Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > I am just starting Poi, what would be a good start?

Posted: 14th Sep 2009
oh i guess that would work too haha.

Posted: 15th Sep 2009
I recently got a pair of the jailhouse, and I'm happy with them, though I'm kind of a n00b and don't know the full range of the pros and cons. I like them better than knee socks for sure, since I can't do hyperloops or decent body wraps with the knee socks.

My only complaint would be that they can't take a whole lot of weight. My normal half cup of rice weights were a little too much for them, and were straining the seams in spots and stretching them out so that they didn't have much bounce anymore. I switched to tennis balls with coins in them (four American nickels in each), which seems to be a decent compromise). I didn't break mine, though, so maybe I'm being paranoid about their limits.

p|.q|r:|::s|.s|s:|:.s|q.|:p|s.|.p|s

Posted: 15th Sep 2009
i got a pair of Jailhouse socks in for my bday and they came in the mail yesterday and i got to play with them abit until i had to put them up for a cpl weeks, i fricken love them too, i havent tried much weight in them other than https://www.homeofpoi.com/shop/productDetails/Single-multicolour-LED-glow-ball-with-attachment-ring
glow heads.
I looked to see if they supply a weight on the details but it doesn't.
But they do feel alot heavier then a tennis ball.

Posted: 16th Sep 2009
They weigh 80g. If you look below the reviews, you can see the specs.

So not quite double a tennis ball.

Specifications

* 70mm Diameter PVC Ball
* PVC - soft thermoplastic resin
* Batteries included 3 x LR44
* Battery life 10hrs+
* Connection loop to fit 3mm quicklinks or split ring
* Twist battery cap to switch on/off
* High intensity LEDs
* Weight 80g

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Posted: 19th Sep 2009
80g and 7cm wide is, after a little bit of research, almost exactly the same as a standard tennis ball with four nickels. So if you don't feel like spending on the glowballs yet, the tennis ball/pocket change combo is a pretty good approximation of how those will feel in your socks.

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Posted: 20th Sep 2009
hmm, guess i missed the print under the reviews, it changes through the metric systems for u.s as well. *sigh* all the differences in weight measurements. i just need to go find out what happened to my ol scales

Posted: 14th Oct 2009
I just bought a pair of the jailhouse socks. I am waiting for them now. Any thing i can do to get some added weight of tennis balls for them? I would like to push there limts!

EDITED_BY: Bam_Bam (1255500197)

Posted: 14th Oct 2009
Drop some coins in with it?

Or put some weight in the tennis ball.

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Posted: 14th Oct 2009
i cut slits in my tennis balls, and dropped golf balls in my tennis balls. However, my girlfriend introduced me to an excellent poi spinner, and he told me that the rattle of the tennis balls can actually throw off your isolations with solid objects. Im not sure how true this is, but my isolations have gotten pretty decent with the added weight. but i havent tried solid heavy fire poi or anything like that.
still need to get me some fire poi =/

Posted: 16th Oct 2009
I would recommend tracking down the parts to assemble your own fire poi instead of buying retail. There are some retailers, like luxotica.com, that I really respect, but the retail markup is pretty high. You end up paying something like $40-60 for the convenience of not making them yourself. The wick is really the only thing you'd probably have to special order, the rest shouldn't be hard to track down between a large city and the non-fire-toy internet.

p|.q|r:|::s|.s|s:|:.s|q.|:p|s.|.p|s

Posted: 16th Oct 2009
on the weekends ive been working at a feedstore, and i was looking at choker chains for dogs for the chains, and theres a marine shope right down the street from my house so i can probably grab some swivels from there i have hobby lobby down the street from my house to grab something to make for handles, so i can probably have it all for under 20 bucks besides the head/wick for the poi

the chains look really nice, my friend was looking at them for me because hes worked alot with building and stuff and said the way they were made makes them really strong, and they are specifically made for holding dogs back, and he said the swivels are cheap and at the marine store, and i assume hobby lobby has stuff for handles, or home depot/walmart. so other than that i just need to figure out how i can make a fire head, and get some kevlar wick.

Posted: 22nd Oct 2009
Personally, I didn't want to switch up mediums too much while I'm learning so I practice with the pro series chains (double loop handle) and have the fluffies attached that I switch out with a set of Atom glow poi when I've polished up a few things. My goal is to spin fire so starting with chain seemed practical to me. I also find plane control, keeping momentum, and stable spinning much easier with the weight of the chain.

I have an incredibly hard time with socks or cords because of the light weight and stretching, but over a little time it's easier to transfer my chain practice onto the foxy socks.

Just a tip from what I've picked so far from my early spinning.

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 29th Oct 2009
I started with large socks balled up in small socks that were attached to yarn cords. Sooo ghetto! Lol people thought I was crazy thinking I was going to learn to fire dance with them. Now they see me and eat their words Start off small, don't go for anything like behind the back weaves or wraps you'll only frustrate urself into quitting. Start with swings, then butterflys. They are just plain fun to do! Then move into weaves and such. No rush, just get one down before u move onto another.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.