Tag Archives: revved up pole

8 Things To Think About Before Competing In Pole

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

Written by Bexiita Ackland

Competing in pole has become big business. What was once something only for the elite and/or crazy has become commonplace, with more and more reputable local and regional competitions, and with a wider range of competitions incorporating different styles of pole. From pole athletics to stripper style and everything in between, there is now a well organised and prestigious competition for you. Sometimes it feels like every person in every class you take has competed, is competing, or is planning to compete. And that’s totally brilliant – competing can take you to places you never imagined, pushing you physically and mentally. But is competing for you? Once you make the frankly pant wettingly scary decision to get up on stage, a whole world opens up to you which is hard to comprehend until you are actually part of it. Here are eight things to consider before making that decision and taking to the stage: 1. Can you afford it? The costs of competing can potentially be huge. Costumes are anywhere from around the £40 mark if you are canny/lucky on eBay, and up to £100-£200 for a bespoke outfit (that’s around $150-$300 for my American friends). Add on to that the costs of private or extra lessons or workshops you may want to book to polish up your tricks, the costs of hiring a space or studio to practice your routine or film your video heat, plus the costs of travelling to such sessions and things start to add up. That’s before we even get to the hair, make up, nails and so on – I’ve seen pre-comp beautifying to rival most weddings. However, like weddings, competing can be done on a budget – if you are handy with a needle you can create a wonderful costume yourself which will stand out as not being yet another creation by the designer du jour, and of course you can do your own hair and make up (or go with a caveman/Wild Woman of Borneo theme that requires no beautifying at all). You may have free access to your own space or own pole to practice, so practice may not cost your too much money at all. However there’s no way to get away from…. 2. Do you have the time? Do not underestimate how much of your time competing will take up. Do you have friends, family or any sort of a social life? Do you hear that whooshing sound? That’s the sound of your social life disappearing. You may be a natural and come up with a whole routine in an hour or two, but most people spend a lot of time sitting on the floor with a notepad, planning combos, scribbling things out, writing new combos, screwing up bits of paper, considering burning the entire notebook and studio to the ground, starting again from scratch and then ending up with something completely different weeks later. All of this faffing about will take up huge amounts of your spare time. You may also take up other sports on your non-pole days to help with strength or cardio when you realise how much stamina a whole routine requires (this is when pole dancers fall in love with swimming, running and crossfit). You may take up a stretch or yoga class to help with flexibility, because let’s face it flexibility always adds a wow factor to routines. And after all the time physically taken up, it will also take up all your time in your head. Don’t even bother trying to have a conversation with a pole dancer a week before they compete, unless you want to talk about glitter, tendons, the unquantifiable amount an unfamiliar pole might spin and whether to step first with the left or right leg. Seriously, the week before I compete, I bore even myself. Of course, you may thrive on the focus and thoroughly enjoy the discipline of planning your life and managing your time effectively. The process of creating a routine is undoubtedly hugely rewarding and enjoyable, and a much better use of time than watching crap TV. On the other hand, if you have no friends or social life whatsoever, you are a perfect candidate for competing. 3. What about significant others? OK so most people do have friends and a social life, and possibly a significant other and even children. These people are going to bear the brunt when you are tired, injured, stressed, nervous and trying not to eat chocolate. Is that going to make your life difficult? For the last four weeks or so before your competition, will your family be understanding that you will be training a lot and not at home? I’m not saying that you should put your dreams on hold, but it’s probably a good idea to brief/warn everyone concerned beforehand. Do you have a good support network around you? Will someone be there for you when you are crying over crystals? It can happen. Do you have someone to go to for advice about music cutting or costume designing, or someone to warn you against capes, skirts or props? (Seriously, think twice about wearing a skirt). And do you have someone to remind you that it’s only a competition for goodness sake, chill out and eat the chocolate?

4. Are you emotionally ready? Are you prepared for what you will go through and the questions you will ask yourself? When you are tired and drained, sore and aching, with creativity flowing from every pore leaving you emotionally open, it’s not unusual to ask some pretty soul-searching questions Am I good enough? Should I be doing more? Why didn’t I start training splits years ago? Why is everyone is better than me? Remember that bit about sitting on the floor with a notepad putting your routine together, only to realise you have far exceeded your capabilites? That’s when all the ghosts of pole appear to let you know just how rubbish you are The main thing to remember here is that this is NORMAL. Here’s a secret: everyone feels like that sometimes. Everyone wonders if they are good enough. Everyone questions themselves and worries they will mess up and embarrass themselves. Take a deep breath, speak to your pole instructor or fellow students or someone in the industry you admire or respect or just think will be nice to you. And for goodness sake, don’t start obsessing about what your fellow competitors are doing and comparing yourself to them. You are you, and they are them. Believe me, deep down, they are thinking the same thoughts. 5. Are you physically ready? Depending on the level you are competing at, competing can put a strain on the body. Are you healthy and reasonably fit? Do you have any underlying medical conditions that mean when you are tired and stressed, your health is put in danger? I do not for a moment mean you cannot compete if this applies to you. Rather, I mean you need to be aware of this, listen to your body and manage your training appropriately. You might also use the process as an opportunity to improve your general health and nutrition – healthy eating will undoubtedly help your with your training, and having your performance as a goal can be a great incentive to improve your overall fitness. Make sure, however, this is a by product of your training, and not the sole incentive. It is not a good idea to compete “because that way I will have to lose 2 stone by July”. Also remember that cake, chocolate, chicken wings, doughnuts and eating out with friends is lovely and enjoyable, and also that you do not get scored onstage for your thighs. 6. Are you doing it for the right reasons?

Also known as why are you doing it? There are many brilliant, positive reasons to compete. To push yourself with your training. To set yourself a challenge. To take yourself further along your pole journey. To inspire your students or family. Because it looks like fun.  There are also reasons to compete which are based in negativity – To prove a point. To “show someone”. For the glory. Because you’ll definitely win. Competing is always a risk, but if your reasons to do so are based in positivity, then whatever the outcome it will still be a positive experience. If however you are going through the whole thing – the work, the stress, the training, the expense – for a negative reason… I don’t have to spell it out do I. 7. Will you enjoy it? Your performance itself will last a matter of minutes, but can be hugely intense. Your training can last months. Will you enjoy both? Personally I like performing, but the training – n ot so much. Others are the other way around, and love working towards a goal but are terrified on stage. Training when you’re not in the mood or it’s snowing outside or you’re as stiff as a board can make you just want to lie on the sofa watching X Factor, or it can take you to a wonderful place of zen and sense of achievement. If you have not enjoyed the process, or appearing on stage, it will show in your performance. Similarly, if you have loved every minute, that will ooze out of your performance and pour all over the judges and crowd like that stuff in the 50s B-movie The Blob, but make them enthralled and fill them with joy rather than terror and fear. 8. How important is it to you to place? If you give your all to your training, focus your time, pour your heart and soul into your routine, give it everything you’ve got on stage and then place much lower than you were hoping or expecting, how are you going to feel about that? How will you feel if you come last?

It’s normal to experience post-comp blues, even if you are happy with the result. Competing can become such a massive thing and not having it any more can leave a void. But will you still be feeling those blues next week, next month, next year? Will it put you off competing altogether? Remember, competing and judging is subjective. Who can know what makes up the “best” routine? On another day, you may have placed higher or lower. Of course, you want to do your best, and it’s natural and human to want to do well. But if you are placing your self worth on doing well, you are putting yourself in a dangerous position, both mentally and emotionally. If you can genuinely say that as long as you did your best and where you place is just a bonus, then you are in the right frame of mind. Go ahead, and make it your time to shine. Your stage is waiting.

Ten things to do from the very beginning of your pole journey

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

Ah, your first time on a pole. Can you remember yours? Chances are, you were smitten from the very start. And whether you are still an absolute beginner, or you are now years down the line, you will have invariably learned a great deal, not only on the pole, but about the process of learning itself, and how to be a better poler. Here are ten things I wish I’d known from the very start of my pole journey. 1. Train both sides Without doubt, this is the single biggest thing every poler wishes they had done from the start, so let’s start with this one. Train. Both. Sides. Even if you don’t read the rest of this piece, take this piece of advice with you, tuck it in your hotpants and keep it there. Take it to every lesson, as reliably as you take your grip aids and water. Think about it. Everything feels weird at first. So it may as well fell weird on both sides. Even left handed people will be stronger on the right If that’s how they learn, and vice versa. It’s not so much to do with your dominant side as it is to do with muscle memory and what you are used to. So you may as well get used to your “bad” side from the start. When you become more advanced and want to start linking moves together, finding that you are ending up on your bad side for a brass monkey or Ayesha or whatever can put an end to the combo of your dreams. If only you could do it both sides! And of course, training both sides means you won’t end up lopsided, with one bicep like Popeye and one like Olive Oyl. But quite apart from that, having even strength will prevent injury and help with balance and even weight distribution.   I do teach everything both sides now. Everyone moans and hates me for it, but in a few years when they want to iron X on the left I can at least say I tried to take them to the dork side. Both sides people! Got it? Good. Let’s move on. 2. Stretch In many ways when you are a beginner you are the perfect candidate for stretching. More often than not, a beginners basic level of flexibility will not be massively high, and increasing flexibility will possibly be one of the things that is attractive about pole. It’s a bit like a yoga class but with more fun stuff and less philosophy, right?? And all the other beginners will have a similar level of flexibility and not be all scarily intimidating. OK, there’s usually some bendy circus type freak – but apart from them, most beginners are not doing the splits, bending in half backwards or even able to touch the floor, so making stretches a part of your regular warm up and and cool down is going to make a difference. The problem is when those stretches don’t change and develop as your flexibility increases, taking your flexibility to the next level. When you are super comfortable with your jade, Allegra, cocoon or whatever, you are going to want it to look flatter, more splitty, more bendy. Wouldn’t it be great if you had already been working on that flexibility for months, rather than waiting until you achieved the move? But flexibility isn’t just to make moves look amazing. It helps to make holds strong, and prevent injury. As you build muscle and get stronger, those muscles become bigger and bulkier, and flexibility is often compromised as a result. This can cause issues with range of movement, making certain moves potentially painful or at risk of causing harm. Typically pole dancers build muscle around the shoulders and upper body, which is great and we all love memes of Barbie dolls with massive biceps, but without consistent stretching those muscles will reduce shoulder rotation and flexibility. Congratulations, you are strong and bendy enough in your back to do a seahorse, a dove, an eagle, a Phoenix! Oh though. You need someone to push that shoulder round. Stretch after EVERY pole lesson, especially those shoulders.

3. See pole dancing performed at a show or competition First and foremost, shows and competitions are BRILLIANT. You get to hang out with cool people who don’t mind that you bang on about pole endlessly, and there’s always loads of good stuff to buy. But for a bit of inspiration, you cannot beat watching others perform for a crowd. It’s totally different from what you see in a pole studio, showing the difference between exercise and fitness, and an actual performance. It doesn’t even have to be a massive national competition. Go to a small local competition, or a showcase, or even a strip club. See how your sport looks when it is polished and practiced and covered in sparkles. You will come away with ideas for things you haven’t tried before. You may even be inspired to give it  go yourself. 4. Spinny pole Spinny pole seems to be something that is considered to be for advanced students only (and Australians). Outside of the occasional lesson or one-off work shop, It’s rare to find beginners regularly practicing the art of the spinning pole. What tends to happen is someone buys their own pole, puts it on spin mode, jumps on and spins at 800 rpm, tries to invert, feels sick, has to go and lie in a darkened room with a cup of tea until the world stops moving, then declares “I hate spinny pole” and never does it again. But what shame! spinny pole is a wondrous thing of joy and beauty! If only polers were introduced to the delights of controlled spinning early on and practiced it regularly. Just look at the Australians. They train on spin from the start and make it look easy and amazing. Who doesn’t want to look like Maddie Sparkle on a pole? Nuff said. Get dizzy bitches.

5. Find your own style When you start pole and eagerly, excitedly, breathlessly check out alll the polers on social media, you’d be forgiven for feeling a bit disheartened at the sight of thousands of girls doing amazing things with the caveat “sorry for my rubbish phoenix/crap splits/poor iron x”, especially when you’ve only just learned your first spin. Being good at pole takes time, patience and perseverance. Some students have a background in dance, gymnastics or even contortion, and they will pick things up fast and make them look awesome, but most are average women or indeed men who are not taking the pole world by storm just yet but they are making amazing progress and getting stronger and fitter week by week. Everyone’s journey is different. Find your own style. Don’t try to be like someone else, not your teacher, not your classmates, not your pole idol. It’s fine to be inspired and influenced but there is only one you. Don’t push yourself too hard. Be kind to yourself. Appreciate different strengths and weaknesses and that you don’t have to excel at everything. Spins, floor work, inverting, climbing, spinny poles, combos, flexibility… there are so many disciplines. Be encouraging and supportive and you will be encouraged and supported. And if not, you are in the wrong training space 6. Find a good teacher Or rather, find the right teacher for you. You don’t have to stay at one studio out of loyalty. Maybe you want to work on slinky floor work but your school is more about conditioning or vice versa. If you feel that you could benefit from another teaching style, it’s OK to train somewhere else. There’s no reason you can’t go to two different schools and get the best of both worlds. Even if you train alone, you can still benefit hugely from masterclasses, workshops, pole jams, private lessons or the odd group class elsewhere. 7. Take photos. Taking photos is a great learning tool. It’s the easiest way to track progress, to see how your gemini now varies from your very first one, how much your flexibility has improved, or how much that old hair colour absolutely did not suit you. Photos are also a great communication tool – when you are upside down clinging on for dear life, your instructor’s cry of “leg down! leg down!” is likely to make less sense than those websites helping you with HTML. But with a photo in front of you, your teacher can point to the leg in question, and explain where she would like to see it instead. Ahhhh it makes sense now! Photos are also great when you want to revisit a move but can’t remember the name. “Can we do that one where you’re upside down and your leg is on the pole and the pole is here… or is it there… and the arm is up here somewhere and oh I can’t even remember it now…” A photo here saves everyone’s time and sanity. Plus, it’s always amusing to look at what people are doing in the background. Just don’t get distracted by text messages, Snapchat and Facebook.

8. Freestyle, and dance it out. There’s more to pole than just tricks and competitions. Freestyling is a thing, but it’s unlikely this will be taught at the average pole school, as it’s such a personal thing, and it feels weird to pay for classes but essentially be told to make it up as you go along. You can dance without learning what to do first , you can just let yourself move and flow and roll on the floor and spin and see what happens. Many, many advanced student never learned the art of freestyle, and can drop a fonji without breaking a sweat but freak out at the thought of a two minute freestyle, Add a movement flow practice at the end of every session and learn how your body moves. Do it in the dark if you feel self conscious, or even blindfolded. It will make a world of difference. 9. Don’t get into bad habits Don’t flex your feet. Don’t run and jump into inverts. If you do get to a level where you want to perform, compete, or even teach, it’s going to be really hard to break those habits. No one is saying you have to be perfect, and every invert must be deadlifted with perfect straight legs from day one (a pretty unreasonable expectation for most), but as soon as you are strong enough, get into the habit of doing moves to the best of your ability. It’s harder to do it that way because you are using more effort and muscle technique. So guess what – doing it that way all the time will give you a killer workout, washboard abs, thighs like Wonder Woman and buttocks you could crack walnuts with. Who doesn’t want that? 10 feel free to ignore all of this completely Let’s face it most people go pole for a fun fitness class. For most, getting to a competition level or even an advanced level of pole is not really a priority. If you just want to turn up once a week and have a great time having fun with a bunch of like minded individuals and at the same time get a bit fitter and stronger, that’s absolutely brilliant. Do not feel you need to embody those bullying “you just have to keep pushing yourself” memes. You only have to push yourself as far as you want and do what you want. So feel free to ignore all of this advice completely, and make pole your own personal Journey. But seriously. Train both sides.   BEXIITA ACKLAND

Break Dance (Or Rather, Bruise Dance)

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

I once broke  my foot whilst teaching a pole dancing class. I did a cartwheel and landed awkwardly, and my 5th metatarsal (made famous by David Beckham in the 2002 World Cup) snapped like a twig. It sounded like a twig snapping anyway, or possibly a lolly stick. I also bruise very very badly, especially when in training. Those of a nervous disposition may want to look away now.

When this photo was published in a blog, it was inundated with comments from readers concerned for my health and personal wellbeing. (I’m OK guys, I just bruise very easily). DO NOT WORRY. You will not end up with legs like this just because you pole dance. Let’s take this picture as testament to my clumsiness, awkwardness, lifelong tendency to bruise badly, and a habit of continuing to train long after I should really go home for a nice cup of fruit tea and a hot bath. But the fact is, while broken bones and serious injuries in pole are thankfully rare, minor injuries – bruises, abasions, body parts that just feel “a bit ruined” – are pretty much part and parcel of what we do.   So, ladies and gentlemen, with this in mind, I present, for your delight and delectation, the roll call of pole dancing injuries. Gaze on in wonder as your image of pole dancing as an easy leisure pursuit or male fantasy vanishes before your eyes! Marvel at complicated ways to injure your body you never thought possible! Admire the women who put themselves through such things, and then photograph it and upload it to Facebook!What’s interesting is how much people love a dramatic injury. Nothing gets people quite so excited as a photo of an injured body part on social media. There could be a number of reasons for this: a genuine interest and concern for your fellow poler’s health from friends and wellwishers (possible) or that people love reading about pain and suffering and misfortune (much more likely). Pole dancing is hardcore. When starting out on the pole odyssey (by which I mean starting lessons but let’s make it sound Herculean) most students are surprised to find pole dancing is difficult, and it hurts. This is one of the reasons polers can be so defensive, and get annoyed when it isn’t taken seriously as a sport The first thing to deal with are the bruises. Pole dancers can spot other pole dancers a mile away. A rash of little bruises sweeping up the inner thigh? Superman. Top of the foot where your flip flop sits? Learning to climb. (There was a girl on The Apprentice in the UK a few years ago who wore a skirt one week and revealed some very suspicious looking bruises to the beady-eyed pole enthusiast)

Did I mention I bruise quite easily?

Pretty soon on your pole adventure you will come across pole burn – friction burns caused by skin-on-pole contact. This little pleasure really comes into its own when learning to pole sit. Oh, to hold your entire body weight clenched between your inner thighs! This is where it’s good to carry a little bit of meat on your thighs – more to grip with. I call this my KFC Pouch. Watch in awe as ladies climb, sit, hold, release and rub their inner thighs in agony whilst taking the Lord’s name in vain and cursing all his cherubim and seraphim to high heaven. You may also come across the joys of floor/carpet burns when landing your spins. And it’s not just knees – when executing a floor move pushing back from a press-up position I have experienced carpet burn on the chin – which is not easy to explain at the school PTA meeting. For those who still maintain pole dancing is about titillating men, ladies and gentlemen I bring you callouses. Spinning around the pole will wear the skin on your hands – and when your spins get fast, you will wear the skin harder, until eventually a little line of callouses will develop. These may extend to the little patch of skin on the inner side of your wrist. These double up as exfoliating pads when treating your significant other to a nice scratchy massage. Callouses are good and are to be encouraged as they will protect your hands, in much the same way a guitarist must develop callouses on their fingers to hold down the strings. If you pole dance a lot, the delicate skin on your inner thighs may start to toughen up too. My inner thigh skin resembles rhino hide, and it no longer tans in the sun, but on the plus side, I can hold both my and my doubles partner’s entire body weight on my thighs without even wincing, so every cloud.

One day, you too can have thighs that are a different colour to your body

If you still think pole dancing is sexy, let’s talk about dry skin – moisturising will cause you to slip off the pole. Oh and some find stubbly legs grip the pole better – like velcro, possibly. On the other hand, all that walking about in shorts means bikini waxes are a regular feature, so there may be a porn-star-Hollywood meets Wild Woman of Borneo dichotomy going on. It can also help to keep your nails short. When changing grips and body position you may find your hand ends up somewhere it doesn’t normally go, and gouging a chunk of flesh out of your thigh (or worse) is not much fun. This goes double if you have – well – a doubles partner, or if you are an instructor. Carving into someone else’s flesh isn’t pleasant for anyone. All this, plus the fact that it’s obviously uncomfortable to wrap your nice soft body around a metal pole and stay there. New students often say “Is that right? It feels weird” and it does – because really, when would you have ever done anything similar before? On the plus side, you see a difference in muscle tone fast, within six weeks or so, and learn something new each week. You see your strength increase much faster than in any other fitness class I’ve been to, and all of the above hazards decrease as you perfect your technique. Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m just clumsy. I’m the one with a million bruises after all. BEXIITA

Pole Pancake Day – Things To Give Up On The Pole For Lent

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

This week was Pancake Day, and like everyone else I went to pole class filled with basically lemon, sugar, chocolate spread, chopped nuts and ice cream wrapped in a small bit of batter in the name of tradition. Traditionally the day to use up all the fats and good stuff (yes OK, bad stuff) in the house before the fasting of the 40 days of Lent commences, Pancake Day (Or Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, or Maslenitsa if you are Pagan) is also traditionally a time to give up all sorts of other bad stuff, typically chocolate, alcohol or smoking. Here’s the thing. I don’t actually want to give any of that stuff up. I mean, I could, if I really wanted to, give up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. But I don’t want to, so I’m not going to. However, there are plenty of things we could all give up without having to go without the fun stuff. In fact, it won’t take much effort at all, and will make pole training lots lots better. What’s not to love?

Happy Pancake (stretch) Day

Saying “I can’t…” We all know this one. I can’t do that. I haven’t tried yet, but I know I can’t. Or I tried it once, and it didn’t go too well, so I definitely won’t be able to do it now. WRONG. Pole is all about perseverance. Try, try, try again. you have good days and bad days, so if something doesn’t work today, come back to it another day. Get your instructor to have a look at your technique – there may be some small adjustment that will make things easier. Even if you still can’t do it, just say “I can’t do it… yet”. Your thoughts are manifesting instantly, so of course if you immediately say “I can’t…” you won’t be able to. One of my instructors has spent the past two years saying she can’t do an allegra. She has taught it many times, with the words “I’ve never been able to nail this move, but I’ll demonstrate how it works on the assistant instructor”. At photo shoots, she would admire the beauty of her students’ perfect allegras, simultaneously applauding them and sighing at her own inability to execute such a gorgeous move. Then a funny thing happened. You know that thing where Facebook shows you what you were doing three years ago today? Well there it was in all its glory – a photo of her in a perfect allegra. What? When did this happen?? Turns out she did the move once, perfectly, but for whatever reason she had convinced herself (and all of us) that it never happened. The mind is a powerful thing. It will listen to you a lot more than your body ever will. Use powerful language, keep your mind open and never tell yourself you can’t. Or your instructor will make you do press ups as a punishment. However. Let’s also give up… Unrealistic expectations OK I know it sounds like I’m completely contradicting what I just said but hear me out. It’s all very well saying “Yes I Can” (just ask Obama), but we need to be realistic. I for example have damage to two discs in my vertebrae. I have to be very careful with this, and can only bend in a certain way and to a certain point and engage certain muscles or I am at risk of a slipped disc, and in fact this happens a couple of times a year. So let’s face it, I’m not, realistically, going to be able to rainbow marchenko any time soon. And I’m OK with that. Not every body is built to do everything (well, except for Bendy Kate).  I’ve just managed a cocoon – admittedly not a great cocoon but a cocoon nonetheless – and it has taken me six years and I couldn’t be more chuffed because I never thought it would happen.

Photo by Jon Cook Photography

Basically what I’m saying is, listen to your body. There’s a difference between “I can’t…” and “If I do that I’ll need surgery” Bad technique Hopefully you aren’t regularly practising bad technique. But we all get a bit lazy and sloppy sometimes. Just try, for the 40 days of Lent, to do everything spot-on: Lift your inverts; point your toes; lengthen your lines; make your hands pretty; come down nicely instead of flopping onto a mat; hold everything for a fraction longer. I bet you’ll notice a difference, and who knows, after 40 days it might become a permanent habit. Being stuck in a rut Try something new. Dancing in heels. Dancing in bare feet. Mastering spinny pole. Floorwork or flow. Take a workshop or look on YouTube and Instagram for inspiration. You might end up going in a whole new direction! And even if you don’t, you at least will get a whole new understanding and level of respect for the girls that do. Negative thoughts Remember what we were saying about your thoughts manifesting instantly? What effect do you think negative thoughts have? We’ve already looked at negativity towards yourself and are all agreed never to say “I can’t…” again. Now let’s do a nice thing and agree to cut out negative thoughts about others. Who cares if someone can do something you can’t. Who cares if they can do it first time and it took you a year. What other people can or can’t do makes no difference whatsoever to your training. And whether you think or talk positively or negatively about them makes no difference, other than making YOU feel bad. It’s like eating a load of rubbish food and then feeling sick and bloated and sweaty. It’s true there is a very fine line between inspiring people and making people feel crap about themselves, so if someone falls into that latter camp, look at why they bring these feelings out in you, and consider whether it’s an issue YOU have, rather than them. And if it’s them, well just kick them off your news feed or out of your life.

Anything that makes you feel crap I’m not here to tell you what to eat or how to live your life. I’m not going to push any sort of lifestyle choice or agenda. There are loads of choices out there from veganism to paleo to dairy free, and by all means take a look at those choices. But what I’m talking about here is making small changes. If you eat bread and it makes you feel crap, then stop eating bread. If meat makes you tired and lethargic, don’t eat it. If smoking makes you… you get the idea. It’s quite simple really. If it doesn’t make you feel good, don’t do it. And why stop at food? Surround yourself with people who lift you up and encourage you and support you. I’m talking about your pole sisters and brothers, but feel free to extend this into all areas of your life. As I said on Facebook this week, I’m giving up ass*oles for Lent (except I used a more offensive word than that, because I’m not giving up swearing for Lent). When was the last time you looked at Facebook and it made you feel good about yourself? (apart from reading this, obviously). If social media has become a habit that invariably brings you down, stop looking at it. Put the phone down. You can do it. Go train instead. BEXIITA ACKLAND

Still Hanging Around…

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

Written by Bexiita Ackland

I’m getting on a bit.

Earlier this year it was my 40th birthday. Sometimes, as author Jonathan Safran Foer wrote, I can feel my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living. Or to be more accurate, I can feel my body straining under the weight of all the pole moves I haven’t got round to trying yet. I think my pole to-do list is starting to exceed the length of time I actually have left on the planet.

I didn’t start pole until I was 33. While this is by no means ancient, let’s face it – it is on the upper end of the spring chicken scale.

It seems like everyone in pole is getting younger. Just a few weeks ago a discussion on children taking pole classes made international headlines. With that brings a new generation of fearless flippy gymnasts, and it’s easy to see why, even at the ripe old age of 25, some polers can start to feel past it.

Age is meaningless in my head. I don’t feel like I’m getting older. I feel the same as I did when I was 16 apart from the fact I don’t fancy Christian Slater any more. My body? Yeah it’s starting to feel a difference.

It takes longer to warm up. Gone are the days of turning up to class and launching straight into a handspring. But that can only be a good thing right? That sort of thing was probably ridiculously irresponsible anyway and led to all those niggling pains I had, but ignored cos I was being so badass. Much better now to have a good long warm up and stretch session, ideally in a toasty warm studio and possibly with a nice cup of tea.

While we are on the subject of injuries, I know if I hurt myself now it will take longer to recover. My days of being Wolverine are ebbing away. This means there are tricks I won’t do because I know they are not for me. Again, this creates a sense of responsible poling that extends to students I know have injuries or health issues.

I do not believe every trick is for everyone and it’s just a matter of pushing through the pain. I do not believe that pain is failure leaving the body. I think that sort of mentality is dangerous claptrap. Ageing makes you more responsible not only to your own body, but to those you teach too. I want my students to still be poling in 5, 10 or 15 years. I feel more aware of what the body can do and it’s limitations, and that health and body wellness is truly a gift to be treasured. As Isabella Rossellini says in the wonderfully philosophical Death Becomes Her, “This is life’s ultimate cruelty. It offers us a taste of youth and vitality, and then it makes us witness our own decay”. Or as more often said – youth is wasted on the young.

I have recently had to withdraw from a competition I love because I hurt myself doing the video heat. I know that training for the actual competition would be even more intense, and I can’t take the risk of injuring myself to the extent of being unable to teach, my source of income. Would this be different if I was younger? Am I at more risk of injury because I am older?

While on the subject of competing, I suppose the possibility of performing to Lana Del Rey’s Young And Beautiful is probably receding.

Will You Still Love Me When I’m No Longer Able To Hang Upside Down?

But while its undoubtedly a toll on the body, this getting older business, it’s definitely a liberating thing for the soul.

I can distinctly remember being “young”, whatever that means, and whenever older women (and shamefully by that I probably meant those over 30) said things like “I feel a lot more attractive now than I did when I was 20” I used to think it was a lie. When women said the confidence that came with age made them feel more comfortable with themselves, more attractive, more confident, I thought it was a lie they were telling themselves to make themselves feel better. I actually thought this. In Real Life. I’m so ashamed. If nothing else, getting older has been a wonderful thing because it stopped me thinking such obnoxious things and being such an arse.

Now I know not only it is true, but that it’s true to the power of a billion. Yes, I am happy to report to my whippersnapper friends who obsess over stretch marks on their perfect thighs and inject Botox into their non existent wrinkles, as you get older those things may get worse but you JUST DON’T CARE. Honestly.

I used to wear a skirt when I started teaching, so horrified was I at the sight of my own thighs and arse, Yet now there are probably more picture of my arse on the internet than there are conspiracy theories about Area 51. In fact the exposure of my arse could probably cover Area 51.

I laugh at those articles about what women shouldn’t wear after 30 or 40 or 50. One good thing about being older is wearing what you want and really not giving a toss. Don’t tell me I can’t wear a bikini after 30. I’ll wear a ballgown and stripper heels to the supermarket if I want and you can pick up all the f***s I don’t give in my wake.

…And neither should you

You might think I look ridiculous in my sequinned Union Jack bikini but what business is that of anybody’s. I’ll listen to advice on what to wear from teenagers when they learn to pull their jeans up.

This is not to say I don’t have my own moments of vanity and self consciousness. I’m not for one moment saying I’m perfect. Instead, I mean as you get older you might look in the mirror and think urgh my face is literally starting to run down my body, but never mind. Look what my body has done. It has created new life, and brought those human beings up so who cares about a few stretch marks? It has borne the brunt of a million adventures and has the scars to show for it, from dents left from childhood accidents to surgery and biopsy scars that all tell a story to the remnants of unidentified drinking injuries that are hazy in detail but make great anecdotes. I even have a few dodgy tattoos that I still like even though they are faded and blurred and reveal a 90s penchant for Japanese calligraphy. (The tattoos were never meant to be seen by the way, how was I to know that 15 years later I’d have a job that required me to be permanent clad in hotpants and crop top?)

Plus being 40 is a brilliant excuse. If I look like crap, I can say “what did you expect? I’m twice your age!” If I look good everyone’s all “wow I hope I look as good as you at your age”. It’s a win win. What’s not to love?

I am a woman well lived and I think that’s a small price to pay for having to take an extra half an hour to warm up.

BEXIITA ACKLAND

Top Ten Old School Classic Pole Moves

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

Once upon a pole time, there was no such thing as fonjis and flips. Our beautiful art was a relatively simple thing, built on the foundations of our stripper sisters and self taught amateurs. These pioneers spent years not only creating but perfecting the basics upon which our sport was built. 

Unless you have taken up pole relatively recently, you may well recall a time when your syllabus did not include a new move every week, when the move of the moment did not spread like wildfire throughout the pole community. A time where the most advanced move you were ever likely to do in the course of the year was a Superman. A time when world champions performed little more than some leg hangs and switches, a long, sweeping climb to the top of the pole, and then something really show stopping… like a jade split.

But here’s the thing. They did those moves to absolute perfection. When there wasn’t pressure to do new moves weekly, polers spent time perfecting and polishing moves until they were flawless. So today I’m taking it back to the old school, revisiting those classic moves upon which our whole community was built. Never mind birds of paradise and rainbow marchenkos, these are the moves you need to nail, classic pole style.

1. Gemini

Originally created by Pantera Blacksmith, who referred to an inside leg hang as a Gemini and an outside leg hang as a Scorpio, polers have been debating which-leg-is-gemini-and-which-is-scorpio ever since. Most schools now seems to refer to Scorpio as an inside leg hang and Gemini as outside (rewriting the creator’s own rules), so for the purposes of this blog I’m going with that.

Gemini is the first actual inverted move I learned, and it was after a good six months of drilling just going upside down. I will still include a Gemini in pretty much every lesson I teach. Not only is it a really pretty move, it is also the gateway into so many more advanced moves, as well as being a fail-safe get out clause if you ever want to bail out of a tricky move. Do this move every time you train, until you can do it in your sleep. You just can’t go wrong.

Gemini by Jo Dandridge

2. Scorpio

To avoid confusion I suppose we could do away with the pretty names and call these move inside leg hang and outside leg hang and just be done with it, but where’s the fun in that? Pole dancing is an art to me and I like the pretty names much more than the sanitising boring descriptive names even if they do make it easier. Interestingly, we have Gemini and Scorpio, and a recent creation called Capricorn, but the other starsigns are yet to show up. Maybe next time a move is created and needs a name we should look to the zodiac for inspiration.

Anyway. Much like Gemini, Scorpio is a gateway into many more advanced moves, from simple foot grab variations to the super Bendy contortion Scorpio/cocoon and bird of paradise, and a must on the to-do list of old school pole moves.

Scorpio by Daniel Rosen, photography by HS Fitography

3. Butterfly

Ah butterfly. How I love you so.The foundation for so many more advanced moves. It is worth getting this gorgeous move absolutely spot on, automatically awesome without even thinking about it, before moving on to exciting things like extended butterfly (or ex butt as we call it ), Ayesha, handsprings and so on. Think “boobs in, bums out” for a nice curve and to get that perfect line from hand to hip that gives you stability. Also try variations like a straight back leg, kicking yourself in the back of the head (ah, if only!) variations like butterfly handstand, one handed butterfly, butterfly from Jamilla or a thousand other moves, and Marion Amber (which isn’t actually anything like butterfly at all, but kinda, and that strong butterfly body position will help)

Butterfly by Carly Miller, photography by the Image Cella

4. Jade

Named after the first letters of the names of its creator, the pole pioneer Jamilla Deville, the jade is a perfect example of an old school pole move that endures. You don’t have to be super splitty to make this look amazing – try attitude/stag leg positions, one or the other leg bent, or with straight legs but angled upwards rather than flat. There’s no getting away from it though – this move does look totally amazing flat, and absolutely incredible in an oversplit. It’s also a great way to condition your side grip for more advanced moves like allegra, or horror of horrors, jallegra (my internal organs are crying at just the thought)

Jade by Kirsty Griffiths, photography by Scrumptious Photography

5. Knee Hold

Yeah this can really hurt but you can’t beat it for a proper old school impressive move. Get the pole in the right place, push hips forward and shoulders back and squeeze your bum cheeks. Try to think of it as hanging from your top knee, rather than pushing on your bottom one. And don’t forget to point your toes! Then try letting your mate stand on you, and do it on spin. See? Old school doesn’t mean easy does it?

Knee Hold, photography by Claire Winters

6. Superman

Here’s one move where we can all agree on a name! A Superman is a Superman, wherever you go. When I first started pole, this was everyone’s nemesis move, and if you could do it, you were the absolute nuts. The first time I ever did Superman I screamed until the windows shook because it hurt like a biyatch, and it took me a year until I could do the move with ease. The main thing that causes pain is gripping on too tight – loosen the thigh grip slightly, and don’t be afraid to drop your hips. I prefer the feet uncrossed as it creates a nicer line, but if your ankles are crossed make sure you point your toes and don’t flex the bottom foot. It looks gorgeous flat, and also curved, like a beautiful poley banana. There are wonderful things to do from here – shoulder mount, titanic, drop into a Scorpio – but you can’t beat the beauty of a classic Superman. And remember – lift chest, hips down, heels up.

Superman by Chloe Westhead, photography by Millie Robson

7. Plank

What a boring name for such a pretty move. We originally called this move Wonder Woman when I first learned it, as it’s basically an inverted Superman, but sadly that wondrous name is not universal. Not as ouchy on the thighs as Superman, and a bit scary for some as you can’t see behind you, this too was once considered an advanced move that took a year to work up to. Ah how the pole world has changed. Squeeze your bum cheeks, push the hips up and heels down (the opposite, obviously, of Superman), don’t flex your bottom foot and voilà, a perfect plank flat and beautiful enough for the queen to eat her dinner off (feel free to select any queen of your choice)

Plank by Justine McLucas, photo by Alethea Austin

8. Cupid

A tricky one for a lot of students, Cupid is in fact a push/pull move rather than a grippy foot move. Aerial Amy has some excellent tutorials on this subject but to summarise as best I can, you need to pull on your top knee, push on your bottom foot, push the hips forward and get your body a long way from the pole rather than staying close. You can go into all sorts from here – butterfly, Marion Amber, holly drops, or just hang out and rest. You can do hands on variations, as well as holding onto the shin or ankle. And if you do this in a photo shoot, try it from the back because all that pushing and pulling and thrusting makes your arse look amazing.

Cupid by Terri Fierce, photography by Phil Darko

9. Cross ankle release

“What’s that you say? I can go upside down… from sitting?!” Why yes fair pupil mine. Yes you can.

Also known as a hangback or layback, this is another move that is scary to some, as you lean backwards unable to see where you are going. But once you find that grip, much like all of these old school moves, this is another pose that is beautiful in and of itself, but also leads into so many more gorgeous moves, from lowering into a handstand, to an iguana grip/bow and arrow, to brass monkey and Janeiro. This move is also perfect for conditioning the thigh grip and skin, which lets face it is a big part of learning a lot of the more advanced moves. Just remember to point that back toe. A flexed foot in a cross ankle release makes us want to cry.

Cross ankle release by Sam Ames. Photography by Phil Darko

10. Shoulder mount

When I first started pole, if you could shoulder mount you really were the business. At first I could not even conceive of how you lifted yourself up, backwards, over your own shoulder, and yes, it is uncomfortable at first. My favourite tip for this move is to imagine you have a laser beam shooting out of your lady parts, and you are going to shoot your beam along the floor, up the wall in front of you, and shine it straight up to the ceiling. This helps you get your hips up nice and high and into the right position. Learn how to hold a straddle first, because as soon as you get your feet on the pole you lose your shoulder grip and it’s possible to slip. There are many grips you can try, and when you are totally badass you can move on to aerial shoulder mounts and all sorts of fancy schmancy stuff… which brings us right back to those fonjis I mentioned earlier…

Shoulder mount by Lauren Cage, photography by the Image Cella

There are many more than just these ten moves. Let’s not forget the amazing basic invert into crucifix, or the joys of a perfectly executed pretty climb. Think of a ballet class, drilling the basics again and again until they are perfect, even at an advanced level. For all of us, from total beginner to champion, practice is key. Show me a beautiful Gemini and it will still take my breath away.

BEXIITA ACKLAND

In It For The Likes – A Pole Evolution

  By bexackland@ntlworld.com • November 20, 2020

Social media is awesome isn’t it? All those pictures to inspire you, all the lovely people you have “met” online, all the advice and support from the pole community right there at you fingertips. It’s brilliant, right?

Until it isn’t.

Until the day you feel like crap, and it reminds you that everyone else is amazing and brilliant and perfect and doing so much better than you are.

This is absolutely nonsense, you know that. You know that for every perfect pole pic you see, there are 10, 20, 30 that didn’t make the cut. You know that no one posts a status about how crap they are feeling this week, and that training left them feeling defeated and deflated and that they may as well give up. Deep down we know it’s all an illusion, that nobody is perfect.

We know all this. We know it. But we all collude in it, we all post pictures ourselves that we know were just a good angle or we harassed our poor mate to take yet another video of that combo to try to get it better this time. Behind every upload is a deleted items folder the size of Everest.

Let’s face it, social media isn’t going anywhere. So let’s look at what we can we do to make it a positive experience.

But first, an evolutionary biology lesson. Bear with me while I don my white coat and sexy specs. Listen carefully, here comes the science bit.

Not actually me. Sorry.

When humankind first roamed the earth, we only ever came into contact with a very small amount of other humans. We couldn’t just get in cars or planes and traverse this great land of ours. It was basically walking, or getting as far as you could on a horse, donkey or other poor put-upon creature that could carry people and stuff.

We lived in small communities, either nomadic tribes or settled villages, of no more than a few hundred people over the course of a lifetime, tops. Imagine living in a small community now, like many of us actually do, but with no phones, no internet, no cars, no buses, no way to leave ever.

Those people you lived with, they were your whole life, and your survival depended on getting on with them. If you were accepted as part of the tribe, you got the protection and safety of the tribe. You got food and shelter when neither were easy to come by. If you were not accepted, you could find yourself at the bottom of the pecking order, with the scraps and rejection of your elders, or even kicked out of the tribe altogether. Getting people to like you was literally the difference between life and death.

When we look at it like this, we can understand that we are DESIGNED to care what others think of us, we have evolved to try to win the approval of others, a craving for admiration and approval is built into our DNA. So next time you get a warm feeling if you get a lot of Instagram likes, or get a buzz from being Bad Kitty Pic Of The Day, or screenshot the notification that your pole idol (your tribal leader) liked your photo (and I know we alllll do that, even pole idols themselves), that is NOT vanity, that is NOT embarrassing, that my pole friends is evolution at work. You have been accepted by your tribe and your safety in the tribe has been guaranteed for another day.

Because there has to be a picture of Wonder Woman in every blog

The problem is this: our lifestyles have now evolved to a point where we do not need the approval of the tribe any more, but our DNA has not caught up. We are connected to the entire world now, meaning our tribe is no longer 40 or 50 people whom we depend upon for survival, but instead an infinite number strangers who make no difference to our lives whatsoever. It really doesn’t matter if they like us or not.

Yet science and evolution and biology and stuff is an almighty thing, and often means we irrationally do care, and give these people the power to make us feel rubbish.

This isn’t the case for everyone, and some people genuinely don’t care (those people often like to tell everyone about how much they don’t care, very loudly, just so we all know, so they must care to a degree or they wouldn’t bother telling us I suppose)

Maybe those people are some sort of hyper evolved X Men types, but for most people, getting a bit of approval from their community feels good. It must do, otherwise why has social media made such a huge impact on our lives, and become an absolutely integral and immovable part of our landscape?

Maybe we just feel it more because the pole community is very much that – a community, and that taps directly into that part out genetic make up that seeks approval and seeks comparison.

300 likes for my hamster. Did you even see my Marion Amber????

So how can we apply this to our social media use? How can this knowledge help us feel good, and get all the good bits of social media and avoid the bad bits?

Let’s break it down:

We enjoy the approval because we are programmed to. So we don’t need to feel bad about that. It’s natural. It’s how we are made. Go ahead and like your likes.

Everyone is doing it. They are doing it because they are human too, and they want approval too, even if they are a superstar pole idol (perhaps even more so, no tribal leader wants to lose their prestigious secure position).

However we don’t need to seek approval anymore. Recognise those feelings of approval, but realise they are meaningless.

Don’t let anyone else’s success make you feel bad. They are just trying to assert their safety in the tribe. Another persons progress will not affect your position in the tribe, because that tribe does not exist any more. You are programmed by nature to feel threatened, but those times are gone.  Nature can sod off, basically.

The only tribe you need to impress are your ACTUAL tribe – the family and friends around you. You know, the ones you ignore while you mess about on your phone checking your Instagram likes. See? Evolution is great for Mark Zuckerberg’s business plan, but not for you. Recognise social media for what it is, but don’t let it make you feel bad anymore.

So go ahead and enjoy your social network community. Enjoy the pics and the inspiration and the likes and the comments and the funny videos of cats and get excited by the small things, then put the phone down and go and do something else (after you’ve read my blogs, liked it, commented on it, and shared it, obviously. I’m only human after all ?).

BEXIITA ACKLAND