Kids and poi

Why are kids so annoyingly good at poi? Maybe it's only in comparison with me, a half-eaten mars bar with all the coordinations of an empty crisp packet, but they seem to be able to pick up things that took me days in a matter of seconds!

I've never taught a kid who couldn't do the weave within about 3 minutes. It's ridiculous!

Teaching poi to random kids is really cool. Especially when their parents wander over to see what's going on and get a faceful of butterfly. He he he. My gf's mum, who is a receptionist at a lower school, thinks that if they could get soft poi cheaply, her PE department might try and include poi into the classes. I doubt it'll happen but it would be pretty cool to see a 30-strong troupe of kids in perfect sync!

You can make soft poi really easily with old plastic shopping bags that you scrunch into a ball (takes a few) then you rap them in a piece of funky looking bright material.

(I.e. place the bags in the centre then just bring all the corners up.)
Take some strong wool, string, twine or whatever you want to use and wrap and then tie at the top........and voila. Poi made out of plastic bag, gauranteed not to hurt anybody........much.

Hope that helps

Depends on your perspective I guess (that means you Faberge)

I remember giving poi to a 11 year old kid once at a gig, he just stood there and made up the three beat weave all by himself.

Then i gave my staff to a girl that was with him and she did a back flip with it. One handed. I'm not kidding. She showed me how to do one handed cartwheels. She was 10!!!!!

I remember giving poi to a 5 year old once... in a field on an island somewhere, it's all a bit hazy.
He wasn't great... but he tried. I think he managed to swing it round in circles... not bad at 5.

x

Kids have few preconceived ideas about what is and what isn't possible. They believe they can do it, and can. Their muscles also don't have as many stored memory patterns as an adult so they don't have to fight against those. Being a kid is great. I wish there was a way to go back to that time/state.

I think it's also cus they're kinda ruthless. I mean the only reason it took me so long to 3-beat was because I was chicken-sh*t-scared of hitting myself cus it hurt, or hitting anything else in my front room. If you're not scared you just swing your arms about, it's quite a natural movement!

Fleance, thanks for the tip. I hadn't thought of cariier-bag poi, the only ones I ever seem to make are tennisballs! I'm going to make some prototypes and hopefully go see the headmistress this week. Could it be the first time Michal Kahn is part of the syllabus somewhere?

I don't really begrudge kids their skills, and I totally agree with skulduggery, they have less to fight against to learn. I just wish I could do it to!

I think I must have the most bigoted muscles in the world!

I know exactley what you mean my eldest daniel who is nine can do the three beat weave, butterfly, thread the needle and windmill, he picked this up by just watching me and all in about a month....

I think its cause they are so young and their bodys hvnt been doing the daily movements we all do and for as long as adults have....

ergo they are more flexible and ave no set routines of movement within their brains as we do.....

arrrgghhhhh im scaring myself

Run away Run Away

toooo deep tooooo deep....

Have ya ever seen little kids ski? THAT'S embarrasing. When you think you're flying down the hill and then a line of little ones passes you like you're standing still.

But I can still kick their asses most of the time. If I could just catch them...

lol

skiing kids are evil, I swear... one went across the ends of my skis and made me fall arse over tit once. I was a kid at the time too... but that's not the point.

On my first (and last) ever attempt at snowboarding I had just managed to stand up (had never skiied before either) and was hurtling out of control down a hill.

I saw the snowman some evil children had built right in the middle of the run from a fair distance away, but was unfortunately unable to steer.

The children (b*stards) laughed their heads off as I hit it straight on, doing a perfect somersault and landed smack on that bone at the bottom of your back (the butt bone).

I was very close to tears

at reading me and a few others were spinning and some kid n mum came up to us n he was interested so i tried to teach him not expecting much, lil bastard had the weave in like a minute!! he was about 8!!! and he even had the nerve to say can i take the tails off cos they swing better!!