Forums > Social Chat > What got you started... and what got you hooked?

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
blame spiral

it's all his fault

wherever you go, there you are.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Well...

One day, I was walking through the forest picking twinkles for my dinner, when suddenly this Pixie came from nowhere and thumped me over the head with a strange looking tailed ball. I fell to the ground unconcious. When I awoke, I was in a dark cave. I'd heard about this place as a child, twas the naughty Pixies underground lair!
No sooner had I opened my eyes, one of the evil pixie girls fluttered over and began to speak to me. I was frightend at first, for she had in her hand what looked like a shrunken sun.
She told me I shouldn't be afraid, for this was the sacred fire. She told me of a time when the underworld was resided over by a beautiful queen, and all Pixies and Fairies lived togeather in harmony. They danced with spinning balls of fire in worship of the queen, and all were happy and free.
After a bitter dispute between the Underworld and the Flying Elves of the Water Clouds, the queen of the Fairies was forced to go into battle with their King. Counteracting her 23rd fireball with a thundercloud the size of the moon, the King extiguised her raging fire and the Queen fell to the earth.
With the Queen gone, the ecosystem was thrown into utter kaos and the Fairies and Pixies were separated.
But there was hope, for as the Queens spirit floated into oblivion, she vowed to return one day, and restore harmony between the warring worlds.
The Pixie then took my hand and told me it was her belief that I was the one. I was their Queen, returning from the dead to save them all..
This was the icing on the cake. This little Pixie had taken thingz too far. Enough was enough. She was surely insane.
Grabbing the sacred fire from her hand, I thwarted her over the head with it, as she had done to me and screamed " you silly cow! I'm hungry, and you interupt my twinkle search for this?! you're all mad!!"
With that, I flew away, escaping through a tunnel back to the forest.
Shaken and perturbed by my ordeal, I sat on a mushroom and craddled my throbbing head. As I rubbed my temples, I realized I must still have the sacred fire I had stolen under my hat (where I'd stashed it for the escape).
I took it out and began to play with it. It made me feel all warm inside. I became entranced, my worries and hunger seemed to melt away...
Needless to say, I havn't stopped playing since.

THE END

xxx

Az abouve, So below...

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
luckily the evil pixies didn't introduce me to fire...

...i was at a rave where a couple of guys were spinnin uv poi. managed to get a free lesson and from then on i was hooked.
i agree with fee, once u pick up your fire chains ..the addiction becomes too strong to resist!
anyone heard of a poi support group>?

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
I randomly stumbled across this website one day and thought it would be cool to learn...has been an addiction even since.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
DFQ - Marry me sweetness!

At the Drome one night, a mate (Dreaded Alex) was spinning. Gave it a go, and was awful beyond belief, so after that brief try I put them down. Me and my girl bought a couple of sets of poi from Dimirtri and retreated to a safe, private garden where we figured out the basics.

I'm 'hooked' because it brings me enjoyment, and when I find something that's fun I try to do it as much as I can.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Went to a local music festival , and saw lots of people walking around twirling poi , so i wanted to have a go and bought some and ive been into poi ever since !

Poi Twirling Maggie

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
DQF that was a beautiful iccle fairy tale!!!!!

I stumbled across it purly by chance, i was a juggler looking into juggling fire, I typed "FIRE" in the search engine and it eventually took me to Home Of Poi, where I have lived happly ever after.

Trippie Hippie- Monty Dons secret love child

Fly like a mouse, run like a pillow, be the small book case.

"Last night i met some pixies and we danced around a stone".

Because dressing up is fun.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
I met a strange but very interesting dreadlocked girl in the park across from my place playing with fire... I took the poi off her and they have been stuck in my hands ever since... I kidd you not. I seemed to have learnt more tricks than her now...I think I have the BUG....
runs off cackling madly

TAJ "boat mummy." VALURA "yes sweetie you went on a boat, was daddy there with you?" TAJ "no, but monkey on boat" VALURA "well then sweetie, Daddy WAS there with you"

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
A couple of years ago i saw a TV programme, 'Shipwrecked' on Channel 4. There was a girl who spun fire poi, and played at the Sydney Olympic games; and i really liked the look of it. Then only 3 months ago, i was in the crapest job ever, and just spend 80% of my time randomly searching on the internet, and remembered about the girl on 'Shipwrecked', and i found this site. Once i saw the fire poi spinners and devils sticks, and staff; i knew i couldn't give it up untill i could do that. Unfortunately i have no where to practise now, and i'm finding it really difficult to do it as much as i would like.

P.s, i loved the pixie story.

The bigger the pants the better!

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
i saw poi at a rave and i fell in love. it looks magical and kung fuish. i was hooked and my girfriend could do a windmill and weave and so i got some tips from her. went home learned how to do it with out strings. then moved up to strings and fliped. i started practicin every day. then i found this site and the rest is history.

drugs.. rock and roll. bad ass.. vegas hoes.. late night. booty calls.. shiny disco balls!!

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Dom, you know the answer's yes

Not too sure about the proposal in the same post as 'you and your girl' though

xxxxxxxxx

Az abouve, So below...

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
picked it up cos a few mates started learning and then I havedefinately been hooked ever since my first play with fire

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm FIRE!!!!

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
DFQ - oh, no worries about that, I'm currently single
Hopefully see you Saturday night

[ 09 August 2002, 04:44: Message edited by: Dom ]

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Not last halloween but the 1 b4 i was taken to HEDCHARGE'S halloween party were i saw poi 4 the first time. It was a sight 4 fuked eyes (wich i didnt take of the spiners for pretty much the whole night. made my own a week or so after and learnt the basics, hooked ever since.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Not last halloween but the 1 b4 i was taken to HEDCHARGE'S halloween party were i saw poi 4 the first time. It was a sight 4 fuked eyes (wich i didnt take of the spiners for pretty much the whole night. made my own a week or so after and learnt the basics, hooked ever since.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
It was about 8 or so months ago, I was at a local club in Knoxville, TN - USA. I ran into this Elizabeth girl from New Zealand who started spinning after I ran around forever trying to find strings for her. Been hooked ever since.
Thanks you Elizabeth

-Elfire

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Last year, the canoe club that I'm a member of had an anniversary and hired out an island that we camped on for a weekend.
One of the other members started spinning fire - I nearly had a go but I was wearing a brand new shirt that was a present so I thought it was a good idea if I didn't.

When I got home I had a look around the internet, finding a fair few sites, this one had the most information that was easy to understand, so I read up on it and bought some firepoi from here.

While I was doing this, my parents were on holiday so I practised my arse off before they came back, learning the weave, the butterfly and a couple of others so I could demonstrate when they arrived.

I had my first burn demonstrating to them - they were suitably impressed but still think i'm mad.

The reason I'm hooked is because I find it so much fun, plus everyone on this site is so helpful and friendly - if I didn't have such a good response from any questions I've asked I doubt I'd still be spinning now.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
One day last summer there was a woman at my house, (who usually lives in isreal but spends her summers here in canada) she was spinning and looked amazing. She was also selling sets. My mom bought a set and i obsconded them. I had no job last summer so i practiced for 6 weeks straight. I didnt even think to look on the internet so my skills only went so far but it was immensly fun and satisfying and relaxing (i cant think of one word for it). Anywho, how can anyone not be hooked to something that looks so amazing and feels so good.

rocketfire_tothemoon@hotmail.com CARPE DIEM seize the day and you will never regret your actions

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
2.3 years ago, I stumbled across an ex-girlfriend of mine at the Houston art car parade (one of this city's finer moments in the course of a year). I invited her over for later in the day to catch up on each others lives as we hadn't seen each other in a couple years. She dropped by that evening, and during the course of the night she started talking about Burning Flipside (the Texas regional Burningman event) that was coming up the next month. It was very important that I go because there was something very cool she wanted to show me. So I went, and lo! There were many nekkid (or at least scantily clad) beautiful people doing fire poi at night. There was no going back at that point. I got about 4 hours of lessons that night, though I was perhaps a little too intoxicated to be the most adept student in the world at the time. But I did eventually figure it out.

[ 09 August 2002, 13:51: Message edited by: vanize ]

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!

Posted: 8th Aug 2002
Staff - I went to a park, with a few friends ,to chill after a night at Planet Zogg (psy-trance club in Sheffield, England). Two of the guys I was with had Darth Maul lightsabers that they were spinning.

I decided I could be better than them at it so I went home and built myself a glowstaff. And just spunned and spunned it. All day every day. Got really quite good. . . .sometimes. . . . .if the wind is in the right direction . . .

Double staff - I knew this guy called Mark that was better than me at everything (including staff) and I wanted something i was better at. So I took up doubles.

Anyone beginning to suspect i have ego issues?

Poi - I decided, after 8 months of resisting, I couldn't advance anymore in double staff without learning the basics of poi.

After the first set i made tried to kill me and were subsequently buried unceremoniously in an unmarked grave in the garden. And, after a few months when various folks tried (and failed) to teach me basic stuff, I was fianlly inspired to start practicing properly when i started conversing with this beuatiful poi spinner that i met through this very board.

She'd just started learning staff. I started learning poi,

we met up,

fell in love,

and now we inspire and teach each other. Learn from and respect each others styles.


But i'm sure you don't want to hear about it again so i'll shut up about it now.

Meh

Posted: 9th Aug 2002
i wrote this out well somewhere, but i'll rewrite it badly this time cause i can't find it.

I was at a house party. I didn't know anyone, actually. And they did this thing called "firedancing" (they being the owner of said house) which when i asked questions, the best answer i got was "you know big sticks? you know fire? you know dancing? combine them."

so i thought it was really cool, and i actually went over to talk to this (insane) guy afterwards, and he said something about it being easy but i just saw him fling fire around his body, like i was going to listen to him? hehe. (btw, i still remmeber this wrap he did which i thought was sooooo scary at the time. i still can't do that wrap either.)

so later that night i was "watching" (watching in the sense of occasionally glancing over to see if the tennis balls in the nuts had knocked him down yet) this guy play with someone's tennis ball poi, and i thought to myself "self, that looks like a lot of fun. and that guys smashed himself 30 gazillion times and doesn't seem to be too badly injured yet"

and what the heck is he trying to learn? a weave? what's a weave? those are funny hand motions. *mumble mumble mumble mumble*

anyhow, i happened to mention something about how i could never do poi b/c i was so uncoordinated to the actual owner of the tennis ball poi later that week, and he says to me "you don't need coordination, you just need a lot of patience and a high pain tolerance." and i can tell ya, that sentence was the no-turning back point, altho admittedly i've been practicing staff a lot more than poi lately.... *blush*

tis wonderful fun

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....

Posted: 9th Aug 2002
A good friend of mine had a fire staff and at schoolies last year he gave me a go and it felt so natural, and the fire is soo addictive i just had to get one, but alass the shop only had short sticks as a posed to a stave. so i brought the funny poi things, and thanks to this website taught myself the basics!!! the first time I burn myself i become even more addicted. (yes i am strange arent i)
Oh and also one of the main reasons i got hooked was all the wonderful firey folk i have meet both in person and online!!!! love you all.

It's all good

Posted: 10th Aug 2002
sore glow sticks raveing but wasn't sick nuff 4 me and needed new challenge and i like the pretty lights

that shrewd and knavish sprite

Called Robin Good Fellow ; are you not he that is frighten of the maidens of the villagery - fairy

I am the merry wander of the night -puk

Posted: 10th Aug 2002
sore glow sticks raveing but wasn't sick nuff 4 me and needed new challenge and i like the pretty lights

that shrewd and knavish sprite

Called Robin Good Fellow ; are you not he that is frighten of the maidens of the villagery - fairy

I am the merry wander of the night -puk

Posted: 10th Aug 2002
WEll a fashion here got me hooked
and i ended liking it soo much that the fashion of that finshed and i still love doing it

Dance like if noone were watching you