Forums > Beginner Poi Moves > windmill?

Posted: 20th Apr 2001
Funny, someone was just asking for my help on this at the local firenight last night.You probably don't need to change your chain length--it should be doable with any length.Without seeing what you are doing wrong, it's hard to suggest what you might do to change it, but try these things:1. Get the action down with one hand at a time. Concentrate on getting the circles into a nice flat plane across your body, both front and back. You should be able to do this with zero arm motion and only a little wrist motion--try plunking your wrist on top of the head and just working it back and forth.2. See which direction, cw or ccw, is more comfortable. Stick with the one you find more comfortable for now, and worry about the other direction later. I was doing the windmill for, like, a month before I realized I only knew how to do it in one direction. It wasn't hard to learn the other direction at that point, though.3. Get the action down where you keep both hands and both chains together. You should be able to do an "unsplit" windmill with your wrists practically tied together.4. Once you get comfortable with step 3, try accelerating one chain to split them apart into a regular windmill.PS: for some reason, I find this move is easier with my non-dominant hand as the leading hand.Hope this helps.[This message has been edited by adamrice (edited 21 April 2001).]

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 20th Apr 2001
for some reason i had this huge mental block about my hands having to be ABOVE MY HEAD with this move.... this probably helps not at all.... but mebbe focus on that a little... hands above and a little behind... adam pretty awesomely described everything else...

Posted: 20th Apr 2001
adam is great at explaining moves isnt he....hers how i learned it.i had the same problem invisioning my hands making that motion above my head.BUT i could do a corkscrew...then when it dawned upon me that it was essentially the same move just in a different plane, i just started a close wristed corkscrew, then gradually moved my arms up over my head. i used my wrists to control the paths to get the strings parallel to my body. it literally took me aout 15 minutes to get it smooth and clean looking.But then again i already knew how to do the corkscrew.youll get it, and when you do, youll almost be pissed at yourself for not understanding it sooner...Good luck dude, and let us know when you gets it down.Super'------------------"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: 22nd Apr 2001
Good Call Super! Do A Cork Screw in front of you and stand up straight with it.

FIRE IS ALIVE!
IT LIVES AND BREATHS!
IT CONSUMES, AND DISTROYS!
BUT WE CONTROL IT,
AND DANCE WITH FIRE!!

Posted: 22nd Aug 2001
speaking of windmills;I'm having a real hard time keeping the sucker in split time. i dont really like the look of it in equal time with both poi on the same side and i use the windmill basically as a passthrough between the forward and reverse weave. i can start it in split time no problem but after a few rotations my hands get into a mexican weave type beat and next thing i know, the damn poi are on the same side and it just feels wrong. i have a VERY hard time getting them back into a split swing after that, too.any advice on counting or 'wrist flicks'? :)-------------------nee

-nee