6 Strong Milestones every Pole Dancer has on their trick list
As you adventure through the pole world, discovering muscles you didn’t even know existed, you start to realise some tricks are like shiny pole milestones lighting up the glittery path you walk in your 8 inches. A baby starting to crawl is amazing, but have you ever seen someone achieve their aerial brass monkey for the first time?! Weeks, months, even years of blood, sweat, tears and bruises all coming together so you finally feel your booty lift above your head and your leg hooking onto the pole. What. A. Journey.
Whether you are in a beginner’s pole dancing class or are in advanced level classes, there will always be that strong pole move you are trying to master! Let’s explore 6 strong milestones every pole dancer will unlock at some stage in this wild pole adventure.
1. Straddle & Aerial Straddle
Ah, this old chestnut. You have just learned an upside-down invert or crucifix position on the pole, when your instructor tells you that trick was just prepping you for the most frequently used trick EVER – a straddle. A straddle (AKA an invert) is how pole dancers enter any trick that is done upside down and even if you are an advanced poler, there will be a few straddles tucked into your combos. They will never leave your life. You can’t fluke these in your grading, then hope to never see them again. A straddle is like the ex that won’t leave you alone – a stage 5 clinger. However, once you learn the correct technique and practice BOTH SIDES (sorry, for this one it is a must!), the straddle isn’t so bad and a beautiful way to enter your tricks. But low and behold, it is just the beginning because you now have to take them aerial... WHAT. I mean, you have only just discovered your biceps, lats and core muscles, and now they have to lift you in the air and tip you over? With straight legs?! Do these teachers have extra secret abs we are yet to know about and find in our own bodies? Stop it.
You will work tirelessly to achieve the perfect straddle, then one day my pole dancing friend, you will be so focused on new strong pole milestones, that the poor old straddle will be taken for granted. So let’s all take a moment to give it the love it deserves.
2. Shoulder Mount
You either love them or you hate them, and many pole dancers start with the latter. You are literally pulling a stainless-steel pole into your shoulder (traps really) as you then take your feet off the ground and add even more weight to the area. The shoulder mount is the true moment you realise pole dancers are actually a bit crazy. But this little gem of a trick is SO useful and can be the entry or exit grip for a wide range of tricks and is a great transition. Once you have built up your pain tolerance and conditioned your core to engage and lift, you will discover so many cool things you can do with a shoulder mount. Not only are they a cool trick in themselves, but a shoulder mount is a fantastic way to build up your strength for pole and stay conditioned for other beastly tricks. Again, a word from the wise – practice these on both sides! I know, you will (wink wink) BUT SERIOUSLY – work both sides. Because one day sweet grasshopper, you will have to choose which shoulder to use to have the rest of the pole combo on your “good” side – so it’s a huge advantage if you are comfortable using either shoulder. Oh, and did we mention you then start to take them aerial? Sorry not sorry...
Image by Pole Dancing Adventures
3. Ayesha/Handsprings (Twisted Grip, Straight Grip & Cup Grip)
It was all such fun until you hear the words “today we are going to learn an ayesha” (AKA handspring). Buckle up kids, it can be a long journey. Different studios teach different hand grips first, but regardless of which grip you are working on, you need to hustle hard to achieve this trick. It’s a full body effort – arms and shoulders engaged, core switched on, leg tension for days, and it all must be timed perfectly to lift at just the right moment. Correct technique is so important for this trick and pole dancers who aren’t taking the time to learn the correct movement and work on the conditioning often become injured. The Pole Physio has some excellent resources and drills you can do to help you’re your ayeshas, and to understand what is actually happening in your body when you do an ayesha. Check out the Anatomy of an Ayesha and Anatomy of a Handspring series.
Soon the hard work, frustration and swearing will pay off, and up you go into your very first ayesha. It’s always such a surprise when you get there and finally feel that “tip” moment and balance you have longed for. It can be hard for pole muggles (AKA non-pole dancers) to understand how hard this trick actually is, but for many polers it is one of the eye-opening tricks that shows you what your body and your mind are capable of. It marks the realisation that you are a bad-ass, strong, hulky human who can achieve incredible things!
4. Brass Monkey
If you are yet to discover your obliques, let us introduce you to a brass monkey and you will learn exactly where they are very soon! A brass monkey is not only a big tick on the strong pole tricks list, but it is also a bit of a brain teaser. If you grew up in Australia in the 90s, you will recall the old HBA advertisement featuring the little boy who talks about a crocodile who (hypothetically) ripped him into “parts and pieces” and famously states, “my legs went that way, and my head went that way!”
Well, to achieve a brass monkey, you head goes that way (down) and your legs tip the other way (up)! And while that seems to make sense, all logic flies out the window once you attempt this trick. Tipping forwards, while pushing through the arms, activating the core and engaging the leg to hook onto the pole is a lot to think about in a brief moment (like wrestling a crocodile). Yet for some strange reason, once you achieve the brass monkey and have the light bulb moment, it’s hard to see why it took you so long! It’s not that bad right?! Until we are told to try adding straight legs to the mix, but that’s a story for another day...
5. Panterra Climbs
Move over Tarzan, your vine swinging has nothing on us pole dancers climbing up the pole using just our arms! Even if you don’t use Panterra Climbs in your pole routines, they are a great party trick to whip out for the pole muggles of the world. Historically in pole, your first climbs are taught the smart way – using your great big leg muscles to do most of the hard work and actually get you to the top of the pole. Then one day, your teacher does a 180 on you and decides to spice it up by making you climb without legs. Um... Excuse me? Just how many coffees have you had today? Then you realise you can actually do this! Even if it’s 2 hand changes, or perhaps you are a magical machine who has climbed all the way to the top of the pole – just look at you go! All of this time you were working so hard on achieving other tricks you didn’t notice just how strong your arms, back and shoulders had become. What a lovely, hulk-like surprise. Now excuse us while we find Thor to arm wrestle.
6. Phoenix
Here’s one for the advanced polers out there. Not to say the other tricks are not advanced or difficult, but the Phoenix does have a pre-requisite for strength and shoulder mobility, is on the bucket list for so many polers. Because handsprings/ayeshas weren’t enough, some genius out there thought “hey let’s add a spin to the start of this and lift up into the trick mid-spin!” We forgive them for this though, because once you unlock a Phoenix, it’s pure love and elation! You are literally flying through the air and lifting onto the pole like a gracious pixie on steroids. Timing is key for this one and so is putting on your big girl pole shorts, because a Phoenix can be a little scary at first. But WOW what a vibe when you nail it! Don’t take our word for it, even Mischka trained this bad boy a crazy of numbers of times to unlock it (find out just how many times Mischka tried a Phoenix in one session here). There are many entries out in the pole world to get onto the pole for a combo, but a well-executed Phoenix will always be a crowd favourite! Now fly my pretty's!
How many of the 6 strong pole milestones have you reached? Share them in the comments below or add some more to the list. Don’t forget to send this post to a strong pole dancer you know!
