How to start learning 'btb' moves?

Is it cheating if I learn them all behind the head instead?

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Stretching might help. There's a yoga stretch (which I cannot do) where you bring your palms together, fingers pointing up, behind your back. I do a stretch where I grab my elbows behind my back--this has gotten easier, so it's probably working.

I hit myself in the face many times trying it. And you ten to hit your shoulders alot, thus making it very awkward to keep up.

I have been practicing the BTB weave for months. I still cannot get it. I al extremly non-flexible when it comes to anything behind my back. My arms just dont bend that way. I can do the splits three ways, but i can hardly touch my hand together behind me.

I thought i got it started the other night but i wasnt doing it right. It also makes it hard because you cant see what your doing. You have to work of of the feel of it, but if you dont know how it feels...aaarrrhgg frustration is a bitch. Ill get it eventually. BTB weave is my Unicorn

"S"

Eric

I know you can do it, anyone who tries hard enogh will be able to.

1. As with every other move you've probably learned, start by practicing with ONE poi. Hold the other one in your hand, or put it down. Get it the hell out of the way. Just swing backwards with ONE poi and see if you can reliably get it around your back to the other side for one beat. Then try two in a row. Then put that poi in your hand and start with the other hand. After that, then try 2-handed btb crossovers. After that, crossovers in split time, then an actual weave.

2. Proper stance: the flexibility, believe it or not, is more in the hips and waist than the arms and shoulders. You can do a fair bit of bending around and twisting at the waist in order to get your arms where they need to be; your arms should be reserved for doing the fine-motor-skills work of keeping the poi going and moving around each other for the weave. Also stand with your feet locked together, toes pointed forward. For some reason standing with your feet apart at all changes my stance just enough that it throws me off every time.

3. Getting a handle on any muscle tension in your shoulders is also key. I lost the BTB weave for a few weeks while going through a majorly stressful period; after getting a massage and learning to control the amount of tension I store in my shoulders it came right back to me. Try getting a massage out of one of your buddies if you're really not making any progress.

4. Attitude - Shiz I think you've got the right idea practicing 15 mins/day. God I must have practiced BTB weave in tiny fits and spurts for at least a month before I even felt like I was making any progress..but I can do it now! Repetition is key; just keep on trying. If you get sick of whapping yourself when you get up to the split time crossover part, go back to single-poi practicing. Yeah, it's boring, and if you're working on this, you can probably do all kinds of more fun stuff when you have time to practice, but do invest the time!

Good luck to everybody!

awesome explination. I am the classic example of the person that cant get the BTB weave. I have been trying for about 4 months or so. I am just now getting close to pulling off the crossover in splittime

**thanks to the help of Myst, Adam, and various others in countless threads****

When i nail the BTB weave, there will be a disturbance in the force like none other..

"S"

i can do the BTB BF without even thinking, maybe i can link them

"S"

I don't know of one; the easiest way for me, at least, to get into the btb weave is to simply spin reverse in split time at my sides (more low, and close-in..right at my hips, actually) feet together, toes forward, and then start crossing over. It's difficult for me to get into smoothly considering how weirdly I have to stand to do it.

Ezy: I frequently have the same problem! When I do BTB weave with fire I frequently do it just like that - with no repetitions beyond the first two - because I'm not quite confident enough to keep going and it's hard! Get your mind especially focused at that point; really concentrate on getting that upper hand across and down for that third rep.

The BTB weave is one of those moves that really bring me back to earth and force me to concentrate on what I'm doing, rather than just spacing and jamming and letting gravity have its way..that's partly what I like about it! But I'd love to be able to do it smooth and easy as pie..still working on that part.

i have just put it in my head that this move is the hardest move i will learn. I thought that from day one.

<<Yoda voice>> I must unlearn what i have learned...

"S"

Just as it is possible to go from a regular butterfly to a regular weave, it is possible to go from a btb butterfly into a btb weave. I've done it a few times, but usually I wind up getting tangled. It ain't easy.

i've had a problem learning them because i used to lift wieghts alot, and my flexibility was next to none btb, due to wide shoulders and triceps....and when i would practice it, it would be way to much strain on my shoulders and i could not get full movement of my arms back there.

so i had to move my body that much more to compinsate....and i don't know about you guys
but i like the btb weave alot better with the least amount of body movement.....

so i have a friend that does yoga religeously
and till just a few weeks ago never thought to ask her so she gave me some streches.
she told me about the ones that adam had mentioned and she gave me another one that helped me alot so i'll atempt to explain it, it really is a great strech......ok here it goes----

ok, grab a towel with your right hand and reach behind to the back of your neck, [kinda like doing the tricep strech where you would grab your elbow and pull]
so now that you right hand is behind your neck, reach behind your back with your left and grab the bottom of the towel, and begin to inch your hands tward each other top and bottom, very slowly mind you so you don't pull anything, and hold for about a min.
then switch hand and put your right behind your back and left behind your neck----
do a few sets alternating arms

after a few weeks you should be able to lock you finger together without the use of a towel, belive me guys this strecth is great.

i hope the explaination was clear if not just let me now i'll try to explain it better
hope this helps...

cheers***

I have the btb weave down, starting from reverse spin. Now need to get it going the other way.