Forums > Help! > Speed of Progress?

Posted: 11th Nov 2008
everyone learns at different speeds. stuff you've picked up is fairly basic but dont let that worry you.

best tip is to do everything as slow as possible.

"the geeks have got you" - Gayle

Posted: 11th Nov 2008
Agreed, I picked up things fairly quickly, but some people it takes ages to learn the basics. Rest assured, there will be moves that require a greater deal of time and practice, but congrats on learning fast. But my advice to you would be not not get too caught up in the trap of "must learn new move... ok, I've learn the new move, onto the next one" style of learning. It'll cause you to progress technically fast, but will cause your development of style to be stunted.

I found myself able to do technical moves, but now developing style and movement is something I have to go back and do through each movement, when it would've been far easier to develop had I have taken my time a little bit more.

So, with each new move you learn, take some time to sit back, and enjoy the finer nuances of that move. Dance around with it, develop your own unique way of performing that movement, and it will make you a far more visually attractive spinner, while also making the whole experience more enjoyable for you.

There's no need to rush, poi is not a race, take the time to relax and enjoy what you've learnt every now and then.

Sorry for the rant, but teaching poi myself, I've seen many people get stuck in a purely movement based frame of achievement, which is a mistake in my experience, and as time progresses, and they realise that they are static, and boring spinners, despite having a broad ranch of technical moves, they find the same.

-Nathaniel

Posted: 11th Nov 2008
exactly, you can get to a certain point with poi when you realise "learning moves" is a basic concept in itself, there's lots of different ways of looking at poi, different ways of breaking down the movement and technique. thinking bout stuff like that is definitely more important than learning moves.

also what i recommend is coming to the manc meet this sunday, we meet in castlefield from around 3/4ish onwards. spinning with other people puts another slant on things, and if you think your running out of things to learn ill give you lots to go away with

manc meet thread [Old link]

hopefully see you there, always good to have new recruits

"the geeks have got you" - Gayle

Posted: 11th Nov 2008
Yeh that would be totally kewl Do you meet there often? Might not make it this Sunday that's all.

I see what you mean about the style thing, i've been off work an uni today so have been practicing what i can do already (having got stuck on the 3-Beat Weave) and I've deffo found that with some tunes in the background (specifically Andy Whitby ) the moves became more fluid and in time, rather than just being rattled out in list format (so to speak)

Thanks for the advice peeps

'We are all the unconscious mind of the universe' - Dr Richard Bandler

Posted: 11th Nov 2008
we meet semi-regularly. just check the thread for latest information, i dont actually live in manc its just my nearest hop meet.

"the geeks have got you" - Gayle

Posted: 11th Nov 2008
Sounds like you are right on track

Totally agree with simta and nathaniel on all points. As mentioned, go slow. It may seem natural to speed up and spin faster but you will find you will develop much greater control if you take your time and really learn to control your poi.

Also highly recommend making sure you continue to learn everything in forwards and reverse, will really help you down the track.

Welcome to hop and the world of poi!

"In the end there is only fire and a waterfall"

Posted: 12th Nov 2008
Another point to consider is that just being able to do the move is one thing, but doing it cleanly and *knowing* that if you want to do it you can is something else.

But yeah, learning speeds differ for different people. Sooner or later something will stump you for a while and getting it in the end will be great. (Crossers *roll eyes*)

'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