Split Grip in Thigh Rest Lesson

earthpanther started this discussion · 7/6/2010

Hello ladies. I just watched Veena's Thigh Rest lesson. She stresses many times that you should have 1 or 2 fingers on your bottom arm facing down the pole rather than wrapping around. Anyone know the reason for this? I would normally do something like this with all my fingers wrapped around. I tried it both ways and doing it with fingers facing down the pole (I tried both the 1 finger and 2) really hurt my hand. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

2 replies

Veena · 7/6/2010
Most find the "gun grip"...I think some call it the "magic finger" I think, more secure and its a bit more neutral for your hand/wrist. How did it hurt? Was it pulling on the skin? Sharp pains in the hand, wrist??? First make sure your not placing all of the weight on that lower arm. The "gun grip" is a neutral position for the wrist. Maintaining a neutral position becomes even more important once you begin to do advanced work with the split grip. Check to make sure your not over exaggerating the grip (you don't need to be pulling the finger away from the others) or twisting funny at the wrist. Remember I talked about the graduated finger hold too. Try that with less of a point. You really want to think of pressing into the pole with the PALM of the hand. Don't stress about a finger pointing perfectly down the pole. Wrapping the fingers fully around the pole with the bottom hand could cause unnecessary stress on the forearms for some. When you grip too tightly its easy to stop pressing with the palm and start relying on fingers only. You are more likely to lock the joint or hyper extend at the elbow. Its also easier to curl or over flex the wrist when you wrap all the fingers. Again when you start to do more advanced work with the split grip you'll need to be cautious to not over stress the forearm. Always remember if something hurts, check your form first, if its right and your still having problems.. stop performing that particular move. You may have an injury or just need to strengthen the muscles. Also...if your still having a difficult time send me an email and we can work out a time where I can meet you in the chat room and help you out if you would like. ☀️
hookedonpole · 7/6/2010
I watched practice clips with me doing this type of grip and I also did the wrap around fingers. Now I'm re-adjusting to the 1-2 fingers down. I'm not sure how it's working yet, just worked on a few times. Will focus more in future practices. Seems like my fingers want to wrap around completely, probably because I started out that way learning on my own. I just read veena's response and will now pay attention to how I'm doing it and form.