Everyone has that one trick they just can’t do. There’s no reason you can’t do it, you’re strong and flexible enough. You can do lots of harder moves but for some reason this one move is just not happening. It’s so frustrating! Luckily you’re not alone, almost everyone has a nemesis move. (Mine are: pole – janeiro, hoop – barrel rolls, silks – splits balance.) I got so annoyed at not being able to do them that I just avoided them but now I’m determined to revisit the moves I should be able to do and nail them!
Try, try, try again
The best way to achieve a move is to practise it. It’s so easy to attempt a new move a few times then get fed up at not being able to do it so you move on and never come back to it. Or make a couple of half-hearted attempts every few months and wonder why you still can’t do it (just me?) Practise the move often and it will gradually get there. It might take months or even years but as long as there’s no physical reason you can’t do the move, if you believe in yourself and keep trying, you will get it!
Train other moves
I know I’m contradicting myself here but hear me out. If I practise a move too often it feels like my head is going to explode! When you’re not getting a move and you keep going over it at every session you can quickly become bored, frustrated and end up hating it. Focus on practising the entry and exit moves to it instead. Try to get all the little moves you need to do to get into it perfectly, and practise the moves you would use to get out of it until those are perfect. Even though you’re not practising the move you can’t do, being able to do those without thinking about it will make the actual move so much easier.
Ask for help
If you are self teaching yourself, a really good thing you can do is have a lesson with someone that can do the move you want to get. A lot of moves feel different to how they look so if someone can already do it they can give you hints and tips that will help. It can be very hard to see where someone is pushing/pulling/gripping etc from a picture or a video. Sometimes something as small as having a different head position or adjusting your hand the tiniest amount will make such a big difference!
Build up your strength and flexibility
Even if you think you’re strong and flexible enough to do your nemesis trick, becoming stronger and more flexible will only make it easier. Being stronger will give you more time while you’re doing the move to make sure your body parts are all in the right place. It’ll also mean you will have the strength to practise it more or train other things which will give you more chance of nailing your trick. Check out Pole Conditioning Exercises, Aerial Silk Conditioning Exercises and Aerial Hoop Conditioning Exercises to increase your strength. Increasing your flexibility will help if the move requires more flexibility than it looks. It’ll also mean other moves could feel easier as you’re not stretching too far to get into them. Check out Leg Stretches to Improve your Splits and Back Flexibility Stretches to increase your flexibility.
Film your training
This is my favourite thing to do if I’m struggling with a move! Moves often feel so different to how they look so by filming it it’ll be easier to see where you’re going wrong. It’s usually something so simple like your hand is higher than you thought it was. Once you can watch it back and see exactly what you’re doing wrong you can work on improving it.
I really hope you find these tips useful, what is your nemesis move? xx
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