Weave Help

Ok.....I feel like an idot because I still haven't gotten the weave. Right now it is the only thing holding me back from advancing. You would think that I wouldn't be able to do everything else, but it's just the weave.

My cousin says that my left hand goes retarded everytime I try it. Which she would happen to be correct. I have been working on many techniques in order to learn it, but nothing I have done so far seems to be helping.

Does anyone have any ideas? I would really appreciate the suggestions.

umm watch the HOP videos.. heh
intro thread?

those things aside, it helps to just practice the arm/hand movements without the poi, then pracitce each hand with just one poi, doing the movements with both hands but only swinging one; then switch hands, and do the same thing; then try putting both together

hope this helps

just remember to go up down and out, its a 3 beat sequence so on your left side your right hand does 2 full circles and left hand does 2 on the right side.when you go to your right side your left hand leads and when you go to your left side the right hand leads.im sure youll get it soon, it would be easy to learn if someone just controlled your arms and then let go when you got it going.

the way I learned was by doing a 2 beat weave... aka a figure 8. then, try to stretch it to a 3 beat by doing an extra half rotation on one side. this is the same way I learned how to do a 4 and 5 beat. good luck and watch out for that crotch!!!

ive done a 5 beat but i dunno how.i guess ill try to learn that now

Lala... concentrate on your less dominant hand... Over, under, out... over, under, out... You'll whack yourself a few times but you'll get it eventually. Your right hand/arm already knows what needs to be done and will follow after a few tries.

Hope it helps!

when I teach the weave, I usually try the approach Jaero mentioned. If that doesn't work after a while, I will actually get behind the person and use my hands to guide their hands through it for a few rotations. Often times just giving the muscles the idea of what the pattern feels like can make all the difference. I find this technique is also very effective for teaching thread the needle.

So I dunno if your cousin actually does poi or is just being an astute observer, but if she does do poi, then try this technique (or find someone who can do this for you - easier if they are taller than you).

I have a post on here about it, but i think it fell down a bit. hopefully that can help you.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I went back and looked at the video to see if I was missing a step, or doing something that neither I or the group caught. It turns out while I was studying my movements I was bringing it over, out, under, out.....and obviously the extra out was what was doing it.
So, I have corrected my mistake and now have the weave! YAY!
It's not all that pretty now....but at least it is right.
Thanks again everyone!

PS: My right hand is still retarded...lol.

Congratulations!

You'll find that one hand will be retarded for ages while you're learning... after 2 1/2 years I can usually get my left hand to do what I want but occasionally it will still let me down

also, you're about to have to learn to turn that around into the reverse weave, and the retarded hand will continue to hold you back unless you beat it into submission...

can you do an "x cross"? just swing at your sides, forward, same time. then pull up on the upswing and cross your arms over so your making the same planes w/ your circles and the same hand motions on the opposite side of your body. keep doing this and crossing it with either hand on top. forward circles, cross left on top, back out to regular circles, cross right on top, back out, ...

this will help you practice keeping your hands in synch really well on the other side of your body, and will help if you do it reverse when you're trying to learn the reverse weave. good luck!

-- dut

For all weave moves I find it really helpful to count the beats as you spin each circle. I don't know if that's an obvious thing to do but anyway there's my little tip.

I dunno if you know what I mean by 2, 3, 4 and 5 beat weaves, but if you can understand this then hopefully it'll help you.
Start doing the 2 beat weave with your right hand crossing, as your left arm moves across your body you will notice it is above your right arm, now all you need to do is swing your left hand underneath your right and then it will be your right arm that moves across your body to your left side rather than your left arm. I hope this helps.

One really good tip I can offer is to use two sticks the same length as your pois, then you can go through the routine really slowly and watch exactly where your hands need to go.

I can't work out if i'm doing a 2 or a 3 beat...i presume its probably a 2, my right hand does most of the work, my left hand follows and comes above my right as my hands pass to the right side of my body.

Is this a 2?

confused.

Does your right hand start out on top on the left?

Yes!

On the left side the right hand does an "over" circle, an "under" circle, then follows the left hand across. Then on the right the left hand does an over, and under, then follows the right across...

Yes! i think so anyway

Is the 2 beat as simple as crossing your arms to make the figure of eight?

That's the 3 beat weave... and yes, the 2 beat weave is that simple