Forums > Technical Discussion > Practising w a light and slippery staff.
Login/Join to ParticipateStargazer
6,650 posts
6,650 posts
Posted:
So far I favoured heavy staff with a good grippy grip.... but here in Dharamsala there is no supply with (reasonable) staff and I couldn't take much luggage (on the bike)....
So I bought myself an Bamboo walking stick (very straight and VERY flexible).... but is is light and has no handle whatsoever (yeah I could hunt for some leather supplies and make one... however)
By practising with it I notice that I have to take a lot more effort in the (contact) moves, i.e. be much more accurate. Maybe a (Shaolin/ Jedi) way of practising...
Any experiences from your side?
So far I favoured heavy staff with a good grippy grip.... but here in Dharamsala there is no supply with (reasonable) staff and I couldn't take much luggage (on the bike)....
So I bought myself an Bamboo walking stick (very straight and VERY flexible).... but is is light and has no handle whatsoever (yeah I could hunt for some leather supplies and make one... however)
By practising with it I notice that I have to take a lot more effort in the (contact) moves, i.e. be much more accurate. Maybe a (Shaolin/ Jedi) way of practising...
Any experiences from your side?
the best smiles are the ones you lead to 
SILVER Member
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Posted:
I've dabbled a little bit. My friend Nick, pretty much only uses those kinda staves. He would talk about how when using one, you don't really do so much of the new techy stuff. You need to do things that your are REALLY comfortable with. and in doing so, you will clean up your contact incredibly......
I'll stick with aluminum and tennis grip for now
I've dabbled a little bit. My friend Nick, pretty much only uses those kinda staves. He would talk about how when using one, you don't really do so much of the new techy stuff. You need to do things that your are REALLY comfortable with. and in doing so, you will clean up your contact incredibly......
I'll stick with aluminum and tennis grip for now
O.B.E.S.E.
Owned by Mynci!
BRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA
Posted:
Well, an idea popped into my head, since you mentioned being on a bike: sacrifice one of the innertubes to the staff gods and use one portion for the grip and two other portions to wrap around the ends for both weight and padding.
If its a bicycle innertube, try adding a slight amount of sand into the tube and taping off the ends so the sand wont come out. Not a lot though. Then, with the weighted tube, wrap that around the ends. The extra sand might help to give you that extra inertial weight for the contact stuff.
And if you are feeling particularly crafty, drill a small hole into the hollow bamboo ends and dump the sand directly into the pole. Glue it or tape it closed and all the weight is inside....though possibly sliding and shifting around unexpectedly during those angel rolls and fishtails.
Well, an idea popped into my head, since you mentioned being on a bike: sacrifice one of the innertubes to the staff gods and use one portion for the grip and two other portions to wrap around the ends for both weight and padding.
If its a bicycle innertube, try adding a slight amount of sand into the tube and taping off the ends so the sand wont come out. Not a lot though. Then, with the weighted tube, wrap that around the ends. The extra sand might help to give you that extra inertial weight for the contact stuff.
And if you are feeling particularly crafty, drill a small hole into the hollow bamboo ends and dump the sand directly into the pole. Glue it or tape it closed and all the weight is inside....though possibly sliding and shifting around unexpectedly during those angel rolls and fishtails.
"to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow
Stargazer
6,650 posts
6,650 posts
Posted:
Squid... that would highly degenerate its 'walking stick qualities', would it not? Sacrificing one of the innertubes of my Enfield to my staff would mean a level of dedication to practice that my motorbike will not forgive me... 
Any experience/opinion with/about practising with a tough toy intentionally?
That's the point - I don't aim to stick to basic stuff and it feels kind-a "interesting" at this point...
Squid... that would highly degenerate its 'walking stick qualities', would it not? Sacrificing one of the innertubes of my Enfield to my staff would mean a level of dedication to practice that my motorbike will not forgive me... Any experience/opinion with/about practising with a tough toy intentionally?
Written by : Poje
in doing so, you will clean up your contact incredibly......
That's the point - I don't aim to stick to basic stuff and it feels kind-a "interesting" at this point...
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
SILVER Member
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Posted:
its fun, weather it be a bamboo stick, broom, large branch, or golf club
its fun, weather it be a bamboo stick, broom, large branch, or golf club
O.B.E.S.E.
Owned by Mynci!
BRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA
Posted:
OH, so you wanted to use the walking stick for walking too?
Hey, after having seen the YouTube video with Harmander doing smooth contact with a broom, how can I possibly reject the use of a tool just because its light?
Actually, I still have a pretty light bamboo staff with pieces of foam pool noodles taped to the ends. Its what I started with cause I was a-scared of getting walloped in the beginning. I didn't know yet that a certain weight was desirable.
I think the hardest things to manage on it have been steves and angel rolls. Basically anything that has to pass the elbow joints. The light staff tended to bounce right off. Neck wraps, wristiness, and such took some time, but wasnt too bad. And by the time I got around to making a heavier staff especially for contact, moving with it became dramatically easier. Maybe it helped me to develop a better feel for where my body needed to be.
Dont get me wrong..I still suck
but I totally think playing outside your comfort zone is a good thing.
On Tribe there was a guy who posted a vid of himself doing contact with a pole he used to mix cement. He was down doing some work in Peru apparently. Sorry, I forget his name. But definitely check out Harmander and Chains in
Danger Zone for some inspiration.
Written by :FireTom
Any experience/opinion with/about practising with a tough toy intentionally?
OH, so you wanted to use the walking stick for walking too?
Hey, after having seen the YouTube video with Harmander doing smooth contact with a broom, how can I possibly reject the use of a tool just because its light?
Actually, I still have a pretty light bamboo staff with pieces of foam pool noodles taped to the ends. Its what I started with cause I was a-scared of getting walloped in the beginning. I didn't know yet that a certain weight was desirable.
I think the hardest things to manage on it have been steves and angel rolls. Basically anything that has to pass the elbow joints. The light staff tended to bounce right off. Neck wraps, wristiness, and such took some time, but wasnt too bad. And by the time I got around to making a heavier staff especially for contact, moving with it became dramatically easier. Maybe it helped me to develop a better feel for where my body needed to be.
Dont get me wrong..I still suck
but I totally think playing outside your comfort zone is a good thing.On Tribe there was a guy who posted a vid of himself doing contact with a pole he used to mix cement. He was down doing some work in Peru apparently. Sorry, I forget his name. But definitely check out Harmander and Chains in
Danger Zone for some inspiration.
"to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow
SILVER Member
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Elusive and Bearded
3,597 posts
Location: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Posted:
Ha, ya i saw that, and now that you mention it, I wonder if that was my friend Nick......
Ha, ya i saw that, and now that you mention it, I wonder if that was my friend Nick......
O.B.E.S.E.
Owned by Mynci!
BRONZE Member
old hand
716 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom
old hand
716 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom
Posted:
When i first started spinning contact i was using a broom handle with electrical tape for grip (basically aesthetic as electrical tape has virtually no grip), i would say that yes, it does improve your accuracy as i found everything much easier when i switched to a heavier stick.
Saying that, i never went back to such a light staff after that though, finding the extra weight made life much easier. For around 3 years though i spun with a fairly heavy but quite short staff (just shy of 4 foot). I have since switched to a longer staff but training with the shorter staff definatly improved my accuracy as you dont have as much length to play with and the staff is much less forgiving.
I would have thought that playing with a light slippery staff would help your contact but since you will need to constantly be correcting and adding momentum to the move it would improve your ability to continue contact sequences more than improve your accuracy, i would recommend a short staff for that.
Course, a really light staff does mean you can do much faster spinning (faster, faster, less control, yea!;)) and changing plane will be much easier. Probably good for more martial arts style spinning.
When i first started spinning contact i was using a broom handle with electrical tape for grip (basically aesthetic as electrical tape has virtually no grip), i would say that yes, it does improve your accuracy as i found everything much easier when i switched to a heavier stick.
Saying that, i never went back to such a light staff after that though, finding the extra weight made life much easier. For around 3 years though i spun with a fairly heavy but quite short staff (just shy of 4 foot). I have since switched to a longer staff but training with the shorter staff definatly improved my accuracy as you dont have as much length to play with and the staff is much less forgiving.
I would have thought that playing with a light slippery staff would help your contact but since you will need to constantly be correcting and adding momentum to the move it would improve your ability to continue contact sequences more than improve your accuracy, i would recommend a short staff for that.
Course, a really light staff does mean you can do much faster spinning (faster, faster, less control, yea!;)) and changing plane will be much easier. Probably good for more martial arts style spinning.
"Don't do it naked!"
Stargazer
6,650 posts
6,650 posts
Posted:
Yupp, Squid - it should still be performing as a walking stick and actually I'm not looking to 'improve it'...
I feel quite comfy to switch back to such a challenging tool, wondering what other peoples experience is.
-sandy- true, you might have to add spin to it which makes it impractical and a few other moves just seem impossible...
still I feel it might improve the initial momentum... but looking at the amount of practise I'm putting into twirling (both) I should just shut up and move over to a crochet forum... where I would have nothing to add
Yupp, Squid - it should still be performing as a walking stick and actually I'm not looking to 'improve it'...
I feel quite comfy to switch back to such a challenging tool, wondering what other peoples experience is.
-sandy- true, you might have to add spin to it which makes it impractical and a few other moves just seem impossible...
still I feel it might improve the initial momentum... but looking at the amount of practise I'm putting into twirling (both) I should just shut up and move over to a crochet forum... where I would have nothing to add
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
BRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA
Posted:
Crochet rocks! Not only can you make yourself a snazzy hat, you can get the hooks to catch on each other and spin them around like canes. Add a couple of tosses and finger rolls, and your in business.
Crochet rocks! Not only can you make yourself a snazzy hat, you can get the hooks to catch on each other and spin them around like canes.
Add a couple of tosses and finger rolls, and your in business. "to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow
Stargazer
6,650 posts
6,650 posts
Posted:
Thanks for the encouragement, Squid...
btw, I really dig your new Avatar
Crochet spinners - new generation after pentrix? Sounds really interesting
maybe I get that tad older...
Thanks for the encouragement, Squid...btw, I really dig your new Avatar
Crochet spinners - new generation after pentrix? Sounds really interesting
maybe I get that tad older... the best smiles are the ones you lead to
BRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Posted:
I have to say I've started to use a flower or devil stick to practice my contact because the fibre 3 contact I have has a bit of flex. I found using a shorter and/or lighter stick smoothed out the movement so I have no bounce now.
I do find the matrix tricky with a 40 cm devil stick though
I have to say I've started to use a flower or devil stick to practice my contact because the fibre 3 contact I have has a bit of flex. I found using a shorter and/or lighter stick smoothed out the movement so I have no bounce now.
I do find the matrix tricky with a 40 cm devil stick though
A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.
Similar Topics
Using the keywords [practising w light slippery staff] we found the following existing topics.
- Forums > Practising w a light and slippery staff. [12 replies]
Show more..
© 1998 - 2025 Home of Poi
All prices converted to United States dollars using XE.com