Forums > Technical Discussion > practice poi

Posted: 14th May 2001
I got some thoughts...I gradually increased the weight of my poi. when i was first learning my first set was really really light. then a little heavier. now it's pretty damn heavy. I also made them longer, which makes it much harder not to hit the ground, but i like the fact that the patterns look bigger. but that's besides the point...This does a few things. It does make them swing more true to gravity, and adjusts your wrists to the right position. your arms will be building up muscle much more quickly. eventually your stamina will get better. Personally, i prefer slower performance, and when i do my thing usually i start real slow and gradually build up, so that at the climax when the poi are about to go out i go as fast as possible, which is a lot more impressive looking (it's an optical illusion) than just going fast the whole time. One other thing that's good about it, the chains going slower give you more time to react/get your preciousness out of the way before you get hit and are out for 15 minutes.However, i keep a set of zuni poi around to practice new stuff with. I don't wanna be getting hit with the really heavy stuff. and another thing, if you practice a lot with heavier chains you're much more susceptible (sp?) to repetitive stress disorders, and yanking your arms clean out of their sockets. Also you gotta keep in mind that if you're gonna make your fire performance poi real heavy, they'll be twice as heavy soaked with fuel.good luck.Peax,Skunk

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 14th May 2001
For another interesting perspective;a couple of nights ago my gf made a set of ultralight poi...for living room use, and we have found that they force you to accentuate the correct movement, just to keep them going. They are very very slow...we are now planning an ultra ultra light pair, using wool as the strings, and rubber foam as the heads...these will be true slow-mo tai chi style poi seeya,Josh

Posted: 15th May 2001
There is no "right" weight. In fact, I'll make a case for using different weights on different occasions for different purposes. Use heavy weights for strength (hitting yourself with a heavy weight also has more educational value than hitting yourself with a light weight). Use lighter weights for marathon practice sessions or to focus on technique (some moves are harder with light wicks). Use in-between weights when you feel like it.I am guessing, though, that your wicks should be heavier than your chains, otherwise you'll get a tail-wagging-the-dog phenomenon.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 15th May 2001
I find that the heavier they are (within reason) the easier it is to do. Fire is easy and yet glowsticks can be quite difficult @ speed.Try using heavy end and not chains, I don't really like chains so maybe its just personal preference.peace outgarbo

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Posted: 15th May 2001
lo allthanx for the insight in to different weight for differnt useage.looks like im gonna have to make a heavy pair and a light pair and possibly use them for alternate training sessions as these heavy ones sure do make yer forearms ache after a while and i will certainly agree about giving you more incentive not to hit youreself but hey no pain no gainthanx again all you guys rock

Posted: 16th May 2001
I find that when after spinning heavier poi its easy to spin lighter ones very fast. The biggest jump is when i go from poi to glowsticks, they're a LOT lighter. If you go from heavy to light tho, even though you can go faster it can be a little hard to keep em under control, so i have to concentrate a little harder. I think for fire, heavy's better cause of better control, so i usually practice with an intermediate weight.

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted - Martin Luther King Jr.

Posted: 30th May 2001
lo againmy next question about the poi is regarding swivelsi have notived that all the pre manufactured poi have swivels , does this improve the stability of the poi while twirling ?its obvious that they will stop the chains twisting but will it make them follow a truer line ?i am currently constructing my third pair (i have 1 pair tennis ball, 1 pair glowstick) and im wondering wether it will be fitting them to my first pair of fire poi (hell yeh)Eric

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 30th May 2001
I've never had a pair of poi that didnt have swivels...as far as I'm concerned its a neccessity not a luxury.Josh

Posted: 31st May 2001
thanx joshi spose i better find my local fishing shop and by some Eric

Posted: 1st Jun 2001
Then again I would never put swivels on my poi. You buy em from fish shops - they weren't ever designed to be flung around at 100s of km an hour. My friend uses em and each to his own. (bearing in mind they will certainly not last as long as your average dog choker chains). His actually broke in the midst of a performance. (Flaming fire chain in the crowd yay )Yeah swivels feel different but hardly any different at all. Its not like you won't be able to do certain moves unless you have em or anything. My bf has been fire performing for 6 years and I got my construction design from him.Ultralight poi annoy the crap out of me!! This is because they are CRAZY if all you have twirled with for your months of twirling is heavy poi. Ssssuuuuper fast - they do certainly teach control and patience though. I generally only practice with my fairly heavy fire poi. (and keychains, bicycle helmets, broomsticks anything thats close )

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.- B.B.King

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 31st May 2001
depending on the swivel, you can get em rated high enough that you could put your whole weight on em After all, there are some very very big fish out there...I know some fishing shops carry 500 pound fishing line, and some shark lines are rated to several tons...so yeah - just cuz it's fishing stuff doesnt mean it's weak. Although, you have to make sure where it attaches to your chains is solid..or else - yeah flying poi heads!I'd disagree with you on the 'it doesnt make a difference' line...I've used both and it made a big difference to my twirling - especially with things like buttefly variations...but to each their own...also - if you are going to use comets they absolutely NEED swivels, or else the tails wrap around the heads.Josh

Posted: 31st May 2001
also, if you make detachable handles for your fire chains you can get metal clips (like the kind on dog leashes) which will swivel so you dont need a separate fishin swivel piece. i have the leather or climbing rope handle strung through those and they work well. i agree they are a necessity especially if you use chain (maybe not so much with cable?) becuase otherwise the chain tends to get sort of twisted and kinked and it spins awkward. and you get an annoying clicking thing when it suddenly lets go the kink.REPULSEPere

Posted: 31st May 2001
I've also seen combined swivel & clip in the local fish shop, rated at about 130kg (don't remember the exact number). Find it gives more confidence than the hardware stuff, since I know it's been tested.Costs a few AU$ more than a plain swivel though, but not a whole lot.Also have found two swivels are very good for comet poi... one to take care of the usual poi movements, and one to take care of the head & tail.Just wondering, do you think the type of handles may create a need for swivels? Like, if the handles are fairly loose, they might take out some of the twist?

Posted: 1st Jun 2001
I think swivels are a good idea. I always build them right into my cables (that is, no jump rings or anything--the cable loop is threaded right through the swivel), and always use ones that are rated for at least 100 lb (not hard to find). I've seen Sampo swivels rated up to 600 lb.I don't think handle design is a factor. Rather, I think that the flight of the wick tends to apply spin (collisions especially apply spin), which gets passed onto the chain/cable, which eventually wants to untwist. I imagine that if it were bad enough, the chain or cable could wrap up on itself.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 1st Jun 2001
well ive done iti went to me local fishing tackle shop and bought some 100 lb swivels and some 'easy links' (sort of teardrop shaped ).ive fitted a swivel on each end of my practice poi and a link on each end of the swivel. The difference in feel is really suprising as its really smothed the poi out and it also seems to increase the response of the poi for direction changes especially into the butterfly or any other 90 degree variations .the other bonus is that i now only need one set of chains as i can switch from tennis ball to glostick or anyother end on the fly .even as a newbie to this i would agree that they are a nessecery peice of kit thanx again yawl Eric