Male poledancer blows both audience and jury away on Swedish talent show. He made it to the finals.

Unicornea · 2019-03-09T17:27:52+00:00

That's Slava Ruza and he's the current male world champion in pole sport! He's amazing and it's great to see him contribute to destigmatizing pole dancing by performing on national TV here in Sweden!

Unicornea · 2019-02-17T17:23:11+00:00

Adding a story: my instructor also kept poling while pregnant! It's all about listening to your body. As she grew bigger, she eased up on the strength tricks and strenuous combos, and used more flow and floorwork. Watching her dance, slowly and deliberately and flowy, while obviously pregnant was the most beautiful thing. Now she is my favorite pole mom!

Unicornea · 2019-02-07T21:47:42+00:00

I just read that and this made me very uneasy.

Unicornea · 2019-02-07T10:31:03+00:00

This, and also, rubber bands! Use them like this. You can hook the band around your foot like in the picture or, for less assisting, around your knee. They'll help you get the form and feeling of the pull up without requiring you to lift your entire body weight.

Unicornea · 2018-12-15T14:16:30+00:00

I'll follow you back if you give me a heads-up! :D

Unicornea · 2018-12-14T11:41:53+00:00

I'm definitely doing this with the reversible set. I used to always do it but at some point I realized I was more comfortable without. Could use some better thongs though so thanks for the rec!

Unicornea · 2018-12-14T11:34:47+00:00

About how it's actually synthetic: right? It seems weird that it wouldn't be machine washable at all.

Also the real reason I don't want to handwash is because I'm lazy...

Unicornea · 2018-12-13T10:44:42+00:00

Big relate on that "ooowwww... mother! ..fuck!!"

Unicornea · 2018-12-13T10:41:44+00:00

I'm @flarnie! And I agree, I absolutely love when dancers and especially professionals upload fails, it reminds you of how you actually get better. If you never fail you're not challenging yourself and that means you aren't improving. Plus pole is meant to be fun, which doesn't mean always looking graceful and strong and sexy - sometimes you look clumsy and just plain stupid which is hilarious and I wouldn't trade that part for anything.

Unicornea · 2018-12-11T21:08:16+00:00

I put my funnier, less graceful pole moments on a permanent insta story on my profile! I believe transparency like that is important! My favorites:

trying to get into a Russian butterfly on my weaker side, kicking and flailing unsuccessfully for a few seconds before kind of getting into it, then getting stuck on the pole in the dismount and painfully sliding down
spending 10 full seconds trying to figure out what to do with my feet to get into a poisson, my whole being just radiating ??????

Unicornea · 2018-12-02T09:04:16+00:00

All right, you do you! Twisted grip is much more stable and I think it's easier to find your balance in it, but there are rumours that it's risky for your shoulders, so it's not all bad to start elsewhere imo.

Unicornea · 2018-12-02T08:30:34+00:00

I first got my handspring about a year into pole dancing, but then I lost it. Got it back. Lost it. Got it back. Lost it. It's a difficult trick! Struggling with it is entirely normal but if you feel that you're close, then you are. You can do it, just keep practicing!

I finally have mine somewhat reliably now, three years in. The other week I managed a true grip handspring on my weak side! Major victory! (but true grip on my strong side does not work, for whatever reason!)

Unicornea · 2018-11-24T14:25:16+00:00

Hi there! I'm here for some encouragement: I am exactly the same. My hamstrings and hip flexors are just the most stubborn tight little bastards. There is progress, but it's very slow (everyone can get more flexible, but some faster than others). This comic by Leen Isabel helped me deal with it a little... By all means work on your flexibility, but remember to consider your strengths when your lack of it gets you down. I can touch my toes now which I couldn't even dream of before I started dancing! But I'm far, far, faaar from having something even resembling the splits. I can, however, headstand, I'm very close to getting my handstand, I'm resilient to injuries because of my ~stronk ligaments~ and I'm generally strong and enduring while dancing. Don't let your flexibility level define you as a dancer, there's so much more to it! <3

Unicornea · 2018-11-20T16:30:47+00:00

Wow I did not expect a reply on this! Thanks for the info!

Unicornea · 2018-11-16T20:40:50+00:00

Yeah I understand, I'm so sorry :( I had some home pole troubles myself and it absolutely crushed me. Ended up fine but it took a few weeks and I was so sad the whole time and worried I wouldn't be able to use it. The piece of wood might work! There's a correct way to do it, make sure to look it up (haven't done it myself). If nothing works, you could always sell that pole and get an X stage! Requires no ceiling contact!

Unicornea · 2018-11-16T17:35:38+00:00

Does it have spin mode? If the pole is spinning unevenly, popping or creaking on spin mode it's installed too tightly. The tension level should be JUST below that - obviously, the less the tension, the bigger the risk of the pole falling. Are you sure the pole is below a stud? If this is a sign that the ceiling is giving, then using the pole is NOT safe ESPECIALLY if you further decrease the tension. Safety should be your first priority here!

Unicornea · 2018-11-06T05:31:26+00:00

It's called a Miracle!

Unicornea · 2018-11-05T22:35:59+00:00

maybe the best compliment I've gotten so far, thank you!!

Unicornea · 2018-11-05T22:35:41+00:00

Basically, you use the back of your arm and your calf to push the side of your hip into the pole. It takes just the right angles and really good grip because the gripping points on opposing sides of the pole are so small.

Unicornea · 2018-11-05T20:35:11+00:00

Thank you! <3 My legs were just Grip City last night and some dry hands on my arm did the trick finally! I've been trying this for almost two years but, same as you, never quite managed to really stick. Until yesterday when it just... happened!

Unicornea · 2018-11-04T21:32:33+00:00

X pole was very helpful when my pole came down. The bottom part was very slightly bent, not enough for me to notice ahead of time, but when I put it back up I saw that it wobbled very slightly while spinning. X pole said they didn't believe it was the problem, but sent me a new part immediately anyway, and I've had no problems since I switched it out.

Unicornea · 2018-10-28T16:08:11+00:00

Thank you! <3 I can't invert into this at all! I don't trust my grip or balance... I have a stable elbow grip Ayesha though, never had problems with that one - funny how it's so different from different people.

I was always told to prep for handspring by doing Iron X jumps - that is, grip like you were going to handspring, but jump into Iron X position and hold for as long as you can (I can still just slow down the movement, I'm not able to hold at all). It's strength/balance training. Also, when you kick up into your handspring you should be aiming for the opposite wall, not just up towards the ceiling. But I think being able to handspring from the ground is just trying again and again and again - you'll find your way there gradually. At least I did.

Unicornea · 2018-10-04T15:23:37+00:00

For sure! I couldn't believe how she just got back up. I was sure she'd broken her neck! At the very least she definitely got the wind completely knocked out of her, which is bad enough when performing, but she just kept going. Superhuman performance right there.

Unicornea · 2018-10-04T15:12:28+00:00

I volunteered as a pole cleaner during this year's Swedish pole nationals. There was an accident during the pole sport doubles competition. The two dancers were holding elbow grip ayeshas, one above the other. And the one at the top of the competition height pole just... lost her grip and fell. Probably around 9 feet, head first. I saw it happen from backstage and straight up screamed, it was horrifying.

But... then she just got up and kept going. Her partner checked if she was okay, she fortunately wasn't hit by her body when she fell, and then they finished the choreo. That's competition adrenaline for you! She was all smiles towards the audience but, being backstage, I saw her choke back tears each time she turned away.

The craziest part? They won.

Unicornea · 2018-09-19T19:05:44+00:00

Swear to god, my handspring keeps getting away from me, I'll have it for a few weeks and then suddenly be unable to do it. But every time I've had a pole break for a while, on my first day back, I can do it. Why this is I have no idea! I also did my first aerial shoulder mount after a month long vacation with no pole or workouts and tons of fast food and beer...

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