since i was little i have been captivated by contortionist but have never been healthy enough to even start training. I just won a battle with an abnormal growth that was in stage one ovarian cancer so now i am actually in the most healthy state i have ever been in. I decided today is the day i will begin training to be a contortionist but i already am 19 and have no training since i was so sickly. if anyone has any tips or ideas on how to become a contortionist i would really appreciate it.....

oh and a have a discussion question for everyone if you had to pick one circus thing to learn how to do what would it be? i also really want to learn the trapease but contortions help with that.

I just want to ride a unicycle. :) Maybe I could learn to juggle chainsaws too?

Congratulations on your victory Req, that's a tough thing to have to battle. I'm glad your better :) And yes, now that you're able, follow your dreams!!!

Unfortunately I don't know anything about training for the circus. But if I had to learn something, I would learn to be an Arial Acrobat, or possibly a simple belly dancer, which I have dabbled in over the years.

It's funny because I'm in two roleplays, one in which my character is an arial acrobat and the other in which my character is a belly dancer. :P

youve dabbled into the art of Raqs sharqi that is soooo cool I dabbled into trible for two years but i had to quit your avatar is amazing by the way

Gosh the trapeze always looks so amazing, maybe even one of the most amazing acts a circus has. I would love to be able to do that. But it also would be a lot of fun to work with animals too, particularly an elephant act or something with horses. I wonder if they still do the ballerina on horseback. It was one of the first circus acts in existence way back in the 1800's, and just like the trapeze it looks so beautiful and graceful.

Congrats on your Victory!

Contortion would be cool. But I always wanted to be a belly dancer or the girl that rides on top of the Elephants ^.^

Congratulations on your health! Very, very happy for you! :D

But i have to say, you have a kindred spirit. When it comes to contortion I. AM. EQUALLY. OBSESSED! Particularly back bending.

A lot of the places that i looked up said that the cut off for contortion training is in the 20's, so starting now is a good decision and a must if you want to do it, but don't think its too late!
So long as you practice, You'll surprised how fast you get flexible.
I started training, very lightly, at sixteen.
I didnt have any formal training ether, so i used the internet mostly. You'd be surprised how many people do this actually. Its no substitute to having someone there to help you, but if your doing it because you WANT to do it rather than to perform, its probably the only sensible option.
As to what kind of stretches you should do really depends on what kind of contortion you want to do. Back bending, front bending, and so on. And the internet is great for looking up really any kind of exercise. Personally, i started with this site link, but im sure that there are tons more that are probably better.
Unfortunately, one downside of teaching yourself is that you have to keep yourself motivated to practice. You have to practice at least once every other day to make any huge progress. I haven't been keeping up with it as much as i used to, so i can only get my feet to a little bit past my ears and i can pretty much do a split. Which isnt nearly where i was when i was practicing every day, but its still MILES ahead of where I was when i was starting. I couldn't even touch my toes when i began ^^;
One thing that you could do, especially if you want to start light and keep up with a good exercise schedule, is to start taking yoga. Contortion is basically extreme yoga, so taking classes is probably one of the best ways to keep yourself focused. That and you probably have someone there to help you if your doing something wrong or hurt yourself. It would also help avoid something that i ran into alot. Headaches. You need to BREATHE when you stretch, otherwise you can get wicked headaches. Yoga's good at drilling breathing techniques in early XD I know telling you to breathe is sort of silly, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to remember to breath when you bend. But if you cant afford it, the internet is FREEE! X3
And water! Drink water and eat! If you have low blood pressure like i do, back-bending too fast can make the blood rush to your head and you may pass out. That's happened to me a few times.

Ether way, its a lot of hard work, but if your really passionate about it, its worth it. You'll be able to do it and be really successful at it so long as you keep up with it.

I checked online and apperently i need to practice atleast three hours a day (ouch) i havent decided what kind i want to do i will probably dabble into all of them and work on a routine i hope one day i can be a graceful contortionist and i would love to be frightningly flexible but i know it takes work..........................ballerina on a horse is one of my favorites its so majestic and graceful <3 the trapease is beautiful

Ive been told to start with one hour for the first month and then once you get into the groove, slowly make the practicing longer. I think most people would hurt themselves if they did three hours right off the bat.

well the site said an hour in the morning an hour in the day and an hour before bed and slowly make the practices longer sometimes and sometimes you will be inclined for 24hour practise (supposedly) oh and the link you gaveis exactly one i was looking at (great mind think alike) *giggles*

WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY COMPUTER!? XD

i am aiciela and im not in your computer i am in your mind ^^

I was a gymnast as a kiddo...and I honestly think it caused a lot of the back problems I have. Please be careful! I promise you, back pain is no fun.

i already understand backpain (double d breasts meaasuring 41 inches and a waist measuring only 27) but i kinda hope this helps. and you use to be a gymnast that is sooooooooooooooo cool i really am envious. thank you for your concern

and everyone thank you for you kind words about my previous state of being........

I was an...Energetic child :ninja: My mom solved the energy issues by enrolling me in gymnastics 5 days a week. It was good times, I was on a few TV shows as a kiddo with my gymnastics team...but I really think it started my issues with headaches and backpain. Maybe start with Yoga to get the flexibility up and then work towards more flexible things? If you take it slow, you should reduce your liklihood of disk ruptures/slipping/etc.

thank you hun, you must have been really really good to be on a few television shows :)