Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Circle in the Circle
Taken from Silver Bullets by Karl Rohnke
Ask the group (12-30) to form a hand-in-hand circle. Place two large hoops together between two people (resting on their grasped hands). See how quickly the participants in the circle can cause the hoops to travel around the circle (over the people) in opposite directions, through each other (i.e., hoop through hoop) and back to the originating point. use fairly large hoops for this activity -- they are sold in different diameters.
It's interesting to see what the group's response is when you ask, "Who won?" after both hoops have circled the circle. It takes some thought to realize that the entire group is working as a team. No losers. No winners.
Ask the group (12-30) to form a hand-in-hand circle. Place two large hoops together between two people (resting on their grasped hands). See how quickly the participants in the circle can cause the hoops to travel around the circle (over the people) in opposite directions, through each other (i.e., hoop through hoop) and back to the originating point. use fairly large hoops for this activity -- they are sold in different diameters.
It's interesting to see what the group's response is when you ask, "Who won?" after both hoops have circled the circle. It takes some thought to realize that the entire group is working as a team. No losers. No winners.
Physical Testing 1 & 2
Taken From: A.B.R.I.S. Index
Karl Rohnke, Cowstails and Cobras
Category: Stretch and Warm Up/Active
Materials Needed: None
Instructions: As many of the tests are extremely difficult, it's a good idea to present the activities to the students with a sense of "Here try this........." and then watch the often surprising results.
Section 1.
1. Kneeling on a pad or rug try to jump a balanced, feet-together standing position without the use of hands on the floor. Balance should be maintained for three seconds after the jump.
2. Bend over at the waist with your index finger placed on the floor and rotate rapidly around your finger (10 turns in 30 seconds). Stand up and attempt to walk a ten foot straight line within five seconds.
3. Grasp the tip of your right shoe (toes) with your left hand, attempt to jump through the circle formed by your left arm and right leg with your left foot (like skipping rope..... well, almost). Or, grasp the tip of your left shoe.....etc.
4. Using a line on the gym floor, stand as if you were going to perform a standing broad jump, except jump backward. Somewhere around 45" seems a good effort.
5. From a squatting position dive forward onto a mat and perform a front shoulder roll. Measure the distance from a starting line to where hands, head or body first make contact with the mat.
6. Run in place (instructor too!) for two minutes at 180 steps a minute. Then take three deep breaths, exhaling completely each time. Finally take a fourth deep breath and hold it for thirty seconds. Nothing to it, what a breeze!
7. Perform a three point head stand for fifteen seconds on a gym mat.
8. Tie a bowline around your waist (with safety knot and proper tightness) and a swiss seat (with proper carabiner clip-in) in less than thirty seconds. Use two separate ropes for each participant.
9. Sitting on the ground, reach forward, and grasp your toes, straighten your legs, lean back, and sit in this balanced position, with legs off the ground, for ten seconds.
10. With a partner who is lying down ( and who is within 10 lbs. of your weight) lift and place your partner in a fireman's carry position, all within ten seconds. The individual to be lifter is in a simulated unconscious state and therefore can offer no help for the rescuer.
Section 2-
1.Slowly bend from a sitting position, knees flat and legs separated, until your forehead is two fists (one on top of the other) from the floor, and hold that position for five seconds. No bouncing allowed.
2. From a standing position, jack spring from the floor, touching your toes at waist height without bending your knees. Repeat five times quickly. Perform a few a few stretching exercises, before attempting this test, to prevent pulling a groin muscle.
3. Lying on your stomach, with your feet finned to the floor and your fingers laced behind your neck, raise your chin until it is 18" from the floor.
4. Using a pull-up bar, swing your body back and forth a few times to gain momentum, and releasing on the up-swing, fly forward for a distance. Use gym pads if performed on a hardwood floor.
5. Fill a collection of used socks about 1/4 full of sand or small gravel. Throw for distance using whatever technique seems appropriate. DO NOT stand near the thrower or take your eyes off him/her during a wind up. Some of the results are unbelievable.
6. Using a large wire spool (the type used bye electric/telephone companies) try to balance-- walk (feet only, no hands) the spool forward for ten yards, within thirty seconds. The time required may vary as tot the texture of the ground.
7. Do 200 two foot hop up and down only, 200 straddle hops, 200 scissor hops, 25 entre chats, 25 heel clickers, 50 knee-locked heel and toe hops and 50 hops on each foot, all with out stopping.
Category: Stretch and Warm Up/Active
Materials Needed: None
Instructions: As many of the tests are extremely difficult, it's a good idea to present the activities to the students with a sense of "Here try this........." and then watch the often surprising results.
Section 1.
1. Kneeling on a pad or rug try to jump a balanced, feet-together standing position without the use of hands on the floor. Balance should be maintained for three seconds after the jump.
2. Bend over at the waist with your index finger placed on the floor and rotate rapidly around your finger (10 turns in 30 seconds). Stand up and attempt to walk a ten foot straight line within five seconds.
3. Grasp the tip of your right shoe (toes) with your left hand, attempt to jump through the circle formed by your left arm and right leg with your left foot (like skipping rope..... well, almost). Or, grasp the tip of your left shoe.....etc.
4. Using a line on the gym floor, stand as if you were going to perform a standing broad jump, except jump backward. Somewhere around 45" seems a good effort.
5. From a squatting position dive forward onto a mat and perform a front shoulder roll. Measure the distance from a starting line to where hands, head or body first make contact with the mat.
6. Run in place (instructor too!) for two minutes at 180 steps a minute. Then take three deep breaths, exhaling completely each time. Finally take a fourth deep breath and hold it for thirty seconds. Nothing to it, what a breeze!
7. Perform a three point head stand for fifteen seconds on a gym mat.
8. Tie a bowline around your waist (with safety knot and proper tightness) and a swiss seat (with proper carabiner clip-in) in less than thirty seconds. Use two separate ropes for each participant.
9. Sitting on the ground, reach forward, and grasp your toes, straighten your legs, lean back, and sit in this balanced position, with legs off the ground, for ten seconds.
10. With a partner who is lying down ( and who is within 10 lbs. of your weight) lift and place your partner in a fireman's carry position, all within ten seconds. The individual to be lifter is in a simulated unconscious state and therefore can offer no help for the rescuer.
Section 2-
1.Slowly bend from a sitting position, knees flat and legs separated, until your forehead is two fists (one on top of the other) from the floor, and hold that position for five seconds. No bouncing allowed.
2. From a standing position, jack spring from the floor, touching your toes at waist height without bending your knees. Repeat five times quickly. Perform a few a few stretching exercises, before attempting this test, to prevent pulling a groin muscle.
3. Lying on your stomach, with your feet finned to the floor and your fingers laced behind your neck, raise your chin until it is 18" from the floor.
4. Using a pull-up bar, swing your body back and forth a few times to gain momentum, and releasing on the up-swing, fly forward for a distance. Use gym pads if performed on a hardwood floor.
5. Fill a collection of used socks about 1/4 full of sand or small gravel. Throw for distance using whatever technique seems appropriate. DO NOT stand near the thrower or take your eyes off him/her during a wind up. Some of the results are unbelievable.
6. Using a large wire spool (the type used bye electric/telephone companies) try to balance-- walk (feet only, no hands) the spool forward for ten yards, within thirty seconds. The time required may vary as tot the texture of the ground.
7. Do 200 two foot hop up and down only, 200 straddle hops, 200 scissor hops, 25 entre chats, 25 heel clickers, 50 knee-locked heel and toe hops and 50 hops on each foot, all with out stopping.
The Amazon
Taken from: unknown
Category:Active Tasks
OBJECTIVE: The group must retrieve a container placed some distance from a simulated river bank.
EMPHASIS: Improve problem solving skills Develop teamwork and cooperation Enhance group communication Understand the importance of support systems
MATERIALS: One 5/8" diameter rope One pole at least 1 1/2" in diameter and approximately eight feet. One hardwood plank at least six inches wide and two inches thick. The plank should be approximately ten feet long. One (reaching) pole approximately eight feet long One #10 can with a wire handle attached to serve as the container
INSTRUCTIONS: Activity should take place in an area with a bank approximately four feet high. The group must retrieve a container placed some distance from a simulated river bank. The group must use only the equipment given. If a group member touches the ground (water) between the bank and the container, the group must start again.
Category:Active Tasks
OBJECTIVE: The group must retrieve a container placed some distance from a simulated river bank.
EMPHASIS: Improve problem solving skills Develop teamwork and cooperation Enhance group communication Understand the importance of support systems
MATERIALS: One 5/8" diameter rope One pole at least 1 1/2" in diameter and approximately eight feet. One hardwood plank at least six inches wide and two inches thick. The plank should be approximately ten feet long. One (reaching) pole approximately eight feet long One #10 can with a wire handle attached to serve as the container
INSTRUCTIONS: Activity should take place in an area with a bank approximately four feet high. The group must retrieve a container placed some distance from a simulated river bank. The group must use only the equipment given. If a group member touches the ground (water) between the bank and the container, the group must start again.
Bomb Squad
Taken From: Unknown
Category: Active Tasks
Objective: Team must remove simulated bomb to a protective area, using Bomb Removing Device (BRD).
MATERIALS: 1. Multiple ropes 1/4" thick to 15" to 50" long. 2. A piece of heavy wire 10" long forming a hook or a pre-made hook. 3. A plastic bucket with a wire handle. 4. A large open area. Barriers and obstructions make for interesting problem-solving. 5. Climbing rope to form a boundary. 6. (A rubber tourniquet.)-Optional-see variations. 7. (A 32 oz cup filled half-way with water.)-Optional-see variations.
INSTRUCTIONS: 1. In an open area place bucket in a clearing. 2. Create a boundary using a rope or a circle of chairs. 3. Give clients the materials and instruct them to use their resources available and obtain the bucket by the wire hook. Each team member must have a hold on a piece of the rope. 4. Team members move the bomb and place it into designated area.
VARIATIONS: 1. Set a timer. 2. Blindfolding one or more of the rope handlers. 3. Allowing no talking. 4. Have more than one BRD and team competition. 5. Prior to the beginning of the activity, hide the bomb in a building or area and have the group go on a search and find mission. 6. Place some "goodies or treats" in the bucket as a reward for successful work. 7. The bucket may not touch the ground or any other objects once it is picked up. 8. Members can not get within 3’ of the cup. 9. Instead of a wire hook, give the group the ropes and 2 feet of plastic tubing or elastic strips (such as used to make a tourniquet). 10. Place a 32 oz cup filled half-way with water in the center and instruct the group to obtain the cup without dragging the cup across the ground or spilling the water; Each team member must have a hold on a piece of the rope. Team members move the cup and place it into designated area.
Category: Active Tasks
Objective: Team must remove simulated bomb to a protective area, using Bomb Removing Device (BRD).
MATERIALS: 1. Multiple ropes 1/4" thick to 15" to 50" long. 2. A piece of heavy wire 10" long forming a hook or a pre-made hook. 3. A plastic bucket with a wire handle. 4. A large open area. Barriers and obstructions make for interesting problem-solving. 5. Climbing rope to form a boundary. 6. (A rubber tourniquet.)-Optional-see variations. 7. (A 32 oz cup filled half-way with water.)-Optional-see variations.
INSTRUCTIONS: 1. In an open area place bucket in a clearing. 2. Create a boundary using a rope or a circle of chairs. 3. Give clients the materials and instruct them to use their resources available and obtain the bucket by the wire hook. Each team member must have a hold on a piece of the rope. 4. Team members move the bomb and place it into designated area.
VARIATIONS: 1. Set a timer. 2. Blindfolding one or more of the rope handlers. 3. Allowing no talking. 4. Have more than one BRD and team competition. 5. Prior to the beginning of the activity, hide the bomb in a building or area and have the group go on a search and find mission. 6. Place some "goodies or treats" in the bucket as a reward for successful work. 7. The bucket may not touch the ground or any other objects once it is picked up. 8. Members can not get within 3’ of the cup. 9. Instead of a wire hook, give the group the ropes and 2 feet of plastic tubing or elastic strips (such as used to make a tourniquet). 10. Place a 32 oz cup filled half-way with water in the center and instruct the group to obtain the cup without dragging the cup across the ground or spilling the water; Each team member must have a hold on a piece of the rope. Team members move the cup and place it into designated area.
Fall and Roll Exercises---Spectacular
Taken from Silver Bullets by Karl Rohnke
Directions: Ask the group to line up at the end of a field. Explain that they will be jogging up and down the field together, changing direction and body orientation on command. at the signal FALL, everyone must fall and roll from whatever position he/she is in at that moment. Try to initiate the falls from odd body positions to emphasize that falling is not always experienced in an ideal position. Twice up and down the field is sufficient for practice and still remains within the realm of fun. The following dramatic exercise can serve as a culmination to the fall and roll training. Ask the group to form a flanking line facing away from you with their eyes closed. Require a distance of about five feet between students. Indicate that you are going to walk behind the line and initiate a fall by delivering a push at their shoulders. Assure any students who do not want to participate that they are free to step aside (although very few will, at this point). Walk quietly behind the line and deliver controlled pushes to shoulder blades. The students are anticipating the shove, so little pressure is required to initiate the fall. Shove randomly so that the students don't know when their turn is coming. There is a paradoxical and gleeful push me/don't push me feeling associated with the anticipation. Actually, this "graduation" exercise is more fun than functional.
CONSIDERATION: Participants who continue to experience trouble with the basic shoulder roll often feel compelled (self and peer pressure) to try the more advanced fall and roll stunts before they are ready, and injury results. It's ironic, but unfortunately true, that a person can get hurt while they're training to avoid that same injury. It's part of your role to identify those individuals who need more practice and support.
Front Roll Practice Directions: Demonstrate falling forward from a standing or squatting position and continue into a front shoulder roll. The roll can be initiated either to the right or left, depending upon the force causing the fall, or the side which is most natural for the faller. If rolling on the right shoulder, the left hand is put out as a guide (not a brace). The right hand (palm down) and arm are extended in front of the individual. The elbow is slightly bent as the right forearm provides a surface for the beginning of the roll. The performer looks under the left armpit, thus ensuring that the head is in the proper position, and continues a forward rolling movement onto the right shoulder in tuck position and finally into a squat position. The actual roll is neither straight over (somersault) nor a lateral roll, but rather a forty-five degree combination.
Back Roll Practice Directions: The legs begin to bend as the body turns slightly toward the hip that is going to have first contact with the ground. Hands guide the tucked body as the roll is completed over the shoulder on the same side as the hip that made first contact. The front and back roll can be practiced first from a standing (or squatting) position and eventually, as practice and skill allow, from a jog or slow run.
Directions: Ask the group to line up at the end of a field. Explain that they will be jogging up and down the field together, changing direction and body orientation on command. at the signal FALL, everyone must fall and roll from whatever position he/she is in at that moment. Try to initiate the falls from odd body positions to emphasize that falling is not always experienced in an ideal position. Twice up and down the field is sufficient for practice and still remains within the realm of fun. The following dramatic exercise can serve as a culmination to the fall and roll training. Ask the group to form a flanking line facing away from you with their eyes closed. Require a distance of about five feet between students. Indicate that you are going to walk behind the line and initiate a fall by delivering a push at their shoulders. Assure any students who do not want to participate that they are free to step aside (although very few will, at this point). Walk quietly behind the line and deliver controlled pushes to shoulder blades. The students are anticipating the shove, so little pressure is required to initiate the fall. Shove randomly so that the students don't know when their turn is coming. There is a paradoxical and gleeful push me/don't push me feeling associated with the anticipation. Actually, this "graduation" exercise is more fun than functional.
CONSIDERATION: Participants who continue to experience trouble with the basic shoulder roll often feel compelled (self and peer pressure) to try the more advanced fall and roll stunts before they are ready, and injury results. It's ironic, but unfortunately true, that a person can get hurt while they're training to avoid that same injury. It's part of your role to identify those individuals who need more practice and support.
Front Roll Practice Directions: Demonstrate falling forward from a standing or squatting position and continue into a front shoulder roll. The roll can be initiated either to the right or left, depending upon the force causing the fall, or the side which is most natural for the faller. If rolling on the right shoulder, the left hand is put out as a guide (not a brace). The right hand (palm down) and arm are extended in front of the individual. The elbow is slightly bent as the right forearm provides a surface for the beginning of the roll. The performer looks under the left armpit, thus ensuring that the head is in the proper position, and continues a forward rolling movement onto the right shoulder in tuck position and finally into a squat position. The actual roll is neither straight over (somersault) nor a lateral roll, but rather a forty-five degree combination.
Back Roll Practice Directions: The legs begin to bend as the body turns slightly toward the hip that is going to have first contact with the ground. Hands guide the tucked body as the roll is completed over the shoulder on the same side as the hip that made first contact. The front and back roll can be practiced first from a standing (or squatting) position and eventually, as practice and skill allow, from a jog or slow run.
Put Your Trust In Me
Directions: In the first episode of this game, the people move around the area in pairs, hand in hand and with their eyes open. They begin by walking very slowly and then go faster and faster until they are running; the goal is to avoid bumping into anyone. In more responsible and trustworthy groups, one partner then closes her eyes, and they repeat the sequence, still trying not to bump any other pair.
Only hand communication -- no talking -- is allowed for directions. The signals to be used are worked out between the pairs themselves. People say it's "fun, but scary running." The eyes shut version is particularly appropriate when young children are paired with older children or adults.
Only hand communication -- no talking -- is allowed for directions. The signals to be used are worked out between the pairs themselves. People say it's "fun, but scary running." The eyes shut version is particularly appropriate when young children are paired with older children or adults.
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