Yesterday a whole lot of derby people showed up for speed skating. It always makes my heart sing a little because I like the company and also people that I can actually race with. The coach took it in stride as usual and spent some time expounding on the many benefits of speed skating practice for derby players. We tend to do relays at the end of practice and as she demonstrated proper push technique on me she said, "I know this seems a bit... intimate." We all laughed and I responded, "oh Denise, this doesn't even begin to qualify as intimate."
One of the side effects of derby is the complete and total redefinition of personal space. The past six months has seen a 1000% increase in the number of people I'm comfortable with grabbing my boobs at random or punching me in the ass - either of which has basically evolved into just another way to say 'hello.' I'm theorizing that this may be due in part to the fact that legal contact zones are areas of the body that aren't typically places that are socially approrpiate for touching. Think about it: it's OK to greet someone by shaking their hand or maybe even touching the small of their back but it would be really weird to say 'hey' by touching them in the stomach, chest or thigh. Even the upper inner thigh is a legal blocking zone. If you're actually capable of blocking people there I have two things to say to you: 1. Teach me how. 2. Please don't be on the opposing team.
<posted on 3.14.12>
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