Jamilla and the Curse of the Gumbie Side

Do you know one of the most wonderful quirks about pole dancing is that all the poses and tricks (and I mean all the poses and tricks) have names. Some of them are self-explanatory, but some are just so wacky and out there they make you smile. One of these is JAMILLA.

Jamilla is a beginner level spin trick/intermediate static trick, which involves taking the weight into the arms and rocking back into something of a side split while gripping with the side of your thigh. It hurts, but my pole instructors all make it look so lovely and it's one trick I'm working hard on at the moment. 

But not just because it looks pretty or because I need it to pass my course.

About a week ago, in Intermediate Static (Inters) I attempted a Jamilla with slightly incorrect arm positioning... and sprained my elbow. This resulted in me being forced to take a week off pole to recover, and having to carry my right arm around in a sling, which got very uncomfortable and was very hard on my neck. 

Me recovering in a sling after in incorrect grip in Jamilla caused me to sprain my elbow. Photo: My own

Once I recovered, it was back on the pole, although taking it very easy, and tonight was the first night since my recovery that I attempted a Jamilla again. I won't deny that I struggled, but I also discovered something that made me just go 'WHY!' 
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I injured myself attempting to do a Jamilla in my right hand. This is usually my stronger side in pole tricks, as being on the left side of the pole means I'm taking the weight in my right arm, which is my stronger arm. However, I was struggling something chronic tonight and thought, you know what, maybe I should try it on my gumbie (weaker) side.

And discovered that Jamilla works so much better for me on my left than my right!

Reflecting back, I have found this before with tricks that involve tucks, but I didn't click with Jamilla because, when I first learned it in Inters, I wasn't on a spinning pole and you don't tuck to enter Jamilla on a static pole. 

This video above is not quite a Jamilla; I'm in the correct position with my hands, but it's more a side-split at this point. I'm working up to rocking back and getting my top leg up and over, so watch this space for further progress as I tackle spinning and static Jamillas. No pole trick will beat me!

​- Jewels