Skip to main content

New pole achievements



Kind of, not really. Mostly Kate helped me fix some longstanding issues I've had with a few moves. Kate honestly fixes everything I have problems with. She got me my shoulder mount, my first handspring, chopper, superman (cross your ankles and push your hips down), dove, aerial chopper... and now she helped me get my Ayesha and shoulder mount bounce!

I could always do a shoulder mount bounce, but apparently -- according to Tiffany -- I was becoming too vertical when I did it. I never noticed and it never caused any issues, but there you have it. So I asked Kate for help; she saw exactly what I was talking about; and she told me to only pop my hips directly upward instead of upward and towards the pole. Sure enough, that worked! Now I can show Tiffany on Thursday.

Image result for shoulder mount splitsTrue grip Ayesha has been my nemesis move for a while now despite being able to handspring into one just fine from cup and twisted. If I were only able to do it from twisted, I would say that strength was the issue here; but since I can now cup grip handspring just fine and hold it significantly, I know that's not the case. Also, I found a way to get into it from Scorpio the other day, and that poses zero problems for me. Once I'm there I can actually hold it in a pencil and bend back into a fang (every time a little longer than the last). So it is not a matter of strength.

Kate said that my hips weren't squared enough, but no matter how much I tried to square them, I couldn't get it. Then tonight in class she told me to pretend like I was sitting on the ceiling. As I was upside down saying "Pretend you're sitting. Pretend you're sitting" out loud to myself, I suddenly noticed I was in Ayesha. Holy crap! So I did it again and got it the second time! And then the third! Apparently, that's all I had to do. I suspect that what I did was take my feet off at the same time instead of one and then the other, but I don't want to overthink it and then jinx myself. I hope I can get it next time again.

I shoulder remind Kate to help me with my superman (why can't I get it in my crotch instead of my thighs?) and arms only climb next week.

So this and last week pole achievements include:
  • Ayesha 3-ways: from handspring, Scorpio, and inverted D
  • Shoulder mount bounce (correctly)
  • Holding cup grip handspring for 5-10 seconds, including being able to bend one knee and hold it
  • Deadlift handspring prep. Can now take legs off the ground on right side and dangle
  • Splits in shoulder mount (putting one leg between gripped hands on pole)
  • Pencil and fang from true grip Ayesha


 Next week I want to work on getting into Sneaky V from brass monkey. I tried it once today at the very end of class, but I think I can get this. I also want to practice inverting and shoulder mounting on my bad side

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rocket scripts and ballet sets

 On my way home from painting scenery for the Orlando Opera showing of Macbeth and sets for the Orlando ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet with Amanda. I meant Amanda painting haunted houses with Mikayla, and then the three of us went kayaking, along with her friend Matt and the guy she was dating at the time.  Having the opportunity to paint sets and shows has been such a soul opener and a game changer. I'm doing things I really enjoy doing and have been wanting to do for years, if not a decade at this point. With people I really enjoy and who make me feel happy. It feels low stress but high reward. I hope the doors continue to open and I'm able to keep doing this.  Separately, at work today I wrote a new script for the silly little new rocket launch videos in the courtyard by the gift shop, and my boss approved it on the first draft. She said it was really good. This felt like a win even though it was so small (it was only one page) because I struggled with it. It's...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking around NASA

It was a slow start to a Monday, a slow start to the week. Productive, but chugga chugga... I don't feel like I did anything.  Except maybe cook. Last night I used up the rest of the pureed pumpkin I had and made a ground Italian sausage vodka sauce with browned sage and gnocchi. It was really tasty and filled me up for literally the entire day. It's the only thing I ate, save for some strawberries, grapes, and cantaloupe (half of which I cup up last night and the other half I cut up tonight) during lunch, solely because I was craving sweets, and some cheese and crackers right before lyra class because I felt like I should put something more in my body. The pumpkin vodka dish was probably 1,000+ calories just on it's own, so I should probably watch it tomorrow, but it's got a really strong balance of 1/3 protein (Italian sausage), 1/3 fiber (pumpkin), and 1/3 carbs (gnocchi). That's probably why I'm still so full, and it's after midnight.  After lyra class, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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