Simple Tricks

yo,

Thought id start this tread for simple manipulation tricks that havent been thought of yet, Im shure there must be loads out there and Im going to start it off with this incredibly simple little number I cant believe i never thought of before.

stop the staff vertically infront of you, pirroette, spin staff.

Thats it! simple huh? should add another level of visual intrest

N

Nix?, I tend to associate manipulation with coins, pens and magic tricks. So, as far as simple tricks go, I think rolls and drop-catches are effective.

I never though much of them until I was watching Adi's side roll/drops tricks in COL3. I thought it brought a kinda circus feeling to the clip.

The basic roll I've seen is where you hold the staff horizontal out in front, staff resting on the back of your hands, arms facing forward.

Then you lift your arms up (to a diving position?) and just let the staff roll down your arms behind the head. You can catch the staff behind the neck or bring the arms under, and let the staff roll down the back of the arms, behind the back. Catch the staff in the crook behind the knee or roll it back over to the front.

Anyhow, I don't think it hurts to have a roll or a drop-and-catch in your bag of tricks. Great contact stuff in col3, btw

I like to roll the staff down my arms and body and then flick it off of my foot.

I also use the staff to do sort of pole vaulty things, like flips and high kicks. you can also use it as a pivot point to walk on walls, ceilings, etc.

Some things I do are just basic things where I just happen to be holding a staff, like flip-ups, handsprings, pirouettes, cartwheels, balancing on a fence while twirling, or martial arts strikes.

I hope more people post, I'm really curious too

Lapaire's kicky things are awesome, btw.

I like to do silly stuff like bounce it off the back of my hand then palm then some other body part etc. i tend to dance better when i'm doing such silly things so yeah. combos that involve bouncing or dropping it to ur thigh and then rolling it down and "throwing" it off ur thigh are fun too.

*note i don't get to practice staff with staffers like ever so i don't know how most of this stuff looks as i don't perform*

Practice in front of a mirror, window, or a sliding glass door. That's what I do since I don't own a comcorder.

[ 27 August 2002, 16:11: Message edited by: SickpuPpy ]

can't see turns and can't see stuff where i look the oethr way. itherwise i do.

just thought i'd do a bump of this. i finally learned some of this basic stuff this weekend an it kicks ass

New simple trick for ya Ky in case you haven't already tried it;

You know how if you hold a 3-section with both hands on the middle section and move it side to side it does a poi-style corkscrew with the two end sections?

Try this trick with two 3 section staffs at the same time (One in each hand) Presto! Two corkscrews at once!

-Can also be done butterfly style, BTB (heh, thanx for the terminology there), split time, alternating, and on horiz or vert plane I should think
-Translates very easily into your average double staff double figure eight.

Also, I remember a type of hold used for bo staff or long spear which I think may work wonders for your trailing end problem. Try both hands near center of middle section about 3 or 4 inches apart, only instead of the way you are used to, you don't let go throughout the whole figure-8 motion. This hold is made for long weapons and gives you more strength. There are two ways to do it. One is both knuckles up and tucking under armpits (might be tought/impossible w/ 3 section), the other is one hand knuckles up the other hand knuckles down (recommended). Tell me if this makes any sense/works/doesn't works/just wasted your time

My 3 section is in development so I'm using you as a human gerbil. That breakaway 3 section on Prometheus' site looks pretty tempting to me right now =)

Thanks for the good times on Fri/Sat. Swapping moves with you folks was priceless. Especially now that you're a celebrity and all

celebrity? moi? surely ur insane?

anyhow, i had to give up my double staffs and return the three-sections to their owner *sniff* because i'm flying in less than 24 hrs.... (and still not packed.) you know, those three-sections fit really well into my luggage..... *sigh* oh well. anyhow, i did do double figure eights with them, and single corckscrews, i can't do double corckscrews with straight staffs, remember?

the grip thing sounds fun to try. i don't knwo when i'll run into a three-section again, as i haev too much work to do with staffs and poi to justify making one any time soon.... plus i have to make two practice staffs and a firestaff upon arrival too cali......

but yeah. make a three-section, show off with it next tiem i see you!

*Bump* I hope more people post here. *cough*hint*cough*
Maybe some regulars have some good simple stuff that they use in performance?

Insane? yes, surely, but utterly beside the point

In the last couple of months i have been using this two handed style after noticing it on COL2? It is a good technique to add some interest to a show and it looks a lot more difficult than single hand but really isn't that tough. I use one hand palm up and one down method.

By using two knuckles up does this allow for more spins on the sides when they tuck up under your elbows? Trying with this pencil now it is pretty hard and i couldn't see myself doing with any speed without damaging some important goods downstairs!

My fav two-handed trick is to do the pass from rhs to lhs btb (well behind the head anyway) with two hands, (the staff and hands are behind the back but your elbows are in front and kinda going over your head. If you knew how to do it you would understand i'm sure but it is somewhat difficult to teach let alone describe.)

This move developed from the movement where you can place the staff behind your head (vert) and do pirouttes (staff starts behind your head, you turn 180 and you are facing it, turn 180 again and it is behind your head. ie, it spins on the spot) and the staff spins of the spot 360 (Propellor) for every turn you do. (two and one handed)
To make this clearer, (if it isn't) you can do this move with a clenched fist, the staff doesn't roll around in your hand or over a wrist or nuthin.
Imagine grabbing hold of a door knob (round so that you hand can slip over it) and trying to turn your feet 360 without letting go of the knob.
The only way to do this is to go over your head.

That is a simple move where the staff looks like it is spinning but you aren't doing figure-8's, finger rolls, wraps, etc.

yeah, two handed is fun, you can grab it either way, one up, two up or two down. try the btb weave (like poi) grabbing with two hands, also if you got col3 theres a move i do where the hands are grabbing btb but the staff comes round infron at waist level.

Other simple tricks include backwards spinning rotor passes under the elbow (like nunchucks) and across the back. takes a little practice to get it smooth but its very ninja.

whatelse, dropping to foot catch (horisontal spin) and kicking up again.

taking the staff behind the back horisontally and blancing on an up held thigh at the front before lifting off with the same hand.

should keep ya going for a while...

N

Oh no! Why did i have to read this before bed!! Two handed btb weave!! I won't be able to sleep all night! Thanx Tom_Brain knows Nix?

I can't wait for the weather to improve to try it. The weather is so bad that tonight at work, the roof leaked (i work in a restuarant) and people had to cover their food with napkins or move tables!!! Freakky weather, horizontal rain and massive swell, did i mention work is a two storey megalith basically on the beach?! The waves lapping at the pillars...

But THINKING about it, all i can do, it seems to me that the btb double handed weave would also naturally include your move from COL3 (which i haven't seen) on both l & r sides. Hmm now i'm confusing myself. Aaaargh, bloody weather.

We are saying that both hands are in constant contact with the staff and not crossing over and stuff?

Hmm, is this simple stuff too?
Hmm, Should stop thinking.
Hmm, and writing my though. . .

yeah, constant contact.

the col3 move (minero who showed me calls it a waistwrap, but thats just confusing as it dosnt wrap, Anyway) goes a little something like this:

forward figure eight with the left hand, take it behind your back and grab with the right hand DONT LET GO WITH THE LEFT.

at this point the staff should be held at bum height behind the back with palms (well, more like nails (as your palms are curled round the staff)) facing upwards

as the staff continues to spin the left hand end goes down toward the back of your right knee and the right behind the shoulderblade.

as the left hand end comes up bring it infront of the right side your body and compleate a whole spin with the right hand end following. slight flexibility required.

heres the kinda spacca bit, the left hand end goes back behind the body and immeadatly comes infront on the left and the right hand follows. this kinda awkward manouver is not duplicated if you go back to the right side, instead you get a turn behind the back before the left hand leads to the right side again.

if you can decifer all that without getting your left and rights confused (especially as I have great trouble with that anyway) you should have an idea...

you can transform this move into the btb weave by turning 90degrees into either forward or back weave.

humm, maybe this dont make so much sence.

sleep well,

Nix?

(p.s. just Nix? will do, infact im gonna change it back)

Yes, YES, YES!!!! All right i see.
Like the double handed fig 8 in front of the body where on one side it is a bit wierd while the other side is normalish.

Thanx again 'just Nix?', your description did it for me!

Spyke

hmmmm, heres a fairly simple trick that canbe done with doubles, if theyre short enough...

have one spinning in a vertical plane parallel to that of your nose, and have the other spinning in the opposite direction in that same plane...

looks wicked, and the effect is basically (for all you crossover artists) a butterfly weave with staffs...

from there you can turn with it and do all other fun sorts of stuff, it takes a bit to get the timing down, but the basics of the trick are really quite simple...

I like that trick with the the doubles whiffle, been smoothing it, well, trying to anyway. Have you done double palm spins when spinning in oppisite directions? Thats pretty sweet.

Don't know if anyone is familiar with this one so here it goes:

When spinning helicopter above the head, bring it down and around your body, when the staff is going behind your back stop spinning it and place it to your back. Right when you have it placed against your back, turn at the same speed you were spinning. Turn a 180 or 360 whatever, then just bring it back up or go down and around the legs. Gives it a kind of change to the whole flow, and this can be done with the staff rested upon the sholders as well.

Sorry If I am rehashing anything. I am somewhat of a newbie here and am not up to date with anything yet.

eesh, i can barely do double palmspins, and im pretty sure i cant even do reverse ones...

hmmmm, something to work on now...

Whiffle - A good hint to learning double palm spins is to hold the hands more vertical than horizontal.

Have them both spinning in front in the same direction (i.e. clockwise) and release them for one palm spin each and then grab them again. Practise this a bit and then try for two spins.

It's remarkably easy to begin with, even with my long doubles...

hmmm, never had thought to try that charles...

i tend to use shorter staffs, about 3 feet, and with my rather long arms, if i hold them out horizontally at shoulder height, while doing double corkscrews, i can usually get a couple rotations on the palm, but ill try the vertical route...

as usual though, its my stupid left hand that screws up, i think it might need some more drilling...