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Empyrean, I had someone suggest trying to get into the move kinda similarly to you but doing the pike from an inverted crucifix, as if you were going to do the superman that way. I found trying that way meant that the pole was too far back along my thighs (ie. closer to crotch than knees) so I'm trying to envisage where you end up from in piking from the shoulder mount – I don't suppose you have a vid of it?

 

Charley, every time I think I've figured out what I'm doing wrong with this move, I try it again and have just the same problems! I am determined to get it and you're waaaaaaaaaaay more advanced than me so I have full faith that you'll get there!!

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I agree with Pauletter about the dynamic stretches before the workout and static ones at the end – this is something that comes up quite often in discussions of running too (my other hobby). There's plenty of info out there on types of dynamic stretches that are good to do but ones I favour for pole are things like shoulder rolls, leg swings in various directions, hip and body rolls, gentle squats…I personally get the heebie jeebies when people do static stretches before their body is warm as I think that's an invitation for snapping stuff! Part of that for me could be that I'm finding that as I get older, I need more warming in my body to deal with the demands of my physical activities.

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Ooh and hear about Amy's trying as she is my guru:)

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Charley, this is the first move I've become so completely obsessed with as I'm convinced it's a technique thing for me rather than something I need to build up to! I watched youtube clips over and over again the other day when I was practicing it at home – I can tell you the things I noticed that I should be doing (rather than what I am actually doing;p) if that would be any help? I'm still unsure if what I am doing is completely right but it wasn't till I tried it with the true grip rather than a split grip that I managed to get my butt in the right position, plus I had to make sure my chest was close to the pole and my arms spread really far apart. I'm unsure if this is the "proper" way to do it though 'cos I notice that both the PDD lady and Skittles in her clip pull further away from the pole so it ends up against the calf rather than just above the knee, which is what the other people I've watched do it seem to have (and I'm yet to try straightening the front leg to test how I do it). I'm looking forward to hearing how Veena's further practices go!

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I tried it again today in class and had much more luck using the true grip rather than the other grips – for some reason this gave me more room for butt manoeuvring so I managed to get that up and even extended the back leg! Next step, working on getting both legs extended:) But maybe in a few days time – the bruises upon bruises are looking epic…mind you, it's my birthday tomorrow and nailing a new move would be some kind of sweet present to myself;p

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Awesome, thx for the vid Veena! Doing it from the cupid seems like it would bypass one of the problems we've been having (I'm sure we'll find more;p) so I'll def give that a try. Presumably it's doable with a split grip rather than the true grip with the same method? I kinda want to give the true grip a try but I've not really done much with it before. I'd seen Skittles' vid using it but I usually watch her clips and think pretty much anything she does is beyond my reach:)

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Thanks for the tips folks. I've been trying it with the split grip (it was that clip Empyrean that got me interested in doing the move in the first place! She gets into it so beautifully) because, for some reason, even though I'm fine getting into twisted grip from the ground, I struggle getting my wrist/hand in the right place once I'm up the pole right-side up! 

 

Chem, I have done reverse ayeshas before but not for ages. When I did them though, it felt more like a hang and balance rather than a push and pop (which is what this one seems like it would be but maybe I was doing them wrong at the time?

 

What we seem to be having problems with especially is figuring out where exactly the pole should be placed on the leg when bracing to flip over and so until we can get the idea of that, things are kinda stalled!

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Oh my goodness! To think, I was pleased with myself to discover I could do an elbowstand press the other day – completely supplanted now! I wonder how long she'd been training for…

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Best of luck! I don't even know who Howard Stern  is but if he's in the usual mould of the "nasty" judge, I'm sure he'd deserve any stilettos that come his way;p

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Rhythmic gymnastics tend to be all kinds of flexi – I think one of the girls in the intl pole comp that's coming up was a former rhythmic gymnast?

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True true amy – I was thinking more in terms of mental tricks for keeping the legs straight rather than the actual lift itself:) That's def abs!

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Maybe focus on really pointing your toes and this might help you maintain the tension in your legs? And think of the pointing as being a whole leg experience too, if that makes sense?! For me, pointing toes starts with the foot but it's also about maintaining strength through your knee then up the quad and hammy and even extending up into your glutes. At least I say this safely from the comfort of my couch, stretching out my leg as I type this – hopefully I am actually doing what I say when I'm on the pole too!!

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I'm a bit like Glitter in that I haven't got kids but I do have stretchmarks, saggy skin, and cellulite! I find that the more I wore short shorts for pole, the less self conscious I became as I realised noone was going to hassle me about it. When I decided I needed side skin bare for a recent show, I made myself wear crop tops to pole class for weeks beforehand (I normally wear singlets), just to get used to the sight of my stomach out and about and it made me much less worried about it on the actual day. 

 

We've all got our own imperfections and though sometimes I feel a bit down that I'm not tiny like a lot of the girls I see dancing in RL and online, I'm proud of what my body can do and how it responds to training.

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I don't think either of the studios I go to have been using a new cleaner but I should probs check. We don't have quite the ease of access to other applying products that other countries do so I don't think that will be it. It is a bit weird that it's mostly affecting my ankles and not any other points other than hands (eg thighs or inner arms) but I just can't think what else it could be if it's not the grip. I was trying to go without using it for a while, just to be sure and I'd made it from last Fri till today but we had an expected workshop with some of the awesome Aussie girls who are over to perform on the weekend and I needed the grip. If noone else has had probs with it though, it's probably not the grip I'm thinking…

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I'm sorry about it too Amy 'cos I've been loving me some sweet success with using Tite Grip! I haven't been using it on my ankles but I tend to rub my hands up and down the pole after I've applied grip to them(I do the same when I have Mighty Grip on my hands, which I've been using for way longer) to add a bit more tackiness and so I thought that it may be my ankles contacting the pole when I climb that was doing it. I have no idea why it would only affect a small area on my hands but a large area on my ankles, which is why I'm not entirely convinced it's the Tite Grip (which is why I thought I'd see if it had happened to anyone else therefore is a feasible possibility), but I'm not sure what else it could be in those specific areas. I've only been using the pink original stuff.

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Yay, thanks:)

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I couldn't find the fan page, only Veena's own page:(

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oops, that's what I get for trying to link in a hurry! How 'bout this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qe4Y8aVE7w&feature=channel_video_title

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It's not that bad really – just gotta trust in your legs! I did it in a show (see this clip around 2:53 http://www.youtube.com/user/Sassafrassle?feature=mhee#p/a/u/1/3Qe4Y8aVE7w) and while it looks better when you've got a higher pole (and legs that go on for miles like Leigh Ann;p), regular folks can do it too! I think mostly it's a confidence thing – you need to get high in your invert (so invert at the top of the pole or caterpillar up there) so there's plenty of room to play with, be VERY confident in your hands free crucifix and then it's a case of loosening a little with your thighs then clamping back on. I would try it in tiny little increments of loosen-clamp-loosen-clamp before dropping further, just to get the feeling for it. When you're more confident, you can try dropping further. My fav ways for ending it are to either put your hands out at the bottom and gently slide your body away from the pole (weight isn't in your hands, they're just there for bracing) like I do in my clip, or something I've been trying lately, is to stop a bit short of the ground and shoulder dismount off, almost as if you're doing drop then forward roll off the pole – it's awesome fun but can be a littler bruisey on the shoulder if you don't hit the angle quite right!!

 

Anyway, hope this helps and good luck! I do love this one:)

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I was planning to handstitch but it's more about how I deal with having the leeway for getting the pieces on and off again as the fabric will need to stretch to get it on before it settles back once it's actually on…

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Oona is amazing – it's well worth going back and looking at some of her previous clips if you get the chance!

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I posted a remarkably similar thread a few months ago about someone who sent me a request asking if I could do a vid of my feet on yt – I ended up just ignoring the request, partly because I couldn't view the person's channel at all so all I had to go from about them was their request email and the fact that when I googled, I saw they'd sent similar requests to other people who had done it for them. Ultimately I realised that if I put clips up in a public forum, then I have to deal with the fact that people will watch them in whatever context they want but I don't need to specifically do something that makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

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Not obnoxious to post the link at all Amy – in fact I was originally going to post this as a comment on that page on your blog! The problem is that the entry doesn't exactly answer my question – I got the impression from my teacher that it wasn't so much my legs were out of square of the pole as they were on more of a slightly skewed front and back position rather than a straddle relative to my body. Probably what I need to do is to get someone to photograph or film what I'm doing so I can actually see for myself the problem:/ The thing is, my way of positioning feels really solid and steady (I could hold it so much better than my SG or FG ayeshas!) and so I was disappointed to hear that the rest didn't quite look how it should, hence why I wondered if maybe I was "cheating" rather than being in the position properly:(

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Heh I should rename Youtube PoleTube 'cos that's just about all I ever look at or subscribe to! I only have a few vids of my own up but lots of good subscriptions if you're looking for some:)

http://www.youtube.com/user/Sassafrassle?feature=mheee

 

 

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I've been poling for ages and I still get the occasional bruise on the top of my feet – I think part of that is that I'm a runner and my feet tend to swell a bit on the top and get a bit tender so I have to admit that I tend to avoid pole climbing for the sake of climbing (ie. instead of to get somewhere for a move)!