Forums > Technical Discussion > Poi that's too long for a beginner?

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greenlizard0BRONZE Member
Member
22 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
sorry I keep dragging this thread up again - BUT :

I keep practising with pio in the back garden that look like this:

""Fingers-string-weight-long tail""

and i'm finding it quite hard. All of the video's I find of poi contains a person who is usually doing:

""Fingers-string-weight""

am I making it quite hard for myself by having to drag the tail round as well? I've only being doing this for about 6 times now but i'm finding that my butterflies are starting to get catch!! grr.... frown

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


Posted:
Using poi with tails can be difficult as a beginner. If you find that they are more hassle than they're worth it wont hurt to try other types of poi that are easier for you to learn on. One good option thats easy to make yourself are sock poi. All you need are 2 really long socks and 2 ball like objects to put inside them. Tie a few knots in the ends to hold on to and youre ready to go! Also, if youre really into a real set, HoP also has a few sets of tail free practice poi.

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

-Me


greenlizard0BRONZE Member
Member
22 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
oh carp I see....



The trouble is I did try with old soccer socks and some tennis balls at the bottom of them. I found that using poi was a little bit easier because I couldn't adjust for the elasticity that socks have - i.e. they stretch & recoil their length as oppose to normal poi when in full flight.



Ah well back to the garden me thinks...



Any more pointers anybody??! I'm well keen to get going with it! biggrin
EDITED_BY: greenlizard0 (1112095202)

SkulduggeryGOLD Member
Pirate Pixie Crew Captain
8,428 posts
Location: Wales


Posted:
If you don't like the stretchiness of sock poi try cone poi. They are made out of non stretchy fabric and look like sock poi. Will and Garthy have some nice ones. I think Will said he had them from odd balls.......

Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!


greenlizard0BRONZE Member
Member
22 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
ah right cool cool.....is it just the tails that are messing me up? the ballon weights themselves never hit each other - it's just the tails that sometimes catch?

onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
You could tie the tails up with rubber bands.

Sock poi are worth persisting with as well; try different socks until you find some you like.

I don't use long socks for my poi, I find standard cheap white sports socks to be ideal if you give them a bit of a hard stretch first. I also don't knot the ends (which helps with the length) and, instead of tennis balls, use ballons with a bit of water in.

They're excellent for beginners (as they don't hurt on impact) and also for advanced as they're very good for one-handed stuff/catches and releases, due to not having finger loops.

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


.:star:.SILVER Member
Pooh-Bah
1,785 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
SOCKS SOCKS SOCKS!!!!
if you cut your tennis balls almost in half before you put them in
in the ends of long socks then they don't hurt so much.

Stripey socks look amazing if you use long ones and then put them on your arms up to your elbows. It looks like your arms are part of the poi and it looks absolutely crazy!

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


Posted:
Dave,

You said you dont tie knots in the ends of your socks, but they're good for catches/releases? What do you hold on to and what do you use for counter weight during tosses?

Ive seen your technical poi video so of course Im aware that you know your stuff but I lost the vid and dont remember your setup. And speaking of which, I lost the technical poi video.. Is that still online somewhere?

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

-Me


AmanitaSILVER Member
member
157 posts
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada


Posted:
Something I've found works really well- instead of tennis balls, get a pair of those orange rubber street hockey balls. They're the same size as tennis balls, but they've got a little more give in them, so whacking isn't as painful. I made a set with these for a friend of mine, and they came out so well, I'm thinking of making a set of these heads for myself. I used small eyebolts, nuts, and washers, so that the heads could attach to chains. I will try and get some pics of the process when I make another set of these heads.

Although for sock poi, you just stuff balls into socks..end of story:)

"Do not meddle in the affairs of Tower Cranes, for you are soft and would look better when squashed by a full concrete bucket"


onewheeldaveGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,252 posts
Location: sheffield, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: ICoN



Dave,



You said you dont tie knots in the ends of your socks, but they're good for catches/releases? What do you hold on to and what do you use for counter weight during tosses?



Ive seen your technical poi video so of course Im aware that you know your stuff but I lost the vid and dont remember your setup. And speaking of which, I lost the technical poi video.. Is that still online somewhere?






No, it's no longer online; the place it was hosted went down (any offers from anyone to host my vids are welcome, as long as the sites accessible [no javascript/flash for navigation etc] and fairly permanent).



I don't use counter weights for catches and releases, and the socks I use aren't knotted, but the slight ribbing on the open end does create a slight expansion which is very useful for the catches, as it enables me to let the sock slide through my grip till it gets to the end (the ribbed bit).



The set-up may sound as though it makes things more difficult, but it's what I'm used to and I find it quite solid; I found that using longer socks, or putting knots in the end adversley affected the feel and didn't make things easier (for me anyway).





(the short clip taken from 'technicalpoi' showing the augmented five-beat is still up- the poi used there are the balloon sock-poi)-



https://www.davidpanther.plus.com/movies/aug_5_beat.wmv

EDITED_BY: onewheeldave (1112135784)

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


ImmortalAngelSILVER Member
Scientist!
578 posts
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada


Posted:
I used baseball socks and some juggling balls :P
My buddy used soccer socks and tennis balls and I can't stand the poi, they are so light and so big. Mine are nice and slender with a beautiful weight to them.

Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> STAY SAFE! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hug.gif" alt="" />


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


Posted:
I have practice poi made out of beanbags tied to a cord with a dog leash handle on the other end. Works really well, seems to hurt less than a tennis ball, and you can adjust the length of the cord to fit the length of your arm. My teachers recommend your poi be no longer than the length from your armpit to your hand.

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


greenlizard0BRONZE Member
Member
22 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
aaaaaah.....see mine when fully extended "Fingers - String - Weight - Tail" are about 2 1/2 times that size!!!


It sucks....couldn't even do butterfly properly yesterday. Some days I can get it wrong, and other times the tails keep clipping. ubbloco

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


Posted:
Well, they call mine beginner's practice poi for a reason. They told us that we should start with the tail-less kind because they're easier exactly because of the problems you're experiencing. You could switch to a tail-less version, try to immobilize the tails as recommended by someone else here, or you can continue - with the knowledge that once you master a move, you've got it, and aren't going to have to re-learn it with a tail, like I will. smile

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



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