Gymnastics v Ninjitsu

Daughter number 1 started gymnastics, or more specifically sports acro gymnastics a couple of years ago. It started innocently enough with one hour a week at the age of 6, but has crept upon me like an evil ninja - BLAM! until at the age of 10 she trains for three hours three times a week, and most weekends all day. Because our life has been taken over by this curious sport Daughter number 2 has also joined in, so the pair of them are now like a travelling circus act in our garden.

We get to watch them at barbeques though which is quite cool.

All of this is great until I realise that Daughter number 1 is now fitter than her Ninja Dad. She is leaner (although mine is clearly all muscle underneath a protective layer of fat), faster, and more flexible. The proof of this came when I realised that I have to learn to back flip as part of my training, which I find ridiculously difficult. You have to be slightly unhinged to enjoy travelling backwards at speed and upside down.

"I'll teach you Dad".

yeah,right.

She then laughed and flick-flacked across the garden like a human slinky.

I feel inadequate.

Anyway I watched,and she corrected me, and I fell on my head, then on my shoulder, then I knocked over a deckchair. Daughter number 1 laughed and giggled at me the whole time. Eventually I got it.

"You need to straighten your arms Dad and push your hips out, and point your toes, and don't bend your knees".

Forget all that. I did it. I back-flipped, and it took my ten year old daughter to teach me.

I stood there panting and sweaty,like an unfit dad.

"Let's go in." I said.

"wuss."

And there you have it.I am a wuss, a feeble dork, a puny weakling because my ten year old daughter can back flip, cartwheel with no hands, front and back somersault, backward walkover,front walkover,and do a straight back somersault with a twist off a three person tower and I can't...yet :)