English

Verb

tricking

1. present participle of trick

See Tricks for other usages of the word.

Tricking (Martial Arts Tricking) is the informal name of a relatively new underground alternative sport movement, combining martial arts, gymnastics, breakdancing and other activities to create an "aesthetic blend of flips, kicks, and twists." Tricking incorporates a variety of moves from different arts such as the backflip from gymnastics, 540 kick from Taekwondo, butterfly twist from Wushu and double leg from Capoeira. Tricking is recognizable by its flashy kicks, complex flips and twists, and its highly stylized movements which separate it from other arts. An individual who practices tricking is typically referred to as a "trickster" or "tricker".

History

Tricking has only recently come into its own as a recognized activity. Although the various skills practiced in Tricking have existed much longer, a variety of theories have been put forth as to where the term originated. As early as the 1860s, martial artists on the competitive level began incorporating more advanced techniques into their forms. Ernie Reyes Sr. formed the WCAT (West Coast Action Team), and innovators on the competitive circuit included individuals like, Mike Chaturantabut, Daniel Sterling, Matt Emig, Marc Canonizado, Steve Terada, Anis Cheurfa, Sammy Vasquez, Manny Brown, David Douglas, Charmichael Simon, Chris Cassamassa, Hosung Pak, Anthony Atkins, Chris Cella, and John Valera. As the techniques being executed at competitions became more advanced, a newer generation of martial artists emerged, one-upping each other with newer, flashier, and more complex movements.

NASKA (North American Sport Karate Association), witnessing the surge of non-martial arts related moves, and hearing the cries of traditional martial artists, was forced to rearrange and reassign divisions multiple times. This meant including or excluding certain movements or tricks in each division. NASKA now holds Creative Open divisions and Xtreme Open. Creative Open is where a competitor throws no inverted techniques and no spinning kicks with a rotation higher than 360 degrees, while the Xtreme division is open to almost any technique a competitor wants to do.

With the internet revolution at the beginning of the 21st century, Tricking began reaching a wider audience. Tricking blogs and websites like Jubei's MA Zone, the Yellwboy website (which are no longer online) as well as Bilang.com allowed this new trend of martial arts competitors and tricksters to come together for a free exchange of ideas. Towards the end of 2003, the online tricking community was well-developed, bringing tricksters from across the globe together. With the rise of YouTube.com, tricksters were able to share their videos with others and the world of tricking experienced a massive rise in popularity and interest.

Since the beginning of 2008, tricking has been receiving much wider notoriety and popularity among non-tricking circles due to efforts of popular tricking teams like Loopkicks.

Loopkicks, headed by Chris Devera, has been training his team in such a high level that he and his team are praised all over the world. Their audiences come in the masses to see them perform and even show their accolades by thanking them for the performances after the show. Their intense training always pays off after a great performance thanks to their solid, tradiitonal technique by Master Ernie Reyes Sr. Creating new moves every day with his students/friends such as Jeremy Marinas, Kim Do, Marques Mallare, Jarmin Runes, Justin Runes, Utana Baxter and others, Chris Devera hopes to push through with his continuing tricking abilities for years to come

Terminology

The term "Tricking" originally stems from a variation of Martial Arts Tricks, which came from the original internet hub of Tricking, bilang.com.

Tricking has been referred to as extreme martial arts (XMA), however they are two different things. Tricksters typically shy away from this due to negative connotations associated with the term in martial arts circles.

The actual terminology used in tricking is a somewhat complex array of prefixes and suffixes denoting rotational degrees, stylistic flairs, setups, and technical arrangements. Words like swipe, gyro, cheat, pop, missleg, switch, swing and hyper are all common and denote variations to basic moves.

Progression

Unlike many established sports, tricking has no formal rules or regulations, and there are no governing bodies that regulate the sport. Strictly speaking, participants are free to perform any kind of dramatic maneuver and call it a 'trick' - though there are certain moves which are generally accepted as tricking moves. Some tricksters (especially those who discover tricking through the Internet) tend to learn the easier moves first (such as the 540 Kick, Aerial, Kip-Up, and Backflip) and try to progress through a list of recognized tricks in the perceived order of difficulty. However, how difficult a trick is will vary from person to person; certain tricks may be inexplicably easier or harder than normal for a particular trickster to learn.

Tricksters can be divided into different categories of style: some prefer performing mainly martial arts tricks (which almost always incorporate kicks into a trick), others mostly freestyle gymnastics and flips (mainly focus on doing multiple rotations and combining different types of rotations), but most tricksters mix a combination of all the disciplines. Tricksters must train their bodies hard to be able to consistently perform their tricks at any time.

Age groups

Tricksters usually range in age from young teenagers to young adults. Characteristics of somebody who is well suited for tricking is a well-conditioned body in both strength and flexibility.

Training

Since tricking is still a new activity, specialized coached training is practically non-existent. Tricksters pursue the ability to perform the majority of their tricks on grass, regular flooring or even concrete. Mats, plyometric flooring, trampoline or jumping jamporees can be used at first to become familiar with the movements in a safer environment, with less impact strain. Practitioners usually come from various martial arts and gymnastics backgrounds or are self-taught. In addition to this, they will usually learn from friends who have more experience and have been training longer. Particularly in later years, it has been popular to form "Teams" among friends, groups of "Tricksters" with a group name, as a form of self-encouragement and to build self-identity as a "Trickster". It is also done so as to practice in a set group which people are comfortable with.(E.g Loopkicks, Hurricane Tricksterz, Team Ryouko, The CFC, Team FS, Team Aizushinkan). For those that don't have a Tricking environment in which to learn, many train by aiming to reproduce moves in videos submitted to websites such as Club540, and Tricks Tutorials. Similarly, trainees may seek aid from tricking camps, such as those held by Loopkicks of San Jose. A newly published book, Fundamentals of High Performance Wushu: Taolu Jumps and Spins while targeted to the wushu martial arts community, covers in detail step-by-step how to train for many of the most popular moves. People that trick often do a lot of body conditioning as strength is a necessity. Flexibility training is often a good idea for tricksters as many tricks and stunts become a lot easier and safer the more flexible you are. Another important point is landing lightly, the opposite of which results in numerous leg and ankle injuries during practice.

Gatherings and camps

Tricking gatherings have taken place around the world, including Sydney, Toronto, Rugby, Bergen, Bremen, Derby, Quebec, New York, Melbourne, California, New Zealand and places around the UK. For some gatherings invitations are required, but otherwise, from beginner to experienced tricking veteran, everyone is welcome. Most of the info on each specific gathering (they happen on a yearly basis) can be found on the Tricks Tutorials forums.

Many tricksters have adopted this idea - such as Team FS holding their Maryland and New York gatherings. The concept has now spread to Europe, with gatherings in the UK and other European countries as well.

Loopkicks, based out of San Jose, California, throws an annual tricking camp, drawing individuals from all over the world to meet with each other to create, learn, and inspire.

Martial arts tricksters have numerous gatherings before and after tournaments for the various leagues. They normally consist of competitors finding some free space at the tournament location, forming a circle around the performing area, and taking turns performing tricks. The Charlie Lee Nationals in Reston, Virginia is a notable competition-based gathering that drew formally trained martial artists as well as enthusiasts.

References