AllysonKendal
Forum Replies Created
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I’d love to see the examples you found just to get an idea of what you’re looking for
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I super love your enthusiasm for pole… but some of us pole dancers get reallllllly touchy about people using cheap poles.
I know it might sound or look elitist.
But here is the reasoning behind it…. if the pole breaks, or falls, and something bad happens the narrative ends up “girl paralyzed while pole dancing” and it makes us all look bad, and sends ripples through our community. We all strive to keep our sport safe and keep its reputation as good as possible. There are lots of blogs and articles written on the matter.
It’s not like “well I bought a knockoff dress” its a matter of safety. If you pole is sprayed to look like metal I’m pretty concerned about what its actually made of! Even cheaper/fake metal poles have pieces internally that are plastic, or the bearings may not be rated to support your weight.
I felt the same way as you do about spending big bucks on my first pole… so what I did was I educated myself on what a real Xpole looked like (there are so many fakes out there) and I took to craigslist. My first pole was an Xpole Sport 45mm Chrome pole… and I got it for $110, but occasionally I see them come up for less.
Again, there are plenty of fakes on CL… usually you can ask the right questions and tell from the pic. Be wary of someone selling them without actual pictures of the pole. If you see it set up in their house, or a pic of it in the bag on their floor thats a better sign then someone who just took the stock photo off Xpoles website. Look at the Dome, look at the rubber on the base, and look at the Xjoints. Those will give you hints to the authenticity.
I don’t see as many fake Lil Mynx poles, and those show up on CL all the time. Usually at a great rate.
Thats where I would look! Yup I just looked in my area and saw one Lil Mynx for $74 and one for $50!
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So my “maintenance” is really just checking the x-joints.
I have had my Xpole shift when it was too loose… but thats all it did was shift… thats why the dome is so great. I mean no one wants their pole to shift cause thats scary… but it was never a huge shift.
Not tooooo long ago I ended up loosening it actually because its hot and I think things expanded and it was spinning so crappily.
So I loosed it.. then tropicalvertical posted the thing about her pole moving and I did get a little paranoid because loosening it never seems like a good idea.. but I gave it a big shake and everything seemed stable and it’s been fine thus far.
Not sure if any of that helped or made sense. 🙂
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I think its easier to rig a single point in low places 🙂
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I’m so sorry to hear what you’re going through. 🙁
What category are you competing in USPDF? I’ll be there as a spectator but they sold the tickets separately… So I only bought the amateur/pro qualifier tickets.
My friend who is training for it… She has also been through so many injuries and ups and downs so I know how frustrating it can be, because I’ve seen it first hand.
I think you’re right… Just venting and expressing your frustrations here can be helpful. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully I get to see your performance 💕
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I’ve also avoided it for a long time for fear of injuring myself. Mainly I was worried more about my wrists than my shoulders. My shoulders are/were tight not hypermobile, therefore all the twisting is/was done in my wrist.
Now, my shoulders are more flexible and I use it limitedly.
The reason I feel ok about it is… because I can split grip ayesha and split grip handspring.
I think being strong enough to do those things, and my body understand the engagement and balance, makes me feel like I can use twisted grip when I need to for a combo.
Having said that… I still find it more difficult to handspring in TG! Maybe just because I’m not used to it?! I like having the pull of my upper bicep in SG and I find it pretty stable! But I also do not not swing the legs when I handspring… I do more of a little “pop” with my chest facing the ceiling… (https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/563e7d6f-eaf4-4be5-a5e4-1253ac110089 thats a pretty old video from very low, but you get the point) I feel like this is a lot less strenuous and jerky on the body (especially if you “fail”), and helps me in working towards a deadlift.
I will say I have found a lot of what you found.. a lot of puzzled looks and confusion when I would say I don’t use TG?!? Like saying… “oh I don’t believe in outside leg hangs”… It seemed so fundamental to most people that it seems insane that I wouldn’t do it?!?
Sigh. I guess I kind of gave into peer pressure.
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Thanks guys! I broke down and took some corticosteroids. On day 2 and they have me about 75% better. I was even able to pole a little today!
I’m super bummed because that grip seemed like such a great performance solution! But it’s absolutely not worth it since my body hates it!
Hopefully I’ll be 100% better by the end of the week. 😬😬😬
I just kept thinking about Veena and her chickenpox as I was itching away… And I felt so bad!!!
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Totally hijacking your thread here 🙂 Haha
Anyway… one of the girls at the show I performed at does Lyra… It’s really fun to watch her perform!
I actually am kind of slippery myself, but for performances I REALLY grip up.
Why size hoop did you get, and how tall are you? I am tall 5’8″ and I got a 36″… I measured and that seem about right and also thats what they have at the venue I performed, in case I want to do a lyra performance… One day…
Like I said I can’t just dance or flow usually.. thats when I get confused about my hands and my lines and stuff. But when I play a character… i can be a little cute or goofy it’s a lot easier for me. My first performance was a halloween one, then my second was christmas themed. Having a theme reallllly helped me create something.
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You’re so sweet. I actually just ordered a hoop! I’m excited to start learning it.. but yeah, I think hoop flow is pretty difficult.
Actually I just did 2 songs at a performance tonight. I always get very costumey… I have trouble just being myself on stage. I get really nervous. I feel like I flow better alone or even when no one is looking in the studio.
Thats my goal though. To one day just dance as myself…. it’s more vulnerable.
I’m trying to upload the videos here now but i’m doing it inefficiently (transferring from phone to computer, then the site… instead of just phone to site) so I’m not sure if they will both make it up tonight… but you’ll see what I mean about being a character 🙂
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Also although its tempting to buy V-front tops because they are cute and cheap, I pretty much won’t buy them anymore…. the halter design pulls on my neck, its not bad for an hour, but longer than that i get a serious hunch going.
Now I spring for the pricer tops…. but I love love love the brazil bottoms
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I pretty much live in Bad Kitty these days. Basically everything I wear on my instagram is BK Pole Fit. (https://www.instagram.com/akpoles/ if you want to get an idea)
I’m a size small. which is pretty true to size. I’d buy size Small leggings and sports bras from Target or Lulu Lemon 🙂
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I just want to add to what Veena was saying “There are good and bad customers in every industry”… its so true.
People ask me all the time, as a dentist, how I get over looking at peoples “gross” mouths. I see people with gum disease, bad breath, rotting teeth, I’ve pulled week old chicken from between someones teeth… but it’s my job, and I’m used to it. I know I’m doing a service for people, and helping to provide for my family. It’s amazing how fast you become desensitized to it. I imagine it’s the same with anything.
(I also felt this way in anatomy lab at first, and somehow you just get used to being around body parts)
When I worked at the Gap in high school, people would leave used tampons in the dressing room, or booger filled tissues, or dirty diapers. There are gross people in ever age group and gender!
Babysitters have to clean up some pretty gross messes. Same with people who work with animals. There are gross aspect to every job.
A family member of mine has a job deals with abused children… I think I’d take “gross” over sad any day!
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Oh and I know about the squirrels! It’s unreal!!!! This little guy tried to bite my cell phone thinking it was food!
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That thread looks like it is from 2009… and the xpoles have changed over the years… maybe its no longer possible?! Maybe it depends on your model?!
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Hahahha the STD thing had me cracking up 🙂 Going with my husband… but I’ll be sure to worn him too.
We are pretty avid hikers so we are absolutely looking forward to it. But this is our first time doing any real hiking outside the US.
Oh and our son is coming with us. (Yeah, so sex is doubly off the table, haha) He does hike with us almost every weekend so I think he should be ok. We did some pretty amazing hikes in Montana last year without him, but we did think he would have been ok on them.
Thanks for the tips. I’m going to make sure we have plenty of bandaids! Good reminder! Last year I got a nail through my hiking shoes 😮 my goodness that sucked.
But massages sound great!!! Have you gone to the hot springs? They look cool, but kind of like pools, I was hoping they would be more rustic 😛