Tai-Chi movement theory meets Poi spinning.

Hi everybody. Below is an article I wrote for Momentum Magazine, published here in Canada. It's about my personal experience with applying traditional tai-chi movement theory to spinning poi. I thought ya'all might find it interesting. Let me know what you think. (Um, this is my first registered post, but I've been around for a while. I'm pretty quite, usually, but I enjoy the site.)Poi: Unravelling the Mysteries of MotionEight years ago, I was called to explore physical movement. It could have been the Bruce Lee movies, or the stories about Shaolin Temple monks, or the Buddhist books about peaceful warriors. Or maybe it was intuition (I'm not sure how these things work). All I know is that at age 19 I discovered a determination and enthusiasm for delving into the mysteries that lie within our ability to move.On a hunch I took up Tai-Chi, which proved a perfect place to start. My teacher had studied under the greatest masters of China, and he taught his students traditional Tai-Chi movement theory. This included the use of circular and spiral motion, the body's five bows, the stacking of muscle/body structure, the raising of spirit and focus, and many other concepts and techniques. I became a fierce believer in the intelligence and practicality of Tai-Ch theory.Although I practiced intensively, and learned a lot, I eventually longed for something more upbeat. Since then, I've trained in Arnis, dance, Wushu, and Capoeira. Applying Tai-Chi theory always helped me progress quickly, and each art taught me something fundamental about movement. Still, none of them were quite what I was looking for.I finally found "it" outside a dance party in Roberts Creek, where I watched a group of fire spinners jamming. As I watched, I realized that my entire history of movement practice, plus that of several past lives, had been geared to lead me to spinning Poi (fire chains). I don't know how I knew. I just knew. It was like God opened the skies and said, "Take up poi. You' ll understand later." I was soon practicing with a pair of rolled up socks and shoelaces. To my delight, I discovered that poi are amazing movement exploration tools. They are guides. They are teachers. They are like Yoda, only smaller and on strings.You see, in Tai-Chi you can mimic your teacher's form with non-connected movement instead of the more powerful inner-circles. The difference is subtle and it's often difficult to discern how to improve. Poi act as an external manifestation, and magnification, of inner circles. If you can't keep the circles straight within a given region of your sphere of movement, you don't yet understand how to extend yourself into that region with full control or awareness. As all movement is created by an interplay of body/energy structure that extends from your hands to your feet, straightening the circles re-stacks that structure from the ground up. For me, the whole process is like carving a rough piece of wood into a sphere. Bumps and corners make movement awkward and limited. As the block becomes spherical, movement becomes smooth and centred. The rhythmical, circular motion of Poi proves ideal for sanding. Fire helps further by raising focus and spirit (Tai-Chi prerequisites to good practice). Practice enough, and you develop a tangible sense for movement and space that seems to exist beyond your body. You begin to literally feel dimensions within your movement sphere. Getting even more metaphysical, the motion of poi is like that of a solar system or atom. The more spherical you become, the more you tune into patterns that lie at the centre of all matter and energy. At any level, the results of practicing poi extend well beyond spinning them. I'm enjoying leaps of physical ability across the board, as well as a revived sense of play, and an increase in discipline and self-esteem. Taking all that out onto the dance floor is fun. I can't compare poi to staff and other movement tools, as I haven't tried them yet. I can only say that Poi have opened dimensions for me, and I highly recommend exploring them. (Bi-line: Nick Woolsey spends about four hours a day spinning things around his head. You can email him at nwoolsey@istar.ca,or visit www.thevenue.org for fire spinning videos.)(((p.s. I've only been spinning for 8 months now, so this article was written from the point of view of a student who's happy with his progress. The video is at https://www.thevenue.org/nickwithfire.wmv.
I know the .wmv format is limiting, but it's all I can do for now.Best to all!Nick )))

"They're interdimensional fractal intelligences. That's why they wear funny shoes."

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