Question regarding the poi i made

my poi consists of tennis balls, bungie cords, and canvas finger straps connected to the end of the cord with electric tape. the connection between the tennis ball and bungie cord was made by cutting a cross into the ball, shoving the cord into the ball, and supergluing the exterior of the ball at the connection. my question regards the electric tape. because of the amount i used to wrap the finger straps to the cord, and the length (3 inches), the first 3 inches of cord after the finger straps is extremely stiff and relatively unbendable. does anyone know if this will have a negative impact on my ability to learn and grow as a beginner?

Best way to find out is to try them.. and also try some other poi as well to see which one gives you more fine control. Because that's what a lot of learning poi is.. fine control at the hand and wrist which makes a lot of difference to where the poi end up/what circles they make/how you can change direction stall etc. There is no swivel mentioned in your design.. that can make a difference to thin cord getting all twisted up. Also the stretchiness of bungie cord may make problems. Most serious poi people have non-strechy cord: be it cone poi made from fabric or chains for fire poi. A lot of people have stretchy ones though.. about the stretchiness of socks.

Personally, I would imagine problems with the design you mention at both ends. At the handle end, different momentums from the combination and abrupt transition of materials , giving direction problems. You might help that by wrapping the cord across the palm of your hand and pinching it between you thumb and first finger. That is a very common way to use poi, gives a lot more control than having loose loopy handles.


Breaking and flying off problemms at the ball end sound very likely too. Superglue is good for materials with close surface alignments, like two flat surfaces. It is not particularly good for or porous materials and the kind of pressures that poi heads can generate Too brittle. Did you knot the bungy cord before putting it in the balls? Ones we have made have a substantial knot and clever techquiqes for getting a large knot in a small hole.

Overall,seeing you're on Home of Poi, you might be as well to purchase some of their lovely poi that are made with strong links and appropriate materials. Or make some cone poi/sock poi where you won't have impediments.
Cheers
Gabe

newgabe has given a great response to this question, but I'll just add one or two more points, the preference leaning toward non-stretchiness for me is that you can feel where the poi are headed, which direction they're pulling in, where the momentum is in different parts of the spin and than sort of thing, as well as just generally indicating much better where they really are.

Weight would be an issue for me, as well. Tennis balls are too light for me, I like a bit more weight so I can feel whree they are and that sort of thing. Fingerloops, if you can, learn to use them and to not, when you get a tad more advanced you might switch to a ball grip or just holding or wrapping round your hand the sock/chain so you can do releases, so getting used to either would be helpful.

I personally use balloons full of rice in socks (3/4 of a cup in each) These are slightly heavy, but I got used to them and it helped my poi style slow down a bit, which is useful for learning as well as making your individual style somewhat more apparent.

Anyway, that'll do. I think thats all I've got for now.

Have a joyous time whirling things around your body in a pleasant and effective manner.

My best advice is to make several varieties and see what works for you; most of the poi I've made have been with materials I've already had, or occasionally I'll have spent $2-3 for something that would make it better, but experiment with a lot of different things.

Heavier heads are easier for isolations. Stretchiness make isolations easier. Light heads hurt much less when you hit yourself. Non-stretchy cord will get you more ready for fire (if that is a goal for you).

I can't count the number of poi I've experimented with trying find exactly what works for me, though by now I've limited that to only two or three different sets, but fiddle around with weights, lengths (when I first started I did *not* like long chains, but I've since made much longer ones), handles, and materials.

But like Newgabe said, the best thing is to just try 'em out for a while. If eventually one of the balls flies away whilst you spin, you'll know there's a design flaw. Give each one a good sharp tug to make sure they'll hold. As to the stiffness of the cord, I can't imagine it would be a problem, but you may find it uncomfortable as you practice certain moves.