Stuck in endless circle

i really havent' been spending as much time twirling as i use to. and now that i've started doing it more often again i find myself stuck doing my moves over and over. i have a tendency to do one move a couple times then transition and do the next a couple times then transition to the next and on and on and on. i'm having a hard time moving in and out of moves without having to repeat a move a couple times. any suggestions on how to break this?

That's a common issue for a number of the performance arts.

some suggestions to help break out might be

1. Write down sequences of moves, with no repitions, say about 6 or 7, and pin it up somehwere to read while you spin.

2. Instead of completing each move by rote, as your body is good at already, try to transition out of the move before it's finished, say 1/3 1/2 or 3/4 of the way through the move.

3. Do stupid silly things, try to (gently) wrap around individual fingers, grab the string halways down with opposing hands, try a mouth wrap, grabbing the string and then doing poi with one hand and one with your mouth etc etc. The sillier the new thing, the faster it is to reak out of established patterns.

4. Get a non-poi friend to watch and suggest new things.

5. Shorten the strings.

6. Lengthen the strings.

At the end of the day, it's all about changing the comofrt zone your physical memory has settled into, and let the conscious mind start dictating what to do again.

hope this helps...

creativity is the fire that burns down the barn of monotony.

Many times, awesome, inspiring music is the matchstick that lights said fire.

no barn animals were hurt in the rating of this post.

(now sing after me, zum zum zum, capoeira mata um!)

My first suggestion is obvious. Don't let yourself. I sometimes make rules when I practice to keep myself fresh like "I'm not doing any butterflies" or "I'm doing only butterflies" etc...

My second suggestion is to drive down to New York City and play with us. Every time you repeat a move I'll beat you with a stick.

Trust me, you will learn.

NYC, it's obvious you're a high school teacher

yeah, it's because he's left handed.
:scampers:

I'm left handed

um, but like they say, the rule does not apply to people whose name starts with 'k', silly!

thanks a ton guys. and nyc i would love to come down and meet you all. as for the beating with a stick, it think i'll pass . i will be sure to take your advice and try some new things. i'll update you at a later time. love to all

wow.
Its so cool, all the old names are comming back out of the woodwork.
Hiya Girl for mars.

Have you tried putting on headphones and loosing yourself in poi??
Does it for me, irght up until I smack myself in the nads, which at least is a different move.

yea, and I'm left handed too.

Drew
__________
be

that's the only way i love to spin, i have a hard time doing it without music to guide me. i very good and just closing my eyes and going on and on and on without hitting myself

Ok, GFM, I see that its a real problem this one.
1 spin and testicle pain later.

I looked out at the stars while I was spinning and I got these answers to the stuck in a rut problem.

If you're slightly one sided then spin everything in your goofy direction.
If you usually play with one set of poi. then borrow some with completely different character, If you usually play a certain length, play the others, like short/or extremely long.
try to Spin with bad time, just for fun, so that the poi are not parallel, or are not opposite.
work on 2 to 1 and 3 to 2 rhythms, (but I think you might have done aready) and not just in simple at the side circles, but in moves also.

but my best suggestion. is do contact staff.

Glass
__
be

heh, try contact staff for a while, and never again will you complain about old familiar moves...

usually after i try, i get so frustrated that the staff wont stick to my body like it does to Nix's in COL3, that i cant wait to pick up my poi again...

:walks off wondering why the staff sticks to Nix:

I think it's an intricate system of subdermal magnets

You're on the wrong board Rory. This is the poi one. Not the geeky science one.

That's what you get for net surfing with your eyes shut.

On topic though (before you start Charles I do do it sometimes) I've been stuck in a poi rut for about 3 months and have finally cracked it by thinking outside the box. Instead of trying to do specific moves etc I've just been letting it all flow and see what comes of it.

Going to London and seeing some of the most awesome spinners in the country (including my lady love) also helped quite a bit.

I'm just rambling with this post but i hope it helps a little.

Kind of what C@ntus said, but try NOT to think of doing individual moves. Instead, think of spinning within a family of moves (of which there are all of two - same direction and opposite direction). As soon as you feel yourself repeating a move, change to something different in the same family. Don't think too much about where they're going.
It's helpful to be able to transition from any move to any other within the same family.

J

I said not doing specific things.

Shit, sounded alright in my head. Sorry, I was just trying to reiterate your point. Damn this inability to communicate emphasis in text form!!

J

when i get stuck doing the same things i try to vary them by maybe swinging my arms out further, or one close and one far, crouching, seeing how low i can get horizontal moves to the ground, transitioning from low to high moves, or seperating moves(i.e. corkscrew but do two circles with each hand on top or bottom and vice versa.) try right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left, etc...or when weaving do two circles on each side with each hand. does any of that make any sense?