One handed corkscrew

miss fern started this discussion · 5/31/2009

Hello! I can do the corkscrew just fine - and now I want to try the one handed corkscrew! You can see it in action in this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qreu9IW-H1I at 2.19 - 2.21 (it's really brief) and again at 2.38 - 2.41 (better version). http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2425/onehandedcorkscrew.jpg Any tips? I think she must be gripping with her stomach/back skin a bit - and I can see it's the lower hand that stays on the pole, and the top hand that stretches out. I've tried by starting the move with both hands then releasing one but I just can't do it. Help!

4 replies

Angel1201 · 5/31/2009
This is a painful spin if you are on brass - too much grip. I like to do it with a shirt on because most of the grip comes in the armpit/bicep/upper arm and I get really bruised. You also do rub on the side of your stomach. You have to get a lot of speed and you need to arch backward in the spin and let your head fall back. You should master it with 2 hands first then practice letting off the top hand. I do this with my right arm so I grab with my right hand thumb up and my left hand above the right with the thumb down. When I take off I pull my chest in towards my hands and this pull gives me momentum to swing my legs forward. Once my legs come to the front of the pole I arch my back and let my head fall back to try to get myself horizontal to the floor. I've heard this called an angel spin. I took a workshop with Sally Ann Giles from the UK where she taught this. If you look at her on youtube you can see her do this spin. Actually, I can post the video I took of her in class. She does it no-handed though which is maybe why she gave it a different name than corkscrew.
Fleur · 5/31/2009
This is essentially a teddy hold with a spin added. Practice teddy hold and notice that your hips need to make it across the pole for you to really be able to squeeze into the armpit of the inside arm. This is a very hard spin! Fleur
miss fern · 6/1/2009
Thank you so much for your tips girls! This is essentially a teddy hold with a spin added. Practice teddy hold and notice that your hips need to make it across the pole for you to really be able to squeeze into the armpit of the inside arm. I hadn't noticed the similarity to teddy (because I never grip with my hands with teddy, only the armpit, and the hip/side skin.) I'll keep that in mind next time I try, cheers. 🙂 It looks like it's gonna on the "wrong side" for me. As in.... I like to spin clockwise (dominant right hand), but with teddy - I grip with the inside of my LEFT arm (eg. spinning anticlockwise) - however the bicep on my right is stronger than my left - so I might have to do this 'One handed corkscrew'/'Angel spin' on my RIGHT. I dunno. Damn having lopsided strength! This is a painful spin if you are on brass - too much grip. ... You have to get a lot of speed and you need to arch backward in the spin and let your head fall back. You should master it with 2 hands first then practice letting off the top hand. ... I do this with my right arm so I grab with my right hand thumb up and my left hand above the right with the thumb down. When I take off I pull my chest in towards my hands and this pull gives me momentum to swing my legs forward. Luckily I am on Chrome not Brass, yay! I can already do it two handed (well not with the thumb down version, I'll try that next) - it's the letting go bit that I'm not mastering! Haha! But with your tips I might get it eventually. I took a workshop with Sally Ann Giles from the UK where she taught this. If you look at her on youtube you can see her do this spin. Actually, I can post the video I took of her in class. I couldn't find the vid of any of her classes - do you think you could point me to a link please? 😀
Angel1201 · 6/1/2009
I posted the video I took of her dancing on this site. You'll see it under my videos. She also has videos on youtube if you just search her name.