アメリカ生活も10年が過ぎ、私生活で困ることも減った今日この頃。それでも振り返ってみると、「あの時は危なかったかも…」と思う出来事がいくつかあります。今日はその中の1つ、運転中にパトカーに止められてパニックになった話をしたいと思います（※これは10年以上前の出来事です）。当時は運転免許を取って間もなく、パトカーに止められたときにどうすればいいのか全く分かりませんでした。そして咄嗟に取った行動は―実は、一番やってはいけないことだったのです。
近況報告
気づけばブログをお休みしてから、もう3年近く経ってしまいました。今日は久しぶりに、簡単に近況をお伝えしようと思います。
Clinging to ‘I wish I had done better’ thoughts
I remember I was thinking about my first competition experience for a while.
Decompression from the competition was needed, but I could not stop thinking about the five months of training and my performance on stage. The whole competition process was physically and mentally demanding and I was exhausted, yet I couldn’t stop going back to the pole.
Update August 2025
It has been almost three years since I posted anything here and so now I share my summary of these missing years.
My First Competition Experience
Regardless of ambivalence in performing, I took the plunge and decided to compete in a pole classique competition. I took private lessons once a week that began in April 2022 to prepare me for the big day in September. (Previous post: Competition Training Begins) Five months of training pushed me to the edge both physically and mentally. I felt like I had to search my soul for strength often. I put my heart into training. With support from my coach, husband, friends and the studio, I did everything I possibly could to prepare. Rehearsal was chaotic. To say it went bad, would be an understatement. My anxiety was off the charts the week before the completion. Finally, competition day arrived.
Competition Training Begins
I decided to compete in a pole competition after taking pole classes for a little over a year. I did not feel I was ready to compete; however, I was more afraid to miss on a perfect opportunity.I started taking private lessons with my coach in April 2022. Then my competition challenge started.
Road to the First Pole Competition
I started taking pole fitness classes regularly starting January 2021.
After about 6 months, I started taking Level 3＋ classes learning more tricks like Brass Monkey, Butterfly, Ayesha, etc. All those tricks were challenging at first, but I built my muscle and technique over time. After about a year of taking Level 3+ classes, I decided to compete in a pole competition.
My Pole Journey: Beginner to Intermediate
I started taking pole fitness classes regularly starting January 2021. I achieved my goal of climbing to the top of a pole about three months after and then moved on to the next level which was level 2of classes. Level 2 class was my first big obstacle. I started learning upside down tricks such as laybacks and inverts. All those tricks seemed scary and impossible at first.
My Pole Journey: Tucson, Arizona
I first took a few pole classes in Tokyo back in 2018. Before I started climbing pole, I started my graduate school, and I couldn’t go back to pole until January 2021 in Tucson Arizona.
In this entry, I would like to look back on the beginning of my pole journey.
My Pole Journey: Tokyo
I started this blog at the beginning of the year promising my self to write at least once a month.
Well, the plan was not successful… life happened, and I’ve decided to compete in a pole competition.
In this entry, I wanted to look back to when I first started pole and then how far I’ve come.