Staff to poi and poi to staff

practice with lighter (less weight) staffs and move slower when learning new things

hi kamiam.
i find double staff a lot like poi - compared to single staff that is - coz your using both hands, but the trouble is thinking poi moves will work (i moved from poi + staff -> double staff).
i had trouble in the beginning because my body wanted to do poi moves with them, but poi moves dont directly translate to double staff. there are similarities but some things just dont work.
you'll have to play around and find what does work, or separate them and learn doubles as a separate thing (i wouldnt do that for long tho, as all these disciplines are related).
learn one-beats maybe. i think they have quite a poi-ish feel to em, especially split-time opposite direction, but that may be just me...

HAHAHAHAHAHA...thats me!
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I started with "staff" [well, swords and walking sticks actually] and fell in love with poi. The biggest tip i can give you is slow down! you can't make them go faster, and you MUST wait on them to be in position before you do any transitions! They aim for your head[as i'm sure you've found out] when you try to cheat the pattern. I have some slow poi that drive me crazy, but i definately recommend going slow and learning with patience.

I can spin both, but it becomes obvious that I'm mainly a poi person if you're actually watching.

Biggest hint, probably most obvious, too, is that poi pretty much spin themselves, the staff(s?) aren't so kind.

I've not tried staff yet, (looking for one at the moment) but i know how much poi hurt, i remember limping slightly after finally learning a behind the back weave because i'd bashed my ankles soo much.
My advice would be to work with them one at a time, take it slow, and if you find yourself going out of plane, purposefully move your hand position to make it go out, then move your hands to bring it back in, it'll help you with associating hand positions.

I've been spinning actual poi for about a year or so now (glowsticking for about 2 or 3). Started staff about a month ago and it's going well for me. But I do tend to use just one hand instead of both so I'm thinking about taking up double if I can find some scrap metal tubes at work that are the right length and diameter.
My friend, however, can't do poi to save her life but is getting staff down WHEN she actually practices. My point is that it just depends on the person. We all learn at different speeds and in different ways. Some just can't learn the same things others do. It just takes different amounts of work and perseverence (sp?).