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Butterfly and a severe pole rut
So I’ve been progressing at a reasonable rate, I think, as far as moves where I use my legs, or where you just have to get used to the pain, or find the sweet spot. However, when it comes to any inverted move where you support yourself only with your arms, I haven’t been able to get past the caterpillar on my strong side–and sometimes I can’t even do that! I did P90X over the summer so I really thought I’d be stronger, although to be fair, I’ve only sporadically been to the gym since then.
Basically I have two problems: first, my arms just don’t feel anywhere near strong enough to support me (the elbow grip feels the safest, but I can’t even think about attempting the split grip), and second, whether because of nerves or because I’m a naturally sweaty person, the second I get upside down my hands are hopelessly sweaty and slip right off the pole.
I’m not sure how to get out of this rut. Do I keep working on the caterpillar and just hope the butterfly comes with time? Are there exercises I should be doing with weights to get stronger? I feel like I can’t really get anywhere, or even put together a decent routine, when I can’t do a single inverted move that depends on my arms. Please please please help!
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6 Replies
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How long have you been dancing and how often are you dancing? If your taking the lessons you might want to try out the Pole Shoulder Press. Its a toughy! http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2192
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It took me forever to feel secure enough to attempt an aysha and then one day it just happened. So much of this is not only upper body strength but core and finding balance.
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have you tried forearm grip for caterpillar? i find it’s easiest for beginners to learn. this is a pic from our very own englann i think who popped up first in the google images search =)
http://flickriver.com/photos/danielletillie/4706924328/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
you get the pole almost in your left armpit and you use your entire forearm and upper arm as a point of contact so it can feel much more secure.
are you using grip aids? do a search through the threads here. really sweaty hands– tite grip applied 2 hrs before poling works wonders.
work on your hand strength– opening and closing your hands as hard and fast as you can, for about 2 minutes or until your hands start getting gimpy and stop working properly- helps.
sometimes– if your hands are really sweaty– it can actually hold you back from things yo uare able to do strength- and coordination and balance-wise– because of fear of falling on your face. which is a good fear. try grip aids and see if they dont help… sometimes it’s not your upper body that is weak, but your hand grip due to sweating.
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Ah! That is me! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
I actually had this issue for a while as well. Using grip aid for the first time was what helped me. Also I do highly recommend using the forearm grip first. After you conquer the move using grip aid you can try to do it without. You will be far less nervous about it because you’ve already accomplished it and you know what it feels like. At this point I only use grip aid if I’m learning a new trick (still use it sometimes for split grip aysha, for instance). My first butterfly was a forearm grip as well. Make sure to get comfortable with the leg position of butterfly by trying it from a reverse handstand. You’ll get it, keep trying!
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I am another sweaty hander – Amyxshi is right on the money. Tite Grip a couple of hours before, and then I use Dry Hands during my practice. It gave me the confidence and also allowed me to stay in position long enough to actually play with things. It took me forever to get an aysha. I did a ton of elbow grip caterpillar climbing, which built strength. Then little by little, I started playing with pushing my rear out and taking my feet off. It will come eventually – just keep trying!
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I think it depends from person to person – I struggle with elbow grips and the caterpillar but love my split grips and butterflies. In the classes I went to they taught the girls to do a closed version of the butterfly first and then as you get more secure and stronger with your split grip and butterfly leg positions you are able to progress to a full split grip and butterfly. I had already taught myself the butterfly and actually found the closed version harder but the other girls thought closed was easiest a first so again it tends to vary for each person
I’ve never seen a picture of the closed butterfly so I will try and take one for you later so you can see what I mean https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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