Bruised and Battered (but I still love pole dancing!)

It seems my passion for pole dancing has left me feeling a little worse for wear this week. My advanced class on Monday at 6.15pm meant a vigorous start to the week as my 3 Plymouth students; Hayley, Sara & Kevin were joined by Exeter University pole dancers Cheryl and Jess. We worked on parallel handstands, floating ballerina's, the Q (don't even ask!) as well as a side climb to figurehead to shoulder mount combination. By Tuesday I had prepared a 'lovely' session plan for my Tuesday night ladies including plenty of thigh holds; planks, the liberty and seated climbs to name but a few. Not content with two nights of training I made the brave (or foolish) decision to join Hayley's 6.15pm class. In hindsight, had I read her session plan, I would have decided to take the night off! The 'Grace and Poise' climbing class was a real beasting in disguise and went as follows;

Monkey Climb and spinning monkey climb, beginners handstand to Caterpillar climb, side climb to figurehead to shoulder mount, Aerial climb to blade, Spyda monkey (by this point the back of one of my knees had started to bleed), Seated climb (from a seated position on the floor) and a Chinese pole climb just to finish off. I was truly battered and had definitely earned the few pints of real ale I drank at the Fortescue afterwards.

I now feel similar to the way I did after the wonderful master class hosted by Karen Chaundy from Pole Dance Community approved pole dance school Body Barre. The master class was part of the NSPDS Routine for the Nation event and was held at my art of dance studio. The master class consisted of 3 hours of exhausting moves including the dreaded Spatchcock, Special and Flying K, handspring dart and Chinese Flag, some lovely deadlifts as well as the boomerang / straddle spin to extended butterfly and the dangerous back hook drop, all of which resulted in a myriad of purple, green, black and yellow bruises similar to the ones I have today.

I do feel I am getting some progress with my handstands, shoulder mount planks and the tabletop but there is still so much more I want to do. I think that is why I love pole dancing so much, there is always a new goal so you can never tire of learning. The bruises are like little trophies of your hard work and determination and, whilst pole dancing you get to meet great like-minded individuals. That was one of the joys of Kaz's master-class, I got to meet new friends from across the country and they were all so lovely. Thanks also to Adham for the pictures included on this blog. To see the full album of pictures from the day just visit the Karen Chaundy master class facebook page. Thanks also to Michaela for organising the NSPDS event and thanks to Kaz for an amazing and inspiring master class.

Before I sign of for today I would like to wish art of dance student Carly Norris all the best as she opens her new gym 'Hybrid Mixed Martial arts' in Cattedown, Plymouth. I hope the venture is a huge success.


Stay Healthy,


Sam x