Why the “Push & Pull” is so essential (Outside Forearm Spin tutorial)

Video below ↓

How often have you heard following sentence from your pole dance teacher? 
„Pull with the top arm and push with the bottom hand!“

If you haven’t payed attention yet, see if you’ll find a pattern in the technical cues your teacher is giving you in the next classes. Or in the next video tutorials if you’re a home poler.

The Push and Pull technique of the arms is probably the most essential principle in pole dance. A solid number of pole moves and grips are based on it – whether it’s upside down moves or simpler spins. 

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

1. The better your technique is, the longer you can hold the moves.
2. The better your technique is, the longer you’ll stay injury-free. In fact, the reason for most pole dance injuries is not engaging the back and shoulders in the right way.
3. Find a healthy balance between the pulling and the pushing! If you’re not pulling enough, you risk ruining your top shoulder and your bottom wrist. The pushing on the other hand is important for keeping the distance between your body and the pole, but sometimes it can overcompensate the lack of pulling. 

Natasha Wang told us in her Handspring workshop recently that she finds the pulling much more important than the pushing, in regard to the Split Grip aka Bracket Grip. It kept her shoulders stay injury-free for 10 years. This makes sense to me and since then I pay greater attention to my pulling arm.

Another grip that’s fairly easy and more gentle to your wrists than the Split Grip is the Forearm Split Grip.

I’m using this grip in the next spins (#5-8) from my series „15 spins into climbing“. It’s also my favourite grip for climbing. This is why the transition into climbing will now be easier than in the previous spins.

The first spin with the Forearm Split Grip is the Outside Forearm Spin. That’s probably not its official name, but it makes sense to me.

I used it as a starting point for the following combo. It’s part of a longer freestyle I had the heart to do recently, after I got mad at myself for constantly finding excuses not to move spontaneously. I’m actually planning to post the whole freestyle in the next days, because I want to become comfortable with dancing in a less planned or expected way. Sharing freestyles of myself scares the shit out of me and that’s why I want to do it so badly.

P.S.: Have you noticed whether you’re pulling or pushing more and overcompensating with other arm? What was the feeling?

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