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My first fall…. onto my head :(
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Actually I've found very few instructors who don't teach how to avoid injury during falls – although there are a couple of different methods of doing so.
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Pole is a contact sport! My worst fall was caused by a "let's just try this" attitude, that I have since lost. I had done my first Aysha the day before with my hubby spotting, so of course I could now do it alone! I l was losing my grip and luckily had the sense to lean into the pole to slow my fall and stop myself from flipping onto my back, which would have been much worse as I was on a PS stage. I got a black eye and imprinted my glasses into my face, and my neck and shoulders took a beating. I had to go to the optomotrist just an hour later and request an "adjustment" for my flattened glasses. That was an awkward conversation! Like others said, get back up on that horse, but just make sure you know what you're doing.
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as i mostly 'at home' poler, I would love to know how to avoid injury during falls, esp. since I'm usually working w/o a spotter.
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Sparrow…you simply should not work without a crash mat AND a spotter…and specifically a spotter who knows what they are doing as you can get hurt worse if they don't.
It's very difficult to "learn to fall". We talk all the time about tuck and roll, etc but the real key is to repeatedly practice exiting the move the opposite way you enter it. (Not applicable in transitions) so that your muscle memory is coming back out of the move rather than learning to "fall" down.
Learning to reverse out is a safer and more likely way to build the muscle memory and unless you are going to practice falls on a regular basis you will not build the muscle memory of falling out of a move safely and could injure yourself even worse.
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@ empy-
I like your idea of learning how to reverse the move- that’s a good one!
But learning how to fall is a good skill to have- so instinctively you move a certain way to protect yourself.I definately agree with a crash mat- or something similar but getting a spotter who knows what their doing is a little bit difficult for most on here?!
I mean ideally- that would be awesome but unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world lol. -
Learning to work within your abilities is always best…. start working on moves as low to the floor as possible and as slowly with control as possible https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif Pole Dance should be fun, there is no need for everyone to perform every move out there. I agree that learning to "fall" is not a good idea https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif
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I'm not an instructor, but I would consider myself an expert in falling :p Here are the things that I do to avoid injury when something goes wrong:
1. The obvious one is cushions around the pole when learning new tricks, of course
2. Cling to the pole with whatever you can! It will either stop your fall, and buy you some time to figure out how to untangle yourself and get down, or at minimum slow you down enough to reduce the impact. A fall flat onto your back could be a disaster from 5 feet in the air, but from 1 foot, it's just kind of embarrassing (that was me in class last week after my stupid sweaty hand slipped off the pole in an aysha).
3. Never let go with your hands! If a hand is on the pole it's just about impossible to land head first. In tricks where you're meant to let go of your hands, make sure you know how to regrasp the pole with them if needed.
4. Before you try a new trick, think about the "escape routes": how you might fall and how to prevent it. For example, in a gemini you might lose leg grip, so practice taking your hands off and then putting them back on and lifting your chest and head up a little. Practice this a few times so if you do slip it's automatic to regrasp the pole with your hands.
5. Practice emergency escapes. Work on going from any inverted trick back to a basic invert (with hands on the pole), or any upright skill to a pole climb position. You could also try inching down the pole one limb as a time from a basic invert – this came in handy once when I got all tangled up on a spinny pole going way too fast!
6. Tuck your head down towards your chest. If you are going to end up head first, this is the best way to minimise damage. That's not to say you wouldn't be hurt at all (I once landed head first on a trampoline from great height. I pulled several muscles in my neck and got a badly bruised sternum, but if I didn't tuck my head in it could have been a broken neck!)
7. Never land on an outstretched hand (I broke my arm as a kid doing this. Never again.) If you're falling to the side land on your side with your bottom arm straight and palm down just in front of your thigh (if that makes sense).
8. Of course, all of this is kind of hard to actually do once you're falling! Just practice what you would do in a fall, and try to stay calm (if that's even possible). And be safe to prevent falls too!
So that's what I've learned from experience. I'm sure some instructors on here would have plenty of useful stuff to add, or maybe even disagree with me!
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I understand that this just does not always seem possible but I cannot in good conscience recommend anything less. I have also heard many people say that they can't buy a crash mat because they can't afford one – yet crash mats are around the same cost as most poles.
The point is what is the safest way to learn and I would never advise anyone to do anything under less than perfect circumstances because of the risk involved.
A spotter who doesn't know what they are doing can increase the injury and no spotter is just as bad as no mat. Even together they do not always guarantee no injury.
The end goal isn't learning every move (as Veena mentioned) it's safety and an injury can result in you never pole dancing again…or even worse. So I have to stick to my original point and say that if you don't have a mat and an efficient spotter, then there are some moves that you shouldn't learn.
Nothing you do will have been worth it if you wind up paralyzed. 🙁
Note: My husband does not pole dance but he has learned the concepts of it alongside me for years and can probably break down a move as well as I can. He also has a martial arts background and knows how to spot. I actually trust him more than anyone I've worked with so far to spot me.
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Cinara…your #4 is just about exactly describing the technique behind practicing reversing out of a move as that is exactly how you reverse out of a leg hang.
Keep in mind that practicing low is essential to progressive learning but it's not a guarantee of your safety either. Debbie Plowman was paralyzed from falling from just 12 inches above the floor! 🙁
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I totally agree with Empy on the whole learning how to reverse out of a move thing, but I have to disagree with not learning how to fall. Knowing how to fall is like having a fire extinguisher, it’s for use in case of emergency. No one plans on the toaster exploding but shit happens. My point is that you can be as careful as is humanly possible/work within your abilities but we are not doing step aerobics here, there are risks involved and variables you can’t always control. Take a look at Jenynes fall in Zurich, she didn’t break her leg cause she knew how to fall. I agree tho that it is incredibly difficult to teach adults how to fall. I had it drilled into me as a kid and super yay for that! I am a pretty impressive klutz (seriously, stairs are my nemisis) but I have never so much as broken a bone. I have even had people comment on how gracefully I fall on my ass. So my point is learning how to fall is a good idea for life, not just pole… You can’t control everything.
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Knowing how to fall is fine…practicing falling that i do not agree with. Cinara had some great tips.
Accidents happen on and off the pole its part of life. I never thought I would break my foot while walking into my garage or have severe nerve damage from banging my elbow on a chair while sewing! LOL
I include exits as part of every lesson sometime multiple variations and always encourages everyone to use those and not jump out of a move. When I rode horse and was in figure skating they never had us work on "falling" . Any sport I have done they encourage you to relax if your falling.
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Oh, in case it wasn't clear, I wouldn't ever suggest deliberately falling to practice falling! Just practicing safe exits – for instance I was never taught the basic exit out of a gemini – just to go into crucifix! And things like learning aysha make sure that at all times you're in a position to clamp your legs back onto the pole, and know to do that. (Personally I was happy to just flip right over into a crouch if I lost my balance, but it would be crazy irresponsible to suggest that as the ideal exit to other people!) And practicing inching down the polw one limb at a time is good practice for if you ever get tangled
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@ Cinara I thought you were clear.
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I think some people might be saying different things here when we discuss learning how to fall. As Veena and I have said, practicing to fall is not a good idea. Learning techniques ABOUT falling such as relaxing, tuck chin, curl, extend arm to absorb the impact.
Since so many new people and people who are home learners read here we need to clarify that you should not practice falling and that practicing "exiting" a move doesn't mean how to fall out of it but how to reverse out of it or transition to another move.
Some people actually think they should be practicing falling and some studios I've run into actually practice it.
The example CInara gave earlier of reaching back up to grab the pole is one way. The layback is a good example..you lay back into it so you should practice always sitting back up to the pole so that if you fall, your instinct is to tuck and curl back up and you wind up in a tucked position.
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Well said Empy!
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