighting! They were in the kitchen and when I got to the kitchen they were all outside warming up for the competition.

They all had their serious faces on. I went inside “Mum, we are ready!!!”  Mum came out with a birthday bag that looked full. “I’m coming!” She said in a rush. It looked like she had brushed her hair with a pillow and threw on the first thing that she saw in her wardrobe!

The just-woken-up Mum went outside and said “OK! Who is ready for a competition?”  There was screaming and yelling and a lot of noise. “OK then… Round one… Sezni vs. Brian vs. Fran…” she said as she wrote it down in a note book. “Round two… Jed vs. Billy vs. Oliver… ” there was some giggles at that one and then “round three… Lorenzy vs. Rafael. And last but not least, round four, Yordy vs. Eliazer!”

We played some music and started round one on the saw dust, Sezni, Brian and I were all against each other. The battle began with self-centered Sezni. He did a few kicks and then he did a round-off and a back hand spring. Mum clapped and then Brian did his thing. He did some kart wheels and a back hand spring, but tricking style is mainly kicking.

Sez, Brian and Francesca in our backyard, Saturday morning, Tricking Competition

Then it was my turn. I did a few kicks and I tried to do this side flip that I was learning but I freaked out and fell down on my side. I then did a back hand spring but I didn’t land it properly. I told Sezni “go it’s your turn” so he did his thing while I was making a pile of saw dust so that I could fall in it. I went back over to the other side so that I could get a running start.

It was then Brian’s turn so I waited till he was finished and when he moved out of the way I ran and jumped and did a front flip and landed on my feet but I was really low to the ground and I fell back to sit on my bum. Mum started clapping and cheering “wow!”

After that I don’t remember what the little boys did but the music finished and we were lined up; me, then Sezni, then Brian. Everyone else were judges and on the count of three they would point to the winner… one, two, tree… Sezni!!! Sezni won the floor because of his kicking.

The Judgement: Sezni is CHAMPION in backyard Tricking!

Next was the round between Dad, Billy and Oliver. Dad stole the show of course but Oliver won because he did a kart wheel. Then it was Lorenzy and Rafael. Lorenzy can’t do anything except go up in a bridge and run around her body without moving her arms, but that is not tricking that is break dancing. On the other hand Rafi can do a back hand (head) spring and a front flip. So Rafi won that one.

Dad in Tricking Heaven, with our lab - "Chela"

Then the real battle came… Yordy vs. Eliazer. Eliazer just started practicing tricking but he isn’t afraid to do it, Yordy has been practicing for a year or so, so he is pretty good. They were both doing front flips and half-moons and other stuff but Yordy suddenly did a double front flip and landed it like I landed my front flip! Yordy hasn’t been trying really hard to practice the double front flip, but yet he still did it!

Yordy Tricking

Yordy won that round because he was better than Eliazer on the floor. Next we went to the trampoline. And it was all the little kids for the first round and the second round was Yordy and Eliazer. The first group did front flips and back flips and back hand springs… I did a back flip with a twist. Yordy and Eliazer picked the winners… Third place was Brian, second place was Sezni and first place went to me.

Francesca Flipping

Yordy and Eliazer were next. Eliazer did a lot better on the trampoline, Yordy didn’t do that much because Eliazer was the one doing all the flipping! When they finished it was our turn to judge, we all voted for Eliazer to win and he did win.

Yordy y Eliazer on the trampoline

Once we all got our prizes the little boys went back to playing ‘Super smash bros’ on the Wii and the “older” people sat outside on the couches. We were all exhausted but we had a really fun morning. Mum went to have a shower and Dad went back to bed.  Saturdays are really our only days of rest! And Tricking is really tiring.  

Francesca Winning the Tricking Competition

POST by FRAN: A Leg Up

Year after year, when I was little, I would always do gymnastics. I was in competitions and often at the gym practicing my routine to get better.

When I was 9 I was in the national squad level 4, so that meant that I was at the gym five days a week for four hours each day. This was the year that my parents decided to move to Mexico. At first I didn't want to leave, but I had no choice, my parents had already organised the plane tickets and everything.

So I took my Bible and went to my room for a few hours. I found a Bible verse that said something along the lines of 'I have set apart a separate piece for you.' I don't remember where the Bible verse is, but that one line spoke to me. so I went downstairs and told my Mum what I read and she was glad that I found the verse.

Four years have passed since I have seen and read that Bible verse and I still remember it! Although I have lost my flexibility and gymnastics skills, I still love trying.

On our 2nd year in Mexico we found one of the only gym clubs in the city so I tried it out and it helped me to remember my abilities. I loved it even though I wasn't that good at it.

Now in Nicaragua it has been hard to find a gym club. So it makes practice difficult. I can't do the splits anymore, when a I do a cartwheel my leg muscles hurt and weird stuff like that.

My Dad has been watching a lot of youtube videos lately of a group of young Nicaraguan guys that can do flips and craziness. Dad has been watching them for at least a year and every time he does he says "I need to find these boys!"

Mother's day here is May 30th and at a poorer mall here (Plaza Las Americas), from time-to-time, there is folk dancing for families that go to the mall to watch and enjoy. Since it was mother's day, Mum HAD to go. So Mum, Dad, Jocasta, me, Lorenzy, Sezni, Rafael, and Billy got into the car and drove off.

Plaza Las Americas is at least an hour's drive away. The drive is always fast when Dad drives because he is a psycho driver! When we finally got there the mall was crowded. We were about to leave  to go to a friend's house, but decided to let the boys play and to eat at the mall.

The mall had a rock wall and some blow up castles for kids to play on. I went to sit down with Mum, Jocasta, Dad, and Lorenzy, and as soon as we sat down Mum said "hey look over there! I wonder what those guys are going to do... they look like they are warming up for something." As she finished 

speaking I looked up and two Nica guys started flipping in the mall! I was amazed!

Dad went over and asked if they wanted to work for the school because my Dad is just weird like that, and they accepted. They were the guys he was trying to stalk down. Dad brought them home and chatted with them and they both agreed with everything.

Three weeks have passed since that night, and they are still here, but nervously thinking of leaving forever. They need spiritual help but they are really good friends and now I can do some flips because of them.