Dance/ Martial Arts backgrounds

i used to do shotokan karate for almost 8 years (got into the england team wooop! ) and im looking for another decent martial art to join in liverpool any style i dont care pm me! but anyways iv noticed that alot of weapons based martial arts have moves pretty similar to poi ones, kali and kung fu both use what is baisically a 3 beat weave with sticks

i've been doing tai chi for about 4 years now. i think it influenced my poi spinning (i've been doing it since my 14th so basically its my standard way of moving). but it definitly took quite a while before i was possible to really move freely with my poi and develop a bit of style i can call my own.

and yay my first post so hey to everyone

Hi! I was a professional dancer for over twenty years, but when I got into poi, and now fire, I didn't know that you could mix the the two! I've been spinning for awhile now, but just recently started to incorporate dance moves and choreography. (Thanks to pounce showing me that there's more to spinning than just spinning!)

I still think that it helps to have a decent repertoire of moves. Even if you can get by with a few weaves and maybe a butterfly and buzzsaw. :P

I incorperate a lot of different styles into my staffing, I think it mainly depends on what kind of music I'm spinning to. If there's no music I'm pretty boring to watch...

Love spinning to hip hop, and I'll generally automatically go into breakdance toprock - I'm working on contact and footwork, it goes pretty well together but you gotta be pretty damn good at both to properly jam it out.

I really wanna do more locking/popping and bellydance, I think these would go reeeally well with contact too. I use elements of these styles already.

I also do a lot of contemporary stuff but generally only if I've choreographed it otherwise I feel like a bit of a knob...

Did a course of tai chi once which I really loved, but was eventually put off since I don't subscribe to the theory behind it, I think it's all in the mind but has massive benefits. Martial artists - general views on this?

What do you mean by theory behind it? The concept of chi or what?

Because I do know that Tai Chi (and Qi Gong which is the only martial art art I have dabbled in, aside from Goju Ryu Karate which is what my main focus is) is firmly rooted on good body logic. The movements do help develop awareness of your limbs and so on. I still suggest doing some, even if not for use as manipulation.

I am sure that someone better qualified than I can answer this better.

if anything, playing music has influenced me more in the last 12 months than any martial arts.

musicality improves, strengthens my rhythm, adds nuance to my movement - martial arts focused me too much things that didn't apply to a fire toy: interacting an opponent, seizing on weaknesses, reading bodies.

Though my style might appear very martial arts based, I now more identify with dancing over roundahouses. Sorry Chuck Norris!!