Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
The Palestinian young man, Tariq Abu Shuqair, defies gravity through games of balance and quick wits, which carry a high level of risk, in an attempt to attract attention and overcome his peers through unconventional games.
Abu Shuqair tries to prove himself through several acrobatic games that some consider “dangerous.” He rides on long wooden legs, becoming the “tall man” at times, and at other times plays on “air ropes,” performing agility movements. The lack of teaching these games and movements in the besieged Strip did not extinguish the fire of curiosity among the young man who is obsessed with strange and exciting movements, as he began to look forward to foreign delegations visiting the Gaza Strip to benefit from them, in addition to looking at YouTube to learn their history and details. Abu Shuqair says that his passion for these games began four years ago, when he visited one of the aerobatic gymnastics clubs, where the acrobatic movements, jumps and rolls caught his attention, and he began imitating them, until he later decided to learn and master them.
He added to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed: I actually registered in the club, and learned the basics of gymnastics, and many primitive movements such as “rolling, wheel, spinning wheel, randoni, back roll, flying roll, somersault on the head, and many other movements.” Abu Shuqair, who finds pleasure in performing difficult movements, continues: “I learned and mastered these movements over the course of two years, and then I moved on to learning more professional movements, such as “back summer, straight, summer flash, back summer side, front, and others.”
He points out that after mastering a number of gymnastics skills and knowing their basics, he headed to the world of “circus,” which he considers a big world, containing many exciting and exciting arts and movements, adding: “We must impress everyone who watches the shows we present.”
He explains that the “tall man” caught his attention. He is a man standing on wooden legs that are attached with adhesive tape, and he walks on them after wearing a specific outfit, so that he appears to the viewer to have doubled his height, which generated in him a love of experimentation and adventure. He explained that the clown with long legs enjoys the admiration and interest of children due to his strangeness, adding: “I learned from Italian trainers the basics of standing, rising and descending from the wooden legs, which are made specifically for this purpose, in addition to learning stability, balance, moving the legs, and dealing with all types of sandy and paved floors.” ". He points out that another game attracted him until he mastered it, which is the game “Aerial Rope,” which consists of ropes that are fixed to the ceiling and played on, through a series of acrobatic movements that make the viewer believe that the player may fall at any moment, but he regains his balance again.” He explains that he received training in this art from the Italian team itself, where he learned how to ride ropes and get off them, adding: “Before the delegation arrived, I tried to learn these movements via YouTube, and at that time I was exposed to skin abrasions, in addition to many bruises.”
He added: "I was learning to play on the aerial rope in the morning with the Italian coach, Chiara, and in the evening on the tall man, with the coach Andre, explaining that he also received training on the aerial rope with the Irish coach, Jenny."
He explains that he took advantage of his ability to perform gymnastics movements in dealing with aerial ropes, as he relies on a large percentage of these movements, indicating that they require extreme care and concentration. Abu Shuqair confirms that his hobby faces a number of obstacles, the first of which is the scarcity of delegations and courses that may develop movements, in addition to the lack of celebrations that require this art, as well as the continuous closure of crossings, and the inability to participate in international performances, competitions, and festivals.
Abu Shuqair still dreams of participating in competitions, festivals, and shows held outside Palestine, concluding by saying: “Although I will not be able to travel several times, I will continue my training, until the day comes when I fulfill my wish of becoming a professional.”
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