Knee hold - help!

Foxy_Rei started this discussion · 2/28/2010

Ok this is driving me crazy. The only bit of advice I've ever heard about the knee hold is that you need to find that sweet spot on your knee - but I can't even get that far! I put my lower knee up on the pole and it just slides down before I can put enough weight on it to do anything. I keep trying and my arms get tired before I make any progress. I've tried using a chair or doing it from the floor, but I can't get a good enough grip with the top knee and slide off even easier. *sigh* Am I missing something? Is your weight being held more with the top leg and you just use your inner thigh muscles to keep that lower leg from sliding? Or am I right and your bottom knee holds a good chunk of your weight, and I just suck? Maybe I'll just keep at it and it'll click someday...

19 replies

chemgoddess1 · 3/1/2010
Can you do a star (Jamilla calls it something else but it slips my mind) It was not until I could get this no handed that I could get even the beginnings of a knee hold. For me the pole cannot be right it the pit of the knee...it has to be a little away and held more by the calf and hammie.
Ritalin · 3/1/2010
Hi Foxy, You need to have a really tight, solid grip with your top knee. Your bottom knee does take some weight, but it's more bracing you away from the pole. Hook your top knee first, so it's got a really good grip, and then place your bottom knee against the pole. Make sure your knees aren't too far apart, because you need to hook your feet together. As soon as you position your lower knee you need to push your hips right forward, so they are in line with the pole. This should help shift the weight onto your bottom knee, and stop it sliding out from under you. You'll then be able to start looking for the sweet spot - I still haven't found it... I've just grown used to the pain! (Obviously, practice all this stuff with your hands on the pole.) Let the pain begin!
khallstrom · 3/1/2010
Hi, Foxy, I am by far no expert on knee hold. I've only gotten it 3 times and that was with boots on. I have the same problem with sticking, which is why I went to the boots so at least I could get an idea of how hard I had to tighten the grip with the upper leg. I have tried without the boots but the only times I get close is when I am warmed up and so is the pole and I put grip behind my upper knee and in the grove in front of the lower knee. I need all the help I can get. When you get it as I know you will soon because you won't give up, please share what worked for you. Thanks! Here is my best attempt so far: 1st Knee Hold.JPG Please excuse the getup. I was working on my February Challenge at the time. -Kim
Foxy_Rei · 3/1/2010
Thanks everyone! 🙂 Chem - I can't remember about the star, I haven't tried it since getting back on the pole... I think I did... 🤔 I'll have to try it again and see. Ritalin - thanks for the walk-through. I'll have to try pushing my hips forward, but it's pretty rare I get far enough to do that. I get stuck at the point where I have to hook my feet together because the bottom knee keeps sliding so my feet are too far apart! It sucks! Khallstrom - your outfit looks cute 🙂 If I get it, I'll let you know what I did. I've been trying to get into this from both just standing and hooking my leg and from gemini - I think it was Roxy? that said she did it that way so she could get a secure grip with the top knee when she was learning it. I'll give it another go when I practice tonight
moonflower · 3/1/2010
I got the knee hold months before I got the star. I'm weird. I feel as though the pole pops out of my backknee (is that a word?) in the star, but since my other foot is holding my leg in place, it doens;'t happen on the knee hold.
joni1 · 3/1/2010
The best way I can get a great knee grip is to invert into a gemini, use both arm to pull and hold yourself up while you place your lower leg on the pole. Remember to cross you ankle and push your hip forward while engaging your abs and leg muscles.The pushing of the hip forward is crutial to getting and holding this move. Trena 👸 was the one who taught me this mount into the knee hold in one of her vids. And its great because you get that hooking leg nice and high. Look into her profile and she has the knee hold vid there. The thigh high boots is a great way to train into this as it takes away 50% of the pain. I still have pain 😠 when I do this move but its quite tolerable now.
Sassafrassle · 3/1/2010
Just wondering how you place your hands when you're getting into it? I got some advice from someone to place the upper hand quite close to the upper leg when getting into it (although hook your upper knee quite high in the first place) and that works quite well for me. Also, I notice some people go into it with both hands starting above the upper knee - personally, I find having one hand placed above then one between where my knees are (or at least will be) gets my hips into a much better position for lining up than if they were close together, in which case the body is kinda bent inwards. That goes towards the slipping side of things anyway - the pain side gets lessened by lots of practice and finding the "sweet spot" below your knee cap....
Mary Ellyn · 3/1/2010
I teach this from a standing position. The grip on the back of the knee is very important. Use some grip aid - even hair spray on the back of the knee. I usually advise against boots on this one unless you are using just ONE boot on the lower leg to pad the shin from the pain. You need to feel the skin of the back of your upper knee to learn how to grip and you can't do that as well with boots. You actually hook your ankles just before you place your knee or it's harder to get your ankles to meet if you place that lower knee too far down. Once you hook your ankles, slide your lower knee down. do NOT place it on the knee cap or the center of the shin-line but actually on the side of the tibial bone...the area that almost feels flat, just inside the front of the shin-line. Hips MUST push forward so your torso is in a straight line. If you bend at the hips you will not be able to hold the position. More weight is taken by the top leg to lessen the pressure on the bottom shin but it's pretty equal. Also, if you try to hold your torso UP higher than the hips, it's going to put more pressure on that painful section of the lower shin so try to not let go until your body is more parallel with the floor. This doesn't have any sound but it may be helfpul: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW7lCMh6TeI
carriej · 3/2/2010
Yeah, I just recently started getting this one. I practiced with one hand on the pole and one on a sturdy chair so figure out bottom leg placement then both hands on pole. I can only do it with warmed up body and warmed up pole. Unless I'm really grippy, I'm afraid I'll slip down. It did help to put mighty grip on the back of my knee! Most of my weight is on the top knee and the bottom knee just kinda keeps me from flopping down.
PoleSF · 3/5/2010
Hiya from San Francisco 🙂 Got it a bit backwards I am afraid, but an easy fix 🙂 ... Your "weight" should be held with your top leg and the bottom leg (actually the shin of your bottom leg is used for bracing to put your body "outward" from the pole, or you can extend your bottom leg straight down for a pretty half split move. A good way to practice finding the "sweet spot" behind your knee is to stand very close to the pole, with the pole on your right or left side depending on which leg you feel comfortable with, 1) hook your "inside leg" on the pole at about hip height 2) grab and gently pull the top of your foot to really smoosh the pole into the "crook" of your bent leg (your calf will feel a little uncomfortable for the first few tries but dont ever pull so hard that your knee hurts!)... pulling your foot it the direction of your bum. 3) the outside is straight and your foot pushed against the base of the pole and your body is reaching away from the pole in the opposite direction of the bent leg, to simulate a good strong hold. ** When you do this from a position of height on the pole and if you where heels, one trick instead of grabbing the top of the foot (which is uncomfortable and awkward to do in the middle of the move, is to grab the stiletto heel of the leg that you are hooking) sounds crazy but it makes that grab and hold soooooo much easier and takes the pressure off your knee and calf being smooshed into the pole! It also allows you to control the tension of the hold much easier 🙂 From there you would use the heel of your bottom leg to push your top leg in the direction of your bum, taking over the role of your hand pulling the top of your foot to your bum, and "smooshing" the crook of your leg around the pole 🙂 Hope this helps! send me a message if you need anything else! Good luck and happy poling! 🙂 Leah Pole SF
PennyGirl · 11/30/2010
Okay I am actually working on this right now.( this very minute, like I'm typing this on my couch still in my drawers lol) I JUST got it for a sec. What I learned about my body position is that I have to really lean far away from the pole before I lift the lower leg. If I elongate my torso away from the pole then I have anough tension on the top leg to lift the bottom and lean away. I didn't know just how important it is to lean far away first...meaning I was like totally stretched away and my belly fat wat taught (lol) before I lifted the bottom leg. Like veena teaches, I kept a chair in case I needed to lean on it but I didn't need it until I tried to get down. I actaully let go of BOTH hands...very happy. Now I gotta train my muscles to remember this. Hope this helps! 😀
estine · 12/1/2010
i actually just got this a few weeks ago and can do it comfortably now what helped me was to let first make sure that you have a secure grip with the top knee then i hooked my feet before getting the bottom knee in the right spot as far as the sliding of the bottom knee. i actually let mine slide down a little bit so that more of my leg is in contact with the pole. i had a much harder time when i didn't let it slide down and when i tried to keep my knees closer together.
PoleDancingYogi · 12/1/2010
Hi Foxy glad to know you are progressed with your knee hold 🥂 ...I'm posting for any other girls working on this at the moment The knee hold is one of my favorite pole moves. Getting it at first if very painful and tricky. The KEY to the knee hold in my case was DRIVING MY HIPS FORWARD!!! 😀 Leg placement must be correct and secure as well obliviously.... 1.I start from the ground with my inside arm higher up on the pole than my outside... 2.then I hook my inside leg HIGH up on the pole ***where your legs bends opposite of the knee***... 3..from there bring your outside leg up to the pole & lock your feet together (you want to rest the pole right where the lowest part of the knee and the upper chin meet (if you feel your leg there is your knee cap, the bottom bone of your knee, then your chin begins). 4.from here your body is "in place" but you must push your hips forward and squeeze your butt cheeks together, sounds funny but it helps everything. (this increases the pain even more so be ready) you should feel pretty stable here with your hands still on the pole. try taking your outside hand off and start to lean away slightly, keeping your hips engaged. if you feel your self slipping squeeze your legs more and drive your hips again. you may have to come off and reposition a few times before you feel comfortable. If you are sweaty put grip on the back on your top knee and on your lower leg as well. I hope this helps you!
PennyGirl · 12/1/2010
wow LV pole that was a really awesome explanation...I'm gonna try it again yay!
PoleDancingYogi · 12/1/2010
Thanks PennyGirl!! I also teach yoga and I really thinks it helps me explain pole moves because I'm always examining the body! Let me know how it works and if you need help with anything! xoxo
Journey · 12/3/2010
Hi Foxy glad to know you are progressed with your knee hold 🥂 ...I'm posting for any other girls working on this at the moment Thanks! Yes, I finally recently got this so I thought I should probably post what finally "clicked" although it can be difficult to isolate exactly what I was doing right or wrong. LvpPole has a pretty good rundown so I'll just post tidbits. 😜 I switched back and forth between trying this from standing and trying it from a gemini. Standing is nice because you're closer to the ground and less likely to hurt yourself if you fall off the pole, but I found that you get a more secure grip with the top knee if you do it from gemini (something that stuck in my head from watching a video of Roxy's back when I was a newbie...). Getting that top knee to maintain its grip was a big challenge for me, until I got some tips over USPDF weekend; hooking your feet together is part of what holds that upper leg tight around the pole, turns out - that bottom leg's foot goes in front of the top one and pulls against it. Another big thing was for whatever odd reason, I was trying to hook my feet after putting the bottom knee on the pole and that's very difficult to do. Definitely hook the feet first. 😜 Also, I know they say that you should put the outside/bottom hand between your knees while you get the bottom knee into position, but I found that extremely awkward - I thought it was easier to put that hand under the bottom knee. :shrug: Not typical, I know, just another example of how different things work for different people. 🙂 And finally, pushing the hips forward was the thing that finally just made it all make sense. When I started out, I was struggling so much with the knee grip and trying not to fall off the stupid pole that I never got to that point. But when I finally got that far, I was thinking, "Oh goody! I can go on to the next step now... Okay, push hips forward, and.... OH MY GOSH there it is! 😮 I did it!" 🥂 and I wasn't even afraid to let go, either. It seems to give that top knee just a bit of an extra twist so it actually helps the grip slightly, too. It's just one of those things that takes practice and a lot of muscle memory. Oh, and let's not forget pain tolerance... the bruise is just now finally healed enough on my knee that I can do this again after shooting my last video. 😜 Be patient... (I posted this thread back in February, and here it is the end of the year!)
PennyGirl · 12/3/2010
aw yay for you!!!! I love when a new move comes together!
Tovah · 1/12/2012
Thanks for all the tips on the knee hold. I am soooo close I can taste it.. I am a bit...alot scared at letting go of the top hand.
PixiLouBell · 1/12/2012
all is good except that damn sweet spot! lol i cannot find it, i cud let go if it didnt hurt so much!