I mentioned in my first post that, like every pole woman, I have a life. That life has been quite busy! I work part time at a credit union, and I just recently got a job as a bartender. I’m also a college student, and I start classes in September. I’ve still got to fit my aerial passions in my schedule, so I’m going non-stop. This week was the busiest I’ve had yet! I worked 8 hour shifts at the credit union, and then went straight to the bar and worked until close. Thank goodness Aerial Dance has online booking, so that I can schedule my classes in my down time!
One of the only times I could get to a pole practice this week was Saturday morning. Even though I was scheduled to work a 9.5 hour busy shift at the bar that night, I was not going to let anything get in-between me and a pole! I rolled my tired self out of bed Saturday morning, and with coffee in hand, I headed to the 10:05 AM practice.
I had to down the coffee to find the energy to get on that pole. I will totally admit to spending a portion of the practice staring at the pole, trying to decide what I wanted to do. Watching fellow students practice was motivating, and I tried to pull off some of what they were doing. One of the suggestions I had when I first started was to try a Butterfly to Flatline Scorpio combination. These are two moves that I used to be rather proficient in, so I thought I’d give it a try.
My face when practice starts….
Yeah…. no. It’s definitely humbling when you try to attempt something you used to be able to do, and then completely fail at it. I’ve lost my “upside-down sense” and my strength to pull it off is just not there. It’s not just humbling, it’s downright frustrating. I kept trying, but I was quickly losing strength and endurance. It came to my attention that I needed to get back to the basic moves and solidify those before I tried to attempt such a lovely combo.
It was suggested to me that I try working on the outside leg hang to prone combo instead. Once I can do that well, I’ll likely have the strength to try the Butterfly to Flatline combo. So up I went to try outside leg hang to prone.
Outside Leg Hang–it’s an odd angle but you get the idea!
Outside Prone. I despise this move on so many levels-mostly because it’s painful and difficult for me!
I’m a big fan of outside leg hangs. They’re quite secure, and I prefer them over the inside leg hang. Any prone is a move that I would like to avoid at all costs. In this case, I know that it’s going to help me, so I suck it up and do it anyways. My outside leg hang isn’t shabby, but that prone? It needs work! When you do this combo, you ought to be able to do it without touching the pole (as far as I know!). Not me! Getting around that pole is a challenge! If my prone were stronger, my chest would be farther away from the pole too.
My face at the end of practice! Tired, and a list of things to work on next time!
After my first or second practice back, I thought I was making leaps and bounds. “Oh yeah, I’ll be able to be back in an Advanced class in no time,” I laughed. It’s a goal to have, but it’s not going to happen in the snap of a finger. The honest truth about the aerial arts is that they take time to learn. There are many elements that come together when executing a move. Pole and the aerial arts come easy to some. Those people can fly through the curriculum and be doing the crazy stuff in no time! They’re not normal, but they are pretty awesome. If you’re normal, like me, it takes longer. You have to keep trying, keep practicing, and keep moving forward. You’ll be frustrated and angry at yourself sometimes, because you can’t do the move. Everyone else might be acing it without an issue, but you’ll still be working on it.
Take it from me: don’t give up! All that hard work WILL pay off. All the nights that you’ll leave the studio frustrated will turn into nights that you leave on Cloud Nine. Those days of frustration will never leave you; however, if you keep working hard, you WILL see results. I know how it feels, and I’m telling you, it happens. It might be hard in the beginning, but it will all pay off!