Scorpio. What am I doing wrong?!

faerie9 started this discussion · 12/30/2009

This is really, really frustrating for me! I can do moves way more advanced than a scorpio, yet I can't do that. I know, everyone is different and sometimes things don't work when others do. So I've made a vid from today's practise to see if I'm actually doing anything wrong. I can gemini really easily and (bizarrely) I can gemini-scorpio switch repeatedly with no hands.... but I can't get into a scorpio with no hands and hold it... which is a shame as I'm really wanting to try the spinning scorpio (though I feel now I'm trying to run before I can walk! 😂 ) So, here it is... any ideas? Thanks 🙂 http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2438

13 replies

kklove · 12/30/2009
oh yea i just got off the phone with my teacher/friend off SV and she was telling me how to help with my grip on the pole with my thighs and stuff. Some members say they use grip aides but others have other things they use like shaving gel. I have yet to try any of these things but I am having the same issue with not being able to do no hands. it takes time though i know and as you get stronger and your body gets more used to it you will be able to do it. wow..when i was watchin ur vid i was like ::omg that is exactly what my body does.....sllliiiiiiideeeeeee down:: i feel ur pain....TRUST STAY POSITIVE CHICA...U CAN DO IT
amy · 12/30/2009
just my two cents- when you are in gemini, your hips are more open (facing the ceiling) and your back is more arched whereas when you do the scorpio, your whole body is much more vertical so you're sliding right down. opening your hips and arching will help you to hold the position better! that way you are forming tension and using skin on your side, and armpit to hold.
Meleania · 12/30/2009
What helped me to get the scorpio with no hands was to position my leg with my foot also hooking around the pole, I think I saw veena or somebody doing it. Then after awhile of being able to do that I tried it without hooking and really focused on the push/pull of my leg to keep me in place. I always thought girls doing the scorpio were just hanging there by their skin but alot more was going on then i thought! Also remember to grip with the back of your armpit on your back and your side. I dont need to use grip aid for scorpio but I do have to be really warmed up
Veena · 12/30/2009
I posted some advice on your vid for ya. 🥂
Mary Ellyn · 12/31/2009
I couldn't see how/where to make comments on your vid so I'll post mine here: 1. Extend and drop your left arm further down and squeeze it inward in the direction of behind your back to help grip harder on the pole. (if you have trouble maintaining grip until you get your left arm in position - use your right hand to grip the pole as you position your left arm in back. This will help until you learn to transition your left arm from holding onto the pole to position behind your back.) 2. Your right leg needs to be stretched/extended far out behind and away from you - total opposite direction of your hooked leg. The weight of the right leg pulls in the opposite direction of your hooked leg, assisting your left leg to grip by adding counter weight. You really should not try to wrap your ankle around the pole either...this puts your ankle into a hyperextended position and can cause injury. Just because your body is capable of doing something, doesn't mean you should. People who are hypermobile in various joints are prone toward injury because the tendons of that joint are softer/weak. You shouldn't need to compensate your grip on the pole by wrapping your ankle if you hold the position correctly. 🫡
Veena · 12/31/2009
I couldn't see how/where to make comments on your vid so I'll post mine here: You shouldn't need to compensate your grip on the pole by wrapping your ankle if you hold the position correctly. 🫡 To comment on a video, all you do is click on the big comment button. Then click on + add comment. I wouldn't consider hooking the foot onto the pole hyper extending, the position most dancers use when they hook the foot is more of an ability to point the toes than roll your ankle (if you understand how to do it) .... simply adding your toes into the equation isn't hyper extending. It really depends on the size of your pole too, its much easier to add the toes on a smaller diameter pole. I would say if hooking the foot began to bother your knee (because it will slightly change the leg position) then you should stop. 🌸
Mary Ellyn · 12/31/2009
hmm...pointing your toes is not a problem,...but you probably didn't understand what I meant and I'm certain we were not saying the same thing!! 🙂 If somone is basically doing a candy can stripe up the pole with their leg - where the pole is first in front of the groin at the hip, then behind the knee, then behind the ankle and then the foot is twisted so that the instep is behind the pole, THAT would be hyperflexion and beyond the normal range of motion of the ankle joint when wrapped around any size pole. Lateral eversionn and rotation of the foot...turning the foot/ankle outward....should be no more than 25 degrees. Flexing the foot this far is much more than 25 degrees and on top of putting pressure on that joint to assist in holding, would be extremely risky for the ankle. Of course, some people who are trained in contortionism may be able to accomplish this position safely but a beginner should not try to put pressure on the joint when not trained this way. Sorry if I didn't explain that very well when I wrote it. 😉
Veena · 12/31/2009
Empy...I think you might not understand how I approach using your foot in the Scorpio, its really done more by turning the hips so the hips are open, (this makes a big difference) keeping the pole along the leg, and pointing the toes, angling the ankle just enough to catch the toes, and lightly flexing the toes against the pole. If someone is doing a Scorpio the way I teach, then your also learning the method of opening up the hips which will extend the move causing your leg line to become longer along the pole. This allows you to use the foot without over extending the ankle (I should say I don't teach them to wrap the ankle in the lessons)....when done properly the position/strain on your ankle/foot, should feel no different than wrapping your foot around the pole for a climb. I could see where it could cause a problem if you were to hold your hips square with your leg really bent and then attempted to use your foot, but trust me, dropping your outside hip makes all the difference. Plus, your not holding all or even most of your body weight with your foot, its just the tiniest bit of pressure if any, its not like twisting your arm for the Twisted grip handspring, where the poor joint carries all the weight. A persons anatomy will determine weather they can perform the Scorpio with the foot or not, if someone is bowlegged then this method would be a bad idea also if you have longer thin legs it will be easier than if you have short thick legs also pole size is a factor to as I said before. 🌸
faerie9 · 12/31/2009
Thank you all 🙂 Its so obvious now its pointed out to me! Yes, I'm not getting the armit grip, I'm just trying to tale my hands off; no wonder it isn't working. Also yes I can see my positioning needs adjusting... I will give this all another go and report back 😉 Re the foot hooking thing: I can manage without. I heard it can damage the cruciate ligaments in the knee ( which I think is what Empy is saying) though its interesting to hear your take on it Veena. I think for me to be on the safe side I will try not to wrap my foot as knowing me I'd do it the wrong way!
Veena · 12/31/2009
Good luck! 🥂 I believe Empy was talking about the ankle damage I had mentioned the knee 😉
faerie9 · 1/1/2010
Ah yeah 😂 I was on my mobile phone so not so easy to go back and check while posting! Winter is causing havoc here with poling, I might have to sit this one out til my pole has some sensible level of grip. Really happy to have some new ideas to try and crack this one though 🙂 Thanks again 😀
faerie9 · 1/6/2010
Woohoo! New video here 🙂 Well, following some excellent advice here (notably, armpit grip, extending the body more) I seem to have made some real progress on this at last. Thank you!! 🙂 I'm still finding it painful on my thigh but now I've gotten over my mental block with this move and I know I can do it, as with everything the pain will lessen with practise. Thank you so much for all the advice, it's really been what's helped me crack this move. It's so obvious now what I was doing wrong but sometimes it needs someone else to look at it objectively to point it out.
amy · 1/6/2010
awesome! looks so much better, you will have it nailed cold in absolutely no time.