courtneemember
37 posts
Location: Seattle, WA USA


Posted:
i am so frustrated! i started spinning about a month and a half ago, practicing off and on.. i've gotten the butterfly (forward and backward swing) and the begining variations (forward swings only) but i just cant seem to move on to split swing moves. when i try to figure 8 or weave, i end up swinging both poi together instead of split.. or i swing one just after the other and it doesnt look or feel right at all.another issue i have when i try to do a three beat weave: the first 'count' (over arm) instantly tangles the poi. it seems like no matter when i try to cross over to one side, if i bring the intruding arm over the other everything just goes to shit.any tips on timing? anyone else have problems like this when they were starting out? i feel like a total moron not being able to comprehend this..-------------------nee

-nee


SupermanBRONZE Member
member
829 posts
Location: Houston, Texas, USA


Posted:
Hey courtnee...first of all welcome. Second, the best thing to do is to do a search for help on weaves. If at all possible look for a break down by Adamrice. In my opinion, he does the best typed explination of movements on the board.i dont know why, but the weave is the hardest move to teach. teaching it by explaining the movements never seems to work. The whole over under thing to me is confusing. But it is the best "mechanical breakdown" of the movement. 1st of all. S-l-o-w D-o-w-n. You can see and feel the movements better when moving slower. I say this because (from my own experiences and watcing others) most newbies tend to spen the hell outta them. I think the better name for the "weave" in the "chase" The poi look as if they are playing follow the leader. For some reason that helped me. the weave came to me by accident. I stubled upon it doing figure 8's. Its a purely feel move. You said you tend to swing them at the same time? Work with that. After you swing them together on the right, circle your left hand under your right (this gives it the extra rotation) now as you come across to your left side, take your right hand and cirlce under your left...repeat.2. Are you talking about split swinging a figure 8? you always seem to swing them together? pretend you are jumping rope. And do the criss cross movement. its times like these i wish i could physically be there and show you, cause i can teach anyone any movement face to face. If i can teach my wife to do a weave, then i can teach anyone.."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


courtneemember
37 posts
Location: Seattle, WA USA


Posted:
Supahman. how'd i figure you or myst would reply first? smilethanks so much for the advice, i'll keep trying. i've already adopted the slow, fluent style of spinning and while im learning a new move i tend to go as slow as i can while still keeping a nice weighted spin, so i dont think going too fast is an issue for me but i'll try adjusting my speed some more. you're right about it being difficult to explain.. i took a poi workshop at a festival and was just confused as hell, the guy didnt stop or anything and he was using poi that were very short, so everything was too fast to really see. i havent met anyone in my area who spins yet so im learning everything off videos and descriptions. for the slower, simpler moves its not too hard.. but man, weaves are a bitch.now that i think about it, i dont believe i am doing a figure 8. im still new at explaining movements so bare with me..i start in a split forward swing, and on one beat i cross my right arm over to my left. i guess it takes half a swing to get it over there, cause once i have both hands on my left side the poi are spinning together. my reaction then (since its just too confusing to think about) is to cross both arms back to my right side together, and i end up with both poi swinging together and both arms crossing side to side in front of me to a beat. the term 'figure 8' is a little confusing to me since in my playing ive discovered at least 3 totally different ways of making the figure, its just a matter of your perspective. i mean, spinning two circles in front of me side by side (wide butterfly?) can be construde as a figure 8 too. maybe i just need to read more.

-nee


protozoaGOLD Member
member
148 posts
Location: Baltimore, MD USA


Posted:
Courtnee:A lot of people have the same problem you do when they're learning this move, so I put together a little tutorial page on how to learn to do the weave a different way:https://www.calefaction.org/teach/weave.htmlAlso, uh, have we met before? smile Your handle looks somewhat familiar..-K

courtneemember
37 posts
Location: Seattle, WA USA


Posted:
think 'sunny california', prote. thanks for the link, i'll molest my swiffer handle tonight.-------------------nee

-nee


adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
Courtnee--Well, now that Superman has gone and built me up, let's see if I can live up to the advance billing.For one thing, Seattle has a bunch of firespinners. I just checked and there are 20 listed in the "meet others" database here. So if you can hook up with any of them, you might get a better demonstration from one of them. I've seen people teach the weave by literally standing behind the learner, grabbing his wrists, and making them do the right thing.One thing that may help on maintaining split timing is to count in your head--one-two, one-two.When you launch into the weave, start doing split-time forward side circles. Let's say you are bringing your left arm to your right side. The left chain should cross your body on a downward swing and be in the 6:00 position when it reaches your right side, with your left hand below the right hand. The right chain should be in roughly the 12:00 position, and starting to move to your left side. Your left chain "chases" the right chain around, up to 12:00, and over to the left side. Then the whole process reverses as you work your hands over to the right side. On each side, your same-side hand will feel like it is leading your opposite-side hand. This swapping-leads factor may be part of what's confusing about the weave.It might help to try this with only one chain, and miming your wrist motion with the other hand. Cross over, circle, cross back. Get the muscle-memory down, and then try it with both hands.Remember to let the chains' momentum do most of the work for you--you shouldn't be muscling them around too much. Don't make exaggerated arm movements--once you get more comfortable, it is possible to do the weave with your wrists locked together.I don't know how much that'll help. The weave is counter-intuitive at first, but once you learn it, it'll feel perfectly natural. And if it makes you feel any better, I have a friend who worked at getting it for months before he eventually did.[This message has been edited by adamrice (edited 10 August 2001).]

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


courtneemember
37 posts
Location: Seattle, WA USA


Posted:
wow funky, i signed up for the 'meet others' deal about a month or so ago and it told me no one was in my area. maybe i put redmond instead of seattle (i am east side)thanks for the lesson, im pretty sure after seeing myself from the side that ive got my swinging down better, but im only doing two beats and my arms are wide and un-pretty :) practice practice practice. thank you all for the help. the clock representation is likely to really help out.happy swinging.-------------------nee

-nee


DJ DantanaBRONZE Member
veteran
1,495 posts
Location: Stillwater, Ok. USA


Posted:
Dear Courtnee, I noticed nobody addressed your main problem. That is...you said you bring your intruding hand over the other when you attempt the weave. If I understand you correctly, this is wrong. The indruding hand needs to pass UNDER the "same-side-hand" on the "very first begining beat" of a three beat weave, but ONLY on that first begining set of beats, ever time after that the intruding hand crosses OVER the "same-side-hand" for the first-beat of the three beats. In other words, the first set of a 3 beat weave is actually a two beat. Also it helps to swing in split timing (when one poi is up, the other in down) I hope this helps.SincerelyDaniel

we eat and we drink and we smoke and we try!


pixygothmember
14 posts
Location: Dundee/Edinburgh, Scotland


Posted:
'Nee, Dude, I don't know if this will help, but when I was trying to get the weave (it took a bloody long time, then just clicked without me even noticing) I watched others and kindof thought they were keeping their elbows very close together or even touching. For some reason, trying to copy this totally helped me.Good luck!!p_g x

Shonagh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'tralala, said the happy little pixygoth'


courtneemember
37 posts
Location: Seattle, WA USA


Posted:
santa, yeah im begining to think that the OVER, UNDER, OUT instructions ive seen everywhere just arent going to work for me. i've got a two beat (one on each side) weave down pat and actually knew how to do that without realizing what it was, its the third beat that seems to get me. in the two beat i always come in under the same side arm and dont tangle. it feels very natural and composed, and sometimes ill do two rotations on one side but i havent figured out how i do it yet, or how to keep it up :) i need a video camera.i wonder why so many instructions say to do it the other way, though? even the art of poi video advocates OVER, UNDER, OUT. ah well, im making progress my way so ill stick to it. if its wrong ill know it soon enough :)-------------------nee

-nee


Blackbirdmember
337 posts
Location: London UK


Posted:
just wait till you get the four and five beats smile theyre really easy once you get the three from the two...I do it automatically now, and have to physically stop myself if i want to do the two or three beat ones...

x X x ß £ Å Ĉ К ß î я Ð x X x


SupermanBRONZE Member
member
829 posts
Location: Houston, Texas, USA


Posted:
i feel that Blackbird. i cannot do a 2 beat weave anymore, its three or above now.."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


courtneemember
37 posts
Location: Seattle, WA USA


Posted:
i got it. i dont know how i did it or what helped, but i seem to be doing it now and i think i had been for a day or so, but only on my right side. its so hard to keep count and tell what im doing with a move that seems to be all about feel.. but i had someone watch me and told them what to look for, and i did it about 8 times (counting one side, then the other, as a single time) today :) thank you guys for all your help!-------------------nee

-nee


spinmember
10 posts

Posted:
I personally found the whole over under thing confusing and not very useful. The first thing is to learn to do a cross over alternating which hand is on top when they cross. The way I pictured it when I was learning is to cross and then unwind your hands. I.E. To do your right side forward cross your left hand over your right, then rotate you hands around each other until you right hand is coming over your left and then cross to the left side. Then to do the left side rotate til your left hand is on top and cross to the right.


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