[DanteD]

I bet Veena has a tutorial. That said, you need to cross your legs very strongly with your legs rotating inwards, as if you needed to use the restroom, and you must keep your pelvis from coming forwards even as you arch your back. I’ve seen people with very skinny legs do the Titanic move, but a thicker pole may be easier so perhaps try out a thicker one. Also, it’s easier to do if you have a flexible back because it makes the balance easier.

[DanteD]

You likely already have this in your training schedule, but don’t forget pushing exercises – things like bench presses, handstands, etc. Pole uses more pull than push, and the push exercises are useful for certain more advanced moves like handsprings. I really appreciate that you have a day for shoulders, because they are crucial in pole and rotator cuff issues aren’t uncommon.

[DanteD]

I reread the BadKitty article (for the fifth time), and its view of cultural appropriation is more limited than some of the other thought pieces out there – it is concerned with the perpetuation of racial stereotypes, as opposed to the use of cultural elements in pole pieces by people outside that culture. It’s interesting how the article implicitly gives a pass to people using stereotypes from their own culture, which could fall into the realm of shucking and jiving if done wrong (I realize “shucking and jiving” is slang referring to Black persons acting out African-American stereotypes so that people can laugh at African-Americans, but I can’t think of a term that would apply to all racial minorities) or could still be offensive regardless. It’s also interesting that Natasha Wang appears to have cornrows in her Pole Art piece, which the article does not address – I’m not sure that the author would see that as problematic, though. The other piece by Amy Hazel used a Pocahontas song providing a strong Native American point of view of the English conquest (at least insofar as a Disney movie can be trusted on this level), which suggests that the article thinks that cultural concepts can be used by persons outside the culture.

I hope this thread shows that this is a complex topic which can’t be reduced to generalities. The answer that the easiest method is to simply avoid the issue altogether is a bit sad – while it may be true, it also is a simplistic, lowest common denominator approach that serves to silence all speech, as opposed to only offensive speech. It’s kind of like, “There’s a line and I don’t know where it is so just don’t go anywhere within 1,000 feet of it.” Avoiding it may not be considerate if the determination is made without considering the opinions of persons from the affected culture – to give an example, for my Buddhist denomination, if someone outside the faith wanted to honor aspects of the faith in a piece, we would be overjoyed and may even replay the routine for all the members at a meeting. If someone decided not to do it out of fear of offending us, we’d try to figure out what that person’s concerns were and work with them to figure it out. Other Buddhist denominations may feel differently, which just underscores that this analysis is context-driven. Likewise, if a straight man wanted to do a drag queen impersonation of Ursula for a piece, that could be AMAZING (and I would note that Ursula was appropriated from gay culture since she was based off the infamous drag queen Divine, and Ursula is the best Disney villain of ALL TIME).

Also, I’m not sure where exactly I fall on the power privilege spectrum on this issue as I have white privilege (and members of racial minorities, Latinos, Middle Easterners, and North Africans can have white privilege depending on their appearance), but not cultural privilege considering that I was not raised within the mainstream of U.S. culture lol. I’m well aware of my privilege, and the various ways I am more privileged or less privileged than others – my perspective on this is not uninformed.

That said, regardless of the merits of this debate, I still have to figure out a darn makeup scheme to render myself incognito which will be pleasing to an audience while reflective of a theme I’m interested in, and I don’t get to decide the political makeup of the audience. The quality of my rhetoric and the soundness of my arguments here will be irrelevant once the audience makes their snap judgments. Maybe I’ll just be a drag queen and hope that no one gets offended that I’m making fun of women (which is an existing criticism of drag queens). 😛

[DanteD]

Thanks Demi5e2991 for sharing that – it’s interesting to learn about how other cultures view death and deceased loved ones. The Buddhist culture I was raised with doesn’t have any of this (ancestor worship doesn’t exist in our denomination and there are denominationally specific concerns about the priesthood taking advantage of lay persons) – it’s just not something we focus on. We may have someone tell a remembrance (or do a performance – we love performances haha) at a meeting and/or incorporate prayers for them in our daily practice. For us, the deceased doesn’t come back to the old life, but moves forward to the next one (allowing them to continue improving their karma).

[DanteD]

I’d like to say thanks again to everyone for the responses – it’s been an interesting read. This response is long, but I’ve spent a lot of time looking into this.

With respect to sugar skulls and after performing my own independent research, Mexicans generally think that the use of sugar skulls by persons outside of the Mexican and Mexican diaspora cultures can be problematic, but is not necessarily so. (I can’t really say people of other races because Mexican/Latino is not a race.) I put the question out there because I thought this forum would be helpful and it’s useful to know whether audience members would believe that they should be offended on behalf of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans (even if those people themselves may appreciate the use of the motif). Generally speaking, as described further below, Mexicans are proud of their culture and happy to see others appreciate and honor it (but they don’t want it to be bastardized or treated as decoration).

On an official level, Mexico supports other cultures taking steps to appreciate Dia de los Muertos. In fact, the official Mexican tourism agency is currently running a contest to see who has the best sugar skull makeup for Dia de los Muertos, which provides strong support for the notion that it is not offensive to every Mexican person. Further, in 2013, the Mexican government held a Dia de los Muertos celebration for Parisians because it felt it had a duty to disseminate its culture beyond its borders (thankfully I can read Spanish). On an unofficial level, the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans who have decided to write on this issue want people to understand that sugar skulls are part of a larger culture, and that the context should be understood (which is that Dia de los Muertos is meant to be a happy occasion for people to create altars with offerings to their deceased loved ones and to visit their graves, and that sugar skulls are either candies you place on the altars or face makeup for more important events). There is a bit of a White Savior complex if we think we know better than Mexicans with respect to whether they think their culture is being improperly appropriated – per the official acts, it seems that the country of Mexico thinks that it’s a good thing for people of other cultures to take part in Dia de los Muertos.

Mexico is a very diverse country of over 100 million people (Dia de los Muertos does not have the same level of importance across the country), and the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the United States are diverse as well. Apparently, sugar skulls are similar to Jack-o-Laterns in the United States, although the context is different since sugar skulls are meant – in the tradition of the original 1910-1913 La Calavera Catrina by José Guadalupe Posada – to represent how death comes for us all but we should still live. You can also write the name of a deceased loved one on the skull to honor a particular person. With that context, the sugar skulls carry an incredible and beautiful meaning, and one that is much more specific that just death. I’ll have to decide if that meaning is something that inspires me enough to carry me through the 3-6 month process of creating a piece, or if I’ll go in another direction (although it’s not like there are a ton of ideas out there for face makeup that’ll render you incognito).

[DanteD]

Thanks for all of the responses! As for tribal costumes, Buzzed had an interesting video in which Native Americans tried on the standard Native American Halloween costumes and reacted to them: http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrislam/i-am-not-your-costume. Their main concern was with authenticity (since the costumes were way off from the reality and used Native American elements merely for aesthetics) and the misuse of sacred and/or content-laden elements. In particular, headdresses – from what I understand – are both sacred and denote warrior rank, and wearing one is akin to dressing up as a member of the U.S. armed forces with a fake Purple Heart on your lapel (which could seriously irritate a real military person). Also, the beadwork is supposed to carry specific meaning, which the costumes may not reflect, and the lack of accuracy conveys a complete disregard for trying to understand and value the culture – it may be like if someone dressed up as the Pope and wore a papal hat with the McDonalds logo on it (or wore a cross necklace but with Mickey Mouse on the crucifix). There was also a concern about being portrayed as savages, while Native Americans had a large number and type of societies.

[DanteD]

Here’s the article: http://www.badkitty.com/news/cultural-appropriation-in-pole/

[DanteD]

Try also utilizing your lower abs (tucking under your tailbone helps with this). I used to get hip flexor tendonitis by relying too much on them rather than my core for moves like this. A good straddle helps too. Also, it’s hard to tell your form from the photo, but make sure to engage through your lat in your top arm so that your shoulder stays down away from your ear. Per strengthening your hip flexors, sit in a straddle, straighten your legs, put your hands on the ground in front of you, and then lift your legs – repeat while leaning further forward with a flat back. Do the same with both legs together and hands by your thighs/knees.

[DanteD]

Thanks! I’m considering using a fake beard to throw people off (my real one is patchy). That plus a mask like you suggested should work. Makeup would likely work, but I have no idea how to apply it lol. I do have friends who are really good at it, though.

[DanteD]

Another guy here – I agree with the above. Simply doing pole work will help you more than Crossfit. I came from a weight training background before starting pole, and while it was helpful, pole required/requires so much more. Also, Crossfit or weight training by themselves will likely make you stiffer, and you need flexibility for pole. If you do Crossfit or weight training, make sure that you spend a fair amount of time stretching after you work out.

[DanteD]

Ditto what jivete said. Of course, there are moves on silks that look better if you’re more flexible, but being average in terms of flexibility should be fine. I find the biggest difference is that silks requires more strength and endurance, but you build it up as you keep doing it.

[DanteD]

What’s helped me is using stretches other than splits to stretch the hamstrings and hips, as well as trying to maintain good form (e.g., working towards having a flat back in a forward fold). I also do one deep and intense session per week of 90 minutes, with easier stretching taking place throughout the week. (For me, I need one session where I really push myself – anything more than that is too much for my body, and anything less and I don’t progress. Other people’s bodies may be different.) In the past year, I’ve gone from somewhere around 1.5 feet off the floor to 5 inches off the floor in a perfectly square split, although I do about 6-7 hours of flexibility training each week (and I realize that’s a lot of time for many people). Also try different approaches into the split – for whatever reason, I can sink lower into a split if I bend backwards to look at the wall behind me.

I agree with rsk269 about PNF stretching. Go down into the split, squeeze everything in your lower body tight as you can for five seconds, then release and allow yourself to sink lower. Repeat two more times. It helps if you aren’t using your hands to push up from the floor or your yoga blocks for dear life (like I do haha).

[DanteD]

Guy here who came into pole with a similar weight lifting background. I remember being so sure that weight lifting (and being really strong) would transfer immediately to pole work, which was absolutely not the case for most moves (although I learned to climb without legs before I could climb normally haha). The stuff you’re asking about took me a long time to get, and I absolutely had to progress through all of the easier stuff/grips first. To me, it seems to be a matter of strengthening muscles that are difficult to weight train as well as body awareness (aka practice). That said, there are moves/pole exercises you can do that are easier than simply deadlifting yourself off the ground (e.g., going from extending butterfly to a pike).

As an aside, I know a fair umber of people who have seriously messed up their shoulders doing twisted grip. I know it’s so much easier, but it’s risky. I avoid that grip as much as possible. If you can build up the strength for the other grips, twisted grip will be easy.

[DanteD]

I have similar flexibility to you, although I don’t end up with pain/hyperextended knees – my hips/quads are just really loose and my feet rotate backwards. This may be a silly question, but have you tried using yoga blocks to hold yourself up while doing your front splits? That should help take some pressure off your knee. You can also try overlunges, which I did until my splits got better. Also, be sure to engage your quad in order to protect your hamstring. Finally, if you do splits on your back, make sure your knee on the floor stays facing up to the ceiling – mine always wants to flop to the side.