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FireKittenSILVER Member
newbie
17 posts
Location: YORK, United Kingdom


Posted:

Is it humanly possible in poi to impress your friends after three weeks of practising from scratch? I want some simple yet effective move ideas that I can learn fairly quickly. Thankyou hunni bunni spinni winnies! angel

xX Twist and twirl to trance and techno Xx


StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
drakematrix

I'd say get rid of the tailed poi,,,for now.The tails only complicate the learning process, keep them until you've got more experience.

The one handed method has it's merits, you've already indicated that you are having a problem with your left hand, and I'd suggest keeping on with it until you have it sorted out. Try one hand for a minute or two,,then both hands, if you're still having the same problem,,,,go back to one handed. Then,,,once you have your left under control, just keep doing the move over and over, until you pound it into your subconscious,

drakematrixSILVER Member
Maker of the Cheesecake
174 posts
Location: Akron, OH, USA


Posted:
Well, I can get the alternate butterfly working with the right hand. I have the left hand working when it's by itself, but can't get the left hand with both going. I also have this thing that I've figured out on my own, I'm sure it already has a name, but I don't know what it is, and it isn't shown in the video. Heck, I can't even really describe it well. Each poi moves in a figured 8 turned on it's side. the cross together at the middle. Then I shift them into something where they are following each other. I don't know how I do it, and I can't say how my hands are moving, all I can say is the motion just kind of naturally happens. The only problem I have with this one is sometimes the tails still twist together and the whole thing comes down and whacks me in the nuts. I think it's time to get a cup.

Also, I decided to cut down the tails on the comet poi I'm using. I took off about 10 inches, and suddenly things work a heck of a lot better.

So altogether a productive day. Learned some new stuff, even if it's the newbie stuff. I looked at the "learned a new move " thread, and I don't have a clue what any of those people are talking about. All in good time I guess

What exactly do I have to light on fire to get you to notice me?


StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
I see, you've got the hand motions down correctly, it's the problem of coordinating both hands that's causing you grief,,,I'll suggest slowing down the speed at which you spin your poi. Most people have a tendency to spin too fast, and slowing down the poi gives you that little bit of extra time to think about what you're doing.

Sock poi are a good idea, they don't help all that much when you're spinning forward and hitting yourself in the crotch, but they do make a big difference when you're spinning backwards, and hitting yourself in the head.

I can't figure out what the move you're describing is, but I have to ask,,,Have you seen the free lessons on this site? maybe it's described in there, and if you hunt around a bit you'll find links to other sites with move tutorials on them too.

At one point in time,,,everyone on here was a newbie.

linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
*sighs* ok go me got almost all of the basic in front of you stuff learnt now (been poi-ing about 3 weeks now) but i cant get the btb butterfly and was wondering if there are any tips you can pass on? all that happens is they tangle behind me and hit my legs PM me tips please cos i think they'll get lost here (and yes i did run a search :P)

*grins* despite that can do a few wraps which are fun smile and i think making up a routine works really well - ive got one using moves im fairly confident with and it helps fix them and makes it more fun to have something that looks good to go back to after clobbering myself half to death doing btb butterfly - i just bought some nice long sock poi for practice too *waits for new toys*

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ataxiaSILVER Member
member
172 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
About the btb butterfly. Make sure your hands have that bobbing up and down motion. That will make the circle more vertical.
Eventually you will be able to clean up the btb butterfly without bobbing you hands and using your wrists. I also found that if you can actually spot the poi (turn your head) and direct them, it helps. Obviously you can spot one and thus only work on the direction of one at a time. Keep them both spinning though.

Geez, I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.


linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
ok thanks ill try
like i said i can do either on its own or one in front one behid
but when i put them both behind they instantly tangle and hit me :P

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Grumbl3dooknewbie
2 posts
Location: London


Posted:
I'm pretty new to poi, and don't have that much time to practice, but i recently visited a cousin who wanted me to show her what i knew, and i came up with a few things that really helped show her, and have improved my spinning too. First i find practicing one hand at a time really helped (especially in moves where the poi cross) but if done too much can hinder rather than help as the body finds it hard to do what it's learnt as independant movements (like that pat your head rub your stomach thing, never could do that). Also once you're reasonably comfortable try doing a new spin with your eyes shut. This helps as it means your body learns the movements instinctively, and basically means the movements are learnt like breathing rather than like catching a ball.

-------------------------
Grumbl3dook
-Gn2
-HOS
-WWR
-GJL


all_fired_upnewbie
16 posts
Location: frankston, vic


Posted:
someone told me once that there are three rules with poi, and it really helped me alot

1 DONT think

relax into the rythm that the poi themselves produce (matching it to music makes it easier, regardless of type) and they will flow alot easier than when you try to force them. as soon as you know where and how your hands have to be just concentrate on when, cause lets face it the first thing you think about when learning a new move is "man this is gonna hurt" so you hesitate and SMACK!!!

2 The faster you spin them the more it will hurt

take it easy to begin with

3 Never give up, cause everyone learns different things at different speeds and in different ways

it took me no time at all to learn the 3B weave but loads of heartache to learn chasing the sun. Try learning more than one move at once so you don't get frustrated with one type of trick and you will find that you'll come back to it and stand there going "i'm doing it but i don't know how, WAHOOO"!!!!

and as for how to impress peeps i found the best way is to not try to impress anyone!!! Dance, have fun, relax and you'll find people will sense that and have a ball no matter what tricks you do!!! wow weavesmiley wow

celebrate your mistakes, laugh, live and learn
i'm not as think as you hammered i am, and it's ok cause i got all sober to sunday up
comfortable is outside my comfort zone


pricklyleafSILVER Member
with added berries
1,365 posts
Location: Manchester, England (UK)


Posted:
I've not been spinning for too long-about a year, I'm kind of an intermediate, but what I've only just really learned and actually realised,



IT'S NOT THE MOVES YOU SPIN, IT'S THE WAY YOU SPIN THEM!



Check out the Dervishly Yers video to see what I mean, although there are a lot of complicated moves in there (don't get disheartened!), there are also a lot of simpler ones such as the giant butterfly, shoulder reels, the windmill, pirouettes the weave (i think!) you can find it at



https://www.thevenue.org/firespinning_videos.htm



So don't worry about learning complicated moves, just put character in your performance, it's what makes every spinner different, it's so important, and is the thing that impresses audiences the most! wink



In reply to the angel wings it's a butterfly spun one beat in front of your head, one behind, it helps to be able to do reels to spin this.



And in reply to the linking question, start by learning basic carry turns where you turn from forwards circles to circles in front of you to backwards circles, then try reel turns (flick the poi as if to hit yourself in the back of the head and then turn before they do) and weave turns (as your top arm crosses over, turn with it 90 for two quick beats and turn 90 again so your poi are spinning backwards)



But it really is the dancing that counts, linking is an important part of this. Plus the daning is much more fun than giving yourself a black eye trying to learn every single move there is as quick as possible.



One last thing, stick to your planes!!!!!!!!!
EDITED_BY: pricklyleaf (1111532802)

Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


y│┤knewbie
7 posts
Location: just north of London


Posted:
anyone here know how to do four beat thread the needle?

i can do the normal one and separate one to go behind my head, but i just dont understand the 4 beat one :S

"disobedience is man's original virtue.
It is through disobedience that progress has been made" Oscar Wilde


drakematrixSILVER Member
Maker of the Cheesecake
174 posts
Location: Akron, OH, USA


Posted:
ok, so that move I was trying to describe earlier that I did very poorly and you didn't know what I was talking about? saw it on another website, it's a 2 beat weave *Smacks self on forehead*.

Anyway, today I finally got the alternate butterfly with the left hand to work, without the right hand suddenly forgetting what it's doing. Which means I was able to get the mexican wave going for a few beats...

Unfortunately, I split the seam on my comet poi, so the tail completely fell off of one of them. time to order the sock sleeves, and I'll put some tennis balls in them and get back to work. Until then, I'll be safety-pinning the tail back onto the comets, cause they spin totally differently when one has a tail and the other doesn't

What exactly do I have to light on fire to get you to notice me?


drakematrixSILVER Member
Maker of the Cheesecake
174 posts
Location: Akron, OH, USA


Posted:
So did some more work today with the video and got a few more moves. I have mexican wave going pretty well now. I got the over the head butterfly, with no problem. I got the low and high turns, but the tuck turn still eludes me. I can get about one attempt at chasing the sun, but it's proving to be a pain in the butt. so is the corkscrew. I can get the basic motions down no problem with each hand, but I can't get them both going together. Rub your belly, pat your head, rub your belly, pat your head.

I went out to the club tonite, and got to play some. there is a bunch of crap hanging from the ceiling, so I couldn't do giant butterflys or anything, but could get most of the other overhead stuff ok. did keep hitting things though. and also kept having people come up and try to talk to me while I was doing it. that got annoying. had one guy that walked right up to me holding a martini glass as I was doing the mexican wave... needless to say, his drink went sailing across the room.

having much fewer problems with the tails now, I am hoping that the tails are forcing me into keeping my lines correct. it takes longer to learn moves, but I think I'm probably learning them better this way. My transitions are working out pretty well also, but can't figure out how to get out of mexican wave without smacking my head or shoulder on the left side.

Altogether, I'm pretty pleased with my progress. I'd probably be further along, but I spent half of yesterday downloading vids from the other thread. All's I can say is as soon as my income tax refund check arrives, Drake's buying some new toys....

What exactly do I have to light on fire to get you to notice me?


FireKittenSILVER Member
newbie
17 posts
Location: YORK, United Kingdom


Posted:
hey, well when I started this thread I was stressing becuase I could NOT get the weave. Well now I can do the weave, cork-skrew, butterfly and btb butterfly. I learned the btb butterfly at a rave when this girl taught me in 5 minutes, yet it took me three weeks to get the weave right. I'm still open minded to new moves though. somthing a bit harder now. smile biggrin

xX Twist and twirl to trance and techno Xx


munkypunksGOLD Member
enthusiast, but not enthusiastic
367 posts
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA


Posted:
I can get about one attempt at chasing the sun, but it's proving to be a pain in the butt. so is the corkscrew. I can get the basic motions down no problem with each hand, but I can't get them both going together.

Thought I replied to this already, but didn't see it in the thread, so I apologize if it's a repeat, and just in case, I'll keep it short. Corkscrew is the same arm movement as turning a veil from in front of of you to in back. Try it with a big towel or afghan or whatever - it was a revelation for me. Then sun is the same movement, just in the vertical plane. Chasing the sun, to me at least, is totally different. Somewhere in the neighborhood of the mexican weave or a shoulder turn.

I hope this helps, cuz I'm really excited about feeling like I actually know something! ubbrollsmile

You can't fall off the floor, but sometimes you need a chair to reach the cookie jar.


Boo_BunnyBRONZE Member
Sparkely arty Mormon rainbow fairy
933 posts
Location: infront of you, United Kingdom


Posted:
I've been spinning for 2 weeks and all i can do is circles and butterfly. I have mastered hitting myself. Repeatedly. Over and over. But i persist and love every minuet. O well I'm of to go practice and get some more bruises. Later.

Property of Fine_Rabid_Dog


munkypunksGOLD Member
enthusiast, but not enthusiastic
367 posts
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA


Posted:
Boo Bunny~
Stick with it, and don't worry. I've only been doing this since mid-January, and I can't believe how many moves I can do. (Not many compared to most people on this site, but everything's relative.) I get all excited watching the circle of light videos or watching people at parties and thinking, hey, I can do that one!

Hitting yourself is apparently a difficult trick, cuz the experts can't even do it. So you and I are way cool. wink And for some reason after a while you don't bruise as much. smile

You can't fall off the floor, but sometimes you need a chair to reach the cookie jar.


linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
*bounces happily* thanks for all the help ive nearly got the btb butterfly - i can do it 9 outta 10 times (ok i know its a bit off topic probably should be in the new move section but meh because the next bits on topic)

any tips on what people would recommend i try next? ive got a bit of a routine worked out - not very interesting and fairly static but im working on it and i was just wondering if people think working on transitions and general technique would be better than trying a new move (i was thinking maybe 5 beat weave or btb weave) ive tried a few wraps and love them smile they make excellent transitions - forward weave -> forearm wrap -> backward weave smile

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spiralxveteran
1,376 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
Try learning how to wrap one poi so you can go between weave and butterfly at will and without having to stop or bend your poi round. Once you can do that you can combine both types of moves in a constant flow.

"Moo," said the happy cow.


linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
cool - ill try that smile *thinks about it and gets a lil confused* any tips on which wraps work best?

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spiralxveteran
1,376 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
Start in forward butterfly, wrap your left hand poi on your right arm and then turn 90 degrees to your left to go into forward weave.

Start in forward weave. On your left side take your right hand poi and bounce it off your left leg so that it bounces back and you're in forward butterfly.

Once you can do those I'm sure you'll be able to see other directions/sides/places you can do this sort of thing smile

"Moo," said the happy cow.


y│┤knewbie
7 posts
Location: just north of London


Posted:
theres a list of the "definitive wraps" sumwhere on this site.

One of my favs is doing a weave then stick yah leg out when they're on that side, wrapping both around it, then turning around, doing the same weave as before
smile

"disobedience is man's original virtue.
It is through disobedience that progress has been made" Oscar Wilde


KaelGotRiceGOLD Member
Basu gasu bakuhatsu - because sometimes buses explode
1,584 posts
Location: Angels Landing, USA


Posted:
there's so many more wraps than can ever be listed....

To do: More Firedrums 08 video?

Wildfire/US East coast fire footage

LA/EDC glow/fire footage

Fresno fire


y│┤knewbie
7 posts
Location: just north of London


Posted:
infinite even...
out of interest, could you explain how to do the 4 beat thread the needle. its something i really wanna learn after seeing it in a video

"disobedience is man's original virtue.
It is through disobedience that progress has been made" Oscar Wilde


linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
cool thanks for the tips on weave -> butterfly wraps smile been trying the reverse over head butterfly - getting there smile just enjoying using my new sock poi - great for practising - no stupid tails to get in the way :P

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DinkBRONZE Member
member
70 posts
Location: in a bubble :), United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: drakematrix


Also, I'm having trouble on my butterflys. The balls themselves are not a problem, but the tails keep catching. I have the UV tailed poi, and any slight gust of wind, and they get tangled beyond belief. any ideas?




i get that problem with my tails too biggrin

--------

Iv'e really gotta learn the names of the moves! good advice here tho smile

im a gemini..go figure


linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
hee hee - dink theres an easy solution - get some sock poi - much better as no tails to get in the way and easier for doing wraps etc with smile (which is always fun) although there a bit annoying if you want to do one handed butterflys

btw for those who are interested now have btb butterfly reverse and forward pretty much sorted - got the weave--> butterfly transition good as well smile think im gunna spend a while on planes and transitions as well as trying all this with tails

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StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Yea, tailed poi aren't the best for learning with, unless you enjoy frustration. ubblol

linden, glad to hear you got the btb butterfly, have you got the over the head version yet? because oth--> regular bf--> btb makes a really nice pattern, try two beats of each

linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
yea i found that smile got it reverse as well going over-head >> btb >> then normal
also finally got round to replacing the tennis balls with socks so no more bruises biggrin
also got 5bt weave (forward) on saturday so thats cool smile found it really easy so i susspect im doing it wrong but nm what ive got looks cool niway :P

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DinkBRONZE Member
member
70 posts
Location: in a bubble :), United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: linden_rathen


hee hee - dink theres an easy solution - get some sock poi - much better as no tails to get in the way and easier for doing wraps etc with smile (which is always fun) although there a bit annoying if you want to do one handed butterflys






hehe ahh... well i can do a two beat weve and a normal butterfly biggrin not much but im chuffed lol. how the hell do u do a one handed butterfly?? Im oh so near but just cant get both poi on the one hand *shrugs* even tho i can get both hands together...

think i might look into sock poi altho my tails dont seem to be a problem wink

im a gemini..go figure


linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
lol i can get the one handed b-fly for a few beats then it goes haywire ah well

out of interest has anyone got any tips for doing basic buzzsaw moves, i mean really basic as in ways of getting into it and some simple moves - and yes i have run a search, several times, and no i couldn't find anything useful :P

would be much appreciated smile

dink i think my main problem is that i have the Hop tailed poi so i have about 1m tails that will tangle in the slightest breeze
despite that sock poi are good fun for wraps *likes wraps

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