Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > How to start learning 'btb' moves?

Posted: 1st Aug 2001
I'm not particularly flexible, but I manage to do some btb moves.Stretching might help. There's a yoga stretch (which I cannot do) where you bring your palms together, fingers pointing up, behind your back. I do a stretch where I grab my elbows behind my back--this has gotten easier, so it's probably working.approach btb moves one-handed at first. Just work on getting the crossover move. Also work on holding one hand across your back and doing side-circles on the opposite side--this gets you accustomed to the hand position and keeping the poi going in it.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 1st Aug 2001
I cant even reach my elbows behind my back I have been trying btb weave for about a week now, about 15 minutes a day. I think I need to stretch more... but I dont even know where to start.

I smell something burning.

Posted: 1st Aug 2001
hey Blackbird.. I can do a reverse weave Behind my head. I do a rev weave, then i raise it, and then take it behind my head.I hit myself in the face many times trying it. And you ten to hit your shoulders alot, thus making it very awkward to keep up.I have been practicing the BTB weave for months. I still cannot get it. I al extremly non-flexible when it comes to anything behind my back. My arms just dont bend that way. I can do the splits three ways, but i can hardly touch my hand together behind me. I thought i got it started the other night but i wasnt doing it right. It also makes it hard because you cant see what your doing. You have to work of of the feel of it, but if you dont know how it feels...aaarrrhgg frustration is a bitch. Ill get it eventually. BTB weave is my Unicorn"S"------------------"When a Man Lies He Murders Some Part of the World These Are the PaleDeaths Which Men Miscall Their Lives All this I Cannot Bear to Witness Any Longer Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation Take Me Home"

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 1st Aug 2001
excuse me my stupid questoin but whats BTB weavE?

Dance like if noone were watching you

Posted: 1st Aug 2001
Behind The Back(BTB)Weave. I am probably one of the furthest from flexible on this board and I can do forward and reverse BTB weavesno problem, for as long as I want. I learned by practicing my ass off and striving to learn more. You have to learn how to control the poi wherever they are. Like when you first start you can bearly do a weave without hitting yourself, then you practice and practice and you start controlling your hands and body better, and the poi realize this and you controll them better. Same with BTBW's you have to get the movements down tight, especially for BTBW's cause they don't feel good at all to get hit with. You are going to hurt your head, no choice about it, it's all worth it when you finnaly get it down.EricI know you can do it, anyone who tries hard enogh will be able to.Eric

Its about talent, not make up or costumes.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
btb stuff sucks for those of us with shorter arms....my shouldres have gotten bigger just from doing glowsticks all the time which i thought was pretty cool...then i wanted to learn some btb moves and i founf out that having bigger shoulders reduces flexibility and having shorter arms def sucks. i will never be able to do the btb weave sinmply beacause my arms wont bend that way...my buddies (who I envy) with longer arms are getting it but i am left in the dust....however practice will help...good luck to all with the same problems as me!!!!!

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
getting it, btw; got the btb figure eight down, should have the weave in a few days... its pretty hard to work into a routine, i'm finding... I usually have to stop. I guess it comes with time.

x X x ß £ Å Ĉ К ß î я Ð x X x

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
Tips:1. As with every other move you've probably learned, start by practicing with ONE poi. Hold the other one in your hand, or put it down. Get it the hell out of the way. Just swing backwards with ONE poi and see if you can reliably get it around your back to the other side for one beat. Then try two in a row. Then put that poi in your hand and start with the other hand. After that, then try 2-handed btb crossovers. After that, crossovers in split time, then an actual weave.2. Proper stance: the flexibility, believe it or not, is more in the hips and waist than the arms and shoulders. You can do a fair bit of bending around and twisting at the waist in order to get your arms where they need to be; your arms should be reserved for doing the fine-motor-skills work of keeping the poi going and moving around each other for the weave. Also stand with your feet locked together, toes pointed forward. For some reason standing with your feet apart at all changes my stance just enough that it throws me off every time.3. Getting a handle on any muscle tension in your shoulders is also key. I lost the BTB weave for a few weeks while going through a majorly stressful period; after getting a massage and learning to control the amount of tension I store in my shoulders it came right back to me. Try getting a massage out of one of your buddies if you're really not making any progress. 4. Attitude - Shiz I think you've got the right idea practicing 15 mins/day. God I must have practiced BTB weave in tiny fits and spurts for at least a month before I even felt like I was making any progress..but I can do it now! Repetition is key; just keep on trying. If you get sick of whapping yourself when you get up to the split time crossover part, go back to single-poi practicing. Yeah, it's boring, and if you're working on this, you can probably do all kinds of more fun stuff when you have time to practice, but do invest the time!Good luck to everybody!-protie

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
Hey protozoa!awesome explination. I am the classic example of the person that cant get the BTB weave. I have been trying for about 4 months or so. I am just now getting close to pulling off the crossover in splittime**thanks to the help of Myst, Adam, and various others in countless threads****When i nail the BTB weave, there will be a disturbance in the force like none other.."S"------------------"When a Man Lies He Murders Some Part of the World These Are the PaleDeaths Which Men Miscall Their Lives All this I Cannot Bear to Witness Any Longer Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation Take Me Home"

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
Superman! You are SO CLOSE! Getting that last step actually is the easiest of all! One time (very soon!) you'll decide to just try getting that other arm around..and bing!Let us know when you get it! Better yet, get it on film!!

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
I need help! For weeks now i have been able to start the BTBW on my right side- then go to my left side....,.then thats it. 2 revolutions(circles) and i can never continue it...its kiliing me!! Can anyone help PLEASE

Posted: 9th Aug 2001
i can do BTB butterfly Really EASY!but BTB weave.... OMFG!!!

Dance like if noone were watching you

Posted: 10th Aug 2001
is there an easy way of going form the BTB BF to the BTB weave???i can do the BTB BF without even thinking, maybe i can link them "S"------------------"When a Man Lies He Murders Some Part of the World These Are the PaleDeaths Which Men Miscall Their Lives All this I Cannot Bear to Witness Any Longer Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation Take Me Home"

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 10th Aug 2001
Soop:I don't know of one; the easiest way for me, at least, to get into the btb weave is to simply spin reverse in split time at my sides (more low, and close-in..right at my hips, actually) feet together, toes forward, and then start crossing over. It's difficult for me to get into smoothly considering how weirdly I have to stand to do it.Ezy: I frequently have the same problem! When I do BTB weave with fire I frequently do it just like that - with no repetitions beyond the first two - because I'm not quite confident enough to keep going and it's hard! Get your mind especially focused at that point; really concentrate on getting that upper hand across and down for that third rep. The BTB weave is one of those moves that really bring me back to earth and force me to concentrate on what I'm doing, rather than just spacing and jamming and letting gravity have its way..that's partly what I like about it! But I'd love to be able to do it smooth and easy as pie..still working on that part. -protie

Posted: 10th Aug 2001
ya know, the more i contemplate about this, im thinking 99.99999% is in my head, because if i would have tried to learn this move first, i bet i would have got it.i have just put it in my head that this move is the hardest move i will learn. I thought that from day one. <> I must unlearn what i have learned..."S"------------------"When a Man Lies He Murders Some Part of the World These Are the PaleDeaths Which Men Miscall Their Lives All this I Cannot Bear to Witness Any Longer Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation Take Me Home"

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 11th Aug 2001
Soop--Just as it is possible to go from a regular butterfly to a regular weave, it is possible to go from a btb butterfly into a btb weave. I've done it a few times, but usually I wind up getting tangled. It ain't easy.Protie--I'm with you--the btb weave is a "stunt" move for me that doesn't just flow. Someday...

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 31st Mar 2002
ok, meybe i expect to much from myself since i just got my froward and reverse weaves, but i want some advice on btb... liek are my arms really supposed to be crossed that much? I can kind of do it- well, with one poi anyhow! but it feels very very awkward.... is it 'posed to?

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....

Posted: 1st Apr 2002
The more you do it, the less awkward it will feel. Partly because you'll re-train your arm and shoulder muscles to do what you need them to do, and perhaps partly because your body just gets accustomed to the feeling.But yeah, it feels really awkward at first. Don't worry about that.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 1st Apr 2002
ok, here's my 2 cents on btb weaves----i've had a problem learning them because i used to lift wieghts alot, and my flexibility was next to none btb, due to wide shoulders and triceps....and when i would practice it, it would be way to much strain on my shoulders and i could not get full movement of my arms back there.so i had to move my body that much more to compinsate....and i don't know about you guysbut i like the btb weave alot better with the least amount of body movement.....so i have a friend that does yoga religeouslyand till just a few weeks ago never thought to ask her so she gave me some streches.she told me about the ones that adam had mentioned and she gave me another one that helped me alot so i'll atempt to explain it, it really is a great strech......ok here it goes----ok, grab a towel with your right hand and reach behind to the back of your neck, [kinda like doing the tricep strech where you would grab your elbow and pull]so now that you right hand is behind your neck, reach behind your back with your left and grab the bottom of the towel, and begin to inch your hands tward each other top and bottom, very slowly mind you so you don't pull anything, and hold for about a min.then switch hand and put your right behind your back and left behind your neck----do a few sets alternating armsafter a few weeks you should be able to lock you finger together without the use of a towel, belive me guys this strecth is great.i hope the explaination was clear if not just let me now i'll try to explain it betterhope this helps...cheers****klubkid*

Posted: 1st Apr 2002
hey i can lock my hands behind my back the way you wanted me to, is that good? I have really long arms. i also have upper body flexibilty....too bad i can only touch me knees instead of my toes tho.... thanks for the advice, i had actually just discovered taht that helped on my own I just can't get the circles to stay...well...circular? I suspect i just need more practice...

Keep your dream alive
Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....

Posted: 2nd Apr 2002
I can reach 2/3 the way to my elbows, hence the username. Helps to dislocate the shoulder. I have the btb weave down, starting from reverse spin. Now need to get it going the other way.Struggling and bruised, yet steely determined!

Courage is the man who can stop after only one peanut

Posted: 20th Jun 2007
im more bendy than silly putty and i cant get the hang of it yet so its not just that you have to be flexible i think its more how you approach it like any other move it seems like it cant be done till you do it once or twice by mistake and then the light bulb dings

Posted: 20th Jun 2007

 Written by: Bendy

I have the btb weave down, starting from reverse spin. Now need to get it going the other way.

Struggling and bruised, yet steely determined!

same here. starting the btb weave starting forward spinning seems impossible.

will get it eventually though

Posted: 20th Jun 2007
see i got btb weaves easy but i seem to get hard things easy but i used a video tutorial i can upload it and post it on here if ppl want it unfortunatly its a glowsticking tutorial but it's the same move ment and feel with poi

Posted: 20th Jun 2007
i learnt off this




still very hard to train the brain new things, but it gets there eventually

Posted: 20th Jun 2007
see to me btb is the same as in front of the body only with your arms crimped like t-rex arms

Posted: 20th Jun 2007
It wasn't for particularily btb moves i came up with this but try working up you movement by holding a gyroball ( gyroscope ) btb untill you've worked up sufficient movement control in the respective are. It helped me to perfect the wasitwrap.

Posted: 21st Jun 2007
hmm i tried for months and months.. and MONTHS to learn btb moves. I finally learned for my friend who has been doing poi for only a few months! She used to do color guard in school and one of the moves is behind the back. lol id practice with a staff or broom first. i know it sounds ridiculous but it worked for me

Posted: 1st Jul 2007
aaaw this video is awsome. i have just worked out what i was doing wrong thanks to it. although my back is in muchos pain :P i think i will try again with some more forgiving poi :P

if i could be a busy busy bee...

Posted: 1st Jul 2007
Try soft poi, tennis balls in socks work well, and not giving up. Also, try screwing with it, jumping around and all, whacky stuff. Order appears from chaos