Hello Everyone :)

Hagface started this discussion · 8/27/2012

Hi guys, I'm new here and wanted to pop in and say hi! I'm really struggling with my pole moves, I've had 4 classes now and my first one was great! I got all my spins and stuff, but after that I've developed what my teacher refers to as 'the fear' and feel like I've spent all my other lessons wasting my (and my teachers) time. I can do the footwork but can't seem to get a good spin or anything I keep jumping instead of just going with my momentum - I just can't seem to let myself 'fall' into them, I just seem so scared that I'll let myself slip off and get hurt or something! Does anyone have any tips on getting over this? Thanks for reading! :)

9 replies

Dancing Paws · 8/27/2012
Working grip strength will help with the fear. If your hands are not secure, it makes sense to be afraid.
Dancing Paws · 8/27/2012
Working grip strength will help with the fear. If your hands are not secure, it makes sense to be afraid.
Hagface · 8/27/2012
Yeah I've been trying to but I just find it so daunting! Do you have any good tips for strength exercises without using the pole? :)
Veena · 8/27/2012
Hi Hagface! Having trouble with spins is very common for beginners so you're not alone! There a number of conditioning lessons here that will help with grip and also the whole body, no pole needed. Most of the Pole Strength lessons can also be done with a door frame instead of a pole.🥂
Krissykiki · 8/27/2012
I ran into fear of letting myself fall into spins a lot (sometimes still do) when I was first starting out. I just kept pushing myself in class over and over again and repeating tomyself I can do this I can do this. I find pole involves working through mental barriers all the time. Also if you don't have a pole at home, go scout out some playgrounds near by and practice stuff on the poles there. :) Good luck and keep at it! You will get through this and improve. :)
Hagface · 8/27/2012
Thanks ladies - I do have a pole at home, but we (unexpectedly) got a dog at the start of the week and also have two cats so unfortunately for me Cat (the dog) now spends a fair bit of time leashed to my pole! 🙁
darcit · 8/28/2012
This is a completely different idea, but sometimes I have students with the same problem and I have them practice falling. I know this might sound crazy, but for your whole life, falling has been someingthing completely out of your control that is going to hurt. Sometimes a big part of it is retraining your brain to realize that falling can be something you're completely in control of that is fun! And sometimes it's easier to work on the falling part first before you try to add remembering how to do a spin at the same time. If you have a little time where you can get at your home pole, surround it with really cushy pillows (sofa cushions work well). Then just practice grabbing ahold of the pole at about eye level and hanging on while you slide down onto your knees. Play around with that. Just get used to the pole. See what happens when your squeeze harder or less hard with your hands. Basically you're teaching your body that even when you're falling it's ok. Hopefully this helps a little.
muroo · 8/28/2012
I second darcit's learning to fall idea. :-) I guess I've never thought about it specific to pole, since I fall so much doing other things, but it's a good kind of confidence to have. :-) For me it has to do with combining flexibility and strength to create a special skill set of shock absorption. Any specific moves come to mind that you have fear of? Most of my fear actually comes with slamming into the pole. =P Just bruises I know. I'm starting to think though that maybe there's some sort of pipe insulation or padding I could find to help out with that...bumpers for pole (specifically...reverse grab bumpers...)...
Hagface · 8/28/2012
The learning to fall idea is a great one, thanks so much! I learned fireman first and was really loving it, but now I keep finding myself jumping into it rather than just picking my leg up and going with it.. I seem to have developed a massive problem at the moment with lifting my outside leg up to fall into spins once my inside leg is hooked, I do the move perfectly until lift-up time and then panic! 🙁