Incredible Athleticism

[wlotus]

I figured pole dancing could be sensual--I'd not watched any that I can remember, before watching this video--but I never knew it could also be athletic! These women could be circus performers with their strength and agility.

Comments

[purlypuss.livejournal.com]

Holy crap they are SO STRONG. The upper body strength these women have is so inspiring! I can't even do a single proper push up and they can do these pull ups from hell! I'm tontally gonna go work out every day i swear to god.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

T says perhaps part of the reason these women are doing this is because women's gymnastics does not have the strength exercises men's gymnastics does. What these women are doing shows off their strength the same way male gymnasts show off their strength on the rings and parallel bars.

I don't understand why women's gymnastics doesn't allow women to showcase their strength. It's one of the reasons I don't like watching women's gymnastics.

[purlypuss.livejournal.com]

Oh, gymnastics is such a problem, because when you watch you can see that male gymnastics is MEN'S gymnastics, but female gymnastics is GIRL's gymnastics. Girl's gymnastics and synchronized swimming a.k.a the legs-and-ass-in-water-show are two Olympic 'sports' that really irk me.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

You hit the nail on the head (men's vs. girl's gymnastics). They keep women in this infantile state. The same has been true in the past of women's figure skating, where backflips were not allowed for a long time while men had been doing backflips for years in competition, already. I don't know if they've changed that rule; I got so sick of the disparity that I stopped watching figure skating, too.

[amqu.livejournal.com]

You had to land on one leg for a backflip, and women didn't have the strength to do that. Of course, that French ice skater whose name I forget but who won a silver at the Olympics a few years ago (she coincidentally started out as a gymnast) was able to land it on one leg, and then I believe it was accepted.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

It wasn't accepted, even after Surya Bonaly did it more than a decade ago.

What made Ms. Bonaly's backflip famous is that she could do the flip and land on one leg. Most men who do the backflip on ice land on two.

I did a quick search online, and according to About.com, the backflip is considered an illegal move in all of figure skating (not just women's) as recently as 2007. (http://figureskating.about.com/od/illustrationsofmoves/youtube/backflip.htm)

"The backflip is considered an illegal figure skating move. It can be done in exhibitions and in professional ice skating competitions, but the backflip will not receive credit and a skater will receive deductions (or be disqualified) if the move is performed in eligible figure skating competitions.

[amqu.livejournal.com]

Surya Bonaly, of course. I thought one of her names started with an S, but I just couldn't remember it.

What made Ms. Bonaly's backflip famous is that she could do the flip and land on one leg. Most men who do the backflip on ice land on two.

Ha, that's even cooler. I remember how amazing I thought she was back then (even before the backflip). Thanks for the timeline on the backflips. That's interesting.

[ennuiescapist.livejournal.com]

I adore the athleticism and grace of pole-dancing and have always wanted to learn. They give lessons here in the TWin Cities...

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I was never interested in pole dancing, but now I am curious about the strength and athleticism that needs to go into getting to those women's levels.

Wow!

[deborahloi.livejournal.com]

I'm totally gonna be a pole dancer in my next life!

[untied.livejournal.com]

i know, right?! a friend posted this on facebook, and i was just BLOWN AWAY by some of their moves. aside from the talent they show moving from one action to the next, i found myself wondering how many years these chicks spent in gymnastics as children. hell, we should have sent some of THEM to beijing.

i found them graceful, and strong and powerful. not words usually associated with strippers :)

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

When I think of strippers, I think of women flailing around to bad music in some seedy joint for the benefit of some crusty males. I don't think of these women.

[untied.livejournal.com]

hahahaha... and then i saw your comment about them showcasing gymnastics :)


since i came back, i will share a story my girlfriend told me after seeing this video. after we finished "ooo"ing and "ahh"ing, she said "man, i've never seen strippers like that"
to which i replied "what kind of strippers are you used to?" o.O

well, she grew up in the midwest, and while she was living in north dakota, she went to a strip club with her friend for his birthday. it was amateur night and he wanted to compete for the hundred dollar prize. there was more than one club in the area, but they chose that one because it's the same place his mom worked, and they were going to do a mother/son birthday dance so she could give him some pointers and buy him a drink.

this was funny enough to me, but apparently amateur night was a step up from their last visit, where the middle aged feature not only appeared to be back from a recent maternity leave, but was in fact dancing in a full leg brace. *stepCLOMP, *stepCLOMP *stepCLOMP. apparently this is not a notable occurrence, since rooms full of naked women are few and far between in north dakota, and the locals will take what they can get.

[far-gone.livejournal.com]

Awesome gymnastic and circusry!! but is it sexy? reminds me of cirque de soleil in platform stilletos! actually I think cirque de soleil is more erotic!

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I find these women and their moves incredibly sexy, but your mileage may vary.

[llahearn.livejournal.com]

I think pole dancing is becoming a true art. I shared this with Hubs, and he just kept saying "That's not pole dancing" while shaking his head. Apparently the pole dancers they saw at his bachelor party were quite different. ;)

[mage-girl.livejournal.com]

good god.

That's it. I'm getting back into shape.

THEN I'll do some dancing...

*grin*


K.

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

Not gonna watch-- I'll be too damn jealous!