Leading the Crowd and Abolishing the Lame Usage of Placards

One two three,

Peter, Steven, Paul and Mary,

Getting down with 3P,

Everybody loves single basing stunts

In response to Sri KDU Stunner's and Dynamitez's CHEER 2009 routines, your single basing stunts have to look like the video and only then it'll look like a SINGLE BASING stunt. Single basing stunts should only have 2 or 3 people in the stunt set and nothing more. Since the rules in Cheer states that extended stunts requires a back spot, the number of people in a single basing stunt set should be JUST THREE.

Just imagine having 4, 5, 6, or 7 people in a single basing stunt, doesn't make sense does it? It scores lower and doesn't look impressive. The crowd will perceive it as a partner stunt and doing a partner stunt instead would be more sensible. Add creativity to the partner stunt and you'll score as much or more than the single basing stunt.

Okay! Back to the topic. I've noticed that Malaysian cheer teams have very lame usage of placards. There's one year I recalled that Sellors used its placard to keep the crowd shut. "SILENCE" was written on the placard. *dies laughing*

The idea of a placard is to get the crowd involved in your cheers. Placards should be appropriately big and the words should be clear to lead the crowd effectively. Please for God's sake do not write on your placards for example:

• CHäRm A|l $tArS
• ð¥nåM̆eZ
• FücK ¥¤Ü

My eyes will bleed reading it, it looks stupid, it's childish, and the judges will deduct points for stupidity. English is read from left to right and I should see the sequence of your placards being:

The cheer should be simple and clear with no bombastic words like fascinating, adrenaline, amoeba, homosapiens etc. The cheer should be written especially for a bimbos with clear, simple words such as: go, fight, win, red, blue, white, alright! Words that are short and simple can be easily understood and thus, more effective when leading the crowd.


I must also mention about epic cheers that seems never ending. Nobody's going to understand and it is as interesting as having cereals for breakfast. Example of the epic cheer:

We're all the way from SMK Taman Nowhere,

Pink, Green, Brown is what we wear,

We're back and better than before,

So you better watch out cos we've got more,

We're number 50 last year,

But we'll do our best and give you fear,

We've got the power,

We don't shower,

We smell good,

Like your foot,

Who the hell are we?

We're the Agogos,

All the way from Nowhere,

And you know what,

We've the determination,

We work so hard,

For global domination

Blah Blah Blah Blah

Cheers should be a short statement about your team. Here's a cheer I wrote for Vulcanz CHEER 2005:

Vulcanz,

Attention,

We're on a mission,

Strike with precision,

That's our tradtion

Short, sweet and simple! Cheh :p

Another compulsory element for cheers are chants. Chants are sentences/words you repeat for more than 3 times. Chants are the best way to lead the crowd. The idea is to get them cheering the chant together with you. The use of pom-pons and placards are highly recommended. Incorporate them into the cheer choreography for visual impact and awesomeness. Examples of chants are:

• Go, Fight, Win
• Red, Blue White,
• Go, Team, Go
• Tough is not enough

Remember, that the idea of cheer is to lead the crowd. A cheer is comprising of two elements which are cheers and chants. Lacking in any one of them leads to a penalty. Incorporate props into cheer to lead the crowd more effectively and keep it simple yet original. Watch the video and understand the concept of cheer.

Cheer on,

Eric x

Cheer Guru - Double Down

We've seen a number of double twist cradles from a few teams for the past few years since Cheer 2007. The trend was started by Shirtliff in Cheer 2007 and this is one the skills that separates the shingz and the boomz.

A double down is different than a single down. In double downs, flyers do not ride the pop but instead twist on the way up and another twist on the way down. It is impossible to double down if the flyers ride the bases' pop.

I highly recommend the bases and spotters to assist the flyer by twisting her on the direction she's twisting. The secret to a double down is not height, but the twisting of the feet by the bases on the peak of the pop. The back assists by rotating the flyer through her ankles in sync with the bases.

Flyers ride up with their shoulders shrugged upwards and twisting to the direction she's twisting. Body stays tight throughout the duration of the stunt. One of the most common problem is the flyer stops her own twist by stopping at the first twist. A double down should not be considered as two skills but instead as one continuous flow.

It is possible to execute a double twist without the assistance of the base and the back spot. The flyer must be a able to do single down before attempting a double.

Striking Balance In Cheer Practices

It's the beginning of the year and many teams have already started recruiting talents into the team and have begun their training. Although things are starting out fresh and full of enthusiasm, it may all soon fizzle out without a proper training programme.

In this blog entry, I am going to help you achieve an effective training programme while keeping it fun for everybody.

An effective training programme is comparable to a bar of soap. Hold it too tight and it will slip through your hands but holding it too loosely, the bar of soap will slip away as well. The same could be applied to your members. Does that makes sense?

To achieve that, a balance must be met. If your practices are militaristic, as if preparing for a world war, it's not going to work. You'll have members leaving the team because being a cheer Nazi will murder out the fun.

Now we know that fun is good for your well-being. Same could not be applied to excessive fun. Imagine having to play a computer game for 48 hours straight. Doesn't sound so fun anymore ain't it?

A list of must-dos:

1. First and foremost, I would like to address the importance of using the right tone and words in practice. Nothing could be more discouraging when members in the squad says something negative when something does not work out. If you see a stunt set failing, do give your friends the much needed encouragement. I'm sure they are all stressed out and telling them that they suck might lead to suicidal thoughts. By giving encouragement, you are practising in what psychology calls "positive reinforcement". Praising something that is positive will lead to the constant occurence of that act which is praised.
2. The right use of "negative reinforcements" is equally important as positive reinforcements. Negative reinforcements reduces and obsoletes the behaviour/act that is being criticized. However, the way you deliver the message and the right tone, sets the outcome. For instance, you see this shingz girl doing a really bad toe touch that makes you wonder if it's a toe touch at all, don't shout to the team to tell her how shitty she is. Instead, opt for a kinder approach: Hey, good try! Just point those toes and it'll be much better!". I've learnt this from the Americans coaches who are really good at encouraging people to be the best they can. We have to remove this pessimistic Asian mindset for the betterment of the team. Note for team captains: if you have problems with a certain member of the team, voice out your opinions in private. The reason being is because, gossip and personal attacks may arise when the problem is made public.
3. Practice progression. I know it's easy to be caught up with other team's standard but before you push to a higher level of stunting, work on your basics. Unless you have an intelligent of an amoeba, go ahead and do a basket toss without mastering your elevators first. Basic movements of the stunts have to be mastered first before proceeding to a more difficult one. It's all in the muscle memory, the ability to do a thigh stand liberty will help you progress to a liberty prep because the same movement is applied on a thigh stand liberty and a liberty prep.
4. Have practices planned out beforehand. The recommended time of practices should be 2 hours. It's all that's needed if practices are effective. Allocate time to each element in cheerleading that needs to be worked on. For instance, the team might lack in stunting capabilities hence the allocation of time for stunts should be more. It is important for the coach and captain to analyze the team's strengths and weaknesses to set an ideal practice schedule. I also highly recommend the team to do specific strength work to condition the body for cheerleading.

I've only covered on what I feel is fundamental to make an ideal practice and I've not gone into the specifics. I will cover that soon so keep logging in to check out.

Thank you for reading,

Eric x

CHEER 2010 Stunting Expectations

Cheer 2009 was a leap forward in the cheer scene with teams brushing up their routines to slick perfection and the standard of stunts moved up by a notch. Do expect the same for CHEER 2010. In this blog entry, I have exclusively compiled for you a stunts expectation list for a top 10 placing in CHEER 2010.

1. Single leg twisting dismounts.
2. Double twist cradles.
3. Double structured pyramids.
4. Basket toss kick twists.

Do take note that the rules for CHEER 2010 may change slightly to keep cheerleading a safe sport. The changes are:

1. All extended stunts are only allowed a maximum of single twist.
2. Double twists are only allowed on a prep level.
3. The highest basket toss allowed is a kick single twist.

The application of the new rules and regulations are yet to be out so stay tuned for the update here.

Cheer Guru - Liberty Extension Bow & Arrow + Twist Cradle

Hey y'all, I'm so sorry for not updating my blog for some time. I've been out partying and now I have a history assignment to finish! But you know, being a kind person that I am, I posted up a video of me which was taken yesterday at Charm practice to keep y'all entertained.

I know I'm shaking like an OSIM chair in the stunt but I haven't been up on a liberty extension for years. But I stayed amazing and totally neglected the fact that I'm not wearing shoes and the bases are tired. They have been throwing fat, skinny, black, asian and all them girls and now they had to carry the biggest girl - ME!

Now, flyers who are reading this, just stay locked and keep your butt stagnant if you don't wanna fall and die. I know the bases are suppose to catch you but sometimes shit happens ;)

For the twist down, just drop the stretching leg and twist at the same time. Squeeze the butt, keep your body in one tight piece and hands to yourself or nobody's gonna base you ever again. I'm suppose to do a double down but there wasn't enough pop.

Thanks to U-sern, Jun Kang, Liang Giaw and Chee Wei for basing and thank you for reading,

EV xoxo

Cheer Guru - Basket Toss Kick Double Twist

The guru orders you to:

Bases
Rotate 90° as you dip on the load. The 90° rotation will initiate the momentum for the flyer to twist more effortlessly.

It is possible to do without the 90° rotation but seriously, save yourself from the frustration.

Flyers
As you ride up, look to the direction you're turning (90°) and kick straight up at the same time.

Hips and shoulders have to be aligned to initiate the twist. Keep tight and WHEEE!

Back Spot
Follow the bases as they dip and catch.


This guide applies to basket toss kick single twist as well. I will post up the drills and tips for basket toss kick twist soon.

Thank you for reading,
Go Fight Win!