Throw a camera on me and apparently I come alive. I don’t know what it is, but more than once I have found myself trying to work out a move on camera for the first time after being too scared and worn during practice to even make the attempt. Other times I try and fail only to succeed as soon as we get into the filming portion of class, which is only allowed at the end of the hour long class.
This is one of the moments when I figured out the move on camera for the first time, and I honestly surprised myself with this one. I hadn’t actually gotten to the point of being able fully face the pole while I was practicing in class as I’m still fighting my fear of hanging upside down from a giant metal pole, but I do feel as though I am making some pretty good progress.
When I switched the grip on that bottom hand, the only thing running through my head was please dear god don’t fall on your head. I caught the pole and said a silent oh thank fucking god, which quickly turned into now how the fuck do I get down from this.
This move seriously made my brain hurt. The instructor had to personally walk me through it a couple of times because I could not for the life of me figure it out. You can see me question the move, which is how I ended up dropping down so low. I pushed my ass to the wrong side of the pole initially and had to reposition myself. In hindsight I should have regrouped by doing a small climb before trying to attempt it on the correct side. The move itself can be done from either direction. It just depends on which leg you are comfortable hooking, and for many of these moves my body has a clear preference.
I didn’t even attempt to switch from Apprentice to Gemini during class, even though we were taught how to do it. I was still stuck on trying to get the Apprentice down, which does feel an awful lot like throwing yourself into the pole. The pole sits sort of in your guts and your hip, which sounds unstable but feels pretty secure once you lock your arm in for that bottom hold. Had I not been wearing the tee shirt, I wouldn’t have slid down so low on the finish.
This move is simple in concept as the positioning is the same as it is in a basic climb. For some reason doing it upside down makes my brain hurt. You can see me actively thinking through the leg positioning as I switch them around, although looking back at the video I had it right the first time. I still second guess myself on that damn pole. I am, however, still very much pleased with the progress that I have made during this series. I am conquering my fear of being upside down in a right side up world. And that feels pretty badass to me.
Mad love, Jenna
