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Posted: hi i started spinning 6 poi some days ago. (one butterfly in each hand and one with feets). also found out that the one foot butterfly isnt that impossible.
feet spinning isnt as limited as i first thougt. there is alot to find out and learn.
im wondering if anyone has any ideeas for how to fasten poi on a foot. and id love to hear about diffrent moves possible with six pois or 8 or just 2 on feets and 2 in hands and so on.
DurbsBRONZE Member Classically British 5,689 posts Location: Epsom, Surrey, England
Posted: I'd normally suggest tracking down 2bags on here, but he's in India now for a few months, so not sure how contactable he is... He did lots of 6-poi stuff...
Can't say I can think of anyone else at the moment who does 6+ poi
Burner of Toast Spinner of poi Slacker of enormous magnitude
jo_rhymesSILVER Member Momma Bear 4,525 posts Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdom
Posted: 2bags doesn't go til Sunday!
Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.
steve dbBRONZE Member enthusiast 272 posts Location: bristol, uk
Posted: hey there,
i don't have much time to post at the moment 'cos i'm rushing off to india on sunday and i'm somewhat under-prepared. but i'm definitely up for discussing numbers poi more when i find an internet cafe in delhi.
anyways, hope some of the following is interesting/useful:
i can do six poi with a butterfly in each hand and a weave with my feet while lying down. i've done two sort of different versions of this, one with the poi on fire while lying on my back on a skateboard rolling down a hill (this is on the col5 dvd and also here on myspace but both are the same and it's pretty dark) and with unlit poi lying on a bed of nails with a treacherous idiot standing on me (this is on the play 2005 dvd and a brief clip of it is on the downloadable play 2005 teaser which i can't immediately find on the play website but is perhaps still downloadable from somewhere).
i learnt it roughly as follows:
- learnt a one-handed butterfly starting with my good hand, then learnt one with my bad hand. then learnt starting both at the same time.
- learnt the foot weave movement with each leg separately then spent quite a while just getting the weave with both feet neat.
- learnt to keep both hand butterflies going while lying down, then learnt to start them lying down - discovered that this and the foot weave are both easier if elevated a foot or more off the floor so the poi don't hit the ground.
- attempted to spin single poi circles in my hands while doing a foot weave. attempted to spin separate circles with my feet while doing two one-handed butterflies.
- realised to my dismay that lying on your back flailing all your limbs doesn't actually look all that cool, but discovered that it did have a certain amount of comic value.
- spent ages learning to do one-handed butterflies and the foot weave at the same time, varying starting my feet first then my hands, and the other way round, eventually deciding that hands then feet seemed easier.
yeah, it took me quite a while to learn, but i’ve taught it to a couple of people at summer camp annoyingly quickly (about four weeks i think, practicing not particularly hard). i reckon it took me about two and a half months to think i had it solid, then considerably longer before it reliably worked on stage.
i’ve always just wrapped the poi handles round my toes and coped with the fact that they occasionally spin off, but i’m just about to make some shoes with holes in to secure the poi, and i’ll report back to say if that makes life easier.
have managed a one-footed butterfly a bit and a one-footed start (by flopping one end over the top of your foot to start with then flicking it off) but certainly not solidly and it was always a bit uncomfortable so i lost interest. but i’m just about to start working on it again so i’ll see how it goes. i think a poi shoe will make it reasonably easy.
have seen other tricks with foot poi such as a corkscrew and a buzzsaw, both of which i reckon are probably slightly easier than a weave. can't say i've ever tried a two-footed butterfly for some reason.
a mouth butterfly is also possible and lots of fun. i do one while playing the harmonica (well...perhaps making noise with a harmonica might be a better description). have also heard of people doing a couple of mouth butterfly tricks such as over the head and split-time).
so yeah other versions of six definitely going to be quite doable, as is eight poi i imagine. if i get a chance i’ll be playing a bit with it over the winter ‘cos it’s very silly and quite fun.
hope that was helpful.
here’s some other reasonably similar threads (the top one being most relevant but a bit theoretical in places):
[Old link]
[Old link]
[Old link]
there have been quite a few other threads and they all last for about a week and about ten posts. i wander if this one will be any different .
oh, and lastly: i don't reckon doing six fire poi is particuarly safe or sensible and i reckon you should definitely have a couple of people standing by with fire blankets 'cos if they all tangle then things could quickly become quite unpleasant. the only exceptions to this are if you're on a skateboard or trying to impress a girl .
I tie the poi to my shoes but that isnt good enough. i guess i will have to make holes in my shoes so i can safely attach the pois in the toe end of the shoes.
also i found out that the one foot butterfly is easier if you tie the pois to a pair of high-heeled shoes (dont ask me why i tried this) as the handles get a bit more distance from each other. this will also give a bit kinky feeling to the show
steve dbBRONZE Member enthusiast 272 posts Location: bristol, uk
Posted: so are you attaching one poi to your toes and one to your heel? 'cos i've always attached both to my toes, trying to get them as far away from each other as possible. i can't really see how high-heeled trainers would help. however, i always wear fishnet stocking and a corset and i find it gives me good support while making me feel pretty, which can really help with my spinning.
Posted: Then u should realy try a pair of high-heeled boots. black leather if possible.
i have been thinking on what tricks that could make a six poi number even more hot (not only the clothing). and have started practising a throw. one of the pois from one of the hands. no foot throws yet. but it is very hard to get it straigth up. i can do this trick with 4 poi so i thougt it whouldnt be impossible. but now i guess i wont be able to do it for atleast some years.
MynciBRONZE Member Macaque of all trades 8,738 posts Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom
Posted: not my area steve but can you spin poi with your feet stood on your hands?
A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.
steve dbBRONZE Member enthusiast 272 posts Location: bristol, uk
Posted: unfortunately handstands aren't my area either, but i'm sure if you had a solid enough handstand you could. i can do it in a shoulderstand, but that doesn't look anywhere near as pretty
Posted: A guy I met at a convention knew how to poi with his feet while doing a handstand.
Also I can do 6 poi while lying on the floor. But it feels kinda lame. I rather unicycle with 4 poi (butterfly in each hand).
As the thread about 14 poi being the theoretically possible limit of numbers poi I say awesome. It would be way cool if someone actually learned that.
And i think it's funny that the highest number of objects juggled is 14 also (a sync flash by the awesome juggler Albert Lucas)!
JohnnyFettuciniBRONZE Member Mr Pasta 44 posts Location: Sweden
Posted: Hey Burncat!
I started doing 6 Poi about a year ago, I do them standing up with 2 on my right leg attached by hair bands (Gummi snodd för dom som kan svenska ) and the 'normal' 4 butterfly with my arms. I've mailed you on this but you haven't replied