[MilienElayne]

I think I worked it out in practice. Thanks, ladies! I am still using my hands though, which I am not sure about! I have been watching one of Karol’s vids over and over trying to see how it’s done. This move is like lightning. Almost out of internets now though https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif Stupid Australia and it’s download limits! Uploading a new vid sooon with Holly Drop in https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif My scorpio lines need SO much work, but I can’t figure out how quite yet (maybe when we ‘officially’ learn it in class later this term my instructor can position me right).

[MilienElayne]

1.43 is a HOT SM move! Ooh! I want that BAD!

[MilienElayne]

I just turn straight into a thigh hold – my safety catch and go-to exit for everything… lol.

[MilienElayne]

I’m getting to be a bit of a snob with moves. That being said, I don’t hold to my own standards and will do moves and show moves that I’m not happy with aesthetically, but I do aim for them to be perfect in some pie in the sky type way. So, I’m a hypocrite! Do shoot me https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

I agree with Amy: normal Brass Monkey looks silly to me. Karol’s straight leg version is hot (I stole it for my own) and Double Brass Monkey is awesome looking (and something I’m not even game enough to try yet).

A Reverse Aysha that is not extended (I can’t extend it) or does not at least have the bottom arm straighter looks totally unco and awkward to me. Actually, any Aysha type move or straddle like chopper or SM V that does not have legs at least horizontal with the ground (if not toes pointed further towards the ground) looks yucky. I also want to do mine side-on (and fail at it often) because butt in face or gash flash angles look crap on me and you can’t see the lines!

Caterpillar climb is rarely aesthetically pleasing, but some pros do pull it off to my satisfaction. It feels cool to do and it does showcase strength and guts though.

Split moves that aren’t flat irk me – I hate my extended butterfly, jade split, shoulder split, banana split, oona split etc. on me because they’re not perfectly flat or in over-split yet. Ok, they still look and feel pretty cool https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif But Oh Felix!

Any contortion moves that are half-done (I am totally guilty here) like a bridge that’s not really bendy – not keen.

Any move with flexed feet instead of pointed turns my stomach. (I do CAR and related moves, half moon, archer and others regardless…lol – really trying to get my both feet pointed toes CAR moves back now)

I’m not wild about Reverse SM, SM climb through superman, side climb, knee hold … but mostly because I can’t do them yet … ha ha.

[MilienElayne]

Lovely photos! Thanks for sharing! Um, may I just say WOW to 8.5" shoes?! I think I’m all badass when I can walk straight in 6.5" ones… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif You’re awesome!

[MilienElayne]

When I’m not injured (I am still recovering from slightly pulling both hammies) I can drop split with right leg in front from a height and ‘flap’ on the floor with no resisitance sometimes, but then some days I can barely lower it slowly to touch – I find positioning very difficult lowering from a stand and my legs naturally go diagonal. The other leg is not in a full split yet as I don’t work it as much because it’s not the side I split on when I dance. And straddle split… don’t even mention it. I can’t do it. Everything tenses trying to keep my body weight off the floor and I can barely slide to one foot off the floor. It feels tight and so wrong. I have serious trouble finding the right position to lower into, my hips and butt slide too far forward and I need to keep them back but not too far? Meh. So, the flexibility could be there, I’m just not getting the right positioning. Try having someone who knows spot you, or try lowering yourself by holding onto the pole so your muscles are relaxed?

[MilienElayne]

That sounds crazy awesome! I wish I could go!

[MilienElayne]

https://www.studioveena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3338" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is where you were just discussing it and Amy describes it. Here’s the vid she does it in: http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/3399" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; at 1.01 or thereabouts.

[MilienElayne]

I think the tattoo says ‘Heartland’? It’s definitely something ‘eartland’, but not sure on the first letter entirely. It’s bugging me now. What does the one on her hip under it say? I am so sad I don’t live in the States to make it to workshops and classes and meet all you fantastic North American polers!

[MilienElayne]

I hate sunburn and I hate sunscreen in all it’s forms and from all brands. With poling I can’t even moisturise with the lightest effective lotion unless it’s the night before and I am poling in the late afternoon or evening the next day… sunscreen would be insanely dangerous for me as I can’t get it off!

My suggestion: FULL SHADE!

[MilienElayne]

I partially ruptured a hamstring some months ago (about 50% torn). I crushed my hammy between bone and the floor dropping into the splits at high speed. I went, oh that felt funny, and got up and did some high kicks… Not clever. I couldn’t sleep that night. When I lay on my tummy and tried to squeeze my butt and raise the leg to the roof, I physically couldn’t. I knew something was not just ‘pulled’… I continued to take pole classes and practice at home but saw a wonderful physiotherapist at the same time. She massaged and tested my strength and flexibility every appointment adn we talking about my classes and my physio ‘homework’. She had me ice the injury for ten minutes at a time twice daily for the first week, and from day one she had me do strengthening and stretching exercises with it. Her advice was no deep stretching BEFORE classes. Very light stretching in warm-up, then do only what you can and carefully (no positions where your weight could drop suddenly) in the deep stretching in cool-down. You have to be controlled, but I wouldn’t say ‘gentle’ like with a broken bone or something. Don’t do the splits until you’re told you’re at the point where you can by your physio. That leg was my good leg, then while it was injured it was my bung leg, but now that hamstring is my flexiest and I attribute that to all the work I did with it – I was forced to work that hamstring multiple times a day to care for my injury. I wish I had done exactly the same with my other leg because it’s having a hard time catching up. Perhaps make sure your professional is sports orientated and understands your training goals and needs? I did all my normal pole moves and was just mindful of my injury – no splits, controlling everything more…

[MilienElayne]

Sometimes the body is just protecting itself and you need to work through the mental block. I had trouble with thigh grip after losing weight and not having any pudgy bits and extra skin to grip with – I had to relearn the grip all over again changing my positioning (as polergirl said) and making sure I had a ‘lock’ like crossing the ankles and flexing one foot in a CAR (I can finally just about point both feet now again without sliding out…but I’m not there yet!).

[MilienElayne]

I’ve been looking for something like those longline bras forever. Now I know what they actually are https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif *DROOLS*

[MilienElayne]

I’d go tacky for spin mode and matt for general use, that’s what recommended at the pole studio I go to. I used to use my matt ones in static on ss and in spin class and at home on chrome. I don’t use my gloves anymore at all though, completely weaned off them, I am happy to say. I reckon my grip problems were 80% in my head (anxious thoughts and lack of confidence brings on more sweat and makes my grip tentative even if I try really hard to squeeze) and 20% physical (I get sweaty hands just looking at them, and I think I have poor circulation and need to make sure my hands are warmed up properly – yes, the muscles and tendons in your hands need warming up too, apparantly!). Anyhoo, I’d go for the matt ones as they’re more versatile.

[MilienElayne]

Dude! I’m in Australia, the original poster is in Canada and others are in the US (anywhere else?) and it’s all about althetic wear pole love. How cool is this!

There’s a Lululemon Althetica and an American Apparel on the same street as the studio where I take classes. They are always getting our business and are used to being told the clothes are for pole dancing… I bought the sparkly shorts I am going to wear for my first performance from American Apparel and some of my pole shorts are from Lululemon!

[MilienElayne]

I’m a bit late to this party… but I LOVE SM flip!

I am confused as to why I haven’t felt any pain with this at all though. I have been doing SMs since Dec 2009, so maybe that’s why…but I don’t feel pressure or strain any differently to a normal SM, in fact I feel it less. Perhaps because I take mine looow like limbo and flip to a stand? I can do it higher up, but it doesn’t look or feel as much like a flip on me that way. I’ve seen this done on to the pole and to the floor from a height and it looks uncomfortable, especially if done slowly. Karol’s low SM flip to a split is what I looked at before doing mine. Didn’t see this thread… Veena’s to a stand and split in this thread looks awesome, but in a recent video she did one slower from standing to a stand that looked painful to me. I’ve ‘taught’ it to an instructor where I take classes as she’d not seen it live and as fast and flippy as mine and hadn’t tried it before. She kept doing it higher and with a kick (not that she’d ever need a kick up, she’s strong?) for ‘more momentum’, she also tried it from a SM pike and controlled it… for both she said it hurt! And little student me was doing it ten times over fast and furious (IN HEELS) with no pain at all. So weird! I feel like from a very low position the hips roll over without having to get momentum from a kick or using more gravity and it doesn’t wrench your shoulder at all. Or am I just crazy?

Did Veena ever make this a lesson?

[MilienElayne]

That’s gorgeous! Now I have to work on making my ‘rubber’ scorpio look flexy like yours too! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif (It is a scorpio, right?)

So much to do! Love it! Thankyou all for posting!

[MilienElayne]

I am a walking pole accident and am a very naughty girl.

Gash my legs with my heels regularly.

Often cut my thighs up on my nails doing cradle spins and holds, hero and chopper foldouts.

I always burn and bruise my feet foot hooking, doing floor work and the splits.

I stub my toes on the pole, my wall at home and the furniture when I am and when I am not poling… lol

I bruise (but not hurt) when I fall on my hip or shoulder or land on my back or something rather often coming out of a trick sloppily or failing one (I don’t use a spotter or mats unless they make me in class or at home if I am learning a drop, something very new with very little contact or just feel super not confident).

I’ve torn a hamstring doing fan kicks to drop splits too enthusiastically – my bones crunched my hammy and surrounding muscle into the floor when it didn’t shift out of the way quickly enough. That leg is now my strong and flexy leg thanks to physio. Just pulled (not ruptured, thank god) the hammy of my other leg not warming up enough before doing downward banana splits on my weak split side. I was also stupidly pushing myself too far and showing off in studio practice time yesterday. Idiot! You’ve torn a hammy once, you should know better, right?! In the same practice one of my booboos broke and bled all over the pole. Cleaned up properly and had to break out the paper tape and tape up every single spot or scratch that might break open… I was covered in white…looked gorgeous!

Nearly pulled a shoulder out doing a jamilla to butterfly on my strong jamilla side but didn’t realise it was my gumbi butterfly side until I was in pain. Now carefully training both sides before I go for this move seriously again. I echo: DO BOTH SIDES!

I continue to pole with injuries if they’re soft tissue, I’m just more careful and certainly won’t do things that pull or push on the injured area so it hurts. However, I have been pushing too far and too fast for the last few weeks, so it’s now time for pole rehab: No more ‘pole or die’ every single day…I must rest my body with strictly no pole, deep stretching or acrobatics one day a week, no more extra intensive pole sessions if I’ve already had class that day (maybe a short low level practice, but no pushing), no more than 3 hours of hard practice at a time! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif

[MilienElayne]

Um WOW Angel 1201! She-Hulk… I like it! I did that flex thing in the mirror today and got freaked out. I have a better upper body than all of the guys I was friends with in high school who pumped weights like maniacs. I had to make a mental note not to flex in public unless I want to get odd reactions. I’ll massage an ache and recoil because there’s weird bulgy things there instead of my arms… https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

[MilienElayne]

I attribute all of my weight loss and toning to date to pole. The only other exercise I do is necessary walking from A to B (which is a fair bit, mind you, as I don’t drive). I changed my junky diet to a healthy one only to make sure I had energy and vitality enough to pole better. I have lost 13kg so far and have a potential 3 more to go although I am very happy with the weight I am now. I have also grown much more as a person through pole and it has seriously helped me to ‘recover’ from my life-long social anxiety disorder. I have never looked, felt or been better physically, emotionally and socially. I love pole because there’s always something bigger, better, smoother, prettier, stronger… to work towards and I don’t think that will ever end…

I’m like a little pole advertisement…lol. Others noticed the changes before I did and I know it was gradual, but some days I have looked at myself and gone: ‘who IS that, she looks so different to the last girl I saw there’!

[MilienElayne]

I am always bruised, scratched, burnt, sore, overtired or something when I go to pole (otherwise I never would, I am a klutz). I hate that piercings (except ears) get rejected by my body…but if I got a body piercing and poled with it, with my luck something horrific would happen.

Bandaids always come right off. I use a bandaid or a dressing and then tape. A LOT of that papery surgical tape over the top well beyond the bandaid area. Plastic sticks to the pole and doesn’t want to let go and fabric tape edges always stick to the pole and rip off. I have had to tape up my aerial rope burns so they don’t rip open on pole or other aerial apparatus in public. At home I don’t care (I’m a tough cookie) because it’s just me and my pole. Papery tape should be applied right before going on the pole so the edges aren’t rolled up from wear already. It will stick to some dressings and will take the dressing off with it when you peel it off when you’re done, so make sure if it’s something that needs to be dressed still that you have a replacement. Don’t leave paper tape on to shower or wear one set for more than a day or it will start to stink. I haven’t had problems, but tape can potentially make for slippage on pole if it’s on a contact point.

I’d also cover up or take out exposed piercings because the jewellery can scratch up the pole!

[MilienElayne]

Veena! Wedgies drive me insane! I am constantly getting them too. I have to wear undies with really tight leg bands or they ride all the way up (I have no butt to stop them). Does anyone know how to stop front wedgies, btw? Back wedgies I’m not too fussed about (was that tmi?), sometimes they’re deliberate with hotpants, right? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif I always have to adjust my bra straps though. I am morbidly afraid of falling out.

Oh! I totally forgot about bad filming habits! I check what I’ve just done a LOT. I have see how to make the next attempt better… or so I tell myself, but I’m probably stalling. If my camera is not filming, I’m not poling! I have no mirrors and just HAVE to catch any cool little extras or new combos I fall into and always want to catch my falls and see my injuries as they happen.

I change my music all the time too. My mood can change mid-song, or the moves I’m practicing need something different.

I need an hour and a half or more too! Otherwise I feel like I haven’t gotten my fix.

Az, I think your pole prep, warm ups and stretches are good for you! Those lips certainly need hydrating and your body will thank you for the good warmup and the stretches after. I am SO bad and barely ever warm up and stretch properly at home on my own.

I’ve only just started making myself dance to a full song…actually dance, not just do a little warm up wiggle for half a song and then jump into trick trick trick and I’ll skip cool down and stretching and sit down to watch, edit and catalogue my footage straight after… or even mid-session and then I’ll jump up again after a little inspiration and go for more tricks.

Sometimes I’ll EAT right before or in the middle of a pole session. I ate an icecream right before my last spin practice. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_puke_r.gif . Lol, not really, but I felt a tad gross.

Sometimes I’ll also repeat one trick over and over and over and OVER until I am totally frustrated with it or physically can’t do it properly anymore.

I am so addicted to pole lately that if I am not on a pole for a good while every day, I get anxious and grumpy and it’s all I can think about. At the moment I take 3 pole classes a week and just had my last 2hr once-a-week aerials class ( https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif ) and then I’d practice at home two days and take one day for rest. But this week… I feel like I need two sessions a day on a pole every single day (and I feel jittery if my body says no, I need to rest right now. I listen to it well, I love my body, but I do resent it)…and classes: I love having two back to back (which I used to have once a week but can only get on a Sunday this term which SHOULD be my rest day, but I am considering taking them in addition to the 3 classes a week I am already doing) and would adore three back to back, but my classes don’t match up like that. Pole is becoming a habit in itself… a really really big one. I write and read over moves and plan what I’m going to do in my practices and go over my performance routine in my head when I am on the train and bus instead of reading a book like a normal person. I plan my meals, the housework and errands and my social life around when I ‘need’ to pole.

The studio where I take classes just announced Pole Camp where we’re poling in classes (with breaks) from 10am to 6pm! Guess who jumped RIGHT on that bandwagon with LOTS of gusto?! My fidgets are going to get embarrassing there if I can’t break them, but I think instructors and students of pole are the only people who can understand…lol.

Ok, maybe I share TOO much.

[MilienElayne]

That is so cute! I’m no song writer though https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif

[MilienElayne]

Knee hold on my to-get list, but it’s way at the bottom because I bruise up my entire knee SO badly whenever I’ve tried it before. I bruise my knees just doing very basic floor work and from dropping into the splits, so having it jammed into the pole is 50 times worse. I am in total awe of you working through that pain to get this! You must have good posture too https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif

[MilienElayne]

Here’s one vid: http://aerialdanceclasses.com/#/beginner-fabric-3/4538841525