[MilienElayne]

I rewatched some vids and the over-crossed ankles I was thinking of are in the superman, and it’s just that one leg is higher than the other. That overcross wouldn’t even be possible with a pole in between the thighbones there… What was I thinking?

Anyway, I’ve been practicing a little this morning…

Here’s a vid with my problem combo: http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2692

I think my problem is in the ankle locking department. I would love to have pointed toes for the whole layout (plank?), wrap (drama queen), back brucifix (CAR) combo, but there’s too much of a gap between my legs then, and I fall. So, I have to flex one foot to lock it? I really don’t think that looks nice though. And… sometimes I still fall… Bah! Had a quick play with a cross leg wrap/drama queen into a CKR. MUCH easier and feels much safer… and I can throw in a bridge for good measure. Need to watch the sneaky hand checking the leg, but should be able to throw this one back pretty fast when I practice tomorrow. Should also practice this static…but I <3 spin https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

I’ll ask my instructor if I can do the CKR combo instead for my course. Please, oh please, Lulu!!! This combo with CAR is really getting to me!

Crap, nearly late for work… LOVE MY POLE!

[MilienElayne]

I find I really have to wear really short pants now to get the very last of my thigh fat to touch the pole and to have as much leg as possible there to stick to and squeeze. If I don’t wear hot pants and wear my bike shorts and do a CAR then go to bridge it, I fall straight down too. I’ve seen really thin girls cross their legs with one knee almost over the other and pushing the feet apart so the soles are facing completely opposite directions and there’s a gap between the tops of their feet. I wonder if that would help get grip? Would take a lot more control and strength, I think, though.

[MilienElayne]

Wow. Oh wow.

Awesome lists coming out and WOW to the girls who can do these crazy things! They really do look impressive.

I think I’ll just stick with a steady paced death drop for now https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif Ha ha.

[MilienElayne]

I wouldn’t try these at all yet (not until I am very strong and have all the other ins), but I can’t visualise shouldermounted superman or spinning superman. Shouldermounted as in go into a shouldermount then fling the legs back down arching the back (which would be crazy contortion awesome), or go into a hiphold pike from a SM and flick the upper body up (which I can do, but not smoothly)?

I think by Starfish Slide you mean to have the bottom leg in a gemini tuck pointing further down rather than straight across kind of like getting into a Star?

Thanks for posting, guys!

[MilienElayne]

Thanks guys. The scale doesn’t show me any impressive change, but I look and feel thinner and have muscles now https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

Chicken legs. Sounds funny and makes me smile. I’ve heard girls complain of chicken legs going into the CAR. Now I know what that means. It’s used like an international pole term. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

The focus is on CAR (and moves into and out of it) a lot in my classes rather than CKR, so I’ll get confident again with it soon, I hope. I do switch to CKR when I am tired and when the instructor’s not looking and we’re doing up the pole situps or something https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif. CKR is my go to ‘I’m tired, let’s rest but still hang upside down’ move at the moment https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif

[MilienElayne]

Depends how you define a drop, I guess…

Is the nose dive an Inverted Crucifix Slide starting up the pole and stopping inches/cms from the ground?

I’ve seen a Jade Split dropped and caught.

Actually… heaps of single moves could be dropped/slid and caught, probably… or dropped and caught with another move. I’ve caught hip holds and jade splits by twisting into a thigh hold when I’ve practiced them and accidently fallen out.

Discussed in another thread was a tucked sit/drama queen to CAR.

[MilienElayne]

I can’t choose one thing.

I love my TINY butt (it was always small, but now it’s nearly non-existant)…like SO small you could barely squeeze it. The other day my bf literally couldn’t find it.

I love my rib cage. I love that I can see it again when I invert and when I arch. I missed my rib cage. I used to see it all the time as a kid.

I love my long, sculpted legs. I looked down in the mirror in class recently and went holy sh*t my legs are thin, long and shapely (lol, like you Mindy!!). We did a routine with heaps of on-the-toes squats today in class and my instructor afterwards went "Amy, you look great, you’ve lost SO much weight!" today and I had to tell her I’ve not lost anything, but have been toning more. Must be the NOT dieting and just eating what and when my body tells me to.

I love my arms and their little muscles that are getting stronger.

I love my long, bony hands, especially when my nails get long (which they’re doing a lot more of lately…the not dieting again?).

This one is probably weird but I love my body hair (and I hate that I have to remove it on the bottom half of my legs so I can stick and other areas so that I can pole in live public without grossing people out), it’s there to protect me, my sensitive skin much prefers when it’s there and I’m far happier forgetting about time consuming hair removal…and it’s a little bit REBEL to be a hairy woman… (and my bf doesn’t care either way).

[MilienElayne]

I used to be able to do a superman from a basic invert like in TaraKarina’s superman tute on Youtube, but I’ve not practiced it in ages and have lost it. I have also been trying it from Gemini legs (like in Veena’s lesson), but I end up with my legs pointing down low in a figurehead type thing and the hold in this one is closer to my knee than my crotch… I feel much more comfortable gripping right up in there though https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif I go into Superman from hip hold pike for photos. Managed the Dove from this once or twice, but the transitions look REALLY awkward for me. I have the feeling that I shouldn’t be doing this? I’ve only ever seen Karol Helms do it once in one video (not others) and can’t find it anywhere else by anyone else?

One of my instructors told me to do split hang/apprentice into superman (in a private lesson, haven’t been officially taught it) and I’ve been trying for months, but I always end up too low again in a gumbi looking figurehead.

Haven’t tried superman from a tuck spin extended out (or Hero) though. This move feels different and sits different from apprentice/split hang for me. I have different entries and exits for them too… Apprentice/Split Hang I do up the pole from top leg hook, and bottom leg down, then straighten, hanging from the top arm and top leg slightly more, and pull up into gemini legs or close the legs and jump down. Tuck spin extended I do from a tuck with both legs equal, then extend and bottom leg pushes into the pole and I rock out my body and have the top leg pointing to the cieling. My weight is on the bottom arm and pushing into the bottom leg/hip before going into a Hero or hooking and flicking into a Butterfly. If I don’t rock it out and point the top foot directly up and look at it, then shift my weight even more into the pole, I can’t hook and straighten properly and release the top arm into a Hero or hook and flick into the Butterfly. Does that make sense? Does anyone else think these are seperate moves, or am I a crazy person? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif So… Not sure how the weight and hold differences would affect getting into a superman, but I’m game to fall a few times trying it…lol.

Karol has Superman Ins and Outs vid on Youtube showing an Apprentice as an out, if you’re interested in doing it backwards again for an even more super combo… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

Sigh. Superman…Just can’t get my head and legs around the hip flipping… One day!

[MilienElayne]

I’ve told and do tell everyone (except my employer) that I have a pole at home and take lessons. They all keep telling me how great pole dancing is for my fitness, weight loss, muscle toning etc. It’s like they’re reassuring themselves for some reason. I enjoy most the few friends who bag me out and tell me I have a stripper pole, dance in my undies and should get paid to flaunt it. I love that pole studios (at least mine?) really promote the sex aspect. I am completely fine with either pure fitness or totally hot n sexy, or any of the inbetween. I only care about my employer knowing I pole dance because the casual me is whatever it happens to be to whoever, but the work me is a character I play and am careful to portray correctly. Pole dancing certainly does not fit in to ‘conservative, safe and personally boring’.

I’d love to be thought of as a sexy pole dancer. I’m still trying to find my dance style… the one that’s comfortable for me, suits my body shape and I can go to everytime when my mind goes blank. We learn ‘sexual’ moves in classes in routines, and I never realised how ‘sexual’ they were… until I went out clubbing for the first time in ages and all the girls just had their knees locked together and swayed their hips a tiny bit, and maybe put their hands up and down a little if they were adventurous…. So, anything around a pole with a little flourish is uber-sexual in comparison…lol. I’d really love to be able to move well enough to be thought of as an exotic dancer. I only dance barefoot most of the time because I fall over in heels https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif

As to actual sex… I suppose being fitter helps with that, but trying to seduce my bf with it just makes us both crack up laughing and lose it…lol.

[MilienElayne]

I am not polite at all. When I’m seriously poling, the living room is a strict no go zone, and he has to stay in his computer room or the bedroom. He usually does that naturally anyway though (he’s a big computer/science geek)… unless there’s food going (I swear he can smell it with the door closed), we’re watching DVDs together or he catches me in spin mode while heading to the fridge and takes a detour to spin me faster and faster like I’m a toy. The deal is: I give him space when he’s concentrating and gaming, he gives me space when I’m poling (unless he’s invited).

[MilienElayne]

My boyfriend and I live together. My pole is brazenly in the living room. He doesn’t like that I put ‘half naked’ photos and videos of myself on the internet (I wear bra and undies, sports bra and bike shorts or hot pants over that, and then a spaghetti string top over all of that…hardly half naked). He ‘jokes’ that I am ‘his’ and he doesn’t want to share. He doesn’t stop me or make me feel bad about it, so it’s cute to me as long as it’s still half joking. He also doesn’t get when I try to make myself look different to go out (with clothes or makeup) when I look good to him already. We have completely different diets and activity levels too. So, he doesn’t like it if I have to consciously change things about and around myself to do pole dancing. I think to explain: he prefers me natural, especially as it’s easier and more comfortable for me that way and I get stressed sometimes picking outfits and doing my makeup when it isn’t perfect. His gentle objection does fit in with the values he knows I normally have that natural, for me, is best. I envy fake tanners, doll facers and girls with the perfect hair and will sometimes try, but it’s not for me… my body refuses: one of the main reasons I haven’t stripped for money. He might also feel a little left behind when I go to classes and make pole friends and he doesn’t want to, can’t or won’t, join me in being healthier, more active and more social. For the most part, my boyfriend isn’t too interested in pole dancing itself. That’s cool with me because I’m not entirely interested in PC games, physics, engineering, geek forums etc.. He regrets the bruising and sore muscles I can get, but he’s not against me poling at home or in class because it makes me happy. I support his hobbies as they make him happy, and he supports mine as they make me happy. He loves spin mode and trying to spin me fast when I’m in a hold, for some reason. (He’s in one of my vids, actually spinning me in the pretzel, while my brother is shooting a nerf gun… boys https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif ). We’ll have to readjust if I get to performance and teaching level, perhaps. I think he’ll have to work through his feelings and thoughts a fair bit with me before I can officially start that (aka. go to instructor training or perform my first routine in a public place).

I’m getting pretty pole addicted, so I just have to make sure I still have time to do the things we love together between me working and poling and his studies.

[MilienElayne]

Oh man! This is why I was having trouble with learning the spinning scorpio (which is a combo I figure I should be able to do easily!)… I was trying to let my gripping leg straighten for some stupid reason! Asthetics? This may also be why my gemini gripping leg’s foot gets sickled by an odd muscle pull instead of going into a nice point lately. Thanks, guys!

[MilienElayne]

Thankyou https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[MilienElayne]

1. Pole 5-7 days a week for at least an hour a day (this includes warming up and cooling down, so it’s not that crazy, is it?). I manage 3-4 days a week normally including 3 classes and practice after, but want to kick it up a notch. Hope work doesn’t kill ALL my time
2. Pass my Intermediate 3 pole class this term (by April)
3. Pass aerial preparation and move to aerial assortment this term (kind of pole-related as I hope to be allowed to learn Chinese pole) (by April)
4. Learn and nail heaps of combinations and put a routine together with all my best moves. I usually just do one move at a time, maybe some small combos… Longer combo chains end up looking messy, though I can do some. Stamina, grip and dancing/transitions are my main (huge) problems https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif Maybe I can make a full-length video not in clip-form this year?!

[MilienElayne]

Awesome topic. Thanks, everyone! Going to try this in my next pole session!