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Poll: Crash mat use?
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i do not use one. not that i have not fallen, but i usually catch myself. i feel pretty secure even when trying new moves so i dont find it necessary, although in both homes ive had my pole in, i have to dance on carpet so maybe id feel differently if i had a wood or tile floor looming at me from below, lol. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_albino.gif
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We use a pole-o-mat it’s 6 inches thick and I really like it combined with spotting for new moves or those I’m not 100% with. I definately think all studios should have a least 1 crash mat. I don’t have 1 at home (they are super expensive) but I don’t try new things at home either.
Cxxx
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I also wanted to point out that learning emergency exits is good but using the mats to implement them and actually having students "fall" and working on what to do in emergency situations is so important.
I feel like you really can’t use emergency exits if you have never fallen and a mat in place under a student can be used to reinforce what to do when you lose it. I had a girl fall this last week but she had a mat under her anf implemented the emergency exit for that move. falling is a panic situation and its easy to forget everything you have learned about falling.
No one is going to practice emergency exits on a hardwood floor.
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I as a student want a pole mat at the studio I am at- they don’t have them. Yes I can learn the exits before attempting the move but also I have not had a fall yet and that is because I am a little too afraid to try to much which is good if I’m not ready but on top of it what about limited progress because I am scared. I am planning to buy myself one and look forward to getting up there in stuff I’ve gotten into and backed out of from fear and either hanging in there or getting my first fall over with hopefully safely. It’s a confidence thing that seems good for those who are too careful and maybe dangerous false comfort for others?
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i am a FIRM believer in crash mats, and have just acquired our first for our studio. we will acquire anothe 2 shortly. i also believe the thicker, the better ! we would have preferred 6", but found a terrific deal on 5" mats at yogadirect.com. HIGHLY recommend for any studio offering more than just basic spins !!!
the response from our students has been gleeful overjoy !
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Charley and I were talking yesterday and I can understand the false sense of security but I think that may be more likely to happen with students who have so far been learning without a crash mat as compared to someone who has always used one. I’ve never seen a student intentionally fall because the crash mat is present and I’ve been using them for 5 years now but I’ve never taught an advanced class without one.
It’s also been a huge help for me as a spotter saving myself from injury as a student loses their grip. It’s not the job of the spotter to catch the fall but to break it – having a crash mat there has helped me to get the student and sometimes even myself to the floor without even a tiny injury.
I also agree with Charley..I don’t care what you teach your students you cannot expect them to learn how to fall and implement those maneauvers every time you fall…falling is panic time and you do not remember what to do when it happens. Heck..you’re upside down and you cant remember right, left, front, back, up, down, but you’re going to remember tuck and roll????
Practicing falling is the only way to reinforce this but even then it’s sketchy….professional stunt/men women work for YEARS and so do acrobats and atheletes, on how to fall without hurthing themselves and I don’t believe you can teach a student how to do that without loads of practice.
Marshall arts and gymnastics all use crash mats when students are learning to do tricks…why do we believe we dont need them?
I also do not allow my students to wear heels when they are learning to invert – the ankle is unstable and increases the risk of injury when learning something new.
Debbie Plowman from the UK was paralyzed last year falling from a cross ankle release – she had been doing that move successfully and securely but during a pole party one night, she did the move one last time and simply last her grip and actually broke her neck!! You can’t always have a crash mat under you and it’s not realistic once you have been doing a move for a while, but it’s a sad reminder that accidents happen and not having a crash mat during the learning phase is pure negilgence on the part of the studio owner.
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I am all for crash mats, That being said, the studio i attend does not have them. Then have yoga mats which are maybe 1/4 inch thick..and hard concrete floors with tile on top of that. The first day i was there, i watched a girl who was not ready for a pencil mount slide down right on her head..Im still paranoid to try this move, for this very reason. Im sure i can do it..but the fear is there, and i will not try any move that im not comfortable with w/o a mat.
Granted, those of us who are use to getting on the pole at home tend to be a little more cautious (atleast in my class) bc we are use to not having someone there. But i recommend using a crash mat 1000% and a spotter if available.
Right now i have a 2 inch yoga mat on top of kindermats that i velcro’d together around my pole..its nice and cushiony (is that a word?) if (knock on wood) i shall ever fall..I dont count on it bc i know the fall will hurt regardless if there is a big mat there or not..best to know the escape route in any move you are practicing lol
Once i got stuck upside down at the top of my pole (when i first started inverting) thankfully i figuared out the escape route or i would have fell right on my head haha
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and after reading more of the threads here, i do have to qualify my stand on crash mats somewhat : they absolutely are not a stand-alone solution, and spotters MUST be in place for students learning new tricks ‘above ground’. but still, there is something psychologically comforting for some about the crash mat that enables them to ‘go for’ tricks they might ordinarilay hesitate to try….
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Are there teachers using or thinking use of a crash mat means you don’t need a spotter?
Please let me clarify…from my perspective the original question was not intended to insinuate that anyone should have a crash mat in lieu of a spotter. I believe in crash mats and spotters and in fact, that spotters should be instructors, not even students you’ve trained to spot.
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the original question was not intended to insinuate that anyone should have a crash mat in lieu of a spotter
agreed, empy. i didn’t take the original question as an insinuation, but after i read my reply it seemed i came off as condoning the use of just crash mats and not both. NOT !! wanted to make myself clear…
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OK! Good! Glad I didn’t give the wrong impression.
Also Anna’s suggestion about using upholstery foam from Joann Fabrics is a good one and one I often suggest to students who cannot afford a regular mat for at home.
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How many of you own, attend or have attended a studio which uses crash mats?
Never been to a studio that has one https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif
How many of you wish or think studios SHOULD use them if they don’t?
they should all have them https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
How many of you use a crash mat or would prefer to have one to use at home?
I have one at home and LOVE it…use it all the time when trying the harder funkier stuff…my pad and a spotter!
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I have a 5" thick crash mat and I would NOT be doing inverted moves at all, were it not for that mat!
I’ve only been to a couple of studios that have them–LiveOnce in Milton and Aradia Brampton (not real crash mats).
I think all studios SHOULD have them, but they are very tough to get ahold of in Canada! It took me 5 weeks to get mine–2 just to get ahold of Alena Downs at Polejunkies! To order a Lil Mynx one would’ve cost $145 in shipping on a $199 mat https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif I even tried contacting mattress and gym mat manufacturers, but they weren’t interested in putting one together for less than a run of 25-50!!!
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Crash mats in Canada http://www.cobourgfitness.com/apps/webstore/products/show/1867315
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I don't have a proper crash mat but use 2 mattresses at home. Better than nothing.
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