miboninewbie
4 posts

Posted:
I went to Burningman this year and yesterday to the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. There was an Asian woman there who was juggling or dancing with a staff (one that glowed), but it appeared that the staff had some sort of thread at both ends. She was able to move it so elegantly and beautifully.

She's the only person I've seen using this toy. Anyone have any idea what it is? How I can get more information on it?

DurbsBRONZE Member
Classically British
5,689 posts
Location: Epsom, Surrey, England


Posted:
A staff with tails on each end perhaps?

P'raps even a staff with a poi on each end?

A staff with verrrrrrrrrrrry small snakes on the end?

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude


simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
eek weaselstaff? no probably not...

thread at both ends? confused

do you mean a thread like a string, or thread like on a screw?

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales


Posted:

Or had they printed a thread from HOP and sellotaped them to each end?

miboninewbie
4 posts

Posted:
Thanks for clarifying with questions. I'm new to this site. I've been interested in learning poi just recently, but when I saw this woman with her staff I was completely fascinated.

B/C the two times I've seen her (one was at night) and she was a little far away during the fair.. I wasn't able to see clearly what was attached to her staff. I do know that it wasn't poi, but it appeared as if it was very fine thread, ones you couldn't see, that almost had a yo-yo effect allowing her to appear as if she's not touching the staff at all but able to move it all around her body and in front.

ado-pGOLD Member
Pirate Ninja
3,882 posts
Location: Galway/Ireland


Posted:
ah i see, i believe there is a vid on Poi in the Park with one Steve demonstrating just this.

buggered if i can remember which one though.

looked like the staff was spinning through the air hands free!!!!

After a bit of investigation i've found out that bungee cord is particularly useful for this kind of trick....

Love is the law.


simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
If there was a thread at both ends like you say, then i would call it weaselstaff smile (though thats just what London people call it. This woman would probably call it something else)

A weaselstaff does looks really unnatural and strange while it bounces (even moreso than a staff with a single bungee attached to the centre)

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


miboninewbie
4 posts

Posted:
So is it called a weaselstaff? where can I get a copy of this video?

simian110% MONKEY EVERY TIME ALL THE TIME JUST CANT STOP THE MONKEY
3,149 posts
Location: London


Posted:
the vid with the little bit of bungee staff in it (a staff with a single bungee cord attached to the centre) is called

"Because Life Isn't"

you can find it on www.poiinthepark.net



erm, I would call it a weaselstaff if theres a string on both ends which you manipulate it by.

Thats a very local name (after a friend of mine called Weasel) but i've never heard any other names for it.



Slightly more common are staffs with a single stretchy string (bungee cord) attached to the middle. i've heard them called bungee staffs.



with toys as rare as this (which get 'invented' several times by different people) the names tend to be very variable between places.
EDITED_BY: simian (1096328097)

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."


bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere


Posted:
heres a few thoughts:

bungee staff
magic staff(same as bungee staff but with fishing hread so invisible, looks like staff levitates)

weaselstaff(using name for convenience so far...)
magic weaselstaff

boxstaff(like a weasel but with an extra staff. muuuuucho fun and not yet infiltrated the world of videos or london)


incidentally, tho 'because life isn't' is the better video, you'll find much more bungee stff on the 'steve cousins' vid on PIP.

enjoy

R
(ps simone, many hugs for you ruff treatment in poimoves)

Holistic Spinner (I hope)


miboninewbie
4 posts

Posted:
Bluecat and Simian:

Thank you so much. I think this is exactly what I saw. The Magic staff with the very fine fishline threads. I'm looking on the PP website you suggested and am having difficulty finding the videos, but I'll find them.

Do you have suggestions on where to start? Do I purchase a regular staff and then try to tie these strings to the end? Or should I begin with poi and get used to that? Any good websites for purchasing magic staffs or is this something I'll need to figure out and make? thanks for any suggestions, you have both been extremely helpful. There's the Burningman Decompression this month on the 10th and I'm hoping the same woman will be there so I can ask more questions.

I'm located in San Francisco, CA....thanks from SF!

PyrolificBRONZE Member
Returning to a unique state of Equilibrium
3,289 posts
Location: Adelaide, South Australia


Posted:
what you are describing is more of a magic trick that magicians do with canes. look for books on magic cane manipulation. most of the time the string is joined to a spot just slightly off centre on the staff, and manipulations using the other hand and body make it look like its dancing in mid air. An amazing effect for blacklight artists.

I dunno how you would manipulate a staff with a string at either end...but I bet you could get interesting effects.

good luck with it.

Josh

--
Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!


MayhemBRONZE Member
stick boy!
117 posts
Location: Tampa, FL, USA


Posted:
i still gotta try that bungee staff. blue, can you tell me how it was made? did they drill a hole thru the center to attach the bungee? i figure tying it on wouldnt be enough. thanx for any info you can share, or is that trix of the trade and if you told me youd have to kill me?

peace

UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales


Posted:
There needs to be a weaslestaff video.

mushypeastevemember
11 posts

Posted:
Something very like this is called a dancing cane and used to be available as Josh says in magic shops and the like. I used to sell them myself. Traditionally cat-gut or strong fishing line is used as the cord so that the cane appears to float around the body.
Should be quite simple to make one. Good luck!

MikeIconGOLD Member
Pooh-Bah
2,109 posts
Location: Philadelphia, PA - USA


Posted:
A magician friend of mine has a dancing cane. Much fun to play with smile

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

-Me



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