Staff to poi and poi to staff

I decided to learn poi after doing double staff now for a year, and I'm finding it very, very difficult. My planes won't stay straight and I just can't stop whacking myself (good thing I'm using some homemade sock poi). Any other staffers have this problem? Do poi people have trouble with staff if they try to learn it?

Heya, Wenchamuffin. Yer ol' friend Nyebright here

I did poi for a year before picking up a staff and I have to say, staff came very easily for me. I dont know if its just because Im a pretty coordinated person or because of my past poi experience. As for double staves, they're proving a tad harder... But then again, I cant honestly say I practiced for more than 2 hours total with them.

Anyway, if you're looking to learn some poi, you know where to find me. I just ordered two short fire staves so Im gonna need someone to show me a thing or two with them as well

I think staff to poi is the harder transition, because a staff can be 'forced' through its arcs, whereas poi need to be lead in some way.

Keep trying tho

Ive found that poi is much more relaxed than doubles, however the best doublestaffers are usually the ones who are quite relaxed with them anyhow...

Josh

ugh...this is very frustrating. Is there such thing as a person being Poily Challenged? My legs kinda hurt from getting whacked so much by my out-of control poi (and they're socks!). Any advice on what I may be doing wrong? My hands are to the sky/ground when they're supposed to be, but the poi just don't, um, go...or at least they don't go where they're supposed to. (this should be in the poi thread, but as this is my thread...)


In response to Josh, I'm really relaxed with my doubles, but tense with my poi. I'm very comfortable with staves, but after messing with my poi I'm a bit afraid of them...that is, afraid of getting hit in the face.

What exactly do you have in the socks? If its something hard (that your scared to get hit with) change it for something else that wont hurt at all. Also, what kind of handles do they have? Some handles are easier to control the poi with than others.

Anyway, ya just gotta practice more is all. Its all about flow and control. Learn to control the poi through the planes as smoothly as you can and the rest will come later.

heya.. I hear your pain!

I've been a staffer for several years and an avid double staffer for the last 4 or so years. I've tried poi and just can't get into it. I now take on the attitude that poi is crap, faddish and overrated and anyone who's cool uses double staff and/or other toys, like clubs, fans and crosses.

See, I hide my lack of poi ability under an extremely transparent "distaste" for poi. Works well enough for me. I'm happy with my delusions. hehee.

Forget poi! If you want a new challenge that can perhaps translate to poi at a later stage, try clubs.

I think that different people click with different apparatus...differently. I was a pretty quick study with poi; I was much slower to get comfortable with staff, and slower still with double-staff (but I also think my standards keep getting higher).

If you're using sock poi, they may be very light--perhaps surprisingly, this makes control harder. I wouldn't pour a pound of lead shot in them or anything but more weight=more momentum=less effort. I think that at an abstract level, poi and staff have a lot in common, one thing being that the less work you do, the better it goes. Trying to steer your poi continuously is a recipe for disaster. The trick is to do the minimum work possible to get them on the right trajectory and keep them going around. If you can work in front of a mirror, that might help.

That's good advice adamrice (teehee). Thanks.

To ICoN, my sock poi have another pair of socks inside them. They don't hurt the first time, just the 50 billionth time.

Thanks people, at least I know I'm not alone.

From poi -> staff is better than staff->poi......its our experience......and most difficult is rope for sure :-))))

hmmm I learnt single staff -> double staff -> poi and didn't have any particular problems .. in fact for things like waist wrap moves i found it to exactly translate from doubles, as with many other moves too .. maybe i'm just weired

Mike

I've spun poi for almost a year, I've tried twice to take up staff, I haven't really gotten anywhere with it, I blame it on my lack of decent equipment and my poi for drawing me away all the time. It's fun, but I just can't keep at it. I'm having problems taking up something too.

I know this is going to sound stupid, but one of the best ways to learn poi is to do it while drunk. Not falling down drunk, but definatly intoxicated. Your coordination will be crap, and it probably won't work. However, once you get the basic movement down;sober up, you'll be surprised at how much better you've gotten. One more thing. Try doing one poi at a time. Basic moves one poi follows the other. So if you get the lead poi moving correctly the other will follow.

Wouldnt quite take that advice. Firstly, yer talkin to a minor so getting drunk probably isnt a great idea. Also, while using only one poi is a decent tool for learning, its not as easy as you make it out to be. Theres tons of stuff I can do with one that I cant do with two. Using one poi is more for getting ideas for new moves than actually learning ones you already know.

cole, i dont think i can imagine you being any better at poi amte, and if you get to be that good with double staff, thats bloody heck i would wet myself, and fall in love with you!

I still say that learning the basic moves with one poi is a tremendous help. As for the whole intoxicated thing, obviously if you are a minor then don't do it. I also feel I should say that I am not very good with poi. I can do all the basic moves, but stopped after one week, mostly due to no progression in the foreseeable future. Just wanted to apologize for enticing a minor to drink. My only excuse is that nothing in the post said anything about age.

I have been spinning poi for about a year and a half, and have the same feeling as many of you.... but in reverse. I have been beating myself senseless with the double staff; not to mention the collateral structure damage to the ceiling. For what to use that has a good weight for poi, without the drawback of a lot of pain: Mardi Gras beads. About five necklaces inside of a small sock with a rubber band, inside the long sock. The weight is close to cathedral, and the beads disperse the impact so much that it is hardly felt. Any help on how to stop hurting self with the double staff would be MOST appreciated.

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!
__
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?).