jonathanenthusiast
210 posts
Location: new zealand


Posted:
having thrashed out various aspects of poi moves and decided that its important to move your feet and dance or move around while doing them, i think its time for people to put down how and when/where they move their feet while doing poi........

it would be more helpful to keep this positive and share and learn from everyones ideas rather than resorting to the old 'i'm right' attitude that has come through a few of the recent posts

so...... any ideas?
i always find simply walking with them is a good idea, also there are various stances i go through, depending on which moves im trying to do

anyone got any tips to share?

NightShade1member
368 posts
Location: panama


Posted:
I dont walk i dance like crazy at the rhytm of trance music:)
wheeeeeeee
i wish ihad camara to show you my MaDSkillZ

just kidding ;P

But i wish i had a camara

Dance like if noone were watching you


jonathanenthusiast
210 posts
Location: new zealand


Posted:
interesting, maybe some good acid and a loud stereo would help me out (then i might be just mad with no skillz :-))

its cool to dance, but just saying that dosent exactly help us out in trying to learn new foot work.......

by walking i ment walking through me tae kwon do and ninjitsu stances, the TKD ones are similar to maori styles, the basic ones forwards and back stances ect work out o.k.

breathing has a big impact on how i do my butterflies, correct breathing helps me to move in a more relaxed way, helps me control my heart beat too (old TKD trick) for more ki flo

cool!
any other ideas?

SmokyDavySILVER Member
Do my poi look too small in this?
394 posts
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Posted:
I sometimes move my feet, but its only when the music makes me do it. In that case though the way I move is highly dependant on what kind of music it is, and whether it is energized.

Paddyback from the dead...sort of
884 posts
Location: 43°41'N 79°38'W


Posted:
agreed. 'tis hard to give actual tips, as dancing is something closely tied to the music, your mood and your style. the only tip I can think of it to let loose and see what happens. everything will develop from there.

NightShade1member
368 posts
Location: panama


Posted:
Well all i can tell ya i MOVE ALOTTTTTTTTTT
DAnce like crazy with music doing anykind of moves

The only moves i can do and dance soo well are the BTBs but anyways i dance hehe it just doesnt look as good as when i dance with butterfly weave Alternate butterflies, butterfly weaves, Corkscrews Quadruples corkscrew and windmills etc etc
THIS IS GOOD SHIT! LOVE THIS hehe
Good trance and poi drive me crazy WHEEEEE
i think i got my own style;)

[ 20 August 2002, 15:58: Message edited by: NightShade1 ]

Dance like if noone were watching you


SmokyDavySILVER Member
Do my poi look too small in this?
394 posts
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada


Posted:
I also find that my footwork trips up if I'm doing anything complicated.

Really, I'd assume that for anyone its good to practice your moves as much as possible, so you can move all four limbs without thinking about any of them. Even then, certain transitions might cause you to stop your legs.

jonathanenthusiast
210 posts
Location: new zealand


Posted:
hmmmmm.......

thats quite cool, but i just cant dance.....

i can do 4 poi something chronic though, and the trick is (told to me by a vary stoned maori man) was that ya gotta walk..... similar to ninja philosophy

for me, poi are a weapon, and as such any moves have to be precise, well practised, and effective. how can you hope to avoid a taiaha or mere and keep your 4 poi going if your moves are random?, not random in the sense of not predictable (which is good) but random as in when your not sure what your doing, or where your feet are going to go ect. not that im dissing dancing (how can i when i dont know how?) but it seems to me that there must be some sort of reliably repeatable footwork you guys do when doing some sick moves.

*pastes colours to the wall* the die hard martial artist in me thinks poi done with meaning (think trigrams/hexagrams ect) according to a system is more rewarding at the end of the day. even if it only means that when i do freestyle and dance (o.k. maybe i can dance a little the moves flow much nicer

of course i dont mean that how people want to poi, if its not done in a certain way has any less validity, thats not what its all about.

lord knows not everyone wants to poi like me (running away from said taiaha ect), and i feel the same about other people

fun fun fun funfun!!!!!! thats the ticket

but thats only my opinion amongst a raft of them. i guess one of my problems is that i dont listen to music when i poi (i dont mind it tho)

anyone see where im coming from?
any martial artists tried setting poi to patterns?

Bender_the_OffenderGOLD Member
still can't believe it's not butter
6,978 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
what i do to let my hair down and scare children is to boogey the way monkey from monkey magic does this crazy robot dance at the end of the drought episode. throw in some bad 70's pop guitar and there'll be a riot.
did it not rule anyone else's world when they saw this?!?! ok praps not... but i have a kidneys

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always


Jkaremember
19 posts
Location: Boulder


Posted:
K, although I found everyone's post to be very amusing, I think that jonathan has a good point. Being able to lay some of these things down will allow us to get better at understanding it later.

I'm still definitely in the learning stage with this one, but I can wander around pretty much wherever I want. The key is the transition from forwards to backwards. When you turn, you're putting yourself in a new range of motion. You don't have to make your turn go 90 degrees, you can make it go further or less. Nasu taught me a trick where you do a backwards weave in the middle, then break to a forwards weave on your left side, then backwards again even farther to your left. You then go back to the middle and do the same on the opposite side.

By the time your through with that, you can go pretty much anywhere in the circle. I can't do behind the back stuff, but I think that would give you some more possibilities.

Listen to the fire, your body, your breath and the BASS! (if there's no music, skip bass section) Open seasame more circles of movement begin to appear 8oO0o8

Jkare
It's Time

Salama mpira wa moto


Dragon7GOLD Member
addict
625 posts
Location: Aotearoa (NZ), New Zealand


Posted:
Written by:

Nasu taught me a trick where you do a backwards weave in the middle, then break to a forwards weave on your left side, then backwards again even farther to your left. You then go back to the middle and do the same on the opposite side


eek beerchug

SpitFireGOLD Member
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada


Posted:
Hmm...one thing I've noticed when it comes to movement is that everyone have their own style, and everyone have to *find* their own style.

You could choreograph steps with moves...I've done it in a couple of 2, 3 or 4 person routines I've done for different perfomrances.

However, when it comes to any solo spins I have, I don't like such a rigid framework. I improvise what I'm going to do, listening to the music and keying off of the melody and/or beat.

I know I'm not a master of all tricks (I don't come close to the likes of UCOF), but I do move when I spin. I dance, and have fun. I try not to really think about what trick I'll do next, but rather move to the music in what ever way feels natural. I notice that my better "moving/dancing" spins are ones where I keep the tricks very simple...in other words, tricks I can do in my sleep, with my eyes closed, and hanging upside down. wink

OK, I don't know how helpful this is...but it's my 2 cents worth.

Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.


NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Moving one's feet... hrmm... an idea so crazy it just might work. wink

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


PyrolificBRONZE Member
Returning to a unique state of Equilibrium
3,289 posts
Location: Adelaide, South Australia


Posted:
It'll never catch on NYC...

Its much easier to only think about the hands.

wink

Josh

--
Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!


shen shuiSILVER Member
no excuses. no apologies.
1,799 posts
Location: aotearoa, New Zealand


Posted:
doing poi is like dancing but with extensions attached to your upper appendages...
i dance about as much as i do with poi as i do without...
move, move, let the qi flow through you...
delight in the relaxation of not attempting to do anything, but rather, let it all just come out like some terrific and wonderful good-time bonanza!

those that know, dont say. those that say, dont know.


Sakura_MoonHop's Kitten Jester.
1,803 posts
Location: Wonderland igloo, Vic, Australia


Posted:
I'm described as "ragdoll" or "strange exotic fish with funny fins-like" the latter is something i dont approve of.
I had a bad experience with a fish...anyway.
I do alot of long steps, turns, jumps and leaps - a bit "ive just overdosed on happy pills" style.
Its efective though.

*Leaps and bounds out flinging around furry poi*

.:Pink Exocutioner:.

I am Jack's Raging Bile Duct...

Loving you from the deepest part of my loins.



chaseSILVER Member
Member
43 posts
Location: Jasper, Alberta, Canada


Posted:
i like to do some top rock stuff. the trick for me is to keep the poi flowing - when i drop to a squat i keep my hands up, etc. also moving my feet the opposite way the poi is on - weave on right side feet moving left, vice versa. for any skiers out there, skiing while spinning becomes sort of like a dance. can't wait to try fire while skiing.

...it's safe to say that relationships inspired by the art of poi are not necessarily 'poi'fect...!


Atacan(aka muaddip)SILVER Member
stranger
18 posts
Location: Seattle / WA / USA


Posted:

I think having a formal dancing or martial arts background helps quite a lot. Unfortunetely I have neither frown.

I am actually planning to enlist into a basic modern dance classes to learn how to move around without stumbling or bashing my head with poi :P.

cheers,

_ __ _
atacan


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
Written by: Sakura_moon


I'm described as "ragdoll" or "strange exotic fish with funny fins-like" the latter is something i dont approve of.
I had a bad experience with a fish...anyway.
I do alot of long steps, turns, jumps and leaps - a bit "ive just overdosed on happy pills" style.
Its efective though.

*Leaps and bounds out flinging around furry poi*




you sound like me!

I get "ragdoll" from time to time - "floppy" and "compellingly choatic" have been some of my favorite descriptions of my style.

One observer told me "It looks like you are always about to fall on your face, but you never do". Not sure if that was a compliment or not. I have ended up landing hard on my tush a few times in the last few years though.

but my footwork is often as much about getting my body out of the way of the poi or innovative attempts at plane placement as it is about dancing.

I often like to watch girls who have had ballet spin. spinners with martial arts backgrounds often look very powerful (especially with staff, but even with poi is shows thru).

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


y│┤knewbie
7 posts
Location: just north of London


Posted:
hey, i'm new to HoP
not meaning to but in but "vanize" as in the german metal band of "whips and chains" greatness

"disobedience is man's original virtue.
It is through disobedience that progress has been made" Oscar Wilde



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