Forums > Help! > planes: any tips for perfecting other than practice makes perfect?

Posted: 26th Sep 2010
My planes tidied up with time as the motion became second nature and I became more aware of where and what my body was doing. I used a mirror and large window to see my reflection, it was very helpful.

The popcorn extends life... The popcorn expands consciousness...

Posted: 26th Sep 2010
i agree mirror are really helpful. also using tape to visually make your front and back planes helps. also just practice doing same time and split time circles in any place you can thing of and try to make sure that they stay straight.

to spin or not to spin, that is the question.

Posted: 26th Sep 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRzOpUpws3s

The only luck is bad luck.

Shut up before I stall my poi up your ass

Posted: 26th Sep 2010
When I first really focusing on plane control was when I was learning wall plane flowers. I saw a tutorial that said to stand against a wall and spin, when you hit the wall your doing it wrong.

Fly High
Spin Hard
Don't Stop

Posted: 27th Sep 2010
Tailed poi helped my plane control, when you spin them it's like creating a physical circle around you and the auditory cues can help with your spacial awareness as well. I don't have much space or a mirror, linking the sight of the tails to the sound and the feel was incredible helpful and might work for you too.

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 30th Sep 2010
It should do.

'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: 30th Sep 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4-8yrkHEbQ

What I teach newbies I meet is sorta that. I don't remember where I saw the video for the technique I adopted, but basically:
-spin both forwards
>cross one poi over
-spin both counter/clock wise
>cross the other over again
-spin both backwards
>cross the first poi again
-spin both the opposite direction of the last wall plane you did
>cross the 2nd poi
-forwards again

Now just rinse and repeat. As far as staying on the wall, spirals help and other moves that require the poi to be on a wall plane else these moves end up sketchy.

Doing these 90 degree body turns will help you get used to basic crossing, poi orientation forwards and backwards, etc.

Posted: 30th Sep 2010
Yes and No. He is doing a high and low turn with more of a pivot (less body movement and footwork) to better illustrate the trick of turning within the poi as a primary function. I actually had to learn it the hard way and turn my body entirely within my poi early on because of lacking that level of display in the video mentioned. Spacial issues are a hangup when relying on video and I have had to take tutorial information and do experiments to really get the lesson, or create an exercise to transition into a reverse or variant move.

Anyone who is an audio or rhythmic learner will have this hangup to a degree, if you're also dyslexic/praxic/graphic like myself you will have to get creative without instruction in person. Other than tails another thing that helped is closing the blinds and using LEDs for practice while you have dim lighting, it provides more dramatic visual clues in your peripheral vision and blindspot awareness. Helps with planes and collisions too.

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 1st Oct 2010
I know this might sound silly, but I've recently had a breakthrough helping someone to straighten their planes.... Shake your hips. It probably won't work for everyone, but it worked for the person I was teaching.

Spinning forward for them honestly went from:

\ T / into | T | just having them shake their money maker.

Hell, if it doesn't work for you, at least anyone watching will be entertained, which in the end, is really the point, isn't it?

Posted: 3rd Oct 2010
Tape. Put tape lines on the floor and use them to practice over. Also pretend you are swinging your poi between two pains of glass. Dont break the glass

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.

Posted: 6th Oct 2010
Also im not surre if this was said something that helped me get behind the back moves and flowers was to start with one arm spin a forward circle to your side then while turning your body away from the circle keep the circle in the same, definatly halps with plane controll, turn as far as your arm will allow you

Posted: 13th Oct 2010
Spend a couple of hours deliberately bending them about. If you can control them easily when you want them to move you will be more comfortable correcting them quickly when you want them straight.

Posted: 12th Nov 2010
Video yourself!

Not all people have access to decent size mirrors or windows to practise in front of but most people have a digital camera or phone that can take video footage. It can be shocking to watch yourself... I always think I'm doing OK untill I see it on video.

"Whats wrong with the cat?" - Mrs Schrödinger

Posted: 1st Dec 2010
Try spinning inbetween two flat surfaces. Like inbetween two building that are just far enough apart for your body and your poi, That's what I did, and it totally helped.