I have a very love/hate relationship with good old spinny pole. Back when I started pole I began by getting to grips with static before attempting spinny, as I needed to include spinny in my competition entry for the Bristol Pole Championships. Since then I have been a right lazy fucker and have only been training spinny intermittently, however fear not guys, the tide is firmly turning! As well as my regular classes, I am now taking extra spinny pole ones with the lovely Anna Louise, in order to turn my relationship with spinny into one that’s all love as opposed to the love/hate state it’s currently in.
The reason for my relationship with spinny being the way it is is down to the entire fucking spectrum of emotions you experience when learning spinny. Because the pole is whizzing away, the new trick fear is heightened, you have way more to think about and in general, it’s the tougher, scarier cousin of regular static pole. Seeing as I’m using this blog to document my adventures in the world of pole, I thought I would list the five thought that pop into ones noggin when you’re learning spinny pole:
- “Ah that looks cool AF!”
You can bitch and moan about spinny all you want, but there’s no denying it looks fucking epic. Take any trick you can think of, Jade, Remi, Butterfly etc, execute it perfectly on a spinny pole and it’s guaranteed to look that weency bit more impressive than it does on a static. Even your basic spins like an attitude can turn you into some sort of floating, graceful fairy when you add that extra spin.
- “GREAT ODIN’S RAVEN THIS POLE IS FAST AS FUCK!”
Yeah that. One spinning pole is a hell of a lot faster that it looks. Your instructor may make it look as though they’re gliding elegantly through the air like a flexible gazelle, but that’s taken years of practice. I shit you not I look like a terrified five year old who has vastly underestimated the roundabout at a playground on a spinny pole. My face is not so much sexy but more an expression of abject fear.
- “HELP!”
The faster you go on a spinny pole, the tighter you grip on to make yourself feel safe. This is all well and good on a regular static pole, however on a spinny pole the closer you grip into the pole, the faster you go. Thus in your moment of biggest fear if you grip in closer you’ll end up whizzing round faster, which is kind of fun of but also makes you shit your best Bad Kitty a bit.
- “I’ve done it! I am graceful, I am a ballerina, I am the pole.”
When you crack a trick on spinny pole (and believe me you will) you feel fucking sweet. Spinny pole looks fantastic, but it takes (for me anyway) so much more coordination, core strength and general skill I find. Therefore once you have smashed a trick, you feel so bloody proud of yourself, even more so than usual in a pole class. Go you! You whizzing god/goddess of a person!
- “Oh shit the bed I need a sit down a minute.”
If you ever played dizzy dinos as a kid (the game where you spin round on a spot as fast as possible and see who can last the longest) then you’ll understand how you’ll feel after hoping off a spinny pole. The studio is whizzing like crazy and you’ll definitely be needing a quick two minutes to settle your brain down after busting out an epic trick on spinny.
After many attempts, I can safely say I am slowly but surely getting the hang of spinny pole, it’s been an interesting journey so far to say the least, but Anna’s awesome teaching, my wonderful, supportive pole family and an ever growing pole addiction are giving me that extra confidence boost to nail spinny.
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