[Hazelnut]

I had something similar on my shin once thanks to bashing it nicely during a failed spin, and my friend who is an orthopaedic nurse told me not to worry (unless it stuck around for ages) as apparently when you bruise over a bone badly your body will induce serious inflammation to protect it, and it'll feel alot worse than a bruise on regular tissue as it can't move "down", it that makes sense. Like it'll feel worse than it is because it'll stick out more. So maybe it's something ike that? if it goes away soon and doesnt hurt too much I wouldnt worry about it 🙂

[Hazelnut]

I know you say you're strong enough, but often there is really not much correlation between being good at one move and learning another quickly, even if they use the same muscles. This is especially true if they're balance-y moves like ayesha! So don't assume that because you can do alot of moves at level X you should be able to do all of them! If you can do SG ayesha but are finding TG or elbow/forearm hard, then you probably just need time to get used to which core muscles are required and also to find the balance sweet spot. Handsprings are also SO dependent on balance and most people take months to get it right. Don't rush and enjoy yourself!

[Hazelnut]

this is EXACTLY where I had my weird pain after learning handsprings a little while ago! I've since taken a week off and have no pain at all (and think I have lost my handspring now too! ….  ) I agree, it wasn't pain exactly, more a weird twinge that didnt "hurt" like usual but certainly didn't feel good or natural either. I think sometimes we accidentally use muscles in a different way, even if it's a move/exercise you're used to doing, and it just takes awhile to recover. I went running for the week to keep myself a bit motivated but didn't do anything shoulder-related. Hope it gets better!

[Hazelnut]

my mighty grip gloves (which I wear about once a week) are totally ripped and destroyed after 5 months… but that's because I try to spin in them so it's my own fault! I just get into the mood and forget I have them on and spin.. and they drag you to a halt lol. So if you don't spin they'll last AGES longer 😉 they're awesome!

[Hazelnut]

this sounds awesome! I try to go to pole studios whenever i travel too and it's so interesting to see what others do! If you end up in japan, there's an epic one in tokyo (just called pole dance tokyo) and the advanced class there was absolutely awe-inspiring.

[Hazelnut]

oooooh I hadn't thought about heels! I will bring mine – mind you, there're not real pole heels and are pretty slippery, so there're pretty pointless. but my ceiling is so low that I never wear them at home, so this will be good practice!!!! cannot wait!

[Hazelnut]

I'm only coming from Leeds so I haven't even looked at trains! should probably do that….. i'll aim to get to manchester an hour before the jam/class because i have a bad habit of getting lost easily and need extra time lol. how exciting!!!

[Hazelnut]

I'd be keen… I am busy for the next week or so with a crazy work schedule but after that I'll definitely be up for it! my skype is through hotmail, hazzelnut@Hotmail.com

[Hazelnut]

When I started 18 months ago I went to a couple of different studios in the first three months…. the one thing that really stands out in my mind is that doing a very easy, simple routine, in the very first lesson, really showed me how much fun it could be and how the basic moves we'd learnt (walk, hold a pretty pose, half turns, etc) could be put together to look sexy. So obviously by week two I had forgotten EVERYTHING but seeing it in action, and doing it myself, really motivated me to come back. So I would definitely recommend a basic routine just to get the new students enthusiastic right from the start! Whereas I've been to new studios since, where they don't teach any routines until much later, and spoken to the new students and alot have confessed they feel lost and like it's all pointless at the start.

[Hazelnut]

check out zoraya judd's page (she's super famous!) and read her story of how she started – on one hand, she's an unrealistic example because her husband is a personal trainer and I get the impression she does nothing but exercise. But she started around 30, and had already had two kids, and now it's only like 4 years later and she's a world champ 🙂

[Hazelnut]

In one of my early videos before I learnt how to manage my space…. I was doing pretty well, went into a nice reverse-grab style spin and kicked my garbage bin with my extended legs… I didn't realise I could even reach that far! Bin went flying, huge metallic noise, fell over and spilt crap everywhere whilst I came to a sudden ungraceful stop and lay on the floor grabbing my ankle and wincing in pain!

I deleted that video 🙂

[Hazelnut]

when your mom sends you tiny hotpants through international mail because " I know you need little ones for your dancing and you can't find them over there!"

[Hazelnut]

there's a move called the koala on poledancedictionary.com but that one is not very koala-like!!!

[Hazelnut]

if this was just a once-off, ie a random guy walking past who thought he'd give the old "shout out to a hot chick" routine, I'd say ignore it. But he was there twice?!?! I find this super creepy and potentially genuinely dangerous. Definitely tell the owners and to be honest, if they don't do anything, tell the police. It's definitely not normal or acceptable to hang out ANYWHERE, be it a pole studio, or outside a gym, nightclub, school, whatever, purely for the reason of harrassing and/or perving on people.

[Hazelnut]

THAT IS FREAKING AWESOME!