Studio Etiquette - 8. Respect The Difficulty Of The Sport

This is perhaps one of my favorite in our studio etiquette - Respect the difficulty of the sport. Pole and aerials are extremely difficult. Not only do they require a lot of strength but also flexibility, endurance, body awareness, finesse, etc. This is one of the reasons why I love pole so much - there are countless things to work on whether it’s your tricks, combos, dance, lines, poling with or without shoes, different styles, etc. As soon as you feel you may have a tiny grasp on one thing, you realize the 9485 other things to work on. It’s important to respect the process and respect the sport. It is difficult. There is one trick that took me over 7 years to get. And there are many tricks I will never ever be close to touching (Rainbow Marchenko anyone?) and that’s ok. Respect not only where you’re at, but the time and effort it takes to get to where you want to be. And remember to not be too hard on yourself. If some tricks feel like they are taking forever to get, they may just require months and months of practice to get.

Another thing to keep in mind is that certain body types favor certain apparatus’ and/or tricks. No, it may not be fair but that’s the way life goes. You may have to work substantially harder than someone else because you may not be as strong or not as small or as tall any other reason. It’s important to remember that and keep a positive or realistic attitude of what your goals are.

While it is super cliche to say enjoy the process, don’t forget to enjoy the process. Aerials and pole can be really difficult but that’s one of the reasons they are enticing. You push yourself to do things you never could imagine and the hard work and perseverance is all part of the enjoyable process. Happy training!

Stilettos & Sparkles,
-Brigitte