Yanking

[kps]

Remind me not to get on the wrong side of you then.

just a little worrying. lol

[martingold]

Well, I did get hold of a young guys hands the other night and dug my thumbs in the back of them and asked him a cute smiley way.... "Do you like that?"
He looked totally horrified and said "No", as he snatched his hands away

and then I replied, "Neither do I"

He seemed to get the message AND he asked me again later!

ohhhh you sorted that one then lol

[Astro]

Beginners don’t seem to be as much of a problem, because on the whole they are open to feedback and are dancing with taxis who they should be listening to, and of course some of the problems are just part of the learning curve. I think the real issue is that some experienced dancers slip into bad habits without realising it. I think too many dancers assume that if they have been dancing a long time they must know exactly what they are doing, therefore any adverse comments or negative body language from partners (like trying to get out of a lobster claw death grip) must be the other person’s problem.

I think HQ would be wise to alter the terminology - that's what causes the problems IMO.

Teachers say in class that the lead should have a "strong", "firm" lead.

Leads misinterpret is as meaning they should use a lot of physical strength to be firm with the lady.

[Lory]

I danced with a guy last night and this thread came to mind, cos he was doing a bit of the old yanking.

I spent the dance trying to analyze exactly what was happening and how to 'deal with it' and basically it came down to this...

Doesn't a lot of this yanking boil down to one partner simply not ‘listening’ to the other?

and the fact that he was out of time and dancing ahead of the beat.

When we move/dance our bodies have a natural momentum.. so after something like a spin,' the follow will need to finish her momentum before she can comfortably return the other way.

If the guy attempts to lead the next move 'before' the follows finished her natural momentum i.e. when she's still rocking away, then it will feel 'jarring'

So, to avoid being yanked and potential injury, my tips for the follower are...

* 'tune out' of the music completely and 'tune in' to your partner instead!
* Keep close to him, never let your arms reach full extension.
* Take small steps, to maximize your reaction time and stay on axis
*** Take a good long look at their face and remember it!!!

Yes, none of this is ideal but you haven't got a lot of choice, its either, dance out of time OR be yanked, either way, it feels horrible but it might just save you from ripping a muscle or being pulled over

***So, back to my previous post, just avoid them!

[Moondancer]

I danced with a guy last night and this thread came to mind, cos he was doing a bit of the old yanking.

I spent the dance trying to analyze exactly what was happening and how to 'deal with it' and basically it came down to this... and the fact that he was out of time and dancing ahead of the beat.

When we move/dance our bodies have a natural momentum.. so after something like a spin,' the follow will need to finish her momentum before she can comfortably return the other way.

If the guy attempts to lead the next move 'before' the follows finished her natural momentum i.e. when she's still rocking away, then it will feel 'jarring'

So, to avoid being yanked and potential injury, my tips for the follower are...

* 'tune out' of the music completely and 'tune in' to your partner instead!
* Keep close to him, never let your arms reach full extension.
* Take small steps, to maximize your reaction time and stay on axis
*** Take a good long look at their face and remember it!!!

Yes, none of this is ideal but you haven't got a lot of choice, its either, dance out of time OR be yanked, either way, it feels horrible but it might just save you from ripping a muscle or being pulled over

***So, back to my previous post, just avoid them!

[robd]

I danced with a guy last night and this thread came to mind, cos he was doing a bit of the old yanking.

I spent the dance trying to analyze exactly what was happening and how to 'deal with it' and basically it came down to this... and the fact that he was out of time and dancing ahead of the beat.

When we move/dance our bodies have a natural momentum.. so after something like a spin,' the follow will need to finish her momentum before she can comfortably return the other way.

If the guy attempts to lead the next move 'before' the follows finished her natural momentum i.e. when she's still rocking away, then it will feel 'jarring'

So, to avoid being yanked and potential injury, my tips for the follower are...

* 'tune out' of the music completely and 'tune in' to your partner instead!
* Keep close to him, never let your arms reach full extension.
* Take small steps, to maximize your reaction time and stay on axis
*** Take a good long look at their face and remember it!!!

Yes, none of this is ideal but you haven't got a lot of choice, its either, dance out of time OR be yanked, either way, it feels horrible but it might just save you from ripping a muscle or being pulled over

***So, back to my previous post, just avoid them!

Can I have a 'thanks' too please now Stokie?

[Moondancer]

Can I have a 'thanks' too please now Stokie?

[geoff332]

* 'tune out' of the music completely and 'tune in' to your partner instead!
* Keep close to him, never let your arms reach full extension.
* Take small steps, to maximize your reaction time and stay on axis
*** Take a good long look at their face and remember it!!!

With a few slight modifications, this is actually really good advice for dancing in general.

The first one - the lead should determine the timing (yes, it should match the music, but live's not always fair). If the lead's doing their job properly, they'll give the follow room to play with the music too, so tuning out completely isn't such a good idea.

The next two are definitely good advice and should always be followed. Smaller steps and never taking your arms out to full extension is something I'd recommend to everyone (both leads and follows).

And remembering faces: well, that's got a lot of advantages.

[Lory]

The first one - the lead should determine the timing (yes, it should match the music, but live's not always fair).

You can say that again!

[ant]

Originally Posted by StokeBloke
Why not take the non-confrontational, positive "I am working on my light lead and I wondered if you'd mind helping me out with it" approach

Well Stokie the first dance I had tonight was with the lady in question.

I started by asking her not to hold my hand so tightly in order to make it easier for her. She asked "why" and I said "it will make it easier for you because you won't have to guess when I want you to relax your hold when I need to change hand grips for the next move".

I then proceeded to have a lovely dance with the lady. At the end of it she asked "why have I not mentioned it before and did it feel better for me". In reply, I asked "if felt better for her", which she replied with a big grin on her face "much better".

I then asked my mate to have a dance with her. He also said it was a very pleasant dance with her now.

So alls well that ends well and once again thanks for the advice.

[martingold]

*** Take a good long look at their face and remember it!!!

[martingold]

Can I have a 'thanks' too please now Stokie?

poor robd is feeling left out so in true luvvie style i think we should all thank him

[Lory]

poor robd is feeling left out

Yeah poor Rob

What about ME?

[robd]

poor robd is feeling left out so in true luvvie style i think we should all thank him

LOL, not at all. I just assumed Stokie had intended to thank Lory but somehow thanked the wrong post or it was an ironic 'thanks' to someone who had quoted a whole post verbatim and just added a

But, yeah, feel free to thank me whenever you like for whatever you like.

[Andy McGregor]

I think only teachers and taxis should offer advice (you are a taxi arn't you Emmylou) otherwise confusion can result from
conflicting advice.

Ant, couldn't you ask the teacher or the taxi to dance with this lady and give her some feedback?

This is also my advice. Ask the teacher to instruct his/her student. It's their job, after all.

In my experience ladies will take instruction from a teacher and probably thank them for helping. On the other hand, there is a chance they will see this as criticism from another dancer - especially if she fancies him

[Astro]

When we move/dance our bodies have a natural momentum.. so after something like a spin,' the follow will need to finish her momentum before she can comfortably return the other way.

If the guy attempts to lead the next move 'before' the follows finished her natural momentum i.e. when she's still rocking away, then it will feel 'jarring'

best not to do any fancy footwork too, as if the lead doesn't wait till the follow is balanced, jarring will occur.

Yes, none of this is ideal but you haven't got a lot of choice, its either, dance out of time OR be yanked, either way, it feels horrible but it might just save you from ripping a muscle or being pulled over

....and missing all the Christmas fun.

***So, back to my previous post, just avoid them!

Except then you get accused of being a Princess.

[Lory]

Except then you get accused of being a Princess.

A princess

Surely not... I'm a Queen

[robd]

best not to do any fancy footwork too, as if the lead doesn't wait till the follow is balanced, jarring will occur.

LOL. I think most songs will be over before certain follows are balanced

Partner dancing is, duh, a partnership. It's not always the lead's fault if yanking occurs (I accept no-one here has said as much yet but it's heading that way)

I would also have thought that it is posible to do fancy footwork separately from what's going on with the upper body (or more specifically, in the case of most yankers, the arms).

[Lory]

LOL. I think most songs will be over before certain follows are balanced

oooh bitchy!

Partner dancing is, duh, a partnership. It's not always the lead's fault if yanking occurs (I accept no-one here has said as much yet but it's heading that way)

Yes, I think if the follow is out of time, it creates the same problem..


But the lead will have a much trickier time to tune out of the music and still lead .... eeek!

[Gadget]

Partner dancing is, duh, a partnership. It's not always the lead's fault if yanking occurs (I accept no-one here has said as much yet but it's heading that way)

Not always the lead's fault that it occurs, but it could be argued that it is always the lead's fault if it damages: if it is within their power to negate the yankage and they don't, then by omission, they are guilty of causing the damage.

I would also have thought that it is posible to do fancy footwork separately from what's going on with the upper body (or more specifically, in the case of most yankers, the arms).

I would have thought it impossible to do fancy footwork when you are being taken off-balance with every other arm lead. It may be possible if you completely disassociate the upper body and lower body, but then you can't be led (or lead) properly.