Butterfly to Inside leg hook

MissJulie started this discussion · 3/11/2010

So I saw it again when I was watching Allegras new vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykFuJQV5AXA, around 48 seconds She almost drops straight from butterfly to an inside leg hook or gemini, catching at the armpit. I tried to do this after seeing felix do it a bunch (felix does it much slower and i only last week even realized she was doing it), and hoooollly crap it was scary. What's the deal? Has anyone done it? If so, please break it down for me. Do you have to have a good straight edge or something first? Cause i felt like I was gonna hit my head. Maybe I'm going the wrong way. I always get discombobulated in the butterfly. Julie

6 replies

amy · 3/11/2010
i think it helps to have your leg really hooked when you're in your butterfly, like you're doing a gemini (outside leg hook), and the pole is in your knee pit. i find that makes the move much more secure. there's still an awkward moment when you are trying to get your shoulder past the pole but your upper hand is in butterfly grip; i'm still working out the smoothest way to transition but it seems from what i've tried so far that if you have your leg really hooked, you can drop right into the inside leg hook (scorpio) without needing to readjust your hand-- you can just let go and drop into the scorpio, relying on your knee grip until you get your armpit in place.
amy · 3/11/2010
hm, i do it (badly) at the end of this vid... http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/3108 it's the third-to-last combo-- almost at the very end. you can maybe see more easily how to improve on what i've got taped... i find it's really tough to watch SUPER GOOD polers and figure out what they're doing, since they make everything look so easy!
MissJulie · 3/11/2010
I've been watching Becca Butcher's vids and man, she has that inside leg hook right in the knee pit like outside leg. I can't get it. I'm almost hooking on with my foot more than my leg. I wonder if its flexibility. I'll have to keep trying it.
bebeduckie · 3/12/2010
umm julie....you look pretty flexible to me!!!! 😀
Mary Ellyn · 3/12/2010
Alethea was helping us with this move when we were in Jamaica...I got it...once! LOL She advises hooking deep inside the knee as well. She also explained how your bottom hand has to be used as a fulcrum to swing your body around the pole and that it requires a lot of shoulder flexibility. She had us really stretch our shoulders after we warmed up and that definitely made a difference but I have limited shoulder flexibility to begin with. I find it interesting how long Allegra holds onto the pole with her bottom hand until she is almost all the way in place on the Scorpio. Amyxshi...I loved your flow when you were freestyling in the first half of your video!
Neru · 3/18/2010
There was this one video of Felix practicing where she did it fairly slowly and you had a good view of what was going on. I put the video on my "must try"-list but now it's gone. Bohohoo... But the move is gorgeous!