Forums > Social Chat > New to Poi...

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
AH, the old blister story,very common so much so that there have been several topics started up about it.try looking at these threadshttps://www.homeofpoi.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000308.htmlhttps://www.homeofpoi.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000306.htmlhttps://www.homeofpoi.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000311.htmlhttps://www.homeofpoi.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000440.htmlUsing thick silk rope as handles I would say is not nomal.most of us use sraps made of something or other. This increases surface are and makes blistering alot less common.The more you do poi the less of a problem it will become.leather is a good alternative because once you've used it a bit it gets soft (not so good if your a veggie) but take a look at these threads and there is alot of good remedies and alternatives to prevent blistering.As for getting tired i would say that while clubbing 20mins at a time is what I usually do.The most I have evr done was like 5 hours but that was with alot of breaks.The only advise I could give you on that one is that going very fast is not always the best option cause going slow looks wicked aswell, going slower obviously makes spinning time in on go greater.hope this is of some help,check those threads cause they've got some good stuff on them and it helped me as I started on of them off.And welcome to the family he he peace outgarbo [This message has been edited by garbo (edited 29 April 2001).]

be excellent to each other: safe:

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
Hello I am new to poi to can anyone give me any tips about how to not hit yourself.Also this will sound silly but i am concentrating on my breathing but i still get stitches, particually when I do the over-head butterfly.When you use fire do u HAVE to wear fire protection clothes if u can help with any tips at all please get back to me.

Where there is sorrow I seek the Flame - Rumi

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
Garbo: Thanks for the welcome(to the family). I see now, this will change my life on a larger scale than I had originally thought. hehe It's very addiciting. I did it till the crack of dawn last night..literally..now here I am this morning ready to go at it again. I'll check out those threads and see what I can come up with. The reason why I chose to use the silk rope was because it is very thick(wide surface area) and soft. It's VERY soft..but in order to not hit myself(and to do some of the twirling tricks) I've found that I have to wrap the "string" (not rope) around my fingers a couple extra times. Do you guys find that you have to do that for certrain tricks? Or is there a happy medium where the length of the string is long enough not to hit yourself when twirling, and short enough to do most tricks?Also..Fire_Sista:From one person new to poi, to the next, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! As for not hitting yourself..the only recommendation that I can make with the little experience I have is, definately follow the poi-lessons(at least until you learn all the basic moves..)..I stored the webpage to my hard drive on my laptop so I could take my laptop outside to "see" the moving pictures while I was doing it. I also found that arching my back when doing things behind my head helps not hit my behind. And leaning forward(bending your hips backward), while doing forward tricks prevents from hitting yourself in the abodmen area. Hope this helps. PLUR!! CrazyRaverDude

-=ÇrazyRaverÐude=-

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
I've been spinning for about 4 months now. As far as being tired, it gets better once u practice more.With hitting yourself, just practice moreand with blistering, try holding the strings different.I have some pics online of me doing some fire for my first time. I'm in pic 2007 and 2008www.geocities.com/frodus17/misc/fire/also, for the ravers out there check out my other site. THere are some cool glowsticking pics with some high intensity orange glowsticks (look under essence)www.digitalempire.orgIf anyone wants more pics, i'd be glad to take some. Also, i can make small mpg movies.PeaceTravis(Frodus)

Peace,Travis IM: frodus17

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
Am also new to poi (1 week) but enjoying it heaps. =DMust say this is an excellent site for anyone wanting to learn poi or staff... many congrats to Malcolm and everyone else who's chipped in. =)Am using bag poi as well, with these wide shoelaces for handles. Haven't had any blister problems so far, but the shoelaces are slightly elastic, so it may have something to do with it - they move instead of grating across my fingers? *shrugs*Also find that wrapping the handle pretty tightly helps if hands do start feeling a bit raw, but then a break needs to taken to restore circulation... =/. No win.How high are you doing the weave? I find my arms get tired quickly (pushup muscles, yep) when doing the overhead stuff, but the weave and butterfly are ok... perhaps you could try doing it lower?

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
hi all , i welcome you. i'm so happy to see newbies on the site. it sounds like you are all doing well for just starting. for the length of the string question.... i so the majority of moves with my strings arms length. i found it easier to learn tricks with my strings that touch the floor if i hold them at my hips. then once i get them i go to arms length. its kinda more preference but for starters i hope this helps.------------------the music feeds my soul that glows and grows with every spin i take.

the music feeds my soul that glows and grows with every spin i take.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 29th Apr 2001
i like mine short, slightly less than shoulder length, but that could be because im a big fan of the corkscrew.stretchy strings you say? that could be interresting, you get out there, and the poi are twice as far from you while you spin as they were when you started, and as you slow down and speed up the length changes. that might be nifty (although it'd be hard 2 do w/ fire)also as far as hitting yourself, i started with glowsticks, and those hurt a good bit (im a guy). but then i got alright and hit myself less. then i got comet poi, and those are even nicer, and they hardly hurt at all. and i also aquired a cheap pair of bag poi that have some sort of synthetic cotton in the ends (i need to weight them down a bit though) and i use those inside and to practice new moves. when they hit me they dont hurt at all you might want to consider a "practice pair" also its nice to have those so when friends wnat to try they dont hurt themselves (they will, esp if they are guys).

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
Frodus:AWESOME pics! I can't wait till I get good enough to warrant taking pics..hehe How long did you wait to light up? (ie..How long have you been doing poi?) I'd be interested in seeing some movies of you and your poi. (esp glowsticsk!!)emthren:I thought about using shoestrings(that's what I use when dancing with glowsticks)..but I thought that using 3/4" silk rope would work. Turned out, I cut the length of my strings down so my poi were just inside of my armpit, this did make a difference. I did not have to wrap my hand around the string, and was able to just hold on to the rope. Didn't hurt my hand anywhere near as bad. As for the weave, I realized tonight when I was practicing, that I was indeed doing it too high, and I was also overworking myself. I don't need to spin the poi at 90mph to produce a swirling effect. *grin* I still want to learn how to do an over the head weave.. *excited about learning it..* (wouldn't mind any experienced advice on doing it.hehe)GirlFromMars:I adjusted my length tonight to just inside of my armpit. The problem I have now is when I do a corkscrew and the poi spin in front of me, with my arms outstretched, they seem to hit my shirt every now and then(and sometimes me). Might this just be because I am still untrained? Or should I make them shorter yet? I discovered if I make them too short, it gets harder to do moves...thanks for all the comments guys!*absorbs knowledge*

-=ÇrazyRaverÐude=-

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
I've been doing poi seriously for about a month. I had been swinging every now and then at raves, but i got interested in it recently at raves when i saw some cool moves. My friend found this site and gave it to me and i've been glued to it ever since. I had been getting good at the moves and did fire 3 weeks after i seriously started doing poi. It was hard to concentrate. The fire adds a lot of "stress" into the show, and it must be considered at all times in order to keep safe. If i were u, i would wait until you can swing glowsticks/poi for about 15 min without messing up, and try doing it fast, slow, with longer/shorter strings. This will get u used to just about every outcome of swinging fire, and you should have no trouble.

Peace,Travis IM: frodus17

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
First, length. I feel a whole lot safer using chains that just miss my armpits with my arms at full stretch. Tho that hasn't avoidedthe occasional head-and-nuts-simultaneously learning experience Then, stamina... When i started, I had a couple of moves, but usually hurt myself doingthem. But since I'm quite big on the meditation thing (man), one thing I used to do (ocxcasionally still but not so much) was to just stand there doing simple forward and backward twirls continuously for as long as I could, getting a feel for the wieght and the speed, listening to what the poi were doing and trying to develop a sense of harmony with them. Not perhaps the most exciting activity, but I reckon its paid off bigtime.Similarly, I won't do a move with fire until I've managed to do it at least 30 times on the trot without a major screwup. Just helps me to feel that bit safer.Keep going, it gets easier and even more fun.mikeyB

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
Just a comment in general to getting started.....I'm teaching my girl friend at the moment and she keeps getting frustrated with the whole 'hitting yourself' aspect. As I say to her, with a new move just SLOOOOOW it down. It doesn't take much muscle to keep the poi going and you sure take away the ouch factor.She also seems to get caught up trying to 'get her head around' some things. This is necessary but, as I said above, slow it down till it 'feels' right then go for the mega-speedy-ultra-smooth stuff. Hope this helps out

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
excellent advice BEZERKER...thats what i tell anyone i teach also..i also lengthen their srings (or whatever they are spinning with) so that they can spin them slower and can pass by yhreir bodies without hitting themselves as much. That way they get the arm motions down, then they graduate to standard lentgth, and feel more comfortabele spinning faster..Super'PS..welcome aboard Dude!!!------------------"Only the warrior that hears the call will know when to leave, Where to go" -unknown

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
Hey, to all the new ppl. Hi, I'm N8 (Nate) Nice to meet you all, I look forward to chatting with you.I've only been on the board for about a month, but I've been spinning for about a year and a half.------------------Care of other people's approval and you become their prisoner.Live fully, Rave wholly.Fluid are the movements of my strings...

Care of other people's approval and you become their prisoner.Live fully, Rave wholly.Fluid are the movements of my strings...

Posted: 30th Apr 2001
Thanx CrazyRaverDude and everyone elsea that helped a lot.How long does it take to become really good it is taking me forever.I can't do the weave thay (poi) always tangle can any one tell me what I'm doing wrong?well off to practice now

Where there is sorrow I seek the Flame - Rumi

Posted: 1st May 2001
Thanks Man of Steel and N8 for the welcome Fire_Sista, try sticking your hands together (not linked just close together) and swing them together from side to side. Don't worry if they tangle a little they tend to unwind and you can feel them seperate. As you get a smooth flow happening try to start splitting the time a little whilst keeping your hands together. You'll start to find that they'll want to 'follow' each other. Let your right hand lead to your left side (over your left hand) and your left hand lead to your right (over your right hand).I know that reads a little confusingly but as Superman and I agree slow it down read that and the poi lessons (and watch the animation) and let flow

Posted: 1st May 2001
I can so relate to how Bezerker says letting it flow and trying to get your head around tricks...Found the only way I can pull off a trick for the first time (after learning with each hand individually) is to just close my eyes, forget about personal injury and just -swing-.Hasn't failed me yet.=D

Posted: 1st May 2001
Thanx Bezerker and emthren much appreciated.I tried to do the weave again tonight and I am getting better using your advice but it still needs some work.Well happy twirling, cya

Where there is sorrow I seek the Flame - Rumi

Posted: 1st May 2001
I'm new to poi too (i guess i've been spinning for a little over a month now, though a little longer with glowsticks)and i just moved to fire. Because its mentioned in a couple threads I thought i'd ask (especially the other fellas out there) how after hitting oneself with tennis balls one could consider glowsticks to hurt? I use practice poi made of tennis balls and after hitting myself with them a few times i found that i could hardly feel glowsticks anymore. The only thing i could think of was that maybe your glowsticks are a lot heavier than mine, in which case... Where do you get them?

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted - Martin Luther King Jr.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 3rd May 2001
Yo Mr Sock - I've actually drawn blood from stuffing up a really fast butterfly combo with long strings with 4 inch sticks on the ends...its just a mater of hitting an area that has bone underneath and a good blood supply - eg my cheek damn cut didnt stop bleeding for ages Josh

Posted: 3rd May 2001
Good thing I wasn't goin that fast that one time i hit myself in the eye...

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted - Martin Luther King Jr.

Posted: 4th May 2001
Hey all! I'm new to this too - Pele's been showing off to me for weeks and since I'm Pyromormph's fire saftey (at the moment) I've taken to playing with these too - I've only had my bag poi for a couple weeks but I've knocked myself a whole lot of times now - but I'm getting better -For the moment I think I'll keep the fire on the swords and staff - I'm less likely to hurt myself with those!

Posted: 4th May 2001
Well, the pains have mostly gone away..except for the crotch and head shots. *grin* (Almost considered wearing a cup..) I found that using the tennis balls was a lot better. However, this past weekend, I tried tying some glowsticks to some strings, and I was reminded why I originally got interested in poi. It was entrancing, and I was totally sober. I can't wait until I'm good enough to light up! Won't everyone I know be surprised...going from playing with this "bag toys" to playing with FiRe. Not many people can say they can "play" with fire and do so in a way that most anyone can appreciate safely. ------------------ [PLUR]-=Crazy Raver Dude=-

-=ÇrazyRaverÐude=-

Posted: 5th May 2001
This is my first post here, and I've been spinning for about a week. I'm not a raver, or a dancer, but when I saw what my buddy learned on this website, I just had to try it. I'm doing better than I thought I would. Since tuesday last week (it's saturday now) I've learned quite well the butterfly, backwards butterfly, one-handed butterfly (love that one!), weave, backwards weave, weave turn, and the basic ones. I'm just using tennis balls tied to ropes, with a knot on the end to grip between two fingers. It workds well without blisters, and is EXTREMELY easy to do the one-handed butterfly with.One question: what move(s) do you more advanced people suggest I learn next?Well, thanks, and good luck to you other newbies.

((m/)) --==EyeStorm==--

Posted: 7th May 2001
EyeStorm,I'm not a whole lot more experienced than you, so take my advice with a grain of salt. =P I, as well, have the same poi configuration as you. However my ropes are tied around the fabric that I used to surround the tennis balls. I have rope on the end, tied with a knot. And, as you did, I found that the knot, helps when holding with your index and middle fingers. It rests nicely in your hand. Anyway...I would say that everyday you should practice all of your learned moved forward and backward. Then work on transitions...between moves. I found that slowing the poi down to almost super-slow speeds(almost enough to break orbit), helps when trying to "figure out" which way to move your hand. hehe If you are looking for what moves to learn next...I think I started to learn the corckscrew and windmill about where you are in your learning prgress. Hope my advice helps. =)Might want to also meet up with other people who twirl in your area. I think it helps to see other people doing it, and have other people to crtique you.------------------ [PLUR]-=Crazy Raver Dude=-

-=ÇrazyRaverÐude=-

Posted: 8th May 2001
As far as I can figure bruises are all part of poi :-) though I do have a set of safety glasses to put over my ordinary glasses (after hitting them really hard and got freaked that I can't afford to get new ones). I have found that the overhead butterfly is the one that smacks my head around the most!!! Thank goodness I have finally figured out how to get into it with stability!One thing I find quite amusing with kids when they get to play with a single poi. They will stand there letting the poi circle round them until it hits, say 'Owww' then reverse direction and go through the whole process over and over. At least we are trying to figure stuff out!!!

Posted: 9th May 2001
Thanks Crazyraver. Good thing to know I'm not the only holding their Poi with knots! I'm getting the hang of the corkscrew and mexican wave as well. Perhaps starting with transitions is a good thing.

((m/)) --==EyeStorm==--

Posted: 8th May 2001
woo hoo! I'm up to 8 'moves' that I can do now. Mostly semi-fluently...transitions...well..heh..I can keep them spinning..it might not look pretty between moves, but I don't hit myself. I can't wait till I can just "Go Off" (go crazy spinning) and be so comfortable that I don't hit myself at all. Happy twirling!------------------ [PLUR]-=Crazy Raver Dude=-

-=ÇrazyRaverÐude=-

Posted: 9th May 2001
Hi all new membersWhen I first started I got really tired too and I still work up a sweat. Especially when I am fire twirling. I can only spin for about 15 minutes when I am spinning fire as I am exhausted. I think you put that much more in when you light up.I started poi a year ago and I'm still not very good or as my dear supportive boyfriend says 'I don't look professional'. Well I'm not professional standard yet, and I may not be a natural but I will work my butt off till I get there. Best of luck, practice hard, don't get discouraged, the moves will come eventually and have fun.------------------"London is a city coming down from its trip and there's going to be a lot of refugees" - Danny,Withnail & I

Come faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame.

- W B Yeats