Forums > Social Chat > Poi into the future

Posted: 28th Aug 2001
I hear ya man I think we all have our fears that comercialisation will turn our hobby into one big cheese fest'. If you do a search for 'The poi fad' there should be a thread on this. hope this helps.cheers

C'mon baby light my fire

Posted: 28th Aug 2001
Actually this is something I was wondering : I saw traditionnal poi but was also wondering when the style we do now has started. When did fire poi start for instance ?I think that this popular phase of poi is just a phase, but that was allready discussed in the other thread actually as Beaker said. However, the question i was wondering is how many of us will still be spinning ... say ... when this awesome gathering will take place in NZ in 2003/2004 ???? Shine oncassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"

Posted: 29th Aug 2001
I think people who do poi with fire will probly most likely still be doing it in 2003/4. I think it's the people who started because of a club scene and do it with glowsticks will end up stopping first. I think it's more dedication and work with fire and thats what people like about it. Me i do glow stix, but i doubt i'll stop just because it relaxs me so much, i don't even go to clubs or anything to show off, i just do it to relieve stress.

We are defined by the choices we make

Posted: 29th Aug 2001
LOL, Mr. glowstick isn't Mr. glowstick anymore. I also think the club kids will stop first, well the ones who haven't found this board to further their skills. Fire will always be a frontier I'll want to explore and I think this of all fire twirlers. Let's face it, when you pick up fire, there'll always be a flame in your heart. Eric

Its about talent, not make up or costumes.

Posted: 29th Aug 2001
poi was adapted from the traditional sense into what we have now over a period of about 7 or 8 years, maybe longer.i don't know who the first person was to lengthen the cord and stylise the movement, but what we do isn't remotely like the maori poi movement (which relies heavily on using fluid, but very subtle dance movement / parts of the body to stop / reverse the poi - ack, i can't explain very well)..hrrm.. i guess that's just my opinion - i think it's a really wonderful thing though, taking this cultural act and extending it, transforming it. there was an article in a newspaper over here (nz) recently about fire poi, and a question was asked of the interviewee. were they worried the new style of poi would detract or belittle the old, cultural form? no - if anything it's honouring it..

Posted: 29th Aug 2001
I'm a 'club kid' myself, I first saw someone spinning glowsticks at a club over a year ago and it totally blew me away (I was rolling at the time)... finally managed to talk to someone about it and find out what it was called, then I found this message board sometime around January when I joined... taught myself all the moves I know off the instructions on this site! So thank you to the creators. I just spun fire for the first time early this month... I would tend to think most people who find out about our beloved hobby are going to pick up a pair of poi (if they even go that far) and try to spin thinking it will be easy, hit themselves real hard, and put them down... I don't believe many people will care to put forth the effort. Me personally, I was rolling when I first saw it done, so it has really stuck in my head, and plus I saw how much attention the spinners always got, and I kind of like to show off myself, so it was a natural thing for me to pick up. On another note, about actually spinning fire, not just glowsticks... so far, it seems like something I'm probably not going to do more than once or twice a week just because of the hassle... I can't take it in the club (most clubs here don't even allow glowstick spinning because dumb bystanders walk by and get hit, as if they didn't see the huge rings of light)... got to dress in old clothes so as not to risk burning nice ones, got to tie a bandana on my head, got to have a wet cloth at hand to put out the wicks or put myself out if I should happen to catch on fire... then of course there is the handling of the wicks themselves, getting a bucket with fuel in it, getting the fuel on my hands (thinking about getting some cheap plastic gloves from Walmart to prevent this in the future, what do you do?)... then inevitably smelling like fuel... and no matter how much I try to spin the excess fuel out of the wicks it still seems to get all over my clothes, and then I stink and must immediately take a shower... don't get me wrong here, I love spinning fire... but I don't think you guys need to be worried that a lot of people are going to commercialize spinning fire, because of the all the trouble you have to go through.

Posted: 30th Aug 2001
See it's simple for me. Go to Pozee', Soak, Light, Spin, VOALA!!! It's all so fun.Eric

Its about talent, not make up or costumes.

Posted: 30th Aug 2001
Zeduah: yeah spinning fire is a real hassle you get all dirty and smelly... beeuuuaahhh You made me laught... " oooh I'm all dirty I have to take IMMEDIATELY a shower !!! "I just wanted to say that for me and I think for a lot of other spinner getting dirty is not a trouble it's a part of a ritual, and the more dirty you are the more fun you had so where is the problem ??Plus how do you do to get full all over your clothes ??? Spin the execess of fuel out !!My last advise is that the more efficient mean to put out your wicks is to blow hard on it. It will prevent you to have a smelly wet clothe in your backpack. Keep it dry you could need it one day and add a bit of soap and a bottle of water to clean your hands in your pack.Et voilà !!!(see Myst it's how you must write it ) You won't be dirty after a spin anymore.Good luck,Dask.

o]-[DasK]-[o

Posted: 30th Aug 2001
I've killed for less Dask. Fair warning.Eric

Its about talent, not make up or costumes.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 30th Aug 2001
As far as I know, both Firestaff and poi originated in the Polynesian Islands (think Hawaii). Firestaff started as a short staff with a wick on one end and a knife on the other (somehow this was used to light the wick...I'm not quite sure how, but it has to do with things like a flint). Anyway....eventually the staff was adapted to have two wicks instead of one. Then *someone* in europe took the idea, but lenghtened the staff into a full sized "staff".~As for Poi, I'm pretty sure that originated in the Polynesian Islands as well. When I was real young I took a trip to Hawaii, where I played around with a non-fire poi set. Some aboriginese people there taught me. Anyway...I definitely remember firestaff preformance in Hawaii, and I think that I saw fire poi performances as well. It would make sense seeing as they already had the *non-fire poi* and the *fire*staff.

Posted: 31st Aug 2001
You americans are all the same you can't realize when you are wrong you prefer violence to dialogue and knowledge Pffff, americans ...American AND proud glowsticker Myst your are going too far this time If you want a duel you'll have it !!!Dask_who_remove_his_white_glove_and_slap_myst_face_with_itPS: In fact my english is so shitty and my post so full of mistakes and bad grammar that I'm very happy to correct someone when I'm able to But I understand that you can't correct my posts... it will be too long

o]-[DasK]-[o

Posted: 31st Aug 2001
Our history says the poi originated from the 'ki', which was a small weaved flax bag (with an opening at the top) in which maori (the native new zealanders) kept a single moa egg(a very large birds egg). Some ki had lengths of plaited flax string attached for ease of carrying, several ki could then be carried at once in this way. The progression saw them used with stone fillings for warrior training with movements to sharpen reflexes and as a muscle strengthener. Then later smaller versions were incorporated into dance and action songs.

Posted: 31st Aug 2001
use of the tiny poi you see today was a much much later development in maoridom whereby it was used in action songs.The ancient Maori poi was actually called a POI TOA - toa means warrior. The dainty little poi are the stuff the tourists love, especially because the poi dances are performed by our lovely 'wahine' Remember the 'hula' in ancient times was performed by the males to impress the ladies, now look at it, complete reversal! the mighty tourist dollar speaks!

Posted: 3rd Sep 2001
Robert, Harks, thank you, This is really interesting, have you got any idea of where I could find more info on the net ?Shine onCassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"