Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > Reverse 4 and 5 beat

Posted: 7th Sep 2004
Have you tried a Search?

Posted: 7th Sep 2004


Ok it was years ago....

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...

Posted: 11th Sep 2004
I've had (have) so much trouble with the rev 5 bear weaves. grrrrr

The only thing I can say is that it is all in the wrists.

Try keeping the back of your wrists together.

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh

Posted: 12th Sep 2004
Even though this thread is years old, Ill reply .. Id have to disagree and say that its really not all in the wirsts. IMO, its more in the body pivoting/movement than the wrists. Sure, forwards is all wrists but reverse is a bit more tricky and involves swiveling to an extent.

Let's turn those old bridges we crossed into ashes.
We'll blaze a new trail,
and torch the rough patches.

-Me

Posted: 12th Sep 2004

I'd say its both :P although I still smack myself in the face 25% of the time.

Posted: 12th Sep 2004
I agree totally with the body pivot thing.

To me, when learning this move two things stood out; firstly the way that the arm that wraps round the wrist of the other arm seems to literally drag it across the front of the body, taking it out of the way.

Secondly, moving the whole body the opposite way (pivoting).

Rather than arranging the poi so they don't hit you, it's better to think in terms of shifting your body out of the way of the poi.

Concerning the wrists, some people do this move with the backs of the wrist in contact, but, IMO, it looks and feels better for the wrist of the arm that drags the other out of the way, to be facing the other way.

ie the inner of one wrist contacts the back of the other, rather than both backs being in contact.

To make that more clear, do the following-

put your right forearm vertically on your right side, thumb towards you (so back of wrist is pointing right).

put left arm so that the inner part of its wrist contacts the back of the right wrist, and wrap the hand round so that the left fingers are now pointing left and are wrapped round the little finger end of the right arm.

now, with the left arm, drag the whole lot to the left; at the same time pivot the body and shift it to the right (with pretty much your back pointing to the right and your chest to the left, so your bodies done a partial counter clockwise twist).

That's the exact motion I use when doing reverse five beat, reverse all the directions to do the opposite side.

Like I said before, some people do do this move with the backs of the wrist in contact.
Good luck with it; when you've got it it's a truly unique move and one that you can put a lot of individual style into.

(and please let me know if the above is helpful, or complete gibberish- it's difficult to know if verbal explanations of these kind of moves are worth posting)

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

Posted: 12th Sep 2004
very good explanation dave. .. although i can do the move.. so im not sure how useful my opinion is in that respect.

Me train running low on soul coal
They push+pull tactics are driving me loco
They shouldn't do that no no no

Posted: 12th Sep 2004
Was the above is helpful? Dunno Dave, but thanks for replying. I’ll have to go through your explanation when I get home from work in a few days time, but I’m glad it opened up some discussion, because it has taken me eons to get this rev weave thingy sorted; and I think I’m nearly there (crosses fingers).


I’m starting to think of these moves “rope moves” because you end up twisted like rope, although rope moves are general associated with snakes. Anyhow, I still reckon it is all about having the back of the wrists together, providing you have good flexibility in the shoulders and elbows, and you cup your fingers under (over) the wrists.

Pivot the body??? Why, you can take the poi out a bit wider if you need extra room. Try it in wall plane. That’s how I started. I wanted to learn this one to complete the 5 beat “lower” fountain. Doing 5 beats on one side and only 3 on the rev was a bit of a cop out for me. Going from forward to reverse was a killer (still is on my left, not so bad on the right).

Anyone else having trouble with the rev weaves??? How about the rev 7 beat???

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh

Posted: 12th Sep 2004
Once you've got the hang of the move you can take the poi out wider, but I remember when I was learning it pivoting out of the way was a big help.

As for the wrists back to back thing, it seems that some people do it that way and others don't; I can do the 5 beats with wrists back to back, but personally don't really like either the way it looks or the way it feels.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

Posted: 12th Sep 2004
me thinks, my lack of anatomy knowledge is letting me down here.

This might make more sense. When I said back of wrist I meant the inner side (palm side). Where a wrist watch buckles; not the side with the dial.

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh

Posted: 13th Sep 2004
Heh... I always think that there are two different extremes to the move. Either you can do it as close to the wrists as you can, keeping the move as 'in front' of you... or you can do it as close to your elbows as you can, keeping the move at your sides and requiring more pivot and moving the wrist over the other elbow (rather than over the other wrist).

Same move, different placement.

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

Posted: 13th Sep 2004
someone brilliant gave me the advise to learn the reverse of every move you learn, duh I didnt, now I'm stuck with this too... sucks dont it.... my brain cant be arsed comprehending reverse btb weave

Posted: 16th Sep 2004
Thanks Dave, that did help, and I see what u mean by getting dragged across the front of the body. That back of wrist to inner wrist placement you describe is way easier than what I was doing for sure

Like NYC said, same move - different placement. Subtle difference can make a big difference. I suppose another thing I have noticed with this rev move in particular, is that it really helps you to get your right and left hands (arms) working independently.

Cheers for that guys.

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh

Posted: 3rd Aug 2007
It seems to me I start to get it without moving my hands to the sides - just doing it in front of me. Is that possible or just a sign of doing it wrong?

We'll burn, like a moth to the flame
Burn, as the fire calls us by name...

Posted: 5th Aug 2007
yes it is possible but not probable if you are just learning the move, it is more than likely that you are doing it wrong

May my balls of fire set your balls on fire

Posted: 5th Aug 2007
is it double cross n follow revese??
im really confused at how it works x

Posted: 14th Apr 2008
i'm trying to learn the 5beat reverse, got the forward nailed pretty easily but it seems to me that i can only get one side of it working properly (my weak side strangely enough). it flows nicely but it feels lopsided, and when i try to do the same on my strong side the poi coming upwards on the outside (the one crossed over my body) gets wrapped around the wrist of the hand inside coming over and downwards. any ideas where i'm going wrong?

Posted: 14th Apr 2008
It sounds like your strong hand isnt guiding the poi far enough across when you're doing the extra beat. So just concentrate on getting it further across... but I dunno, I'm not 100% sure I understood what yuo meant, to be honest. A bit of left and right hand indication might be helpful here, I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around it properly, but as I said, I THINK it sounds like your strong side poi isn't going far enough across to the other side of your hands OR your weak hand isnt switching back to the other side of your body fast enough... *shrug*