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SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
Well I have been practicing all day today, and got to thinking that I have never seen a real person Poi, or even met anyone that has heard of it.

All I have been going on are NathanielEverest's youtube videos.

I am a sad and lonely spinner frown Got to love Montana though...

Human


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
I was much the same way until just over a year into my twirly adventures.

hug


AdeSILVER Member
Are we there yet?
1,897 posts
Location: australia


Posted:
that's very cool you know, as I only started poi after seeing someone else do it in person

did you start after watching the vids, or know about poi before?

Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
hey i'v emet Nathanieleverest! he is a very shiney spinner.

thats quite impressive that you've learnt without anyone else, i'd expect most people to get bored without company and give up.

maybe you should go on holiday to meet other spinners?

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
Ade: I started after getting *very* interested in Burning Man, I haven't been before (09' will be my first time burning), but I watched a lot of youtube videos on burning man and said wow I want to learn that when I saw people spinning fire! It was not easy finding out what it was called though!

Majestik: It is getting harder and harder to practice with no one else, that's kind of what spurred this thread. I have done a search here on home of poi but there does not seem to be anyone for miles frown Anyway, I am keeping on keeping on trying to get high-reels or windmills figured out without shattering my light fixtures!

Human


ElectricBlueGOLD Member
Now with extra strawberries
810 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
I was also the same for a very long time and even now the only people who i really have 'seen' to poi are the ones i have taught smile

I think it can actually be quite cool coming from an isolation from some of the arts. Although it can be frustrating it can be it leads to developing a really independent style.

A funny story from when i was first learning poi:
I had only seen pictures of fire poi on the net so i didn't really have any idea how big they were proportionately. This lead to me making the most massive tube core poi that i went on to learn with. It was only a few years later when i started to travel and see other peoples poi that i realised i had been twirling some kind of mutant poi.

I {Heart} hand me downs and spinning in the snow.<br /><br />


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
How big are we talking, ElectricBlue?? I've noticed that most peoples poi tends to be on the light side, in my opinion. I want isis heads or gorilla fists or something, all the fire poi I've seen are too light for my preferences, especially the tube core variety.

hug


Fire_MooseSILVER Member
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA


Posted:
Dopple....have fun at burningman, last year was my first, it was AMAZING. youll be able to spin with plenty of people, they are always in center camp spinning, it's ton of fun.

O.B.E.S.E.

Owned by Mynci!


MikefromGlosSILVER Member
Hitman
985 posts
Location: Gloucester England


Posted:
dont worry bout being alone it only encourages you to convert your friends to poi.... like i did in gloucester

he he i am mike the amazing gloscircus person who is mike.

Officaly an exception to the Poi Boys are Girls Thing


astonSILVER Member
Unofficial Chairperson of Squirrel Defense League
4,061 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
I doubt I would have carried on as long as I have if I did not have people around.

I would now, people are willing to watch at least. wink

'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


AdeSILVER Member
Are we there yet?
1,897 posts
Location: australia


Posted:
wow - you are all amazing to learn from seeing pics or vids!

yes clap

DerwynLightworker
88 posts
Location: New Mexico


Posted:
Ya, I'm a loner too... I don't really mind too much but sometimes I think it would be easier and quicker to get a move if I had someone to show me what I'm doing wrong.

I love Nathaniel Everest! He's a really good teacher for just being on a video. He'll also take video questions from you if you choose to do that. Pretty groovy.

I'm still looking for poi friends and teachers where I am... and yes, all my friends want to do it now that they see me do it, not that it's much to see yet.

"When we dance with the faeries, we dance with the reflections of our true selves and the true inner self of the world."

"If you keep thinking like that, you'll never get to meet a Unicorn."


-sandy-BRONZE Member
old hand
716 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
I was spinning for nearly 2 years before i met anyone else who spun. That was before there was all these videos available on the net to learn from, but while it was frustrating feeling like i was the only person in the world into this great thing, it really helped develop a style, something i didnt really appreciate until much further down the line.

Keep at it and if you can make it to a meet somewhere, go, it will be amazing and your head will hurt. But dont worry, the fact your still at it is a good sign and you will meet others eventually, you'll probably get to teach them too and that can be a really rewarding experience as you watch them improve. Plus they will all think your really cool grin

"Don't do it naked!"


SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
Originally Posted By: -sandy-I was spinning for nearly 2 years before i met anyone else who spun. That was before there was all these videos available on the net to learn from, but while it was frustrating feeling like i was the only person in the world into this great thing, it really helped develop a style, something i didnt really appreciate until much further down the line.

Keep at it and if you can make it to a meet somewhere, go, it will be amazing and your head will hurt. But dont worry, the fact your still at it is a good sign and you will meet others eventually, you'll probably get to teach them too and that can be a really rewarding experience as you watch them improve. Plus they will all think your really cool grin

How could you learn to do it on your own if you never saw anyone or anything?

Human


ElectricBlueGOLD Member
Now with extra strawberries
810 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
From looking at videos of people performing.

Thats how i learnt all of my hoop and poi tricks. Not from tutorials but from watching videos of people perform and then working out how to do the moves.

I {Heart} hand me downs and spinning in the snow.<br /><br />


SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
Ah gotcha! I misunderstood smile

Human


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
Hey man, I first got into poi after watching people perform at a festival, but ideally, being isolated as you learn is a good thing, it means that you're free to develop your own sense of style and intimacy with the poi without being cramped by other people's perceptions. I know I do my most rigid and boring spinning when people are watching, because I'm incredibly conscious of their eyes upon me.

When you're by yourself, there's nobody to judge, and that creates a great sense of freedom, nor will you feel the strange sensation of jealousy when you see somebody better than you in the flesh, the amount of emotional politics that occurs inside me when it comes to spinning, it's all a bit much sometimes.

When you're by yourself you don't need to worry or think about such things, it's just you and your poi, it's the purest way to spin.

You'll find people soon enough, and if you're been following my tutorials, I'm sure you'll be able to show them a thing or two. wink.

But that's for watching my videos, and I'm really glad that they've helped you and others learn, poi is just such a rewarding thing, learning it is too good to charge people for.

Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
Originally Posted By: NathanielEverist
You'll find people soon enough, and if you're been following my tutorials, I'm sure you'll be able to show them a thing or two. wink.


I spose the next step is to then learn something decent to show them. tongue2

hug


SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
Yeah no kidding, I have been working on high reels, however I am going through a giant breakup and moving and my research team is hammering me with work, and I have terribly hard classes this year. When I get off work and school all I want to do is drink, and have been.

Would you believe I have spent 700 dollars at the bar this week alone?

I should have bought some fire poi and a bed to sleep on... maybe a pillow to...

Human


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
The poi will make you feel fitter than the alcohol will. tongue2

But you should just carry sock poi around with you whenever you go... I tend to get a lot of poi done while waiting for classes or trains or whatever else I happen to wait for. ..

hug


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
Yeah man, Reels are the most fundamental and tragically under taught move set there is in my opinion.

Sucks about how life's responsibilities can take you away from what you love, but unfortunately, work and study are more important than poi (although many hoppers, being hippies will disagree), which is why I haven't been poi-ing much lately.

As for drinking, 700 dollars is a lot to spend at a bar, buy alcohol from a liquor store instead, it's cheaper, and then you can drink it at home or with mates, where you can listen to the music you like and don't have to worry about having dozens of girls making passes at you.

But on a serious note, don't let life beat you man, and especially don't let your break up get to you to the point that you're spending all your money on a means of escape. Get drunk a few times, hang out with your mates etc, but don't let it hurt you anymore than it already has, and for what it's worth, I've been through brutal break-ups, like my girlfriend of 3 years *having fun* with one of my best friends. The wounds heal, there's plenty more fish in the sea blah blah blah, I know they're cliched bollocks, but there's a reason they're cliched.

Sorry to yammer on, I just sincerely hope everything works out for you buddy.

SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
No worries, I don't have anyone to talk to about what's going on, not that I am going to rant here. I broke up with her though... Had to move my things out ASAP, now I sleep on a concrete floor.

Human


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
It's ok to rant here, it's the social chat forum. And as for the concrete floor, it's not so bad once you get used to it, I've slept on conrete floors and been confortable, just make sure you keep warm buddy.

duvanancient oachkatzlschwoaf
248 posts
Location: germany


Posted:
hey dude,

no worries about that, it was the same for me grin
I've been spinning lonely for about three years - then I went to BJC and EJC and for the first time ever in my life saw other poi spinners (or at least poi spinners that had an above average level)

after that time I hardly had any poi spinners around me either - yet I kept playing.

in fact I must say that I am grateful that I had no one around. Forced me into finding own ways and gave me time to really work on stuff. Now that I am in Berlin I'm at a weekly Poi gathering and it is great fun but I really don't practise as effictively anymore as I used to back then when I was 'lonely' wink

I must admit that I had a fairly unhealthy obsession regarding poi and it was mainly that yeah, very weird mindset that kept me spinning for years but looking back on my own madness I must say it was bloody worth it grin

StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
The first time I ever saw poi was on a beach in Thailand this big fat guy i was "teaching English" to got up and did a burn and i thought WOW...I want to try that and he agreed to teach me.

There was a serious communication problem, with his English being very poor and my Thai being non existent, but through wheat pretty much amounts to mime he managed to get me started and I went and practiced alone and harassed any English speaking tourists who knew what poi was/were to please...show me something.

Then one night, drinking in the beach bar, I'm thinking I'm too drunk and I better go back to my bungalow and puke, Thai guy lights up the poi and hands them to me...IIRC all I did was spin some forward and reverse circles, with a turn thrown in every now and then, oh yea, I did some plane bending into the butterfly, a bit of corkscrew...ummm that's about it.

I ended up in such a "trance" that I completely forgot I was hammered, re dipped and did a second burn. "The crowd" loved it, I loved it, then I went back to my bungalow and passed out thinking I have to try this sober.

When I got back home to Canada, I was lucky enough to live in a place that had a poi studio, so I took four months of lessons which, in retrospect, if I hadn't taken I might have just given up seeing as how online tutorials were few and far between and all I had were performance videos to watch..and rip off.

After the lessons finished up, there was pretty much nothing "out there" sure, there were other local spinners but the community was so fragmented due to performer's egos and general snobbishness, that learning moves was only possible by watching others spin, and ripping them off.

I became a "lone spinner" until the next winter when i went back to Thailand with the goal of learning more poi. I pretty much failed here as it turned out I did more teaching than learning. Even when I went to a couple of "professional" schools all they did was offer me a job, so they didn't have to work as hard and I was pretty much on my own to figure thing out.

So having someone to show you things can lead to learning faster, but the most important thing is to practice, practice, practice, which is most effectively done alone anyways.

Spinning in a public area might help attract some other spinners. it doesn't matter how "good" you are. Who knows, you may be going to school with other spinners and not even know it.

duvanancient oachkatzlschwoaf
248 posts
Location: germany


Posted:
Originally Posted By: Stout
[...] I might have just given up seeing as how online tutorials were few and far between and all I had were performance videos to watch..and rip off.

After the lessons finished up, there was pretty much nothing "out there" sure, there were other local spinners but the community was so fragmented due to performer's egos and general snobbishness, that learning moves was only possible by watching others spin, and ripping them off.


whoa, thanx for sharing your story (Ya I know this sounds like some weird self-help-group comment :D) but I'd like to ask you something:

I feel that if I started today I would be overwhelmed by all these online tutorials... I simply wouldn't know where to start, what path is right and even where I wanted to go - all decisions you 'have' to make nowadays for there is soooo much stuff out there.

whereas back then I loved the thrill DJ Dantanas (dude, are you still out there???) videos gave me oh and mylord I even remember having watched "how to make friends & influence lemmings" for the first time which gave me goosebumps. what I did was - of course - copying all the moves and look like a sloppy-teenage-copy of all these great spinners hehe but I just loved it. there simply was no teaching material out there so I literally sucked up every bit of information on tricks & style with each new video that was released back then smile

/e: oh ok actually I forgot the question:

don't you feel like there's too much stuff out there nowadays? wink

Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
I'll throw in my response to that,duvan. I started poi about a year and a half ago,I suppose... so this is when the "online tutorial database" was beginning to grow.

I learned a lot of the basics from the videos and then went on to rip off more advanced concepts from videos. I never felt overwhelmed, but now that theres so much more out there, (Nick Woolseys series for the ultra beginner, for example) I think beginners WOULD feel a bit overwhelmed.

If I'm teaching an ultra beginner I'll teach them planes, some warm up movements that are good for learning pirouettes and understanding the way the poi move, split time, even time, directions and how these can be combined to make more complicated movements... From there we construct a butterfly and some basic weaves, then tell them only to start looking for more stuff online if they aren't learning anything useful on their own or if they feel like they'd like more of a challenge.


But heres a quote from a friend that I just asked regarding this topic (She is just starting now, in her first week)


"I have to admit, it can be confusing looking.
Or, as a beginner, trying to determine a good place to start"

hug


SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
I would imagine that being overwhelmed would be easy, however, when I found Everests videos I said, "This guy knows what's going on" and decided that would be my curriculum, so far so good!

Human


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
Originally Posted By: duvan
I feel that if I started today I would be overwhelmed by all these online tutorials... I simply wouldn't know where to start, what path is right and even where I wanted to go - all decisions you 'have' to make nowadays for there is soooo much stuff out there.


Yeah, there is definitely a lot of stuff out there, and it's constantly growing, which is certainly leading to me feeling a bit overwhelmed. When I first started, there were only so many moves I new about, and so the goal of learning everything seemed achievable, but in the last year especially, it seems to me that poi has gone through a major period of growth, both in popularity and movements available. And now I'm certainly not sure of where to go next. I know there are places to go, but I don't know where is best to start.

It's for this reason I made my tutorial videos in an "order", not that I preach that anybody should strictly follow that order, but I feel that it's a fairly decent order in which to be learning things. I did that to prevent people from feeling overwhelmed, and giving them an idea of what is good to learn next, or at least what they should already know before attempting certain moves.

Originally Posted By: stoutI might have just given up seeing as how online tutorials were few and far between and all I had were performance videos to watch..and rip off.

After the lessons finished up, there was pretty much nothing "out there" sure, there were other local spinners but the community was so fragmented due to performer's egos and general snobbishness, that learning moves was only possible by watching others spin, and ripping them off.

I think I'm again in the group of people that was better off alone, I trained far harder, and enjoyed it far more, and while I was helped by a few beginner's tutorials, there was stuff out there that was severely missing, which is why the majority of stuff I learnt was from watching and mimicking performance videos also. I still learn most of my newer moves this way.

As for egos, unfortunately, I too have an ego, as I said earlier, I feel jealous when I see people who can do things I can't, especially with poi, and sadly it lead to a lot of brilliant performances or spinners going unappreciated by me, because I couldn't see the beauty of their skill for what it was, I merely saw a set of new benchmarks for me to meet. I guess that comes from a low sense of self-worth, to the point that one needs to compensate by developing a set of skills to fill the gaps in one's confidence.

Despite this, I've never withheld from teaching, I taught everybody who wanted to learn, and made tutorial videos, I think this was a conscious effort to combat the feelings of possessiveness that I knew I felt, but didn't want to, I forced what I thought were good values upon myself. But hey, now I realise my ego has extended into my tutorial videos, which I am quite proud of, and that I enjoy teaching primarily because it makes me feel good about myself.

Man, this ego stuff is tricky, sorry to ramble on about myself.

SuchGOLD Member
Rancor
253 posts
Location: Right Here, USA


Posted:
Well Nathaniel, hopefully when I get to lesson 40 or so you will have blazed the trail further so I am not lost when I don't know what to learn next! tongue2

Human


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
I'm still making new videos, having trouble uploading them unfortunately, but I'm working on it.

Tutorials that've been made but are waiting for upload:
Butterfly crossers
Same Direction crossers
Split time butterfly and variations
"body beats" theory

Not to mention all the gaps in the lesson plan that people keep bugging me to fill :), I guess I shouldn't have just made them sporadically.

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