Safety First: Use a qualified rigger to rig your aerial silks. Be fully warmed up before you attempt any exercises on the aerial silks. Place a crash mat underneath you and have a spotter to assist you.

Pre-requisites

Engaging Your Shoulders (Locks and Inverts)

Baby Hip Lock (Locks and Inverts)

Common mistakes

• Your hips swinging forward in front of the silks or backward behind the silks as you lift up - this will make you more likely to catch the silks with your legs as you move them and the position of your hips will prevent the silks hanging down in line with your hips. Really focus on lifting up instead of wildly kicking.
• When you split your legs, your front leg going really far forward and your back leg only going a little way back - this means the silks will be on your knee/shin on your back leg instead of high on your thigh so they will have a long way to fall down your leg to get to the correct position. This also means that if your legs are bent the silks will fall the wrong way. Getting your legs to split equally takes a lot of control over your movements, it's really helpful to film your attempts to get an idea of where your back leg is going!
• Your legs sliding down after you have caught the silks in the right place - turn your hips to face the floor to lock the silks on your hips as soon as they're high enough your thighs. Lower your chest down to lower than your hips.
• Your outside leg not coming up high enough when your roll over into the hip lock - pointing your leg high will make the silks fall down to your hip, imagine you're trying to kick the poll to get the right angle.