Vladimir "Volch" Karachunov Workshop Review

A very rare opportunity befell the Tantra ladies and gentleman this past weekend - the Russian male pole star Vlad Karachunov was smuggled into Canada all the way from St. Petersburg to teach some workshops of his creative style. Here is his performance from  Pole Art 2011 of his to put a face to the name:

Much excitement was built up around his workshops and I signed up for the Advanced/Super Advanced tricks. There was also an intermediate one earlier on during the day, and I really should have signed up for that one as well (if I had a million dollars), as I have a feeling he actually taught tricks in that one that would be useful for performance.

In the Super Advnaced level, we mostly worked with handstands (aka flags if you are a Russian), but a lot of it was technique work in my point of view - very little actual "tricks". Vlad focused on the geometry of various handstand variations. This was very useful to me and made much more sense than the current teaching style at my studio. I am not one who understands terms such as "engage this muscle and this will happen"; I prefer explanations along the lines of "go here, then here, then here". If the trick is broken down into its geometry, it makes more sense to me, as I am used to manipulating my body into various positions. I cannot manipulate my body into a position if I do not know where I am going. Vlad was the perfect instructor to show this as his strength is obviously well developed, so he could hold the trick at it's various transition points without effort. I was talking to some of my pole girls about this after the workshop, and they, on the other hand, found it very difficult to understand, saying that they prefer to know which muscles to engage instead/as well.

A very useful point that I took away from Vlad's workshop is that "the strength will come, but it's the geometry/technique that one needs to train yourself to understand and follow first."

So, all in all, it was a very expensive way for me to get my "Regular Grip" handstand down. A bit of a disappointment really, because I see Vlad's videos and he shows some impressive creative tricks. Would have been a much better use of time and money to have him teach his creative tricks in first person, as opposed to going over handstand alignment.

Vlad showing his performance skills at Tantra Fitness in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Pro Polers need to remember that they should bring their signatures to the workshop. We all have pole instructors that will teach us how to do basics such as handstands, flags, and well known spins. We want to see new things that only you can teach - whether that involves creative combos, or rare tricks/spins, or even awesome transitions!

I had a chance to chat with Vlad after the class (whose English is excellent), and asked him how Canada's level of pole compares, on average, with Russia, or at least St. Petersburg. He said that, of course, Russia's level is much more advanced. He hypothesized that it was due to the diameter of the poles. Most pole studios have 2" diameter poles here (even though competition regulation diameter is 1.5"), while Russian studios have 1.5". He says that the thinner diameter creates a world of difference on how quickly and easily you can learn and progress.

I, on the other hand, hypothesize that it is not only the shoe laces that prevent the dancer from being the best. Being Russian, and hence knowing a bit about the culture's work habits and teaching styles, I speculate that the teaching approach and students' work ethics also contribute a lot to the success of Russian polers. I can only speculate, but I would say that the teaching style is probably a bit more serious, and more structured, with targeted conditioning and a demand for dedication, while the work ethic is also probably more committed and intense. How many times do I come to class at Tantra and watch as people chat away the hour, with empty poles all around them? How many times have I heard from my pole friends, and experienced myself, that the warm ups in some US studios, or the warm ups led by travelling pole stars, are so much more intense and useful than the meek warm ups our studio offers? The excuse for this criticism is always "but it's all just for fun". It seems like fun has become synonymous with slacking off.