Skip to main content

Level 6 unlocked! Pole up!


Tonight was my first official level 6 class in pole, and it was a major success. Aside from my arms being too tired in the beginning to do either a normal pole sit climb or quality handspring, I was able to do every move we learned.

What helps me more than the other girls is that: A) I dropped in on a level 6 class once before, so I've already been taught some of these things; and B) I learned a lot of these moves before I left pole dancing 2 years ago and before the classes were restructured.

As I've mentioned before, the level structures are totally different now; so some of the harder things I struggled with in the upper levels before are now being taught in the lower levels and vice versa. We learned a caterpillar climb and extended butterfly in level 4 before, so I have those down pat; but we didn't learn shoulder mounts until old levels 6 or 7, so that was difficult for me to pick up in new level 3. But that means that when we do caterpillar climbs now, I already know what I'm doing, which looks impressive to the other girls. But there are a ton of things I'm still learning.

To my best recollection, this is what we worked on:

- Pole sit climb
- Hands only climb
- Caterpillar climb
- Handspring/Inverted D
- Jamilla into butterfly
- Walkover into bridge from forearm stand
- One-handed walkover/cartwheel on the pole
- Reverse shoulder mount
- Brass monkey from flag

Image result for brass monkey pole trickI was determined to get that f-ing brass monkey today, and suspected that what I needed to do to get it was look down and over while I was kicking and just trust that I wouldn't fall on my head. That last part is what's prevented me from trying to do this, because it honestly feels like you're going to drop right on your head. But I had a good grip and said to myself, "give it a shot."

It worked! After trying that method, I got it on the first try! And then I got it a second time! I didn't have enough time to try it a third time, but now that I have the technique down, I don't think it'll be a big problem. High five to me for getting my longest-lasting nemesis move!

I now can't think of any nemesis moves that I have left, which is a good feeling. There's the Remy sit layback, which I can technically *do,* it just hurts so much that I don't do it. I guess that's kind of a nemesis move... I think Iguana will be my next one. I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble getting it.

As I was looking for pictures of a brass monkey online, I found a bunch of transition moves from brass monkey that I didn't know existed and that look super cool. I'm definitely going to try some of these out:



 

  

Can't wait to try them!

Also, there's a combo I want to try at my next class: Jamilla --> Butterfly --> Extended butterfly --> Bat --> Caterpillar climb

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First January in Orlando

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. For some reason, Blogger (a totally dead platform at this point) gives me “Let’s Go Ride a Bike” vibes - in a good way. Which, by the way, I just Googled and they haven’t touched their blog since 2015. What a shame. I really miss the days of blogs.  Most of my writing has been done in a physical notebook, which in many ways I prefer; but in others, it doesn’t quite quench the thirst. One of the things I love about digital journaling is being able to add images and photos (like the one below). While physical journaling feels more intimate and perhaps, authentic in some ways, digital journaling feels more like a creating a story. Two different methods for two different outcomes.  So why the photo of a plant? Well, first, this is a Monstera plant. I’ve loved it’s lines and the holes in its leaves for years, but I never learned its name because it’s not a native plant to Wisconsin. They are to Florida, however, and are super easy to fin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Long Key Vacation

A big weight off my chest. My breath is finally coming easily.  5 days into our vacation and I finally sit with relief. There aren’t many left, but 2 is better than none. This is how I felt when I was in the car on the way down, right before I called my auto insurance and accidentally spiked it $400 by asking a question. It triggered a weeklong series of car problems, ranging from budget planning (and budget panicking) to registration renewal confusion and DMV website issues. And at the end of the day, most of it was a non-issue, so I felt like I expended all this time and energy on nothing, detracting from what I could have given to my trip. But… I learned a lot in the process. I’m more prepared than I was before, although I wish it hadn’t all happened when I was on vacation. I don’t know what it’s like to not have a stressful vacation, and I don’t know that I ever will. I need to figure out how to still be happy despite chronic unexpected frustrations. This might be time to talk ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stained Glass Class

  The challenging today: My new car of two months got hit by a (presumably drunk) hit-and-run last night at Bryan's house while we were out to dinner. I don't even want to include the photo we took. And Nick texted me while I was in class. My whole being dropped and my heart jump-started into panic. Also, my boss at KSC was a little sassy with me this morning over things outside my purview and control. I think she's projecting or redirecting, but it didn't feel good. The good today: The folks at Gerber Auto Collision were super helpful and friendly. So was the Adjuster I had from my auto insurance (Brandon from Connect), who was genuinely trying to make my life a little better, I felt. Those wonderful Wisconsin midwesterners. The folks at Gerber even drove me to Enterprise. And the Enterprise folks... so good to me, too. I had such a good experience, and they let me transfer my appointment from the other location over to them. And they called and followed up to make sur...
Post a Comment
Read more