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The Star (Or Cupid)
I have had this problem for the past month now.. I have finally got my Star with one hand on the pole, but I cannot for the life of me take that last hand off without falling.
I have looked at loads of online tutorials and asked my instructors for help, but nothing seems to be working. The problem is, as I'm told, I need to bring my hips forward and arch my back. However, when I try my knee naturally moves out of place and I lose my grip.
Does anyone else have this problem or have any tips to overcome it?
Thanks!!
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10 Replies
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Will b looking for feedback on this as well……
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I have this same issue. It looks to be such a simple move and IS for some but I just can not get it. WHen I lock the hips, my knee releases also! My foot is not grippy on the bottom at all as well. I have got this one just not consistantly. I have seen it done in shoes too!!!! That really escapes me!!! I get so tired from side climbing to try this and just fall! Then I am exhausted from so much climbing, I give usually.
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I have the same problem in the Jasmine (shooting star). Looking for help with knee grip once I push my hips forward!
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Have you all seen my video on here where I get in the Cupid grabbing the ankle and start to spin and I am screaming? That is always fun. LOL!
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I find it’s all in the butt and bottom leg. I have really squeeze my butt to open my hips and this helps with the back arch too.
I found I was always putting my bottom leg too far around the pole too which stopped me being able to push. If you imagine the pole as a prism instead of a cylinder for some reason I kept placing my foot on the side but now find it much easier to push away and grip if I place it on the front of the pole. Does that make sense? -
Not sure if this will help any.. but I found having my leg/knee hooked lower enables me to push my hips forward easier and, therefore, let go. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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Pushing your hips forward correctly actually makes knee grips so much more secure!
My tips would be:
1. Try it from the floor first. Stand near the pole, hold it with one leg, try to push your pelvis forward and lean your body away from the pole and release your hands. This is a good way to build muscle memory of how this grip feels on the gripping leg.
2. Watch your alignment (this is the most important tip) – you want the shin (how do you call the part of the leg between the knee and the foot in English? LOL) of your gripping leg to be parallel to the floor. This ensures that your grip is secure. Pushing your pelvis forward helps aligning your leg this way.
3. Squeeze the pole tightly with the knee! you want to push it hard into the knee pit. This is why alignment is so important – if there is an angle between your joint and the pole, don't use the entire width of your knee pit to grip, and your grip is less secure.
I hope this makes sense – it is hard to explain in words 🙂4. If you have no grip with the feet of your lower leg, try resting your ankle on the pole instead.
5. I found it really helpful to hold the ankle of the upper leg when I let go for the first time. It is really not healthy for the knee joint, but it secured my grip and forced me to fix my alignment. Maybe if you try it it's a better idea to try from the floor.
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This is my number one nemesis move, even after more than 5 years of poling and knowing everything there is to know about what I should be doing, I've only ever actually managed to do it about 3 times (to be fair, I don't really work on it either but it's still frustrating when I do try it!!).
Anyway, my failure aside, I would direct you to the wise almighty Aerial Amy's blog for she has done a Tips entry about it:) http://aerialamy.com/blog/2012/06/28/cupid/
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My favorite tips for a no hands Cupid would be, keep your upper body away from the pole before you place your bottom leg and place you bottom foot higher than you think you need. That way you push up with that bottom leg and you body is already out from the top leg. Check out Aerial Amy’s blog tip.
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Well, I was going to throw in my two cents but, after checking out the blog entry, I see that Amy has already said it! I think of this move like an elbow grip Ayesha. The top knee acts like the elbow that hooks and the bottom foot acts like the hand of the support arm.
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