Poi? What is Poi?
Poi is one of the best things you can ever discover AND the Maori word for 'ball on a cord.'What is the History of Poi?
The Poi was used, many years ago, by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand to increase their flexibility and strength in their hands and arms as well as to improve coordination. Wahine (female) dancers can also perform the Fire Poi and Led Poi, which get listed as separate categories because there are so many options and designs.
What are the Best poi for beginners?
Soft and forgiving is the type of Poi head you will want. We have Sock Poi with a soft recycled rubber ball as the head. This ball gives good weight and is so soft if it knocks your body accidentally. Our Ultra-Poi also has a soft inner and a removable tail for when you are beginning. The tails help later to get you spacing and planes nice and tight, plus look great while adding an audio element similar to fire. Noise helps to add to your spatial awareness.
How to select your Length of Poi?
Use the distance from your thumb your chest to get your ideal Poi Length. We use S = short, M = medium, L = long to help in selecting length. It can be shorter, or you can have it longer, but if longer then this can limit the number the moves you will be able to do.
Where can I get Elderly Poi?
We have Poi sets made specifically for the elderly, with much softer impacts against the body, lighter weight, easy-grip handles for those with arthritis, and are a shorter length suitable for those restricted to a chair. We have them listed for sale on this page.
Why buy Sock Poi?
These Sock Poi feature an opening in the side that allows you to change sizes and types of weight. The Sock Poi is made from super-smooth high-grade nylon spandex, so the Poi will easily slide off the body. The stretchiness is said to make spinning and certain tricks much easier due to the cushioning of the spandex stretch. So these are well-liked by beginners. Also, the white color Sock Poi has a thin enough fabric for the Led Poi section. You will see many Led Poi sets use the Sock Poi as a means to swing the light around.
What are Tailed Poi?
One of the great things about LED and Fire Poi is the 'comet' trail of light following the Poi head as it travels around the body. This flowing trail gets added to Fabric Poi not as light, but like a gymnastics ribbon, a lightweight colorful fabric that catches in the flow of air behind the Poi head. As a Day Poi these do look fantastic as they spin and dance around leaving trails of colorful fabric. Scarf Poi and the Ultra Poi are both designed to display the Comet Trail effect during sunny days and at night under a UV / Blacklight light source.
What are Flag Poi?
Like the Tailed Poi, the Flag Poi uses the comet trail effect to open up beautiful blocks of color. 'Flag Swinging' flags are usually rectangular and have weights sewn into the leading and bottom edges to keep the shape as they fly around. Sadly do a move too many times in one direction, and the 'swinging flags' end up twisting to a big mess at the point where you hold them. Our Flag Poi has a handle and Contact Poi routines. Like a Chinese Meteor Hammer, the cord between the handle and Poi head will appear like a solid rod/stick because of the centrifugal forces created. Moves like hanging a verticle stall and many others can enhance the solid rod/stick appearance. Now throw in some club Pendulum Poi has unlimited moves and illusions to amaze onlookers.
How to use 2, 3, or 4 Contact Poi?
Why limit yourself to just a pair of Contact/Pendulum Poi? If you are already a juggler of 3 clubs, why not get a set of 3 Poi? You can easily swing 2 Poi in one hand and one in the other and switch back and forth between Poi Moves. Many Maori women and others in New Zealand are very good at using 4 Poi (2 in each hand) at a time. But there is no limit, as once I saw a guy skateboarding down a hill on his back while using two Poi in each hand and two on each foot, OMG that's a total of 8 Poi! and they were all Fire Poi!
What is the difference between flex and regular Pendulum Poi ?
The 'Flex' uses a 6mm Polyester Rope which, as the name implies, provides a more flexible cord. The regular Pendulum Poi uses a thicker 8mm Polyester Rope, which can help with vertical stalls or any moves requiring a stiffer rope/cord.
Why you should spin Poi?
The benefits to be gained from Poi are;- Improved coordination, balance, dexterity, and body awareness,
- Improved focus, alertness, perception, patience, persistence,
- Improved brain function, creativity,
- Fun cardiovascular exercise,
- Greater self image, self esteem, confidence,
- and a great way of meeting new people and developing new friends and relationships
- And to be a part of helping people to achieve those benefits is our greatest achievement and drives our vision: