Author Archives: Mike Ritz

BailongBall Forms – an Example, Part 1

In this new series of blogs, we introduce you to BailongBall Forms. After having launched series on the disciplines of Multiplay and Freestyle, this series on the discipline of Forms aims to complete your picture of our sport. This series breaks down a particular BailongBall Form into several parts. In each part, we cover round about two elements. At the end of the last part, you will have the entire picture of the Form and trips and tricks on your bag as your progress along each part.

But before we get started, let us shed some light on what a BailongBall Form is all about. Like with the other two disciplines, you can practice alone or with others. Like with Multiplay, a Form features a certain repertoire of moves, actually elements, to perform. While Multiplay moves are finite (after all, there are only so many techniques of playing a ball to your partner), Forms strech possibilities much further into your realm of imagination. Much like Freestyle, you move the ball with your rackets, to the music. Unlike Freestyle, however, your moves are precisely predefined and often meticulously “timed”. It is a bit like ice skating – you can play ice hockey (Multiplay) or perform figure skating with free elements (Freestyle) and compulsory elements (Form).

Of course, there are many other BailongBall Forms you can practice. Every Form has its unique highlights, different focus and even particular style. This one is just an example and it cannot be respresentative for all the others. However, it features many elements, that you will also find in other Forms. But without further ado, let us get started. The first elements you will learn, are the preparatory element and a version of the “mirror”.

The preparatory element is to get yourself ready and to set the stage for the Form. Remember though, you are following a script and every move is linked to a plan. We will show you different camera perspectives, including leg and footwork, to make this plan easier to follow

Online Course of the Mannheimer Abendakademie

The Mannheimer Abendakademie has expanded their offering with an online BailongBall course in the current program. In three Zoom sessions, Shannon Ritz will practice introductory exercises with you. All you need is a tennisball or a ball of similar size.

BailongBall Training Online

Life certainly is different, these days. “Stay at home” affected a lot of us and still does. And it may continue to restrict us for some time. So, we were wondering how to stay healthy and safe but also how to stay in touch with other people and exercise together. Not being able to practice at our usual places, we turned to technology and made use of the Web and Social Media. Not quite sure how things would work out, after all our rooms back home cannot substitute a hall for instance, we, nevertheless, arranged for the first interactive Web session via Zoom. What can we say – it was simply great!

Freestyle Elements – Racket Twirls, Part 3

In our first blog in this series, we showed you how to start with a twirl racket facing down and then how to add a 360° body rotation to the twirl. In the second blog, we added some more movements to the twirl, to help integrate them in a choreography. In this blog, we introduce you to the horizontal racket twirl in two variations, embedded in some connected elements.

So, that is a Supervision…

You may have wondered what exactly a Supervision is, who meets and what are they doing? Actually the answer is quite simple:

all TBBA trainers, from Assistant Trainers to Instructors, meet once a year for two days
during those two days, they refresh their skills and learn new ones as well
they exchange on all disciplines: Freestyle, Multiplay, Form. etc.
most important of all: they have a lot of fun and in the process even extend their license 😉

4 New Trainers – Congratulations!

Committed, diligent and motivated – at the end of the workshop, they made it! Being Assistant Trainers for some time, at the end of the workshop, they demonstrated their trainer qualities in various disciplines:

BailongBall Meeting of Regulars in March

While still in the middle of the current training week (more details here) Taiji am Neuhof is already planning its next Meeting of Regulars. As allways, All players, trainers and everybody interested is welcome to join us.

BailongBall Workshop 23 Feb -28 Feb 2020 Bensheim / Germany

Are you interested in learning BailongBall, want to enjoy the experience and would like to be coached by professionals? Taiji Bailong Ball Association e.V., the official representative of BailongBall in Europe, offers workshops covering the entire spectrum of this sport, theory and practice.