-
Question about Pole Journals
Hey all you pole journalers out there!
I'm wondering how you write down new moves that you learn. I understand things like writing down reps, writing down (by way of names) a linear routine, and making notes to yourself about pushing your hips forward, or trying something else with your leg…
But how do you do more complex things? I feel like trying to describe a simple move like, say, a split grip V kick would be like trying to describe how to brush your teeth- there are so many things to talk about that I'd go on for a paragraph or two! I don't even want to think about harder moves, or linking moves together in complex and awesome ways!
I'm thinking about doing drawings for a lot of these moves, so for those artfully inclined, I'm wondering how you indicate front/back, and movement? I feel like if I tried it'd be a mess of labels and lines!
I need some ideas.
I have so many moves to write down, to learn, and to put together into combos and routines so I can keep them in my head, and I would love to have a pole journal to keep all of this in. And track my progress, of course!
-
5 Replies
-
Remember that your pole journal doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you. It’s not a tutorial for anyone else. So as long as you know what you’re talking about, I wouldn’t worry about things like making complete sentences or whatever.
I always film when I practice at home because I have no mirror to look in, so I watch the video on my phone & if I really love something, I will screenshot it & print it for my journal so I can see my progress.
I use a similar method to keep track of moves I really want to do. I find pictures of the moves online & either put them in my journal or store them on my phone. It’s a visual wish list. I group them by difficulty. Some of them are new to me but I think realistically I can have them in a matter of weeks/months (I am so close to having machine gun!) and then some of them are long term, moves I need to build toward (like rainbow marchenko…which may take the rest of my life haha).
I write in my journal almost every time I practice; what is working, what needs work, what I need to ask my teachers about.
Good luck with your journal, it is the best feeling to cross a move off your list of moves to master. Or to replace a picture of someone else doing a move you wanted to achieve with a picture of yourself doing it 🙂 -
Haha, never worried about people reading my writing books, so no worries there! It's a strange mishmash of stories, ideas, building and journalling in there.
I'm not really used to the idea of trying to explain a move to myself. I tried, once, to write down some of the moves in Veena's videos, but I ended up with huge paragraphs of which leg/arm/side goes where, and by the time I was done, it wasn't really "get it at a glance" or quick-reminder material.
I like the idea of using pictures to show yourself your goals, and then once you achieve them, putting a picture of YOU doing it! That's a great way of keeping yourself motivated. 🙂
I really prefer paper when it comes to creative endeavors (if ever there was doubt that I'm a writer…), so writing things down like combos on paper would really be helpful to me. I would like very much to have an "at a glance" picture to remind myself of what I'm doing, and then alongside I could write about the move- tips and tricks and stuff. It's just that, when it comes to drawing… I'm really not very good. That's why I was asking about stuff like how to tell front and back, or which limb is which, and where they are going!
For example, if you're trying to explain to yourself how to do a basic invert into a knee hold… how would you do it? What if you had a three or four move combo going? How do you tell yourself where your legs go, where your arms go, what kind of spin you're supposed to get? Longer explanations by the side of pictures are helpful, but what if you want pictures, too?
-
I love lists and writing this down helps me remember so I’m sure my pole journal would look ridiculously detailed to someone else but it works for me.
I also video tape most of my practices so I have a copy in case I do something during a freestyle that I want to re-try. I will also draw stick figures in my journal of things that I’ve done or want to do, if I can’t find a picture online.
-
I don't draw pictures. I just learn the moves and their names, and if I want to remember combos I just write (for instance) 'side climb to invert to knee hold to hood ornament' etc. No need to describe each limb action and such for that, since I know each piece already. 🙂
Now if I'm trying to LEARN a move I'll write descriptions and sometimes print pics of someone else in the move. That is SO much easier than trying to describe via words or stick figures.
-
i draw the moves with little stick figures. they’re pretty atrocious, but like it was mentioned before it only needs to make sense to me.
i use my journal to write down what i’m learning in class to keep track, and then keep aa list of things i want to practice. i try to film all my practices at home, so i have a folder on my computer that i keep all the vids / photos in to track progress.
Log in to reply.