The first of the pole exercises serves as both your warm up and warm down.

• Start by selecting a pole. I'm using my favourite ratan pole that my mate Rusel gave me. If you don't have one of these you can get any sort of pole from the hardware store, it needs to have a bit of weight so around 3-5cm (inch, inch and a half) in diameter will suit most people, and cut it to about your height. Mines a little longer than that but Rusel always did like to throw me a bit of a challenge (for which I'm eternally grateful).
• The video best demonstrates the first warm up exercise. It's fairly straightforward and will get you used to the repeat back and forth movements of the pole. Focus as you start on allowing the pole to move according to it's own momentum and using your hands and arms simply to guide it.

• Pull the pole into your abdomen with one hand by rotating your shoulder medially, working your pectoral muscles as well as the medial rotators. Your lower abdomen that acts as a fulcrum as you catch the pole with the other hand to open the chest and shoulder on that side before pulling it back in again.

Now that we're warmed up we can get started.

• You go into this one straight from the warm exercise. As you catch the pole in front of your abdomen turn your hand to face palm up and lift the pole above your head as it continues to swing around, make sure that you get it up in time before it comes around to hit you in the head.
• As the pole continues to swing bring the leading tip down in front of you so that the other end comes up behind your shoulder. The pole then continues to swing around behind and tucks up under your arm and the leading tip is now behind you. Check the video for this one.
• At this point your shoulder is rotated medially and pulled in behind your back. At this extreme point it will slow down and bounce back the other way, through the same course until you catch it with your other hand swing it around above your head again and repeat on the other side.
• Once you're comfortable with this one the next step is to continue the movement behind your back rather than stopping and bouncing back up. To do this simply bring your free hand around behind you as the pole makes its way around to the back and catch it. It's momentum will bring it back up above your head where you swing it around and catch it with your other hand to repeat the movement. Make sure that you catch with both hands facing behind you.
• Finally repeat this movement in the opposite direction. As the pole swings around above your head instead of catching it have your hand facing against the direction of the pole and allow it into your hand before pushing it back the other way.

• Start with the pole securely in your hand the leading tip out in front and your arm to your side at about 45˚.
• Bring that leading tip across the front of your body and then roll your wrist so that it comes up behind you and the pole rotates in a sagittal plane to your side. As it continues around you'll need to catch it with your other hand, make sure that it's pointing up and your shoulder is medially rotated, again just check the video.
• Once you've caught it allow it to complete it's rotation before guiding the leading tip across your body for the same movement on the other side. The trick here is to just aim to get that leading tip in the right position, in front of your body just far enough to the side that it won't hit you as it straightens into the sagittal plane. If you can get it in the right spot and time your wrist rotation well there'll be little if any strain on your wrist.

• Your 'attack ready' stance is a modification of the horse stance that has your feet no wider than shoulder width apart, as you start your exercise you'll want to slightly widen your stance to get a better grip on the ground. The pole is held in your hand kind of like a really big pencil, between your thumb and first finger with your hand gripping the pole as in the video
• From there take the bottom tip of the pole behind you so that the top leans over the front of your shoulder. With your other hand take the pole and bring it across your body as it rotates and what was originally the bottom of the pole becomes the leading tip and moves towards a point in front of you and to your side, similar to the previous exercise.
• Once in this position the pole will want to spin, allow that to happen and bring the leading tip up under your arm, this time so that it appears above your shoulder ready to be caught by the other hand and taken over to the opposite side.
• Make sure that the pole spins in a sagittal plane or it'll be hitting you in the head.

• This exercise will move your shoulder in the opposite direction to the previous one. This laterally rotated and abducted position is the easiest one in which to dislocate your shoulder. Under normal circumstances this exercise won't be able to produce enough force to do this but if you're ever had a shoulder dislocation, or are at risk of having one then DON"T DO IT. The forces created require some stability of the shoulder, and when done safely will increase that stability, but if you're prone to dislocation you'll require much less force to injur your shoulder and it's simply not worth the risk. Seek competent medical advice before attempting any of these exercises.
• So start in stance and bring the top of the pole around behind you until it is in the by-now familiar position to your side and just in front of you. From here allow it to a half revolution bringing this leading tip to the top and your shoulder into a fully abducted and laterally rotated position.
• Now bring your other hand across your body to catch the pole in the middle, just below the level of the elbow on the arm that is currently holding the pole. The next revolution will have you bringing the leading tip (at the top now of the circle) across your body to the other side where it can rotate to repeat the movement over there.
• The main difference that you'll find with this movement is that the pole is moving in the opposite direction to the previous two.