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

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bluecatgeek, level 1
5,300 posts
Location: everywhere


Posted:
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 biggrin ), 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 ubblol 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 hug, 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)


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


Posted:
Knowing who you are doesn't make you a hippy.

Apart from in your case, cos you are a hippy. Hippy.

"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.


DurbsBRONZE Member
Classically British
5,689 posts
Location: Epsom, Surrey, England


Posted:
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 wink

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude


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


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

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.


DurbsBRONZE Member
Classically British
5,689 posts
Location: Epsom, Surrey, England


Posted:
offtopic

wink

Burner of Toast
Spinner of poi
Slacker of enormous magnitude


16.15.8GOLD Member
I can´t think therefore I´m not
291 posts
Location: In my backpack, United Kingdom


Posted:
Put the anger aside and show some love! hug

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 ubblove

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


animatEdBRONZE Member
1 + 1 = 3
3,540 posts
Location: Bristol UK


Posted:
Best spinner in the world? Me, innit. tongue

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.


jaikonewbie
19 posts
Location: caldera


Posted:
i would have to agree, the fact that spinning gives you an avenue to explore your own physical and mental boundaries and push those to new levels. i mean we all started off doing the weave and that felt awesome, and now we're breaking through to polyrhythmic antispun inswinging hybrid speed bumps. soapbox
so as for the best spinner: YOU, Me, anyone willing to push themselves to try something new.

astonSILVER Member
Unofficial Chairperson of Squirrel Defense League
4,061 posts
Location: South Africa


Posted:
Well, some of you are doing those.

:P

'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


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :mcp


What I learned from parkour: There might be a best spinner, but that doesn't matter. What matters is how well you know yourself, and what you can find out about yourself, using spinning.



I agree with this point. I am very competitive, with poi personally, I want to be the best, and that drives me to practice and aim to become the best. But at no point have I forced myself to practice and been really frustrated with it and not had fun. It has always been fun and enjoyable, and in the end, that's what REALLY matters, whether you are the best or not, regardless on terms of judging is just background noise, blocked out by the peace of mind obtained from the personal enjoyment gained from having a good twirl.

That said, I think that if twirling was to be judged, it would be done so in the same fashion as sports that feature both technical skill and artistic expression, the closest relatives being baton twirling, dancing, gymnastics, figure skating etc. A panel of judges would give scores based on technical aptitude (difficulty of moves, accuracy of planes and such) blended with an ability to be expressive, original and confident in your movements.

That would be how the best would be decided. But, as I hope to be the general consensus around here, so long as you're having fun, who cares who's the "best"?

decemberscalmSILVER Member
member
49 posts
Location: Cypress (Houston), Texas, USA


Posted:
I'm a a year into Poi, but I'm amazed how many people I randomly meet that are into it as well. Every time I travel somewhere in an excess of at least 30 miles, I manage to find a spinner just by carrying sock poi around. Last chap I met was my waiter in a Panera Bread restraunt. Want to meet a spinner? Carry Sock poi in your hand or in your belt while walking around a mall.

squidBRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA


Posted:
 Written by :decemberscalm


I'm a a year into Poi, but I'm amazed how many people I randomly meet that are into it as well. Every time I travel somewhere in an excess of at least 30 miles, I manage to find a spinner just by carrying sock poi around. Last chap I met was my waiter in a Panera Bread restraunt. Want to meet a spinner? Carry Sock poi in your hand or in your belt while walking around a mall.



I do this all the time, but I have yet to run into any random stranger that knows what I am doing with those sock thingees.

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


decemberscalmSILVER Member
member
49 posts
Location: Cypress (Houston), Texas, USA


Posted:
 Written by :squid


 Written by :decemberscalm


I'm a a year into Poi, but I'm amazed how many people I randomly meet that are into it as well. Every time I travel somewhere in an excess of at least 30 miles, I manage to find a spinner just by carrying sock poi around. Last chap I met was my waiter in a Panera Bread restraunt. Want to meet a spinner? Carry Sock poi in your hand or in your belt while walking around a mall.



I do this all the time, but I have yet to run into any random stranger that knows what I am doing with those sock thingees.

Where do you live? O.O I was spinning weavesmiley in my front yard using jailhouse poi with my girlfriend and someone yelled out from a passing car,"Poi!" ubblol. I live in a Suburban neighborhood in Texas <.<

squidBRONZE Member
sanguine
382 posts
Location: sur, USA


Posted:
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. smile

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


BrennPLATINUM Member
Will carpal your tunnel in a minute.
3,286 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
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 biggrin



Edit: Might need to right click & 'save as' to view it.
EDITED_BY: Brenn (1212992974)

&#2384;

Owner of burningoftheclavey smile
Owned by Lost83spy


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
That baby's got some moves, bet he can't do that with fire though. But man, he's so cute. There's no way I can compete with that.

inthepaddedroomnewbie
2 posts
Location: East Texas


Posted:
this was an excellent thread and its absolutely right ...no 1 can be the best they can be experienced in a particular field but there will always be that someone that can show them up on certain things(BTB,contact,airwraps...etc)

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