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I’ve used up my ‘extra things HC really really wants’ budget for this paycheck so no more grip aids for me at this moment, but in another week and a half when I get my next paycheck I’ll pick up some Tite Grip and see how I get along with it.

Just out of curiosity, why the caution about using very little? Does it leave gunk on your pole if you put on too much?

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They are VERY stuck up, you’re right. That was my first thought reading through all those comments. If they want to be snooty about it and not participate in it themselves, fine, but I don’t know where they get off making comments like the OP might as well suck off the postman and assuming that she’s tacky, whoreish, and a little bit stupid just because she’s got a pole in her living room.

All penis/pole jokes aside, I have never looked at a pole in a sexual manner. Yes, obviously I know strippers dance on/around them in clubs, but never once have I looked at a pole and seen anything sexual in nature about it. It’s just a pole–it’s what I do around or on it that is sexy, not the pole itself.

For instance, my friend brought her 2-year-old boy over a while back; he’s been to my apartment before, but this was the first time he’d been there since the pole went up. He immediately ran to it and tried to climb it, so we picked him up and held him a little ways up the pole until he grabbed on, then let go (keeping our hands right there to catch him if he were to fall, of course,) and let him slide down fireman style. He had a blast! He kept wanting to go higher and higher, until finally we were putting him as high as we could safely get him. It was obviously one big jungle gym to him; is that wrong? I mean, are people honestly going to insist that my friend and I are morally bankrupt for allowing her two-year-old to slide down a pole?

If someone sees sexual connotations in a child playing on a pole, than they are the ones with a few screws loose, not pole dancers. It is they who cannot separate the sexy side of pole from the artistic/athletic side, not us, and that is their problem.

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Yoga babe, I think that’s a great idea! Also, just to clarify, I was just going to show her the specific lesson that I thought she was ready for at the time. As in, load the video of the specific lesson that I wanted to show her, and show her nothing else, otherwise, you’re right, I’m positive she’d want to learn the hardest, coolest-looking moves despite repeated warnings that she wasn’t ready for them. I do feel like I could break down all the moves that I myself know and teach them, however because I haven’t been poling that long, I don’t feel like I have any business teaching anything more than pretty basic stuff. I’d just feel more comfortable making her watch Veena’s lessons when she progresses to a more intermediate level, which she is still a long ways off from.

You’re definitely right in that it’s a tough situation, though. Unfortunately, I think she will still need an ultimatum, because even teaching her a routine, I don’t think it will distract her enough to prevent invert attempts. I think the routine will give her something fun to concentrate on, though, and hopefully take some of the sting out of it. I don’t want to discourage her from poling, but I also don’t want her getting hurt on my watch. I also find it a little disrespectful that she is ignoring the safety guidelines I’m laying down, particularly when it’s my place and my pole that are being used for practice. I wouldn’t go into her house and do something she specifically told me not to just because I really wanted to do it.

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No, because you can’t sign away your right to sue. Basically I think a waiver is used in any activity where there is a potential for injury to show a sense of responsibility. So if someone tries to sue you, you have the waiver and can say something along the lines of ‘Look, they knew they were engaging in a potentially dangerous activity and chose to do so anyway.’ However, if there is neglect involved, that waiver/sense of responsibility doesn’t mean crap. I’m not saying my friend would do this, but it’s just an example: in my situation, if my friend were to hurt herself doing something I explicitly told her not to (like an invert,) and then tried to sue me, I could easily say that I’d warned her several times not to attempt the activity that hurt her, but it’s really just a he said/she said type of thing at that point because she could just as easily claim that I didn’t tell her tell her anything of the sort. I believe all a waiver would do for me is show that she did indeed know pole dancing in general was something that could injure her, but it doesn’t necessarily prove that there was no neglect on my part.

Whether you sign a waiver or not, if someone is injured directly because of your negligence, that waiver is pretty much moot and they can sue to their heart’s content. While we’re not in a classroom setting and I don’t consider it to be negligence when I’ve warned my friend several times not to do what she is doing, I cannot physically stop her when I turn around and find her halfway into an invert, and if she gets hurt, I am potentially liable if she decides to push it. So I really think the best option for me is probably to give her the ultimatum, and if I catch her doing something I told her not to even one more time, she’s out. Permanently. Like I said, I like having someone to pole with and I want her to learn to pole, but not if it’s going to potentially create a lot of problems for both her and me.

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Really, really wanting something can sometimes blind you. I completely understand wanting to teach, but you’re worth a lot more than the crap this guy is dishing out. There will ALWAYS be other opportunites in life and other ways to gain something you want if you’re really determined. It is not worth pandering to some d*ckhead who is beneath you to achieve something you want–go out there and make it happen, without this scum. You’ll feel a lot better about yourself and your decisions if you’re not leaving your pole studio every night with a bad taste in your mouth.

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I actually just bought a pole without ever having been to a class. The nearest classes to me are a three hour drive each way, so that definitely factored in, but I knew it was something I really, really wanted to do and was sure that I would enjoy it. I’d been interested in poling for a couple of years before I ever made the investment, and I’m really happy I finally took the leap in September of last year.

I don’t know if you’re the same way, but generally if I’m really, really interested in something, I usually really like it when I finally get to try it out. I bought my first motorcycle without ever having been even a passenger on a bike before–actually, I don’t think I’d ever even touched a motorcycle before, but I’d been dying for years to own and ride one. I’ve got two now, so it was definitely a worthwhile investment.

I say either take a deep breath and go to that class, or if you’re just too shy to manage it for now, take the leap and buy a pole. You only live once, right?

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I just want to add to this thread, that for all these…ahem…’people’ keep referring to the pole as some kind of phallic symbol, not once in the almost 10 months that I’ve had my pole have I looked at it and gone ‘Holy shit, there’s a giant penis in my living room!!’

I don’t know about you guys, but I have yet to see a penis that is about 2 inches wide, eight feet tall, and shiny. I think I would run from it if I did. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

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Voted for you guys. Good luck!

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https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif Veena, I haven’t seen that video yet, and I have to say I was giggling my butt off through the whole thing. Your boys are all really cute, and they’re pretty good on that pole already! (You better be careful though, or they’re going to grow up to be sexually exploited by men. It’s not their fault, it’s that damn evil pole and it’s no good dirty slut vibes.)

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https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif Lulu’s in her CAR, bouncing one foot up and down in the air just waiting–ok, I’m sliding, I’m sliding–wait, what the crap?!

Surprisingly enough, I don’t have an issues with my legs not sticking. The only time I slide a little bit in leg holds is if it’s on purpose, or my head is up my butt and I haven’t squeezed my thigh muscles tightly enough. It’s shocking, really, considering how much my hands and my arm pits sweat. (Again, lovely imagery I know.) The problem is climbing the pole or even just pulling myself up from the ground to get into those positions–it doesn’t matter if my legs grip well when I’m sliding all over the place. I sort of think someone in the universe is mocking me–sure you can grip just fine with your legs, but let’s see you get up there, heh heh heh.

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LMAO! An entire case? Jeez, woman. Of course, if I ever settle on a grip aid that I love I’m pretty sure I will be buying it in bulk.

I wish I could make the pole jam, but I’m in Washington. The nearest studio is a three hour drive each way, and so far I haven’t heard of anyone closer who poles, and no pole jams near me as far as I know. I’m so lonely. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

Grrrip is okish for me. It’s better than Dry hands, which takes about two spins befire it’s like I just never put it on, but it still doesn’t last through a whole average length song. I’m curious now how it will work if I use it the way you use Tite Grip.

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That’s a good idea–I hadn’t thought about putting grip aid on a few hours before I pole. I always just slap it on while I’m warming up, wait for it to dry, then start poling. I’ll try that tomorrow or Friday, whenever I have the time to practice again, and see if that helps.

I forgot you use Tite Grip–that’s probably one of the few I actually haven’t tried. Also, I checked out the Itac website and just took the plunge and ordered some since the price was decent, especially since it looks like you get a lot of product. I’m curious to know how it’ll work on us, since it sounds like you’re just as sweaty as I am. If it doesn’t work, and putting on anti-perspirant a couple of hours before poling doesn’t either, I think I’ll check out Tite Grip since you like it so much. Can’t hurt to try it.

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I haven’t written any blogs on here, actually, so that was someone else. I have the Lil’ Mynx, and she has no pole. That’s why she’s coming over to my place to dance. If she doesn’t pole with me, she doesn’t pole period. I don’t want to take that away from her, but if she can’t use some common sense and listen to me, then I’m going to have to.

And you bring up a good point about liability–I was actually just talking to my boyfriend about that. I’d like to think she wouldn’t, and part of me doesn’t think she would because we’ve been friends for so long, but I’m not taking anything for granted in this sue-happy society, and like you said, desperate people do desperate things. I just wish she would accept that there are moves she just can’t physically do and shouldn’t even attempt yet.

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Hmm. I might have to try this–I have ridiculously sweaty hands, though, so I’m thinking I should maybe go for the level 3 or 4. I have the Mighty Grip gloves, and though they are helpful, my fingers sweat so much that I have to wear something under the gloves as well, or I can’t climb the pole because my fingers slip. The longest lasting grip aid I’ve found so far is liquid chalk, and I can’t slide down or spin in that. I’ve tried rubbing alcohol, Prince, No Sweat, Dry Hands, Grrip, prescription strength anti-perspirant, and probably some others that I’m forgetting, and I sweat through all of them in about a minute. It doesn’t help that it’s so damn hot here right now, either. Even with the air conditioner running full blast, I’m dripping like a pig (lovely imagery I know,) ten minutes into any workout.

How long does this stuff last on really sweaty people? Charley, let me know if it stays on you for a while–I remember you mentioning before that you sweat a lot too. I’m curious how it does with really, really sweaty people. I’m tired of sliding all over the place while I’m trying to transition into other moves on the pole. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif

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I’ve seen people do a little hop to get into an invert, and while I think they still need to develop their upper body/ab strength enough so that they can do a nice controlled invert that doesn’t involve momentum, at least that’s not as bad as what she did. This was a full on fling yourself into the air and hope for the best deal.

I just think that if she wants me to teach her some stuff, then she should listen to what I’m telling her. Like I said, I’m obviously no expert (in fact, as soon as she gets beyond just the first few basic spins, I’m going to make her watch Veena’s lessons, because I don’t think I have any business teaching anyone harder tricks since I’ve been poling under a year,) but I’m not a complete dunce either. She either needs to respect that it’s my space and my equipment, so we’re going by my safety rules, or she doesn’t get to pole.