Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > the best spinner in the world... and the state of spinning today

once upon a time, when my horizons were small, and the total number of members on hop was less than my currrent member number(aaah the good old days when i went by mineiro ), i harboured a secret(hah!) desire and need to be 'the best spinner in the world'

this year, with organising uber events, travelling the world, and being generally reinspired to spin after a year of jugglefever i have come to the following conclusion:

there will never be a best spinner in the world.

i long ago stopped thinking it would be me but now have stopped thinking it could be anyone.

why?
well. theres a few obvious reasons.
spinning is not competitive, its contemplative. this means you will never be able to judge objectively who is 'better' at spinning. and long may it remain that way.

people have entirely different focuses(foci? focal points? crocuses?). how can you compare RHD to meghan? you can't. simple as that. unless meg spends a year on throws, and antti and tommi spend a year on contact(which, quite scarily, i think they have....). or.. glass and oli. eek! what kind of comparison is that?
and, most importantly, people who have different focuses have got soooooooooo good at the individual sections of what they do that in order to catch up you'd have to give up on another section, allowing some other single minded bugger to totally forge off into the future and blow you away when you look back at what you used to do. some good examples being wibblingmatt, rhd again, meenik , devkev, oli... the list is long and there are so many i have not named.

one of the great things about these people, and many of their contemporaries is the new respect that spinning gains within the performing and specifically object manipulation communities. no longer can a snooty juggler(or diabolist, or staff spinner about poi, etcetc) turn round and say 'huh, poi is not worth my time because i could learn everything in a day' (and beleive me, that is an accurate paraphrase from bristol juggling convention three years ago from a top juggler). it takes time and dedication, understanding and insight, openness and a willingness to share to become a top level spinner.

Some kind of conclusion? hmmm. well, er... i don't really have one, and i suppose i'm opening this up for some kind of discussion here. i don't want replies that say 'xxxxxxxxx is the best'. i want to know how people feel spinning is developing and has changed since you started. i want to know what you respect about people that inspire you, and how you feel that inspiration is good for the community at large. i want to know what you don't like about the new spinning community, and how it has been belittled by its incredible growth.

i also recently rebumped an awesome thread of NYCs about 'the london factor' (sorry, no link, cold fingers) i'd like to hear also what you think makes a successful spinning community and why some places deliver one style as opposed to another... er. that'll do for starters. i need a cup of tea.

i one last thing: I consider it an honour that many of the most innovative and exciting spinners in the world are my friends, and choose to spend some of their time sharing their skills and inspiring me to develop mine. thank you all( i think you know who you are).

Rob

Holistic Spinner (I hope)

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

"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.

Just the kind of esoteric crap you'd expect from a dread-wearing, drum-loving greeny like yourself.
Put the spliff down and go and practise

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

I'm not the one that likes to play with crystal balls, you pagan druid hippy.

I don't see you posting anything meaningful, but that's what I expect from hippies.

"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.

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude

Put the anger aside and show some love!

Doesnt matter if you have one big shiny ball, two big balls, or mayve three balls, small balls, a big stick or a small one, we are all hippies with a bucket full of love to share with everyone

"I don�t like shoes, definitely not spinning with shoes, they make my feet feel flat, my feet are not flat...."

Best spinner in the world? Me, innit.

Empty your mind. Be formless, Shapeless, like Water.
Put Water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Water can flow, or it can Crash.
Be Water My Friend.

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

"to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow

I live in the north side of Atlanta, Georgia. Oddly enough, Im teaching at a summer art camp and one of my students, a young girl about 9 or 10, knew exactly what they were. She could even do a 3bt weave. Turns out that she takes another Circus Camp where they taught her flags and poi and all kinds of circus loveliness.

Now, I've searched out other fantastic spinners in Atlanta, but this is the first stranger that has ever had a clue about what this is.

"to a man whose only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow

While it's inconclusive as to who the best spinner in the world is, It is for certain that the best baby spinner in the world goes to this little one



Edit: Might need to right click & 'save as' to view it.

ॐ

Owner of burningoftheclavey
Owned by Lost83spy