Forums > Beginner Staff Moves > Short Batton Spinning?
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Hi everyone, my name is Poppie, I'm 17 and a unicyclist (:
I was a majorette when I was younger and have recently picked up a (way too small) baton, which I love spinning. I have tried juggling, diablo, poi, and staff(okay, it was a broom handle) but I think I prefer the manoeuvrability of a short baton(I think I will need a 22" when I buy one/a pair). The problem is I cannot find any sites or help with baton spinning techniques, such as throws etc. /: not sure if I should be posting here, is baton spinning frowned upon here?
Does anyone else do it or have any answers?
Thankyou,
Poppie (:
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Hi Poppie.
Baton spinning has had a mixed history with Homeofpoi, but that is more related to a select few "pro-baton" people saying it's better than staff, and that staff spinners are sueless unless they have done baton...
As far as I, and most of the members here, it doesn't matter what if you spin poi, batons or even a pizza, it's all about sharing what you know, and having fun on the board and giving safe advice...
Personally, I would love some help on doing continous fishtails (I believe its a common baton move), but would also love to translate it to my larger staffs (1.4 metres) as well.
Could you help me?
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just lost .... evil init
2,474 posts
Location: Adelaide, Australia
what type of continuous fishtails do u need help with charles? forwards, backwards, inverted, turning, carries, elbow, foot, horizontal, dual?
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
No need to get fancy...
Just the normal one, which may be forward, starting by flicking the baton from under my right hand onto the back of the hand...
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just lost .... evil init
2,474 posts
Location: Adelaide, Australia
rolling from thumb to little finger or little finger to thumb
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
umm... my understanding is that it doesn't really roll at all if done properly, it executes a gentle figure 8 type motion but stays on the back of the hand/back of the wrist the whole time.
IE if there was a camera on the top of the wrist and it was done perfectly, you wouldn't notice the staff moving at all...
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just lost .... evil init
2,474 posts
Location: Adelaide, Australia
thats correct when you have the staff in the fishtail if your doing it perfectly the pont of contact wouldnt move at all. what i mean is when you transfer the staff from under your hand to onto of your hand which way does it roll
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
cool...
outwards, so it rolls over the pinky as it comes up...
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just lost .... evil init
2,474 posts
Location: Adelaide, Australia
ive only met two ppl who do what i consider to be pretty forwards fishtails and its quite a different hand movement to backwards fishtails. when doing backwards fishtails you get two points of contact one on the back hand and one of the forearm with which to control the movement. as the direction that the staff is spinning is coming towards you its very easy to control. forwards however is a different kettle of fish because the staff is moving away from you, i find it very difficult to get that same two points of contact. i find that with a bigger and slightly faster hand movement its possible to maintain forwards fishtails. forwards is much more moving around the staff than forcing it whereas backwards you can force the stick alot more. i find a good exercise is passing the staff backhand to backhand and when its on the back of the hand turning 180 in backhand to backhand again then turning back and then doing it without stopping in between and building up that way.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
old hand
834 posts
Location: Wellington somerset, UK
Foward fishtails, i prefer, and i dont see what people find hard about them,(backwards however i still cant make work
) and they can go on forever with little work, and once they are nice and clean, they are "pretty" as well :P, you just have to learn where to let them fall, and where to make them ride, and it seams to be fine Drawings by chalk minds, strech between the stars
Kyle Mclean-
Contact without dance is like sex without wiggling.
A) it does feel as good
B) it does not look as good on film
3,638 posts
Location: Brum / Dorset / Fairy Land
Charkles!
that's backwards - and they are much easier to learn imo
They look wonderful with a long staff and even more wonderful with two Though difficult to teach online! Just look at one of knoxious/bluecats/strugz/ben's vids and you can see plenty how they work - then you just have to imitate it very slowly until it feels right!
Or you can wander out in to the garden, beat yourself a bit and then go 'hey that's a fishtail! how'd that happen?!?' (like me) and then spend a week trying to get it clean.
Or if you work on uber-spinning/zen timescales, spend your life trying to get it one step further on the path to being clean............
Geologists do it in the dirt................ 
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Ok...so now that poor Poppies' thread has been accidentally taken ove,r shall we reply to her a bit more instead... ;-)
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coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia
FISHTALES! they are soo cool! i haven't got them down yet but dentrassi showed me ages ago and i was gapeing, they're so cool!
*huuuge ass grin*
"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom
Written by: Charles
Ok...so now that poor Poppies' thread has been accidentally taken ove,r shall we reply to her a bit more instead... ;-)
"Threads must stay on topic. Please may sure your reply is relevant and on topic."
but when a mod hijacks a thread its just an 'accident' eh...?
link for poppie
cole. x
"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Coleman, I would hope that that every hijacking is accidental, however, if you wish to re-read the thread, is was POPPY whom I was asking advice from, (or at least that was my intention) which would have kept it on topic.
I'm still waiting for another baton twirler to lend some advice from their side of the art as well... :-)
Does that make sense?
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big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom
it made sense before charles
i wanted to post the twirlmania link for poppie.
but that was all i had to say and my post seemed a bit empty with just a link in it.
so i thought i'd make a humourous observation.
'have a laugh' as it were.
hence the
and the
but thank-you for your clarification of the site rules and the the correction anyway.
cole. x
"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
that's me, MR CLARIFICATION!
so, Poppy, you've been a little quiet on your thread, any chance of jumping in to add some things?
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1 post
Location: Los Angeles, CA USA
Hi Poppie,
I'm looking for other people too...
I was getting a little lazy. Good I found some one else who twirls these.
I have no formal baton background, but I started with some sticks I liked and as I went on cut them down to suit me. I just call them "short sticks". Mine are a little shorter than yours I think- I can't remember offhand - I am going to make new ones soon because my first ones aren't very good :-). I practise on these old plain wooden sticks because I like the width and the weigth and I haven't been able to recreate them exactly in the right metal yet. I think you pretty much have to make your own because I haven't seen any manufactured ones short enough out there. Have you? I gave up searching...
Anyway, I think the throws and whatever I found in books - I don't remember the titles- and what I'd learned from the longer staves.. The physics is the same. I pretty much made up my own moves, and it'll come to you as you work with them. I've gotten a bit stuck on some stuff. Like, something happens by accident and I have to try to get it to happen again to figure out *HOW* I got it to happen. Frustrating. But sometimes it pays off.
I like the motion because it's more controlled - it works better with the music I use.
You also have to be careful because there's alot less room for error with fire on these short batons!. :-0
Cheers!
Tormenta
52 posts
Location: New Haven, CT
Sharp Baton in the US makes metal fire batons in 2 thicknesses, and in 24, 26, 28 and 30 inch lengths. https://www.sharp-baton.com/cart/list.asp?CtgID=2
I haven't used them, and I don't know what kind of wick that is, it doesn't look like the wicks mostly used here. But I've been getting my regular batons from them, very nice. That instructional video series is listed here as well.
linda
ps, I vaguely recall when I was very small, for baton class, my mother had my metal baton cut and weighted for me, so I suppose anything is possible.
Pirate Ninja
3,882 posts
Location: Galway/Ireland
member
30 posts
Location: Merced, Ca, USA
Wow! Poppie I am soooo glad your here! I am also glad I found this post. Now I don't feel so alone. I too used to do baton twirling when I was younger. My mother was a Majorette in a marching band back in the day. After watching my Best Friend practice Fire spinning I was pretty sure I could do staff spinning. I practiced with his staff when he wasn't around as I was too embarrassed to tell him. I am still embarrassed to be honest and won't even practice in front of him or let him help me. I do have Charles video which helped a lot although I too don't get the reverse moves or maybe since I am dyslexic I am already doing backward/reverse? I have also been practicing with the free staff lesson video as well. I own the short globug staff which I honestly love. I have been home the last 2 days with the flu and you have no idea how much your post cheered me up. Thank you so much. May All Your Prayers Be Heard...
old hand
834 posts
Location: Wellington somerset, UK
dyslexia dosnt interfear with spinning i find
if anything, you just gotta forget about the whole situation, and do it all in your mind, once the patterns are established, it all just flows, then you step out of that box, and in to the next, where you see it do things that, before you didntmy lil bit
Drawings by chalk minds, strech between the stars
Kyle Mclean-
Contact without dance is like sex without wiggling.
A) it does feel as good
B) it does not look as good on film
Flying Water Muppet
5,276 posts
Location: Edin-borrow., United Kingdom
there's a baton video in my thread now... wooo!
"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.
52 posts
Location: New Haven, CT
I like this
https://www.sharp-baton.com/cart/details.asp?ProdID=66
I've been wondering what you do with that thing.
Pirate Ninja
3,882 posts
Location: Galway/Ireland
figure out a way to set it on fire of course
im gonna make a huge one next week and maybe a couple of small ones too.
the big one will have a detachable stick!!!!
rah!!!
Love is the law.
member
53 posts
Location: Washington D.C.
Written by: ado-p
figure out a way to set it on fire of course
im gonna make a huge one next week and maybe a couple of small ones too.
the big one will have a detachable stick!!!!
rah!!!
ya know.......That can only end in
s And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war
for a lead role in a cage?
--Pink Floyd
Corporate Circus Arts Entertainer
3,989 posts
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Not everything needs ot be set on fire...
sometimes its just as mucha buzz to get that darn trick down solid... :-)
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member
53 posts
Location: Washington D.C.
yeah......I can agree with that.
I've been trying to teach myself contact, and I get a kick out of getting moves down.
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war
for a lead role in a cage?
--Pink Floyd
422 posts
Location: London
I was a baton spinner for 13 years and Im now learnig contact (thacks to ado -p
) Im finding it really hard to slow my spinning down and as a result have lots of new shinny bruises There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers...
member
30 posts
Location: Merced, Ca, USA
After goofing around with the Firestaff that I bought Native I decided to go ahead and order the Gold one for myself. I have no intention of lighting it up but its balanced better than my Globug staff. Maybe one of these days someone will make custom made Globug staffs? I have all these ideas in my head but no one to make the dreams become a reality.
May All Your Prayers Be Heard...
52 posts
Location: New Haven, CT
Hey, from where did you buy that staff and how long is it? I'm soon moving from globug to something flammable, but there are so many options. Curious to see how the switch goes for you.
I've been watching some nice cane twirling on the video of the Flying Karamazov Brother's Comedy of Errors. Wish I new how to host video so I could post it here, but alas.
And also was dazzled by some swirly double "batons" on the curves video at https://www.michaelmoschen.com/press.html
.
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