Learning to Rig
Over the past weekend I spent two days in Chicago to take a workshop by Brett Copes from Fight or Flight Entertainment. When booking, my goals were to better understand aerial rigging so I could assess off site locations for performance like the Christmas Show. When I had decided I wanted to begin Hammock, Hoop and Silks I spent a lot of time reading and studying. In retrospect, I wish I had just gone to Brett’s workshop! The problem with Aerial Rigging is the second you tell an engineer or production company that you want to hang a person they freak out about liability and either refuse to help you or want to charge you the moon. Both are not helpful. For example, when I was looking to offer aerial I paid a structural engineer $500 to come to my studio, look at my space, and tell me if wasn’t possible to do aerial. Really. That was what I got for $500. Obviously they were wrong and there was a way! So I went to someone else. The steel structure in the Aerial Studio was designed by a different structural Engineer. They did a great job. And it is so over engineered that we could hang a car of every attachment point. Now this occurred because at the time I didn’t know what my maximum forces were going to be, everything I read said 1000-2000 pounds, so I went with the high end of 2000 pounds per point. Then the engineer added a safety factor of 10, so 20,000 pounds per point. Umm, none of my girls are going to come close to generating that kind of force, I knew this. But I didn’t have any better concrete documentation so I went with it and the result is the strongest aerial structure ever built. So I wanted to aim myself with as much knowledge as possible so in the future I could better understand the forces and rigging. At the workshop with Brett we actually did load testing with people on silks and lyra. A 130 pound person climbing silks generated 200 pounds of force. I was fascinated to learn through actual load testing that 500-750 pounds is the actual force the aerial arts generate and is the magic number to use when designing, so then put in a safety factor the 5-8, 10 if you want to go overboard, and you have a much more reasonable number! This bit of information alone made the workshop worth attending. Brett was awesome. I brought along our studio Engineer, Dan, (he’s mechanical, not structural) who is good with math and physics and we both learned a lot. Brett did a great job breaking down the strength and anchor point factors. Now I confidently feel i could test a possible anchor point, assess it, do risk assessment, proof test it and rig from it. This is HUGE. What does this mean? It means now have an actual method for assessing rigging points. A method that makes sense and I can execute. It’s so liberating to learn more about my sport and know that with this knowledge I can rig to things I wouldn’t have known I could. I told a fellow aerialist this morning and she was like “you’d rig your own point? That is liability I wouldn’t take on. Hiring someone is safer.” No. It isn’t. I’m a LOT more interested in my head (and the necks of those I teach) than anyone I hire. So knowing how to take care of myself is a HUGE benefit to how I feel when I’m in the air. Highlights of the workshop for me were the load testing and anchor point assessment. I also really appreciated learning the “proper” language for equipment in both the rescue/recreation and industrial lift worlds since we use both. Understanding bridals and proof loading will be extremely useful going forward, as well as sling placements and how different set-ups affect the strength. Day two we learned knot tying, not sure if I’ll ever need it but turns out I’m actually good at it! We also learned a lot about pulley systems which aren’t applicable to me at the moment….but you never know when I’ll want to expand next… A lot of people in the aerial arts talk about rigging in a way that scares you. Like “don’t ever rig from a tree” or “only a structural engineer can assess that”. I get why, it is dangerous! But how many kids have been on a tire swing? And how useless was the first structural engineer I paid? There are ways to mitigate that danger, do due diligence, and FLY! Thanks Brett for empowering me!
The Healing Power of Pole
I had to write a feature article for my News Writing class this summer. I chose to do it on the healing power of pole, mostly inspired by Paula’s recent blog post.I could have made this much, much longer, because the lovely women I interviewed provided me with so much content. This really only brushes the surface! They are spectacular women, and I am grateful to know them! Enjoy 🙂 Confidence. Self-Love. Trust. These are not the first words most people think when they’re introduced to pole dancing. People tend to think of shady establishments with low lighting and scantily-clad women who dance around a pole and remove clothing to entertain guests. Pole dancing is more than that. Pole dancing is a sport, and that surprises many people. According to the International Pole Dance Fitness Association (IPDFA), the history of pole dancing dates back to before the 12th century. The IPDFA says that modern-day pole draws from different styles of pole dancing, including Chinese and Indian style pole. While both styles did have artistic qualities, the focus remained on strength, skill, and agility. IFPA goes on to say that today’s pole dancing not only draws from its origins, but also adds in expressive elements that were influenced by various styles of dancing. Despite the long, rich history of pole dancing, very few recognize it as a sport. Even fewer people realize that pole is a powerful healing and empowering sport. Paula Brusky, PhD, Founder and Owner of Aerial Dance Pole Exercise LLC, is trying to share that empowerment with all women. Brusky discovered pole fitness while she was in Australia doing graduate research. She returned to Wisconsin found no pole studios in sight. She had a dream of sharing the sport of pole with other women, so she started Aerial Dance Pole Fitness LLC in September 2010. “The reason I wanted to expose women to pole was the empowerment it naturally gives,” says Brusky. She has seen students come through her door who were frightened to wear shorts and fearful of the studio’s wall of mirrors. In a few months, those students are confident enough to wear the small pole shorts that allow for more movement. Those students also smile at themselves in the mirror now and no longer fear what they’re seeing. “It’s such a cool change,” says Brusky, who knows the empowerment of pole through her personal journey. “Pole made me accept myself as I was,” says Brusky, “I hated wearing shorts, and I was terrified of my body after a sexual assault. Pole made me realize that I am strong and O.K. just as I am.” She still recalls her pole-breakthrough moment vividly. “The first day I lifted my weight into [the pole move called] a Twisted Overhead V, I knew that I was the only person who could truly take my power by being afraid of my own potential.” Aerial Dance Fitness Instructor Kim Simon has the opportunity to witness many journeys as she teaches, and she notices a change in her students as they continue through their classes. “When students start in a beginner class, they are generally quite timid,” says Simon, “but by their last beginner class, they have so much more courage and meaning in their movements. They become more self-assured and more confident in their skills.” Simon found the healing power of pole in her own journey as well. “I struggled with eating disorders when I was younger, and I had low self-esteem and a poor body image when I started at the studio,” says Simon,” Working out at the studio and being around such positive women has had a tremendous effect on me.” One of those positive women, Kyra Evers has been dancing at Aerial Dance since January of 2014, and it’s been a powerful experience for her. Her gymnast background helped pique her interest in the aerial arts, and she hasn’t looked back. “Pole is a way to incorporate my love for all things acrobatic with sensual expression, which I’d never really felt comfortable with before,” says Evers, “Pole lets us revel in being physical, creative, emotional, and allows us to express sensuality in a safe way, on our terms, in a safe place.” It wasn’t just the love of the gymnastic and the appreciation of the sensual nature that got Evers started in pole. “Part of the reason I started pole was to celebrate the body I tried to destroy with eating disorders,” says Evers, “I spent nearly seven years struggling with bulimia and various other eating disorders. I was trying to die—not lose weight. For me, the disorders were about control, which I felt I didn’t have in my life.” Evers has heard Aerial Dance be referred to as a sanctuary, and she doesn’t disagree. “Everybody helps each other and celebrates each other’s accomplishments, large and small,” she says, “It’s a safe and welcoming place, and you are treated with respect, patience, and plenty of encouragement. Each journey is unique, though they all come back to confidence, self-love, and trust. “Pole makes you trust yourself,” says Paula, “If you don’t trust yourself, you don’t take your feet off the ground. As you learn to trust your body, you climb and spin and laugh, and learn that you were strong all along.”
Eight Seconds of Courage
Eight seconds of courage. That’s all it takes to change your life. I’m not kidding. I’ve tried it. It works. This is not a phrase that I knew, nor even applied until a couple weeks ago. I started a new business venture at the end of May. I was both scared and excited. In order to meet new potential customers, I have to make contact with spectacular women and schedule a meeting with them. Seems simple enough, right? HA! Well, it is pretty simple concept actually, but I was scared to even try it. My mentor has kept on coaching, and she loves to remind me that “it just takes 8 seconds of courage.” It got me thinking–pole is a lot like that! Think, for a moment, of a move that scares you. One that your instructor has requested you try, and you look at her and say “Nuh-uh, no thanks.” Anything into Superman usually gets me freaked out– it’s my nemesis move and my “nuh-uh, too scary” move. I’ll try it, but I’m not a fan. (Yes, I realize I just gave my instructors ammunition. Bring it on ladies ;). ) Rather than freak out, psych yourself out, and back out, do me a favor. Muster up eight seconds of courage. Just eight. If you’re inverting, that should be long enough to get you upside-down and in the move. Even if you’re right side up, that’s a pretty good amount of time. Just eight seconds of courage, ladies. You can push it to 10 if you’re feeling especially courageous! The amount of time isn’t all that important. What’s important here is that you dig deep, find that courage buried inside of you, face your fears and just DO (with a spotter, if needed 🙂 ) what scares you! I realized early on in my pole journey that, if I just tried something, I had a pretty good chance of succeeding at it. As I moved along in my pole journey, it became my motivation to try crazier things. Once you realize you are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to–even if only for eight seconds–you’ll be unstoppable. I applied that eight seconds of courage to my business, and I was amazed what I was able to accomplish! I realized that I need to apply this back to my pole journey too! I’m not sure whether it was my long break or just a ridiculous amount of self-doubt, but I lost that for a while. I’m far more scared than I was before. No more. 🙂 Maybe you need to pull out eight seconds of courage just to sign up for your first pole class. Maybe you’ve got to call on it for a difficult and/or scary invert. You might need to call on that eight seconds just to get through a tough part of your day! You can do it! All it takes to change your life is eight seconds. Eight seconds of courage. 🙂
Pole Heals
All around the country right now Pole studios are providing a safe place to heal. With the current news once again illustrating how sexual assault is not a “big deal”, women are flocking to a place where they can recover from a trauma that they haven’t shared. The majority of women who have been assaulted are not as brave as Brock Turner’s victim. Most women don’t come forward because they feel responsible for what happened to them and don’t feel that there will be support (can you blame them, just read the Washington Post coverage which makes it seem like Brock is the victim by their word choices!) Instead these women cling to a steel dance pole and try to find their sense of worth. As an instructor, I’ve seen the signs of recovering sexual assault numerous times. What does this look like you wonder? Two of the most common are: a women afraid of her body; a woman hesitant to be “sexy” in any form because sexy means she asked for it. And at some point in her pole journey, a woman starts to trust herself again; she starts to take back what was taken. Pole gives her a chance to heal. Let me tell you a story: She was 18 years old. She believed that Disney fairytales were real, men were kind and her prince would come. She had dated very little and was so excited when an older confident man was interested in her. The first two dates he was so charming. On the third date he planned a romantic trip on his boat and she was so excited to hold hands and watch the sunset together. Miles from shore she said no. But he didn’t listen. Back on land she told no one. She knew it was her fault, she went with him, she put herself in that situation and now she would deal with the consequences. She was raised Catholic and believed that you only had sex with your husband, so she dated him for a year. He was charming in public and verbally abusive in private. But she stayed because she was atoning for going on that boat. For a year he took away her sense of self. And no one knew. In church one day the priest said something about forgiveness and she realized she needed to forgive herself. That god couldn’t have intended for her to be this scared all the time and she started working on a plan to leave him. Of course, it had to seem like his idea because she was terrified of what he’d do if she just left. So after a few months it happened, he dumped her, and she was relieved, she was free. The nightmare was done. But it wasn’t. For seven years she walked around with this constant feeling that sensuality was wrong, that she was a bad person, and she was terrified of men. Then she walked into a pole studio. And she felt safe. She held on to the pole and tried to move her hips, she couldn’t do a hip roll because she was so scared that it would be too suggestive. But she felt safe, so she worked at it. The day she did a full fluid hip roll, she cried. Silent tears streamed down her face and her instructor looked at her alarmed and asked if she was ok? “Yes” she said with a smile because for the first time since the boat she trusted her body again. To this day, 16 years later, she still doesn’t say the “r” word because it makes her have chest pain. To this day she is still afraid of being alone in a room with a man she doesn’t know and trust. To this day she still knows she was at fault for getting on that boat. To this day she is terrified to tell people because she is scared they will judge her or treat her like she is damaged. To this day she is worried that she is damaged. To this day she still can’t hear his name without panicking. Last night, this woman went to a pole studio at 1am because after reading headlines about Turner (she knows better than to read the full articles!) she was having nightmares. He wasn’t her attacker but seeing his face scares her. So she ran to the place she knew she would feel safe. And she proved to herself that she is strong. She proved to herself that though she is damaged, she isn’t broken. Pole got her through a rough night once again. And today, she feels a little more willing to accept her past. I’ve seen versions of this countless times in my teaching. I would say about 1/4 of our women have confided sexual assault to an instructor or classmate because we provide a place where they finally feel safe. But this story is me. This story is why I love pole. It gave me back something I didn’t even know I had lost until it was returned. Maybe a few more bad-ass tricks and sexy hip rolls and I’ll be able to tell it in first person.
Anderson, Box Gyms & Hoop
Earlier this week Hoop/Lyra was featured on “Live with Kelly”. Kelly and Anderson were “taught” “Beginner” Lyra moves in an effort for a Big Box Gym to showcase their new Lyra for Everyone Program. I was going to leave it alone….but I just can’t. I was notified by a student via Facebook about this. And I was SO EXCITED! Hoop is a great workout. I wish more people knew that and would come play in the Hoop, so I thought this would be a great thing for the sport. Then I watched the segment. And I was HORRIFIED. I try to be positive, I try not to criticize, but this was down right UNSAFE. And gives the layperson a really unfortunate view of Hoop classes. I understand that this was TV, they probably practiced it before hand and Anderson was probably intentionally “hamming it up”. But when what you are doing is difficult and could result in permanent paralysis, that isn’t ok. A few important things to point out: The crash mats were not appropriate for Hoop. Way too thin and hard, they would have not helped in a fall. Our mats are cushy for a reason! Also with the weird “openings” in how the mats were set-up on the floors, with the swinging of the lyra they may not have even landed on the already not correct mat. Did they just not have enough mats to put them over the entire workout space? I know this if Kelly’s show so she is in the middle, but this is not a good set-up for instruction. The instructor should have been in the middle. The moves selected were NOT appropriate for beginners. Having a beginner go to the top bar and execute a move that they haven’t even done on the bottom bar is simply not ok. There was no discussion about knee placement, muscle engagement, and heels down; Anderson’s top bar hang was extremely precarious and he was literally a very small slip or shift from falling directly on his head. The lack of spotting was dangerous! It was clear the instructor didn’t know how to spot based on her standing next to Anderson with a confused look on her face when he was in serious danger. Thankfully he’s strong so he didn’t get hurt…. The lack of instruction was appalling. She didn’t demo the move first so the students could see what it was. She didn’t have a clear view of either student so couldn’t give them verbal cues to help them in the air. The cues she did give were poor at best like “take a knee off” when they were on the top bar with no indication of hand placement or other important tips for that move; had Anderson actually just taken a knee off when she said to, at that point he would have fallen and landed on his head, only his innate sense of self preservation kept him safe. The instructor seemed new to lyra herself, her skill level was sloppy. Here’s why I’m so angry about this. In the aerial community right now there is a HUGE outcry of “what were they thinking” and discussion about how this reflects on the sport. As I’ve read the excuses from those involved I’m more angry. This was ill conceived on all involved and now the excuses are appalling. Apparently the Instructor took a two day Instruction course. That is why she was “qualified” at her Box Gym to teach this aerial spot. Are you kidding me. 2 days. You think in 2 days you are ready to teach a sport that gets people’s butts over their heads? She may be a great yoga teacher or some other land based sport, but based on her ability in the hoop, she is not an aerialist. And then you think in 2 days you’re qualified to teach it? In two days you aren’t really qualified to teach anything, this is a big issue I have with the fitness industry in general, all the “weekend certified” trainers. No, after a two day course you should have learned enough to realize how little you know and how much you need to invest in your study to become a master. My instructors train for about 6 months before they work with any students! And that is after they have been doing the sport for at least a year and are proficient on the apparatus BEFORE beginning instructor training. The person who offers the 2 day teaching certification has weighed in saying that she only recently trained this would-be instructor, apparently the instructor had only been certified a month ago, and that she is supposed to be team teaching right now. That she didn’t know that what she taught in her training program would be used this way and she isn’t not happy about it. Great. I don’t care. At the end of the day you took someone’s money and gave them a false sense of ability by “certifying” them. When they left your facility they could use the knowledge you gave them in any form that they chose. You chose to take their money and declare them fit to teach in some capacity, had Anderson fell, it would have been partially on your head. Even though it would really help my bottom line to offer an “instructor certification course” and I could write a great one with my PhD knowledge, I don’t train anyone who isn’t going to work for me because it scares me to think how my knowledge could be inappropriately used to hurt someone. If you offer to train someone, you take on their interpretation and use of your materials and shouldn’t “pass” them until you are confident in how they will disseminate your knowledge to the world. Back to the Instructor. She’s spoken out saying the producer told her she needed to be on the far side for the shoot, that she needed to stay in the hoop and that she needed to
