Forums > Technical Discussion > New type of staff

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
Word.
Do you mean like a two ended flail?

The answer is never the answer. What's really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you'll always be seeking. I've never seen anybody really find the answer-- they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.-- Ken Kesey

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
Yeah, kinda

Sorry bout the w/e, forgot we had to rehearse, was knackered after about the first 1/2 hr!!!

You and Foobz wanna buy tickets for the gig on the 4th (Wed)?

£2.50 or £3 on the door.

whats up with all the limitations?

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
Kurobei,

We have experimented with something fairly similar, it involved taking a friends 3 section staff (which I have given myself minor concussion with before) and removing the 2 end sections. We then took an old set of poi and attached them to the centre section.

It was quite fun for a while but a lot of potential for pain!! I think with your idea of shorter chains it might be a lot easier to control

Mark P

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
I think sick puppy has something at least sort of similar to this (I know he has removable staff wicks) so if you can catch his attention he might have advice.

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Dreamin is still how the strong survive

Shalom VeAhavah

New Hampshire has a point....

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
for what its worth my advice is try it but invest in a full face motorcycle helmet for practicing purposes!!

Mark P

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
ROLF, Might have to!!!

whats up with all the limitations?

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
Tie poi onto a short staff and spin. It's fun, some nice effects possible, it feels weird as the staff is pulled in different directions by the poi. Probably a lot of potential in there if you spend the time on it.

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
pineapples make me salivate! yum!

Double ended flail is correct.
personally, I have found it to of little advantage. remember to keep in mind that if you wish for your experimentation in new firetoys to bear useful results in your performance routines, you must explore the options that give you the widest possible breadth of tricks and do little to limit your possiblities!
don't go too long, it may limit tuck moves!
don't go too heavy, it may get out of control!
don't go too sharp, you may not be allowed to perform in public/with kids.

go with what you are familiar with (what sports are you into? a fire bat? what dance are you into? a morris dancing fire sword? ::sniggers:

that said, double ended flails cause me to spin too agressively to contraol the flailing inertia of the beast! The one i twirled had heavy welded 20cm diameter flame globes welded to 10cm chains to a short staff - the overspin was so unforgiving that if the axis of the spin was not perfectly in the middle, moves like the rotor required herculeean strength to transition back into the verticlal plane. Then i borke it at the weld

personal verdict: spectacular looking when unlit, but in perfoemance, the gamut of available moves is too limiting to jstify the novelty of flaily bits!

(and don't get me started on single flails, they're even more dangerous - the centre of mass is shifted off the centre of the length, so that a spin on it's axis challenges you to remember one end is closer than the other. today, my worst twirling injury, a scar above my left eye socket is a reminder of what happens when the pace of experimentation exceeds the pace of skill)

ohhh i soo wanna pineapple slice....
/gropes about the room..

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Posted: 28th Aug 2002
Ur a cruel man MarkP, but I like your style!!!

whats up with all the limitations?

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
I like playing games when bender is around

Normally say something that he is likely to want a say in and see how long it takes him to reply. Longest so far is 16 minutes I think - can he really be that bored??

Mark P

Posted: 28th Aug 2002
I have something similer to what you're talking about, Kurobei. Its made out of metal though so the atachment would be diffirent, but it works really well. There isn't that much space between the wicks and staff body on mine. I don't know if you're talking about somthing like meteors with a stick in between, or if you're talking about something that acts more like a staff, but if you need any construction help send me an email, I'd be more than happy.

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 29th Aug 2002
Thanks all so much for the positive responses!!!!!

Keep 'em rollin' in!

Sickpuppy: what did your cat do to deserve such a fate?

[ 30 August 2002, 02:35: Message edited by: Kurobei ]

whats up with all the limitations?

Posted: 30th Aug 2002
Dunno, I guess that's between my cat and God.

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 29th Aug 2002
From what I can recall, there is a girl using one of these on the first COL video. Also, from recollection, her routine with it was virtually identical to that of her staff routine. Nothing wickedly spectacular (no offense intended).

I agree with Bender - from what I saw of that performance, double ended flaily things are to little advantage.

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Posted: 2nd Sep 2002
I built my staff like that to save money on kevlar. Since my wicks attach with snap hooks I can use the same wicks for staff, poi, and my chain whip. Plus, as I live in an apartment and I don't have a garage or a back yard that I can safely leave my toys in, I can detach my wicks and keep them in my dip bucket so my whole house won't smell like kero. I can keep all my toys in the safety of my room. I didn't really design my staff to do anything any diffirent than what staffs are supposed to do normally. It was mostly just out of a mix of conveiniance and neccessity. For my staff style and my situation it works brilliantly.

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 4th Sep 2002

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lol what can i say,
my mouth was full!

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