Hammerlock in Salsa On2: definition, module and class

Taught in

From the module notes

A Third Way To Multiply Everything 📐

You have variations from handholds. Here is another axis entirely: levels.

There are three ways to turn your Follower on every single turn:

above her head

at neck level

at the hip, and that one is called a Hammerlock

Each gives a different effect, and every turn you know already has all three.

What A Hammerlock Is 🔒

The Hammerlock is the technique where we bring the hand down when we turn.

From a basic Right Turn, keep hold. The left goes up, the right stays down. She starts turning on 1, carries on through 2 and 3, and your hand stays down the whole time.

What happens then happens by itself:

Her hand stays down and she folds her elbow behind her back.

The Safety Rule ⚠️

This is the part to actually take seriously.

Leave the Hammerlock down. As you unwrap, you also go down.

Why it matters: her elbow is behind her back. If you lead upwards or outwards from there you strain the shoulder, and leading it to the back can injure it. There is no version of this where lifting is the right answer.

The same shape at neck level is a different move and perfectly fine. It is specifically the hip level, with the elbow folded behind, that has to stay down.

For The Followers 💃

While your hand rotates around your back:

Put the palm facing the Leader, facing outwards, not turned in.

And:

Do not try to wrap the Leader's hand.

Let him connect again during the rotation. Palm facing him, hand relaxed, and he can find it. Grip it and you take away the thing he needs.

Then Change The Handhold 🤝

Once the mechanic is solid, it carries over unchanged. From the right cross for a Right Turn Hammerlock, it is exactly the same mechanic with a different hold. That is the pattern for this whole course: learn the position, then reuse it everywhere.

💡 Drill it: Practise the unwrap on its own, slowly, with your hand deliberately low. If you find yourself lifting on the exit, you have not learned the move yet.

🎯 Community

Practice without judging yourself. Every dancer started exactly where you are. Be patient. This lands in the body over months, not days. Record yourself. You will see things you cannot feel. Post it in the community tab, or on Instagram tagging the page.

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From the module notes

A Third Way To Multiply Everything 📐

You have variations from handholds. Here is another axis entirely: levels.

There are three ways to turn your Follower on every single turn:

above her head

at neck level

at the hip, and that one is called a Hammerlock

Each gives a different effect, and every turn you know already has all three.

What A Hammerlock Is 🔒

The Hammerlock is the technique where we bring the hand down when we turn.

From a basic Right Turn, keep hold. The left goes up, the right stays down. She starts turning on 1, carries on through 2 and 3, and your hand stays down the whole time.

What happens then happens by itself:

Her hand stays down and she folds her elbow behind her back.

The Safety Rule ⚠️

This is the part to actually take seriously.

Leave the Hammerlock down. As you unwrap, you also go down.

The same shape at neck level is a different move and perfectly fine. It is specifically the hip level, with the elbow folded behind, that has to stay down.

For The Followers 💃

While your hand rotates around your back:

Put the palm facing the Leader, facing outwards, not turned in.

And:

Do not try to wrap the Leader's hand.

Let him connect again during the rotation. Palm facing him, hand relaxed, and he can find it. Grip it and you take away the thing he needs.

Then Change The Handhold 🤝

💡 Drill it: Practise the unwrap on its own, slowly, with your hand deliberately low. If you find yourself lifting on the exit, you have not learned the move yet.

🎯 Community

Practice without judging yourself. Every dancer started exactly where you are. Be patient. This lands in the body over months, not days. Record yourself. You will see things you cannot feel. Post it in the community tab, or on Instagram tagging the page.