Tear O'Bite

Tear o'Bite is a great galumphing beast with one goal: Sitting on your jammer. She is the gum on the bottom of your skate, the word on the tip of your tongue, and surprisingly agile for a drunken moose.

[tearobite]

I finally got around to making an athlete page. By "got around" I mean "got over the fact that some people in the derby community know who I am, and I should just accept it"

[walouijawip]

reblog if u support squishy tummies, legs, and arms

[tearobite]

In my video yesterday ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddk2Gi208GM ) I said that I’d be uploding another to talk about ‘the box’.   Here it is!

This is mostly concerned with how to use body flex and mechanics to gain power, stability, and resist unwanted rotation.  Something I forgot to mention is that this type of motion is most useful when you are attempting to remain facing the same direction.   If you are wanting to transition, you will usually have to do the exact opposite of this.

[tearobite]

In which we (re)discover that I can't stand still while talking, and I talk about what I call a "neutral" blocking stance.  This is a long one, and it *is* just me talking.  I love your thoughts though, so hit me with them!

This is a (not so) quick response to Lulu Demon's excellent "Strong Stance Blocking" video, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTR4n2TxxBk

She also has a post on the same subject which you can read here: http://pivotstar.com/strong-roller-derby-stance/

[tearobite]

Because not every gif is serious.

[tearobite]

Just a reminder to those of you starting your derby journey

There is always another mountain to climb, another skill to master, another part of your own self to discover.  5 years in and I feel like I am still barely scratching the surface of what I can do.

Frustration is natural. When you finally nail your min skills, finally get to SKATE, you discover that the test wasn't the end?  That it doesn't magically transform you into the skater you hoped you were?   That the track is a confusing swirl of strong bodies moving fast and purposefully in a dance you don't understand?

It is frustrating as hell, but it is also the promise and glory of Derby.

Derby isn't satisfying because it is easy.  Derby isn't meaningful because it won't break your heart.  It is hard.  It will break you down little bits at a time... But that's the thing, those experiences will build you up stronger, until you are doing the things you told yourself you would never be able to do.  You will find you have become a person you didn't know you could be.

But you have to get through that frustration, and you have to learn how to be kind to yourself while pushing past the things you are not good at yet.

You can do it. Learn to dig in.

ETA: at this point, I have been skating as long as my heroes had when I started.  Don't measure yourself against me or any other experienced skater yet.  Give yourself time to shake out.  Learn and try to understand where we are coming from, what we know, and one day you will be better than we are.

[tearobite]

2016.

I smiled this year.

[tearobite]

Sorry about the lack of actual technique and drill videos recently.  I don't have a space to film in, and the video I have in queue needs a voice over.  So because I'm short on skate time, I've been really trying to identify new (to me) exercises to address some of my weaknesses.  This is a test video I did to check form before adding this to a HIIT circuit over lunch.

Thoughts after watching this: I am popping up a little too much in the crosses, and I really need to focus on springing up and into my left foot.  I could also stand a bit more knee bend in order to get lower into the crouch on landing.

Once I've got good stability on landing and my depth is where I want it, I'm going to remove the pause and rebound off of the one foot landing straight back into the cross.  I'm curious, does anyone else do an exercise like this, and what are your focus areas if you do?  Any other interesting variants?

[polerin]

Crossposting this everywhere because important.

Here’s the thing.  I never updated my birth certificate as the legal process for doing so was extremely unclear during the period where I was updating my paperwork.  Probably still is.

What this means is that currently it is illegal for me to use the women’s room in any public facility in North Carolina.  To my understanding this includes but is not limited to:

- rest stations - schools - colleges - courthouses - the DMV and any other state or local governmental office - (public transit) bus stations

Hell if I know how this matches up with the fact that all the identification I carry with me on a daily basis identifies me as a woman.  What I do know is that this effectively bans trans people from public spaces.  We risk going to jail if we use the bathroom that is appropriate to our gender presentation.  We risk assault and jail if we use the bathroom that the bill requires of us.

I know that this means if I were in NC I wouldn’t use the restroom unless I absolutely had to.

I also know that bills like this tend to become models for other states.

Oh and just to be clear? This means I can’t pee at the US Cellular center.  That’s where the Blueridge rollergirls play, and it’s where I skated in the WFTDA playoffs a few years ago.

[tearobite]

Stop saying “I could never do that”

Start asking yourself “What is my first small step toward it?”

You can do it.  Maybe not today or tomorrow, but you can do it.

[tearobite]

There is too much to talk about in this sequence, so I’ll just give you the general things I looked for in each part of it:

What part of her body is Bonnie giving the blocker to initiate contact with?

Where is the support and power for that contact coming from?

What does that choice of contact point give the rest of her body the opportunity to do?

How does she use contact with one opponent to help her against the other opponent?

When she shifts weight, does she shift contact points?  If not, why?

[cobrakaiderbycoach-deactivated2]

post-foul out gear down is a lie

After your 7th penalty, WFTDA’s rules say you have to take your body into the locker room, then you can go sit with the audience if you feel like it. The rules don’t say anything about gearing down. Most HRs tell, or at least expect, fouled out skaters to take off their skates, helmet and pads before coming back out, but that is a cultural practice not a rule. There is no penalty for not doing it, and as far as I can tell nobody knows how it started. Essentially it is a lie HRs use to trick skaters into spending a little more time in the locker room calming down, just in case they are upset at having gotten 7 penalties. Not that I would want to tromp around in skates, stinky pads and a hot helmet if I didn’t have to, but you would would be fully within your rights to do so, after going into the locker room for 1 second. Yep, 1 second. Because there is no length of time in the rules either. Just that you have to go in. You’re free to come back out whenever you like, wearing whatever you like. If there are any venue or insurance issues with spectators* wearing skating gear, that is a matter for venue security to deal with, not refs. The only thing fouled out skaters can’t do that audience members can is drink beer with their skates on. (9.4.2 - Skaters may not consume alcohol at games while wearing skates.) That’s one of my favorite obscure rules. All of that said, don’t foul out with enough time left on the clock for any of this to be applicable. Good players don’t do that. *Just like when Wonder Woman spins around and becomes Diana Prince, the instant the locker room door closes behind you, you magically transform from a derby player into a civilian. Except for that beer thing.

[baeddelshinsgirl]

I asked about this today. This interpretation is definitely incorrect - failing to obey a ref’s instructions is Insubordination (6.14). What would happen if you repeatedly incur Insubs after fouling out, I presume, would be left to league policies.

[cobrakaiderbycoach-deactivated2]

There is no rule 6.14. Do you mean 5.14? The authority of officials does not include being able to force players to do things that aren’t in the rules. If a ref told you to wash her car or do a handstand she couldn’t give you an insubordination for ignoring her. Competent refs know that gearing down isn’t a rule. If you leave the track area immediately, go into the locker room, come back out, sit in the audience, don’t interfere in the game, and don’t drink with your skates on there is nothing they can penalize you or your team for.

[baeddelshinsgirl]

Yes, 5.14. I looked at the wrong version of the rules when I got the number. However, and this came from someone who has been in the sport for 10 years, yes, you ARE still part of your team even after you foul out, and if you’re told to gear down and you don’t, that’s still Insub and that’s still a penalty which your captain must sit for you. And doing that makes you a douchecanoe who’s probably going to be asked not to return, because people generally don’t like playing with douchecanoes.

[cobrakaiderbycoach-deactivated2]

The person who told you that is wrong. If a ref told you to do 50 jumping jacks and you didn’t, could they give you an insubordination penalty? No. Because they aren’t allowed to make you do jumping jacks. It’s the same thing.

[tearobite]

So there are a couple elements here, and a note about the difference between expelled and fouled out skaters.

Note first: Fouling out and being expelled aren’t the same thing.  When you are expelled, you may not return to the audience or general play area, and can garner your captain a penalty for doing so.  I know your post was specifically referring to fouled out skaters, but I figure

Ok, on to the meat of the question.

1) Technically no, it is not a HR's responsibility to make a skater gear down to meet venue rules, but it isn't unreasonable to expect that the HR might inform the skater to gear down based on venue restrictions.  This is fully in line with the view of refs as facilitators of the event.  With that in mind...

2) Yes, enforcement of the venue rules is a thing that should fall to security or floor volunteers as appropriate, but fouled out skaters can earn penalties for their team should they interfere with play.  I'm not saying it'd be easy to do but if you're being particularly obstinate and disruptive,  I could see it happening.  Don't be a D-bag though.

3) More importantly, you're core assertion that "Ref's can't make a skater do anything that isn't in the rules" is incorrect.  A good, and common, example of this is when skaters or bench staff habitually step into the OPR lane during jams.  The bench can be warned, and further instances of the behavior will earn an insub.  This, again, falls under the responsibility and authority to help facilitate a safe game.

[tearobite]

This is a test, it’s only a test... trying mp4′s instead of gif’s.

Also damn Bonnie is smart.  I mean that’s like saying water is wet, but.

[rainsuggestion]

you are not a waste of space

you are not a waste of time

you are not a waste of energy

[tearobite]

So.. a frightening but exciting announcement:

2016 will be my last season with NRG.

The past 5 years has been among the most demanding and wonderful times of my life, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.  I found a second family, the confidence to stand tall, and had the honor of a lifetime leading the Alls last season.  I cannot explain just how proud I am of what we have accomplished, and the challenges we have overcome.  A piece of my heart will always be in Nashville, and a part of me will always wear blue.

I'm not retiring, and I don't know exactly where these next few years will take Melissa and I.  All I know is that my path is leading forward and I have see where it takes me.

So, there are 7 home games this season, the first of which is this Saturday.  If you are a Nashvillian who has thought about coming to see me skate, this year is your last chance. I'll be out there, leaving my heart on the track with my team.

[bankuei]

Interesting how Techbros are worried about building a future AI that will end human rights when their business model is built on what?

[tearobite]

This by god

[inkskinned]

my entire life i was told that boys are violent but girls are worse because we’re “catty.” i was told that a catty girl was my enemy, that they used whip tongues in place of fists to start things i couldn’t erase of out my skin. i saw this cattiness wherever i was told it would live. it was in pretty girls with nice lipstick and it was in the girls who studied too much to ever come to the parties and it was in my own group of friends. when i came home crying about something, i was often reminded that girls are catty bitches and if we were boys we’d just punch each other and be done with it. 

but it was boys who first started making fun of how i looked, of what mess my face was like, of the fat on my thighs. and it was girls who showed me how to apply makeup, patiently waiting with me in the bathroom mirror to show how not to cry while i applied it to the waterline. they agreed to go on diets with me even when they hated salad. they agreed to scoop buckets of ice cream into our bellies at midnight when i was upset about something minor.

it was boys who were snippy about my grades, it was a man who first said that because i was a girl i was bad at math and i’d stay that way. it was boys who started making fun of the one time i got a 34 on a math test when my mother had been in the hospital the night before. it was girls who held my hand during this, who stayed with me through hours of library studies, who explained over and over in gel pens and pretty handwriting exactly what i was missing. it was girls who taught me to color-code and to highlight and how to stay up all night, it was girls who cheered with me when i got nothing lower than a B. 

it was a boy who taught my friend that she could talk down to me like i was trash. it was a boy who started drama between us. it was a boy who wouldn’t listen or talk it out or find a solution. he’d say angry hurtful things and expect us to listen. it was girls who fixed me after this. they taught me how to make good and positive friends. how to stay away from the girls who really are toxic ones. how to be proud of others and not competitive. how to give genuine compliments, how to accept them, how to be comfortable with who i am and what has happened.

i was told all my life that there was a “type” of girl to avoid. she was probably wearing ugg boots and shorts or drinking a latte or picking out lush products or doing literally anything that girls like to do for themselves, she was catty. girls are catty. when they fight, it’s a catfight. (we were many animals besides this. vixen. pig. fox. bitch. cow. mother hen. whale. but always, for some reason: feline and both sex kitten and dangerous weapon).

girls, i find, are defensive. we wear our hands up, waiting for the hit. girls who are sick of getting hit get “bitchy.” they are fierce, they take what they want, they’ll mess you up for saying the wrong thing about their friend. and girls, who are unwilling to simply take insults without lashing back with something: they’re catty. and when boys bully others and spread nasty gossip and start drama: well, they’re just boys. they’ll fight it out, or something. 

how much i regret believing that girls weren’t my safety net. how many friends i was scared to make because i was intimated by them. so many loving people. out of fear of what? of a tongue someone else has tattooed on them?