Nemesis Moves

“We all have nemesis moves.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
A “nemesis move,” as I define it, is a move that somehow evades you, even after multiple attempts. As was said, we all have them!
I am not proud of this, but I can make quite the list!
-Reverse Chair
-Carousel
-Sunwheel
-Reverse Grab—I just cannot seem to get this in motion…
-Figure Skater —which I had half-conquered at one point…
-Phoenix
-Vixen
-Hooked Recline
-Flag
-Christina OR Flatline to Superman
I imagine that there are more, but I just can’t recall them all. The list changes over time. There are additions, and there are subtractions, but there are some of those that never leave! The basic Fireman spin used to kick my butt, and now it’s reflex. Hooked Recline, on the other hand, is not a move that I like or likes me. Someday I will remove it from my nemesis list!
The phrase “nemesis move” was brought to my attention in my last Intermediate class. We were working on Flag. In a Flag, you prop yourself on your elbow and *poof* you look like a flag. Ok, that’s not exactly how it works, but that’s about all I understand about it. This is what it’s supposed to look like:

I tried, again and again, with help from both of my classmates and my instructor, and STILL could not even get it off the ground. I cannot wedge my elbow, my wrist does not agree, my position is all messed up–I was all sorts of frustrated. I probably sounded whiny-and I’m sorry to my classmates for that!
This struggle to get a move is totally normal, yet I could hardly handle it. I felt like being a child and throwing a fit–why couldn’t I get this move? What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I get it when everyone else around me does?
By now I probably sound like a hypocrite. I keep saying in my posts and to others “You’re only competing against yourself.” I didn’t have Flag before leaving, and I certainly don’t have it now. I’m not sure where I got off thinking I was entitled to get the move right away, knowing that. Truth is, I really was feeling and acting like an entitled child. I can’t just *poof* jump into a move without any work! That’s never been how my pole journey works.

When I started this lovely pole journey, everything was a challenge. Pole did not come easy to me, and struggled to get every move. I started coming in to more practices and asking for help. I would try one move, over and over and over again (I’m looking at you, Fireman spin…) until I could hardly bear doing it another time.
The only way I have every learned and attained moves is by hard work. Some moves take less, and some more, but it’s never come easy. I’ve been through times where there wasn’t a single move I felt I could properly attain, and there have been times where it takes very little practice to accomplish what I’m aiming for.
What I have to remember, and what I want you to remember, too, is that it will get better. It always gets better. Remember too, that when you have to fight with everything you’ve got just to get that move or spin, your victory over it will be even sweeter.
 

Don’t let your nemesis win–fight to defeat it! 🙂