Butterfly time...

well probably others have come up with these moves too but i hope it gives some start points for new moves to some of you (oh god i don't know how to start describing it):
well basically you need to be fluent with forward & reverse butterfly and the high & low turns; it's not a technically very demanding move so it should come easily...
1) Start by doing forward butterfly in front of you and then using the low turn (but with a slightly different orientation - it's the same principle anyway) you can turn 180 degrees (or less if you wish - i usually find it easier to turn around 120 degrees) and you'll be facing the other way and doing the reverse butterfly; now you can apply the high turn principle and turn another 180 degrees and you are back where you started...if you practice you'll be able to do this without stopping so you'll just end up be rotating your body continuously and do butterflies around you it also looks cool if you do one and a half rotations and then rotate back the other way and keep doind it - i know i am not describing it very well but i'll be happy to explain if anyone wants to...if you become fluent you can throw in overhead butterflies and other cool stuff as you rotate round...
2) ok the 'butterfly-weave' now...this is easy too; start by doing the forward butterfly in front of you - turn your body 90 degrees so now you should be doing the butterfly to your side ( say your right side) - now by applying the 'low turn' principle (i hope you know what i mean) you can change sides and end up doing the reverse butterfly on the other side (left side of course); now by applying the high turn principle you can change sides to your right side again; practice it a bit and you'll be able to do it with no dead beats in between (i mean one beat in each side) continuously...note that you don't move your feet it's like doing the weave but now on each side you do a butterfly - i know it's not an impressive move for most of you Poi masters out there but you can build on that and take it further....
3) and now a move for beginners (since noone is really posting anything for beginners) - a simple 360-degree turn: basically you just need to learn to swing forwards,in reverse,the low and high turns to do this move... begin by swinging forwards in time - now try the low turn and as soon as you start swinging in reverse do the high turn without no pause for reverse swinging - you should end up back to your original position (swinging forwards) - there you go, an easy '360-degree' turn...
happy swinging,
Simos

sounds good, simos, and i just hit that side to side butterfly w/out the beat in between for the first time... it looks pretty cool. yeah, i had already been doing the 360 turn you described, but for everyone out there, don't hesitate to post "beginnner" moves!!!! im sure no matter how simple it seems, there's someone that's never thought of it, tried it, etc. so my opinion is that everyone ought to toss out ideas, no matter how straightforward or obvious they think it is.

speaking of which, simos, i often mix those turns up and continue turning, ie low turn, high turn, TUCK turn, high turn, low turn, etc. they flow together really well, with no pause in between.

But wait, there's more...

When you can do butterfly behind your back in both directions, all of these moves can be done behind the back. I haven't quite mastered it but I've done a little bit on my video comp entry.
Jo.

Hephaestos - i am really glad you tried the move i describe; i definitely agree with you, everyine should post moves they come up with no matter how simple they seem - as for the tuck turn you are suggesting don't laugh but i am not sure if i ever did a proper tuck turn; i do lots of turns but i can't really figure out from the video if i am doing a proper tuck turn or something else; oh well... what i quite like doing is to start with a standard weave and then bring both Poi together so that now your glowsticks-wicks will look as one (by bringing my hands together) and continue swinging and go back to the weave etc anyways i am working on a couple of new moves, if i ever get them i'll post them here....
Jo - i've thought about btb butterflies too but unfortunately i am not so good at btb stuff so i am a long way from mastering that move too - oh i think your video is quite cool mate, maybe when i get a bit better i'll do one myself ...
happy swinging everyone and keep on posting those new moves ,
Simos

I came up with a rather odd butterfly related thing the other day....

Start in a sort of two handed butterfly with one poi in each hand, spinning in front of you so the right goes clockwise and the left goes anticlockwise. Have your hands about a foot apart. When the poi reach the top of their swing, put your leg up in front of you, slightly bent, and let the poi continue coming around and beneath your leg. As they start to come up again, with your hands still directly beneath your leg, pass one poi so they're both in your dominant hand. Just after you pass, you have to quickly get your leg out of the way, kinda bend it in a bit and put it down again. You can move your hands forward away from you to help the poi clear your foot if necessary Now you're back on two feet, doing a one handed butterfly, and you can then pass one poi back and continue spinning two-handed.

This took me a while to get.....if you mess it up you end with two poi wrapped inescapeably around your calf....not fun Once you get it, you do it quickly, people won't notice exactly *when* you move your leg out of the way (it's sooner than it looks), so it looks more confusing and funky than it actually is. And that can't be a bad thing! heheh.

have fun

x