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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

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