It makes me feel stupid

When i do the spin above your head with two hands (a rotor??? or helicopter???) Anyway summats like that, i feel like a prat with my hands in the air like that. Any reason for this? Also any way i can stop myself feeling like an idiot?

I dont feel like this when Im spinning any other time just when I do that particular move.

set your staff on fire?

i dont have wick at the ends and im not good enough for fire yet.

keep with it. u wrong: you do not look crap, it is a cool move

I agree with bender.

Try doing it in front of a mirror or get someone else to tape you so can make your own mind up.

What 'feels' one way, can 'look' completely different... :-)

i agree with the unicyclist guy above this post.

but i recommend wearing pants on when you do the taping.

although it is much more fun spinning without pants...

yeah, stick with it, there is alot you can from a simple helicopter and it all looks very lovely indeed

heh heh 'stick'' with it - i like!
like bending fwd at the waist and helicoptering behind-the-back. it's nice for photos!
but then again, bending always is!

ok cheers guys, ill continue practising and tell ya how it feels after.

Does it make a huge difference to the way it looks if it is done fast or slow? Is it just the way it flows that makes it look good?

Ta

speed is less important to flow is less important than llamas
find your flow.

I like flow too, you'll know it because it feels super nice and its a bit easier on the wrists...

try some palm spins while bending forward with the staff behind your back. I find it easier than doin palm spins over my head because its a more natural angle for my hand/wrists.

les us know how you go with the flow....

ok i did some practise last night and my whole routine flows real nice ( i have found the force :P ) but the helicopter sucks. It feels real jerky and hit my self in the head twice lol. My control was crap although I did discover summat else to do with the stick.

As I start to bring it over my head with my left hand, let go and let it spin before catching it, then bringing it down and spinning it under my leg.

Im new to this and im teaching myself and i cant get palm spins to feel natural at all. How many times sholud i let it spin to start with and where is a nice place to take the stick after a spin?

Ive been trying some neck rolls as well, which also make me feel like a prat,,, but then again i do keep hitting myself when it goes wrong

the Helicopter is a basic standard if your gonna do staff. If you think you look like a goon, it's all in your head, it actually looks really good, plus there are a wealth of moves you can combine with it. Try palming (Holding your hand flat above your head and letting the staff spinn on top of it) the staff over your head when you get good at the basic over-head twirl. When you get good at palming it try a pop looks great and the crowds love it (While the staff is spinning palmed shove it upward real quick and it'll spin in the air as it rises and falls). Don't worry about what you look like, it's all in your head. As far as the neck rolls those go over REALLY well! Don't avoid a move just because you feel a bit selfconscious, your art will only lack for it.

just a counterpoint...

i feel silly when doing any horizontal stuff
and i feel silly when doing rotor moves where you pass from one hand to the other in front of you.
and the helicopter spin is a combination of those two, so it makes me feel very silly

so i avoid it and do stuff that feels less silly to me

its all down to your personal style, innit?

did you say..llamas?

Written by: bender™

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speed is less important to flow is less important than llamas

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yeh llamas they sexy

feedback is important. get some friends twirl for them, and ask of their opnion on what rocks. then develop those movements if you wish! you are not a mindreader, often such valuable information is lost when the fuel is sealed up and the firetoys packed away.

llamas are still sexy

lol bender you and the llama thing is getting quite scary

Ok i will keep practising and then get some people to watch what im doing.

I relly like the idea of the helicopter palm spin thing, im gonna practice them spins right away.

How do you maintain the spin though? I can get it to spin at the start and if it doesnt fall off my hand it eventually slows to a stop.

You can also keep the spin going by cupping your hand slightly and spinning your body a few times...when you stop, the staff gets an extra burst of speed as the palm flattens again...