Reiko Split

The Reiko Split is a split shape on the pole that combines two things many dancers work on for a long time: upper-body strength and split flexibility. Your arms and grip connect you to the pole while your legs reach away from each other in a long line. Depending on your flexibility, the split can be wide and open or a softer version that grows over time. How you get into the shape, where your hands go and how your body is positioned are what the tutorial and your coach show you step by step, because those details are what keep you safe.

Not yet, and that is completely fine. The Reiko Split is an advanced move. It builds on strength you develop over time through climbs, spins, inverts and conditioning, and on split flexibility you grow with regular stretching. If it feels far away right now, you are simply collecting the pieces it is built on, and every training session already counts towards it.

This move asks a lot from your shoulders, arms, back and core, which keep you steady and lifted. Your hamstrings and hip flexors open into the split, and your grip holds the line together. Feeling heavy, shaky or tight at the start is part of the process for almost everyone. Warm up well before you work on your splits, keep your hands clean and dry, and skip body lotion on training days. If something hurts, stop and come back to it fresh.

Many dancers build shapes like this on a static pole first, where you can take your time to find the line and hold it. On a spinning pole the split rotates slowly with you, which shows off your line from every angle but adds movement to think about. Once the static version feels steady, spinning is a fun next challenge to explore with your coach.

With the Floor-Stand-Air Method™, you do not jump straight into the full trick. You explore the split line and build strength on the floor, prepare the positions standing at the pole, and only then take it into the air. Next to the tutorial, the Strength Workouts on POLEPLACE include a session called Conditioning for Reiko, so you can train the strength this move needs in a focused way.

Be patient and kind to your body on days when the split feels tighter. Your floor splits are a great companion, and other split shapes at the pole, such as the Pole Straddle, the Jade Split and the Inverted Split, play with long, open lines in different ways. Strength shapes like the Iron X train similar qualities in your upper body. Celebrate every small win along the way.