atpoles

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Sep. 4, 2013. This was the first time I felt confident enough to ask my instructor to take a picture.  

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My pole journey, part I

I got started in pole sports in 2012, at 31.  It has been a LONG journey.  

Back then, there were only two studios in town, and one of them was just “fully booked.” You literally couldn’t sign up.  The other one was advertised as being very beginner-friendly.  Anyone can pole! No matter your age, condition or flexibility.  It was far, but there was room for me, so there I went.  

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I was in the worst shape of my life; I had just gotten my 2nd-dan black belt in tae kwon do; as a matter of fact, when I started pole dancing I’d only go once a week; the other days were for TKD.  

Anyways, it was true that anyone could pole, but only those who already had a talent for it were encouraged at this studio.  I was in a class with a bunch of gymnasts and ballet dancers, all of whom had grace and flexibility.  The martial artist got some attention, but mostly it was just disappointment that I couldn’t keep up with the rest: my spins were god-awful, it took me forever to invert.  I was constantly cropped out of pictures, and often ignored while the others were taught new tricks. 

At some point, I was told I just couldn’t move forward with pole because there was nothing else I could do, since I couldn’t invert; maybe pole just wasn’t for me.  I managed to (grotesquely) stick my foot to the pole the very day I had decided would be my last if I couldn’t get it done. 

[atpoles]

Behold the glorious lack of back bendiness. 

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August 4, 2017

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9/4/17

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So

This whole thing is about me not really wanting to post progress pics on Instagram for everyone to see, and finding out there’s really no way to keep a secret Insta account secret from your FB contacts.  So what’s this going to be about? The following tags, basically.