Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > Can't weave, can't put the poi behind me. I'm useless. I give up.

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DrBooBRONZE Member
I invented the decaffinated coffee table.
453 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
I have just hit myself very hard with my poi. Not cos I did a move wrong - well I did, but hitting myself was a result of the strop I was having!

I have been doing this for a week or so and have so far been able to spin them forwards and backwards, do the butterfly and giant butterfly, and...well....that's it.

Pants huh? ubbcrying

I have given up trying to do the behind the head butterfly. I cannot get the poi to go behind my head. I just garrot myself.
So I moved onto the weave instead.
I can do something approximating it. A kind of figure of eight with one poi sort of chasing the other. But it is not the 3-beat one.
And I cannot get my head around it! I've stared at the video and instructions, as well as others on the net. I just cannot figure out what to do differently to the basic fig-8.

Any suggestions? Before I quit this all as a bad hobby that I just cannot do!?

*stomps off to find her poi which she threw across the room*
*looks a little embarrassed by childish tantrums*


redface

Boo x

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If it costs "a penny for your thoughts", but people give you their "two-pence worth", who is getting the extra penny?


[Nx?]BRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,749 posts
Location: Europe,Scotland,Both


Posted:
awww, sutttup, only your self is getting in the way of doing it, of course you cant do it, you cant do it.

took me months to learn the weave, enjoy the 2 beat your are doing, and maybe try and lead with the other hand, and stop complaining and being stroppy.

Only you can learn, and you can only learn when you are prepared to understand 1) you cant do it now and 2) you will be able to do it if you try it a million times.

sorry to everyone if this sounds harsh, but honestly, learning is a skill in itself, and this aint how to do it. have a look at this this which is about unicycling, but applies very well. and if you think poi is frfustrating, you should try uni.


good luck! but thats got nothing to do with it!

T wave

This is a post by tom, all spelling is deleberate
-><- Kallisti


DrBooBRONZE Member
I invented the decaffinated coffee table.
453 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
spank

OK....
I consider myself well and truely put back in my box!!
redface

Thanks T - Pep talk required.

Time to get back to it.
weavesmiley

Boo x

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If it costs "a penny for your thoughts", but people give you their "two-pence worth", who is getting the extra penny?


Fine_Rabid_DogInternet Hate Machine
10,530 posts
Location: They seek him here, they seek him there...


Posted:
I can't do two beat.

The weave took me ages.

There is a really interesting thread about perception that may be of used to you... its around here somewhere...

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."


ImbalanceGOLD Member
not different, just not the same
263 posts
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA


Posted:
the weave, at first look, is completely mind boggling. BUT once you get it, you'll go, "OH, how was i EVER that stupid? omg this is easy" and then u find something else that is impossible until you do it, and then "OH, THIS IS EASY, how was i ever that stupid?" and so on and so on

Joe's Weave Tips

do the motion one handed at first and work on your planes. you wanna get the circles out from your body so ya don't thwack yourself a lot. the motion (for right hand) is as follows:
standin, with right hand holding poi, start spinning it counter clock wise ( meaning it should spin DOWN in front and UP behind u)
then once you have a nice flat plane, wait till the poi is pretty much vertical up (at about 12 oclock) and pull your hand to the left side of your body and spin there. the circle direction should NOT change, just which side of it your hand is on. so, arm accross bidy to your left side, poi spinning same way, down in front up behind (looking at it this will appear to be clockwise since its on a different side of u)
now, again when poi hits about 12, bring your hand back to your right. This is the absolutely most basic part of the weave, the cross over.

Now for timing it.

keep spinning, this time when you cross it to your left side, let it do 2 circles and bring it back to the right. on the right it should do ONE circle then back to the left, so, right 1 cross left 2 cross, right 1 cross, left 2 cross etc. this is the main weave motion. now when i say two circles, i mean that as you cross your body you start counting when the poi hits about 6 o'clock. so you cross over from right to left, poi immediately hits 6 o'clock, you say ONE, goes up behind u, and down again in front hits bottom thats when you say TWO and as it goes up behind this time get ready to pull back to right side, as u pull back the poi is traveling down in front and hits six o'clock on your right side, you say ONE and as it goes up, get ready to pull back to left side and repeat.

switch that around for the left hand. do this till you can do each hand individually with you eyes closed and have the right motion. now you are ready to put it together.

to start i tell people to start spinning in wheel plane SPLIT time. so that when your left poi is pointing UP your right is DOWN, both spinning forwards. this will help you get the weave started.

when doing a weave, its important to remember that one poi is ONLY one HALF beat behind the other. (this of course can be messed with but for your purposes, one half beat)

so, ya got your split time wheels goin on, decide which hand you wanna pull over first, doesnt matter which,. and as that hand hits 12 (and the other hand hits 6) pull the hand accross your body. by the time it gets across there the OTHER hand will have hit 12, and you pull IT across your body (so for a second her eyour arms will be crossed one over the other) also by this time, the arm that is UNDER the other should have its poi pretty much at 12 by now. and the other (top) hand will be at 6. so the hand at 12 should start to pull to the other side. now here lies the trick, the TOp hand doesnt pull back (as that would only be a 2 beat weave) it stays on over there. so by the time the hand you are pulling back gets there, the formerly top hand will now be at 12 and starting to rotate down in front, LET IT, the other hand u just pulled back will now be at 6 and moving up behind u, THIS hand u pull back to the other side of your body now, and just follow with the other poi.

thats a lot of confusing words for a simple move. reading it will probably have confused u as it seems like a lot to remember, but just work thru it as stated, it'll work out.

if u needhelp, just look at the little weave emoticon guy!

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.


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


Posted:
I say learn good habits now. Make sure you can do the moves in both directions, that your planes are perfect, so you don't look like your spinning a scribble. experiment with all the different ways you can spin the moves you know, ie. can you spin a circle somewhere out of the pattern for one beat then bring it back in, and learn to move and dance with the poi, think about spinning as slow as possible and then as fast whilst still keeping the plains perfect. And finally, once you've done this, you'll find it easier to learn the 3-beat weave. Paitence is a virtue. Some of the best spinners only know a few moves and some of the worst know lots.

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


DrBooBRONZE Member
I invented the decaffinated coffee table.
453 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
Thank you guys so much.
Justy practiced and I think I've almost got it, and I'm less worried about it, at any rate!
Yeay!

You are lovely, fluffy people.
xxx

Boo x

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If it costs "a penny for your thoughts", but people give you their "two-pence worth", who is getting the extra penny?


VivicaSirenSILVER Member
Member
1 post
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
Thing is, if you've only been doing it for a week, you're not going to be able to do all the great things you see everyone else doing... I've been doing poi for about 4-5 months now and have only just started doing behind the back stuff.

Basically my advice, is if you are getting frustrated with not being able to do a move, just do something else. Try another move or try linking a few moves you know already. For me, I find that the more i keep at a move I can't do for long periods of time the more frustrated I get. But it's the same with moves you can do, especially if you've only got a limited ammount you are able to do.

How are you getting on now anyways? Hope you're keeping at it! It's easy and great fun once you know how smile

mcpPLATINUM Member
Flying Water Muppet
5,276 posts
Location: Edin-borrow., United Kingdom


Posted:
learn stick learn poi. Watch neighbours, calm down. Come back to it a week later and it'll be easy. <- slackers guide to learning.

"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.


UCOFSILVER Member
15,417 posts
Location: South Wales


Posted:
You forgot to watch Dianosis Murder!! eek

mcpPLATINUM Member
Flying Water Muppet
5,276 posts
Location: Edin-borrow., United Kingdom


Posted:
MURDER! Where!?!?!?!

"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.


DrBooBRONZE Member
I invented the decaffinated coffee table.
453 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
Oooh, it's so sad.
In between poi I'm watching the True Movies channel. It is truely gag-inducing.

But you're right, it is easier when you stop and take a break - hardly suprising as stroppiness obviously does not help spinning!

As for poi, yup, still keeping at it. Not sure how far I'm getting, but I think this thread has highlighted my lack of patience with myself - odd cos I'm very patient with other people!

weavesmiley

Boo x

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If it costs "a penny for your thoughts", but people give you their "two-pence worth", who is getting the extra penny?


spiralxveteran
1,376 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
I gave up poi for about six months because I couldn't get the reverse weave... I wouldn't worry about it! biggrin

"Moo," said the happy cow.


TinklePantsGOLD Member
Clique Infiltrator, Cunning Linguist and Master Debator
4,219 posts
Location: Edinburgh burgh burrrrrr, United Kingdom


Posted:
but reverse weave is easy... 5beat rev aint tho grrrr

Always use "so's your face" and "only on Tuesdays" in as many conversations possible


garthySILVER Member
old hand
717 posts
Location: Bristol, England


Posted:
I still can't do reverse 5 beat and I've been spinning for 2 years. redface

"**grumble*spuriouswindmills*grumble**" - Coleman
"if poi was only for girls there wouldnt be many good poi spinners...." - Nx


Tao StarPooh-Bah
1,662 posts
Location: Bristol


Posted:
yeha, it's a bitch, took me about 2 years to learn....

i found it helps if you try to keep your hands down nearer your waist....stops you hitting yourself in the face as much. mostly though, it's just about wrist action and making sure you swing them nice & wide....again, the hitting yourself in the face issue!

I had a dream that my friend had a
strong-bad pop up book,
it was the book of my dreams.


T&BBRONZE Member
Me
607 posts
Location: London/Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: garthy


I still can't do reverse 5 beat and I've been spinning for 2 years. redface




maybe you should give up then, you're obviously crap and no hope of getting good anytime soon wink

Maybe I should change this too something abit nicer, humm no I still think your all Ccensoredt


T&BBRONZE Member
Me
607 posts
Location: London/Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
oh yeah if you do want to learn it try 7bt rev and it'll sort out your 5bt (not that I do poi, poi is for girls and men in girl's dresses)

Maybe I should go now b4 I say some rude tongue

Maybe I should change this too something abit nicer, humm no I still think your all Ccensoredt


ImbalanceGOLD Member
not different, just not the same
263 posts
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA


Posted:
5 bt reverse weave is pretty difficult. i just got it a couple weeks ago. been spinning for maybe 5 months now.

anyways, the way i learn moves is kinda weird i suppose, i always look at it as if i had to teach someone the move, so i pick out lil helpful things as i go along.
So here's Joe's 5bt reverse weave tips:

remember, in a 5bt weave either direction, the hand that leads you to any side is the hand that is supposed to be on that side. Right hand brings you to your right, and left to left. This is important as in a 3bt weave the opposite is true.

one thing i found hard at first was to leave the opposing hand on that side of my body for the extra circle. for instance, when doing the spins on the left side of your body i found it very hard to leave my left hand over on my left for that extra circle before i moved it. I was so used to 3bt weave. I found the first thing i needed to ingrain was to LEAVE that hand/poi there, even if it meant wrapping up myself. just keep doin that extra circle and wrapping up your hands untill you don't have the urge and twitch to whip it back across your body.

in any 5bt weave, you really only need to worry about the leading hand when crossing your body. this is because once the leading hand is heading back across to the other side, the following hand will be hooked at the wrist and be pulled along. so the following hand can basically just be ignored so long as it doesn't let go of the poi.

hand position is everything. the way you hook your hands (or dont hook them) can mean disaster or sucess for the 5bt learner (yes yes yes i KNOW you can do a 5bt with other hand positions and what not, but when FIRST learning it, it needs to be easy, then you can screw it up and make it hard on yourself) there are two main directions of hand orientation when u hook your wrists, palm up, and palm down. so considering both hands like this then that makes 4 total positions (leadhand/followhand). palmup/palmdown, p[almup/palmup, palmdown/palmdown,palmdown/palmup. For the purposes of this lil lesson i will teach palmup/palmdown. The reason being that this position gives the most seperation between poi and therefore a bigger gap to not thwack yourself in the head. The other way to refer to this is having hte backs of your hands together.

first examine your following hand for a moment. as it goes to make the extra circle that defines a 5bt, you shouldn't really try to put a lot of control on it. just bring the poi up for the start of the circle and let your hand flop over backwards (towards you) and let the poi continue on its circle by itself. I find that if i have a secure finger grip on the poi, i can open my fingers up for that extra little bit of flexibility. so if you hold the poi with your index and middle finger (as i do though you can hold it however u like) you would essentially bring your hand up, flop over at the wrist and extend your fingers, making you give the clouds a peace sign (or bunny ears, or victoy sign whatever). The poi will pretty much take care of itself at this point.

now, the leading hand. this is where all the work is done. The way i would say to et started (and you can fine tune later) is to actually whip the poi over to your othe side. normally when doing a weave everyone worries about getting the planes right and moving your hand for the poi to follow etc etc etc. not here. you need to SEND that poi over to the otherside of your body. The easiest way to get this started is to pay attention to the leading hand as it enters the final circle on the side. sitck that hand out a bit past your follow hand, this will help give you a bit more swing. now, as the lead poi is coming down (behind you) on the last circle do 2 things, start to move the lead hand in (towards the side you are gonna lead over to) and out from you a bit. the goal here as to pull the poi at an angle that will change its plane to be about 30-45 degrees off of vertical. As your hands collide, remmeber they need to face back of hand to back of hand, try and make sure your hands collide AT THE WRIST. the follow hand should just flop over, but the lead hand should hook and pull the follow hand. I also extend my 2 fingers on my lead hand at this point, again for that extra little bit of seperation and flexibility.

you will notice that when you hands are crossed in this manner that your elbows are together as well, this will help you in getting your hands to the other side of your body to unwrap. It is also helpful at first to actually turn your torso with the crossing direction, helps get the timing down and not get a beat down from a stray poi.

so, leading hand it hooking, and pulling poi at an angle so that it would naturally go across your body. so follow the lead poi with your lead hand, and the lead hand will pull the follow hand (just dont worry about the follow poi as it will continue on its lil circle by itself) Timing here is the other thing to worry about, if you try and cross to early you will hit your legs, to late and you hit your head, so try and keep the same cross timing as the 3bt weave. and turn into the crossing direction. if you are coming back to the right turn to the right and slide your body to the left, helps avoid getting killed.

Keep tryin and you will get it. I may make a lil animation for this since i can't seem to find a good one online anywhere, though HOP has the forwards 5bt animation that isn't bad...

GOOD LUCK

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.


pixies_n_muddnewbie
1 post

Posted:
hey
has ne1 here got any idea how to do the reverse 3 beat weave.
i keep wacking myself in the head or something!! i think im gonna loose half my mind if i keep hitting myself!
any suggestions?!?!

ImbalanceGOLD Member
not different, just not the same
263 posts
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA


Posted:
um, scroll up abit to my OTHER lengthy post about weaves. also, do a search on the forums, you'll find lots

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.


LazyAngelGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,895 posts
Location: Cambridge UK


Posted:
or even look at 'helpful advice posts' at the top of the forum.

Surprisingly, it contains lots of helpful advice... wink

Because ActiveAngel sounds like a feminine deodorant

Like sex, I'm much more interesting in real life than online.

'Be the change you want to see in the world around you' - Ghandi


ImbalanceGOLD Member
not different, just not the same
263 posts
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA


Posted:
WHAT? it does? nooo way!

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.


TheWibblerGOLD Member
old hand
920 posts
Location: New Zealand


Posted:
Well I haven't read though all the advice but i'd say you might wanna get yourself a little pair of clubs; juglging clubs, swingingclubs, sticks, rolled up newspaper with tape round it, whatever you can find.

Then you can practice the moves really slowly and teach your body where it has to go.

To get the weaves just twist p on 1 side of you, untill you can't twist any more, then untwist it all on the other side, keep twisting till you can't twist anymore and go back to the first side again.

When practicing with poi remember that it's much harder to spin slowly, never spin faster than is within your control.

You'll get it soon enough,

m

ps. if not then you could always fall back on staff, it's WAYYYY easier than poi, isn't that right T&B wink

Spherculism ~:~ The Act of becoming Spherculish.


T&BBRONZE Member
Me
607 posts
Location: London/Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: spherculist


When practicing with poi remember that it's much harder to spin slowly, never spin faster than is within your control.





sounds like girly hippy advice to me no wonder you spin poi tongue

Maybe I should change this too something abit nicer, humm no I still think your all Ccensoredt


VampyricAcidSILVER Member
veteran
1,286 posts
Location: My House, United Kingdom


Posted:
come to cambridge, we'll teach you biggrin

Proudly Owned By The BMVC

Are You Sniffing My Mitten?


RicheeBRONZE Member
HOP librarian
1,841 posts
Location: Prague, Czech. Republic


Posted:
Cant sleep, cant shout my eyes .... frown

POI THEO(R)IST


DrBooBRONZE Member
I invented the decaffinated coffee table.
453 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
I've just left Cambridge and moved to Cornwall frown
Why didn't I discover poi before I left!? My fire spinning friend up there did not spin in front of me until the week before I left - but it was that which got me into spinning myself.
I'll just have to figure it out for myself - think I may have got the hang of the weave - it's hard to tell without someone watching/telling me.
biggrin

Boo x

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If it costs "a penny for your thoughts", but people give you their "two-pence worth", who is getting the extra penny?


Tao StarPooh-Bah
1,662 posts
Location: Bristol


Posted:
Written by: Richee


Cant sleep, cant shout my eyes .... frown





i can...MY EYES! MY EYES!

I had a dream that my friend had a
strong-bad pop up book,
it was the book of my dreams.


DrudwynForget puppy power, Scrappy's just gay
632 posts
Location: Southampton Uni


Posted:
I can too... but the last time I did, I got arrested.

It took me 2 weeks to get the 3 beat weave, 4 weeks of practising every night for an hour before I got the 5 beat reverse weave... so just chill out!

Spin, bounce, be one with the world, because it is yours to enjoy...


VampyricAcidSILVER Member
veteran
1,286 posts
Location: My House, United Kingdom


Posted:
well come back to visit cos we're cool!! biggrin i could do 3 beat weave the first time i picked up poi, BUT that is only because i'd spent 6 months previous watching my spinning (ubbrollsmile) friends do it and had figured out the hand movements in my head first, watching people is the best way to learn, its like a 3d video with commentary!!

Proudly Owned By The BMVC

Are You Sniffing My Mitten?


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