Spinning at Sukkot

I just got home from the last day of Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) where we all went out and camped for 8 days. Over the last few weeks I have learned most of the basic poi moves, and have started teaching them to a lot of the kids in our congregation. One guy has made two sets of his own poi, the second one was made with dog leash chains, finger straps, and glow-in-the-dark chew toys.

In preperation for Sukkot, I went out and bought a package of tube socks, a bag of tennis balls, and a couple of rolls of ribbon. With these, I was able to make 6 sets of sock poi with ribbons, which I let everyone use. They were a huge hit.

I had bought some ball-chain poi from this site, and have been pleased with them. However, I found that simply putting tennis balls in tube socks made some really great poi. They move slower, and are good for learning new moves on (which I was then able to do on the chain poi).

Our congregation does "Davidic Dancing" during the praise and worship part of our services, which is a form of dance decended from traditional Hebrew folk dances. In the past, flag and streamers have been incorporated into various dance routines. I decided to try my new sock poi (with ribbons) during the dancing, and found that it worked pretty well. A lady that organizes a lot of the dances has asked me about incorporating them into preplanned routines.

Meanwhile, my 1 1/2 year old daughter escaped twice from our campsite, and I grew worried about her safety. I went out and bought her a leash to hook to her belt, and found it to be a great way to keep her from running off. I had always thought that leashes for children sounded a bit cruel, but now that I’ve learned how fast a toddler can escape into the woods and out of sight I’ve changed my mind.

Having the baby on the end of a 20 foot leash reminded me of a movie in which Jet Li ties his son to the end of a rope and uses him, rope dart style, to fight the villains. I decided I should probably practice with something inanimate before I tried it with my daughter, so I put two tennis balls in a sock and tied it on the end of a rope. My improvised rope dart has turned out to be a lot of fun since then. I like it because I can use a lot of poi moves with it when it’s short, but I can also let it out and get some big, flowing moves that wrap around the body.

I consulted a friend of mine who teaches martial arts to see if he knew any good moves. He said he had never used a rope dart, or seen one used in a competition. The closest things he had seen were a whip chain and some other device he did not know the name of. He described it as half a nunchuck (also known as a “stick”) on the end of a long rope. If anyone knows what this weapon is called, please tell me.

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