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Hello!! I am from Ireland, and there are definitely a few others on here..
Welcome!

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Hi Roxy – glad you’re back! I must thank you for your cool signature pole move, The Roxy, which I have been playing around with alot lately. I hope to see many more Roxy signature moves in the future! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

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You know, even without attempting a drop into a split move – I totally know my limitations there.. although having said that I’ve never been unleashed on a pole when drunk!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cyclops_ani.gif – I’ve managed to damage my hamstrings. What I did – as I’ve definitely been moaning about to both Trena and Polegrrrrl previously – was some PNF-style / contract-relax (whatever you want to call it) stretching for my straddle splits and I guess I overdid it or something. Oh yeh and I popped my hip before when trying to do the other kind of splits. But my hamstrings are now damaged too. Trena, I should practice what I preach and get to the Physio also!!

Physio is expensive in our fair isle, for sure! I’m guesstimating about 50 uri gellers per consultation? Well that was what I paid when I used to go regularly to get my back cracked by a physio about a year ago – another pole-related unpleasantry!! And its possible you could need a few (consultations that is!!), but hopefully not, and hopefully they will tell you that your hamstrings are in fact not torn, and all you have to do is rest for a little while, or they might massage your injury and it might be much better afterwards! Then it would be a huge relief!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_bounce.gif

Hope it’s all ok Trena https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_sunny.gif And you’ll be back to … https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_DJ.gif in no time!!!

Back to DJ-ing?!! We need a pole dancing emoticon here!!!

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OMG!! No, drunk Trena!!! Noooooooo!!!

It’s funny I heard almost the exact same story from a girl I met at a pole jam in the UK. Drunk and demonstrating pole tricks for friends.. dropping into a split from a height… no immediate pain until AGONY the next day… torn hamstrings! Hopefully the last part is not you!!

Get yourself to a Physio, and I hope it’s all ok! Best of luck xxx

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I love all the pole moves… really do! Remember when you were a beginner watching somebody else doing a caterpillar, caterpillar climb or a side climb – perhaps on YouTube – and just thinking "oh my god that it is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen!!! How is it possible?!?!! I would be the happiest person on this earth if I could do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" …Well, that was me anyway! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

I think when you’ve been pole dancing yourself for so long you become a bit desensitized to how cool *everything* looks to people who do not pole dance, or another pole dancer who has not achieved that trick yet!

Now this is my controversial opinion.. I am not disgusted if somebody does not have pointed toes.. I mean, yes pointed toes do look very polished and pretty, especially for a balletic style of pole dance. However, some of the earliest pole dancing videos on YouTube did not have pole dancers with pointed toes. And I never noticed there was anything wrong with this until I started reading pole dancing forums!! This is probably because I do not have a dance background, sure. But isn’t it comforting to know that even the simplest tricks performed with non-pointed toes would impress somebody? I am that somebody!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

Dances in support of non-pointed toes at least some of the time: Break dancing, Capoeira, Modern/Contemporary

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I’m so sorry Veena. My thoughts are also with you.
Dee

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haha I know Terri! Tell her I said hi!

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‘ello! .. and I am one of them! Welcome!

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well it is deffo not a brass monkey, double (brass) monkey, jasmine, or marley!!

I say call it reverse marley or reverse brass monkey! cool!

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Hey Audball,

If you go into Miss Fantasia on South William Street in Dublin, they have Pleaser Shoes in a few different styles
The mark-up they put on them is pretty high, so you may not want to buy them there.. but you can try them on to get an idea of fit.

I did that, and I think that I have the opposite problem to many of you ladies.. my feet are two wide and they pinch at the toe (when the length is fine). So you guys are saying they stretch out a bit after a while, eh?

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My nomenclature goes like this:

Outside arm high / Inside arm low = Corkscrew Spin / Body Spiral
Inside arm high / Outside arm low = Arm Attitude Spin (source: KT Coates / Vertical Dance online lessons)

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I don’t know about the NASM but most programs require CEUs to renew.

I personally have the AFAA certification and felt it was very thorough. However I cannot comment very much on the others not having taken them. Naturally you already know that only live testing – both written and practical – is acceptable.

What I would recommend though is to take a group fitness/exercise program not the personal trainer programs as the group certifcation is better related to what you are doing.

Thanks for the advice, Empyrean. Fortunately I’ve already got a group fitness / ETM and a gym instruction qualification, so I’m wondering what to do next! I’d love to do a personal training qual from the point of view of going even deeper into Anatomy and Physiology and things like gait analysis – and I have been told that PT study usually incorporates these things. I’m a bit of a nerd about fitness – I’d do it purely out of interest!

Thanks for the thumbs up on the AFAA certification!

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Hi everyone,

I’m with Brass Ovaries Pole dancing and I’m NASM (National Association of Sports Medicine) certified and getting a Pole Position Fitness certification in February. My NASM cert is about to expire and I’m not sure if I should get ISSA certification as planned (a very well respected personal training exam) or ACE. ACE seems to be preferred by pole instructors, can I ask why? Is it because they have a group exercise focus?

Julie

AFAA also has Group Fitness Instructor Certification (what I earned my cert. with), but ACE is probably heard of more than AFAA. Both are equally good IMO. I have heard tho that the ACE Personal Trainer stuff is harder than the AFAA Personal Trainer stuff, but I have no experience with either course, so I can not give a fair opinion on that. Essentially you should be learning the same info from both programs, so I guess it depends on the price of the course and what the Pole Fitness Certification you are going to take prefers. Good luck.

I am very interested in this part of the thread. What are everybody’s opinions on the different personal training certifications, and also with regard to pole dancing? There is one company here in Ireland teaching an ACSM (American College of Sports of Medicine) program, and not many others that I know of! All of the PT certs I’m aware of are:

ACE – Have heard of alot of folks with this one, particularly in the pole dancing community
ACSM – Taught in a classroom near me, and have heard claims it’s harder and/or more thorough than ACE or ISSA
AFAA – Again, have heard claims that this is harder / more thorough than ACE or ISSA
ISSA – As far as I know there is no practical exam involved in this one at all!!!
And the YMCA PT qualification, whatever it is.

Does anybody have any helpful advice / caution about any of them? Or an opinion on which is best?

PS: Why does the NASM cert expire, MissJulie? Is it because you need CPD points, or does it simply expire after a fixed period?

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I am *still* in severe pain after that class!! But I’ve never been so determined!!! The points she left us with are fantastic.. truly unusual!!

I wish Deb was my personal trainer!

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1. Perhaps we pole dancers should be strapping on our heels at any opportunity in the hope that pole dancing in heels will become just as accepted and respected as a well-heeled ballroom dance!! It does look pretty, if I’m honest about it!
and
2. (a) The presence of the male partner in ballroom dancing seems to defuse the idea that the dance objectifies/ exploits women/female sexuality.. therefore (b) men becoming involved in pole dancing is indeed a very positive thing, and (c) should there be a sub-genre of pole dancing involving one person from each gender utilizing the pole in some sort of synchronized choreography?

Point 2.(a): Is this the case, and if so, why? It’s strange, since the dude is usually in a very demure suit or shirt / trousers combo with the lady showing way more flesh!

Point 2.(c): Think there might be a clip of Fred ‘n’ Ginger swinging off of street lamps in a synchronized fashion which I would use to illustrate this but I’m finding it difficult to locate again on YouTube..

Apologies if these points have already been made here, but this thread has become so long and difficult to read through! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

WRT point 2.(c), here we go.. in Chinese pole, and "Tango" (!!) style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWxcVyBRecE&feature=related