Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > btb weave

Posted: 4th May 2011
Meenick's video in the Adventures in Poi series helped me a lot.

Important points from that:
* A reverse weave in front of you becomes a forward btb weave if you turn your body and leave the weave where it is.
* You will hit yourself a lot.
* The easiest way into it seems to be turn turn without moving the weave.
* Make sure you can spin in side-planes with your arm behind your back, with both arms.
* Just keep trying.

Hope that that helps some.

'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

Posted: 5th May 2011
Aston brought up great points. I also recommend Meenik's video on the BTB weave, easily found on youtube. The main points that helped me were

- Before trying to get the pattern down, making sure that I was flexible enough to comfortably spin the poi in the awkward places that they are supposed to go (doing this one poi at a time, building flexibility by streching)
- Trying to get the hang of moving the poi from side to side behind me by moving my body rather than my arm. This also reduces the amount of flexibility you need to have in your arm. And once you get the hang of this, it will be more easy to feel where the poi are going behind you, even if you can't see them. Plus it gives the weave a nice rhythm where you are swaying from side to side..
- I got into the actual pattern by doing the wheelplane meltdown (shown in Meenik's vid), stopping one arm and catching the other one up to it, and going from there. Or alternatively start from just spinning in wheelplane. I found it hard to "turn into" the weave when I was starting. But I can see how it could be more intuitive to other people.

And yeah, you are going to hit yourself a lot. I have not learned any move before or since btb weaves where I have hit myself as much while learning them. It takes persintence for sure. But they're worth it for the range of motion you learn behind you, which comes in handy all the time, especially in waistwraps and meltdowns.

Posted: 5th May 2011
thanks for the pointers guys, i just got some sock poi (practicing with chains all the time is tiring and blisters your hands) i'm gonna focus hard on this one when i get off work.
Oh and Teamo, that's the main reason i wanna learn them i feel like everything I do is so limited and that would just open up a few new moves for me to learn.

Posted: 21st Jul 2011
thanks for the pointers guys

---

Posted: 21st Aug 2011
I've struggled with this move since july. I've managed to get like one or two good spins before my poi get tangled up behind me. I find it is a lot easier to learn btb weave in reverse spinning. I put my right hand behind my back, on the left side of course, and begin spinning that one. The left hand follows it. I throw my right hand to my right side, and my left hand follows.

I'm not sure if that makes sense, but take it one step at a time. Don't worry about getting your poi spinning, start by following the instructions above, and practicing that over and over again. Once you can do that, then do this: Put your left arm behind your back. Begin spinning that poi. your right hand will follow, throw your left hand to your left side, and your right poi will follow. Then stop. Keep practicing that until you think you go it. Then put it together. That part will be more difficult, that's the part I struggle with.

It would probably help a lot if you can do melt downs really good. Start with those first, both forwards and reverse.