PolarGirl
Forum Replies Created
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Shoulder mount is the classic exit out of figurehead, FYI, whenever you are ready to do your aerial shoulder mount.
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Meggie, it’s not “just the way they are”. It should not rotate at all when in static mode. Either the spin/static screws are not tightened completely, and/or are not in the correct position (directly in line with the “X” at the base), or the screws need replacing, as someone suggested.
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I got my brass pole in the mail after selling my TG to a friend. Grip problems now happily GONE! I don’t even need any grip aid on the brass. What was with the TG anyway? I mean seriously: WTF was that!?
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Yeah, WOW to your space! My basement has waaaaay too low of a ceiling to pole, which is why my living room it is!
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I really like the AMB shorts (which you’ve probably read on another thread somewhere). I have a couple of Mika shorts and they’re both just okay. I have four pairs of AMB, which only come in solid colors and have tons of colors. I got mine at a local dance store for $20 but they sell online for cheaper. They’re one size fits all and look teeny tiny but are actually SUPER stretchy but resilient – in other words, the fabric will not stretch to super thin and see through, and I wear them a lot and they hold up through the washer and dryer. They have the cute side strings that tie at the top so you can gather the sides and show some cheek or leave the sides longer for more bum coverage. They have a lot of crotch coverage. They do have the “dreaded front seam” someone mentioned. The front seam doesn’t bother me on these shorts though so I never really thought about it. I have also been waiting to try BK but they really truly don’t have anything in stock.
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Yes, definitely try Tite Grip first and experiment with grip aids. Tite Grip doesn’t work for me but everyone is different. My hands are so sweaty that I tried Dry Body, a very strong antiperspirant that Mighty Grip now sells. I really liked it but it’s super pricey so I’m trying Dryclor. Both products are powerful antiperspirants that you apply before bed and they work to suppress your sweat glands while they are least active (while you sleep). So far I have found it very very helpful, especially giving me confident dismounts. Often I can get into a move but when I’m in the air in a new move I get nervous I guess and my hands sweat, making it hard to make a graceful exit. I was apprehensive to try these as I’m more of a “natural” product type, but I love pole and so far they have really really REALLY helped. If all else fails, I definitely recommend these.
Dirty Girl Poletice is another antiperspirant that claims to be more “natural”. I ordered some but have not tried it yet for pole. My hands are a bad case and I need the powerful stuff, I think. But I will definitely give this a try for home practice days.
I have the Mighty Grip gloves but did not find them very helpful. I honestly feel more comfortable making actual hand contact. It feels more secure, even with my terrible case of hand sweat. The non-tack gloves did not give enough grip, are kinda slippy material, and they make your hands even sweatier on the inside so you can even sweat through. They’re not terrible, but I got on better without them. The tacky gloves stick like flypaper but then I have a hard time pulling my hand away, which is no good either!
What comforts me is that my favorite instructor said she went through my level of classes wearing gloves (and she says she found them problematic and would sweat through them also) because of grip confidence issues. And now she’s amazing and doing much more difficult work without gloves or much grip aid at all… I have definitely noticed now that my hand sweatiness is by far at it’s worst when I’m in the studio learning something new. Then I can go home and work on something until I’m more psychologically comfortable with it, and when I try it again in the studio it gets better…and just keeps getting better as you mind and body acclimate to being in the new position. I hope eventually my brain stops freaking out at every new thing as I become more acclimated to pole in general – that is to say contorting my body into all kinds of crazy shapes around a vertical pole high in the air! It’s pretty natural for your brain to freak out at that a little, until you get really truly used to it.
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PS – Mighty Grip did not work for me. I use Dry Hands. But the most effective thing was wiping the pole frequently – like basically between every move – with 90% isopropyl alcohol, undiluted. It’s not a perfect solution, but I really found that it was the pole itself that needed treatment, and not actually my hands. After a good alcohol wipe, it usually felt grippy again. Applying the Dry Hands directly to the pole was also helpful when trying hands only tricks like handsprings, but then I’d have to wipe the pole again pretty quickly and of course just wipe the product all off. I never could freestyle on my TG with this scenario. I agree with the above comment that it seriously felt like it had condensation in it most of the time. Hope this is at least somewhat helpful…I really hope you find something that works for you!
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For me it was mostly hands but occasionally body. I do know what you mean though about the awkwardness of body sticking but hands not. The body grip was almost TOO much most of the time and moves that didn’t bother me on brass at my studio, very basic things like Gemini, just killed me on the TG. It hurt me so bad that I found myself doing strength and flexibility work every day instead of wanting to dance or work on tricks. I realized there was no point in having a home pole if I wasn’t going to utilize it. So I bit the bullet and bought a new one. I can’t wait to try out my new home brass pole.
My main issue with the TG was how temperamental it seemed to be: one day great grip, next day felt like a rain slick; and even minute by minute it seemed to change. One particular day I could not grip the pole for the life of me even with tons of dry hands and the next thing I knew, my hands were suddenly so grippy that I tore off a callous and couldn’t pole for over a week. Usually though, my grip would be fine and then suddenly I’d slip hard. It makes it very hard to feel confident in trying new hand-dominant moves. Moves like butterfly, handsprings, etc are so hit or miss for me. Even basic spins like reverse grab. Sometimes I’d just drop to the bottom of the pole like bam! But then some days I could use that same pole with no grip aid (extremely rare for me on any pole) and be fine. Maybe this is just the nature of poling, I don’t know. Maybe this is just me having personal problems and blaming it on the pole finish. But I eventually got so frustrated with the TG that pole was seeming a lot less fun and kind of like to chore. I’d stare at the pole and just not want to get on it. If it causes you as many problems as it caused me, I definitely think you should sell and “upgrade” – whatever keeps you from giving up on pole!!!!
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Donna, I have some serious old injury scar tissue in my left hamstring, which is why my left vertical split is not as good, but I definitely see gains with flexibility training, and I just know that side will come more slowly.
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No Christmas tree but I’ve been working on my splits!
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jsheridan! Thanks for that cup grip Phoenix video – that’s awesome! I see you replace the top hand, totally makes sense 🙂
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My pole is in the loving room, pretty much right in front of the front door, and I just have to move a recliner and ottoman out the the way, and tug the couch a little further away, and boom! Space to pole! I am very tall and need at least five to six feet of clearance in all directions but I still start spins in a certain direction to avoid clipping the couch or hitting a houseplant. You definitely don’t want your pole in a corner (what!!?!?)! Even though it’s right freaking there, when I move the chair back so it’s right next to the pole, house guests seriously don’t even notice it until they’ve been there for about two hours. There’s always a funny pause that is broken with, “…Is that a stripper pole in your living room? I just noticed that.”
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Great question! How would you do a Phoenix without twisted grip since the movement is initiated with a reverse grab spin that puts your upper arm in twisted grip..? I’d love to find a video of Nadia doing a cup grip variation of this; I can’t wrap my mind around that! And wouldn’t your top hand still be in a “twisted” cup grip!?
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We call that move “boomerang” when you’re full facing the pole with a split grip. If your hips are in front of the pole in a V, that’s a different move – I think my studio calls it a “side V”. It’s hard to know what you’re describing without seeing it.
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Hookedonpole, I sold it to a friend of mine who started training at my pole studio. I bought an Xpole 45mm brass the other day and am waiting for it to arrive. (My boyfriend accidentally had it shipped to his parents’ house — whoops!) Now I’m thinking I’d love I have a second pole in SS or chrome. Someday…:)