Forums > Beginner Staff Moves > Beginner (as in..started today)..need some help with basics

Posted: 3rd Sep 2005
Ok maybe I should make this more clear, dunno if anyone could understand it but,

I need to know the technique for one handed spinning..because I can't do it..

Posted: 4th Sep 2005
Figure-8's (basic one handed staff spinning) will just become smoother the more you do it...

It's easier (and looks nicer, and helps with planes...) if you hold your arm out to the side and spin the fig-8's parallel to your body as opposed to having your arm in front of you.

Remember to keep loose - don't really grip the staff, just hold it, roll the wrist (remember to warm up first!) and start slowly, ironing out any bumps as you go.

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Posted: 4th Sep 2005
I'm not sure I know what you mean, I know what a figure 8 is, but I have trouble just getting a 360 degree spin around my hand, I'm not sure of how to move my hand so it spins fast and smoothly

I saw this video of someone in their backyard with a staff, and he is able to spin it for a long time and really fast with one hand, how do you move your hand to do that?

The name of it was dragon something..

Posted: 5th Sep 2005
Was the one handed thing going in a figure of 8 on the left and right hand side of the body?

If so, thats called a fishtail, which is a rather tricky contact move. I suggest learning the basics first before moving onto this..

If not, what you are talking about sounds like a hand/wrist roll. Holding the staff off centre (i.e at the end of the grip) helps to give more rotation.

The existance of flamethrowers says that someone, somewhere, at sometime said "I need to set that thing on fire, but it's too far away."

Posted: 5th Sep 2005
Hmm. I'm not quite sure which move you're seeing. Step 3 in the staff lessons is a two handed spin passed behind the back.

The one handed spin you want to be learning at this early stage is a figure 8 on the side of the body, which is in those lessons, where the staff doesn't roll over your hand, you roll your wrist to scoop with the leading end of the staff in front of you then behind you.

You can spin a staff just in front of you with one hand, where you spin it, let it go and catch again, very fast, but you'll need to get proficient with the basic skills to work up to that. Work through the free lessons here for a while till you're smooth and quick. (Or if it is a fishtail you're looking at, that'll take quite a bit more time.)

But it's really quite amazing how soon you'll be flowing naturally if you do it all the time.
linda

Posted: 5th Sep 2005
In the 3rd step, just before she goes back behind her back, she spins the staff in one hand, thats what I was talking about

I have just been practicing and I can get pretty smooth, kinda fast, not really, but when I go to fast I usually end up with the staff going flying

Posted: 6th Sep 2005
That's cos you need to practise it slow for ages.

Like a couple of weeks.

At least.

"the now legendary" - Kaskade
"the still legendary" - Kaskade

I spunked in my friend's aquarium and the fish ate it. I love all fish. Especially the pink ones. They are my bitches. - Anon.

Posted: 6th Sep 2005
"when I go too fast I usually end up with the staff going flying"

yup. me too.

mcp too. i've seen her chuck her stick miles away

the trick is, don't spin it too fast. Just very very very slightly slower than that

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

Posted: 6th Sep 2005
OK. That's just a two hand rotor. I don't think she's rolling it over her whole hand, she's passing from one to the other. The thing with that is as you get better you'll naturally start adding more rotations between passing from hand to hand.... such as, you may start with turning the staff only 180 degrees in one hand before you pass it to the other hand, but as you get faster you'll find yourself letting it spin further.... I think I do one and a half rotations in each hand now (360 degree turn plus 180 degree), as I can let go more of the staff. Your hands get looser over time to where you're not so much holding the staff as directing it, allowing for more rotations. Don't worry so much about it now, just keep spinning and it'll come.