learning to poi

back to the poi -
ive just managed to achieve (sort of i think) forward swing, backward swing, split swinging and butterfly.

however i gave up butterfly after one of the glow sacks hit me in my sack. (which ironically is now glowing :( ) so ive taken a break
 
I used to be into poi, when I was at uni... Never used the practice ones, just started with fire straight away. Learnt quite a few tricks, was kind of alright actually! Wasn't long until I burnt some hair though, and had to shave it off...then set a fleece jumper on fire (not the brightest thing to be wearing admittedly!).

The fire isn't as bad as it sounds, even it it hits you it doesn't burn, as it just bounces off - you just feel a thud and nothing more... Unless the chain starts to wrap around your arm, getting shorter and shorter...that can be painful.

I remember one evening a good friend and I were poi-ing in the garden, had been doing so for an hour or more. Old tatty clothes with numerous black sooty hit marks, black chain marks around our arms and all over our hands and faces. I had a freshly burnt haircut (shaved it the next day), and a big black mark on my forehead from a clout. We ran out of parrafin, so jumped in the car, drove to the 24 hour garage (at 3am) and bought 3 x 5 litre plastic containers of parrafin. The guy did look a little suspicious when serving us....! :p
 
I have fire poi, a few sets of practice poi with ribons etc... and the coolest LED poi. They have strobing different coloured LEDs in them, so they look white - except when you're going quite fast, the colours all separate out in to dashes...

If you're gonna do poi, learn how to juggle/twirl clubs too - or at least get some. You can work out all the patterns and timing with juggling clubs in slow-motion.

still poiing on the meadows miss P?
 
Rancidelephant said:
tennis balls found near a tennis court + string 4 *** win tbh, spending money is a fools game.
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could do it with lightbulbs aswell. just make sure you perfect your 'butterfly' first or 'pop'! why not be crazy and tie meat cleavers to the string?

just watch out for the groin region a lot more
 
update:

been using them for a few hours and i can now do forward, backward, butterfly and weave. I have yet to figure out how to alternate on from going forward or back however without stopping it. I think a turn of some sort is needed but it seems to be going well.

Ive also learnt to use a gonad protector (my mates cheese grater lid!)

the glowpoi i bought however is a different story, really poor quality of built -the lights fall out of the hacky sack things, the metal clasp comes undone so the sacks fall completely off and one of the bulbs is brighter than the other.

Im even thinking of taking them back and getting some other ones (that hopefully dont fall to bits)

hows everyone else coming along that bought them?
 
Raymond Lin said:
Just had a go with mine for 10 mins, god i am crap. Can only do forward, backward and the cross over circle thing. Can't do the butterfly with both hands yet :(

And it hurts getting hit on the head with them.
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10 minutes is good for that, i just tried to make there forward and backward look straight for about 30mins. and yes it does hurt wacking them on your head. trying to do the butterfly i got hit in the balls, twice :(
 
now a couple more days on and i can actually turn around whilst weaving! can also do behind back butterfly and as of last night i can do 2 beat weave in reverse (spinning backwards)

I think this is great training for co-ordination, timing and the brain in general. Take a look at this site to help you start with some moves

http://www.motsplace.com/poi/poi.html
 
Heres a pic of pheebs poi-in it up in the snow a while back.
poi.jpg


Just the other day she said "Oh now we wont be living in a flat, I'll be able to practice some poi again"

I hope we get good home insurance :o
 
^

that looks mighty cold for a top like that.

Ive only been spinning some practice poi i bought (and now socks with tennis balls in because they are better) I wont try fire until i know i can poi properly
 
ok, i can now link weaves, link butterfly to split time butterfly and that to windmills. can do the windmill thing together and can almost link butterfly to weaves (though im finding it hard)

my next step will be to try 'threading the needle' but its so much harder to learn say butterfly with right hand above left then learn left above right.

I went to love leeds and met someone there who was quite good (6 months) doing it in thailand. Its still very addictive and ive bought some proper glow balls from homeofpoi.com. theres a dvd called 'scales of poi' thats got some really good tips.

isolations and flowers next on the list i think along with about a million other moves

oh, ill post another video on me looking slightly better than the one before (plus you will be able to see it this time)
 
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A young adventurer had searched tirelessly in his quest for the fabled 'Eternal Food of Poi' when he came across an old Chinese hermit who promised him the secret of the Eternal Food of Poi if he could survive for 7 days & nights in the Dragon infested mountains above the hermits cave with no food or weapons. The young adventurer knew that that meant almost certain death but there was something about the old Chinese hermit that convinced the boy he knew the secret & the boy just had to have it so he agreed.
7 long days & nights later the boy came stumbling down from the mountains, he was famished, his clothes torn to shreds & there were deep gashes & scorch marks over all his body, but he was alive & Poi would soon be his. The old Chinese hermit came to meet him & helped him back in to his cave where he sat him down in front of a small clay oven. Impressed at the boys determination the hermit said "You are the first of many to survive the Dragon quest & I will keep my word. Do you want steak & kiddley poi or mince beef & onion?"
 
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