Juggling is the manipulation of objects (one or many) using your hands and requires a bit of skill in rhythm and concentration. The most popular is toss juggling. The item that the juggler is juggling is referred to as “props”, the most common being balls but can range from a whole host of items as well. It can be quite a fun display to watch and really captivate an audience.
Poi is performed using two long ropes with balls and tassels on either end (sometimes with fire) and many tricks are leant by spinning and rotating them around your hands and body without them touching either. The tassels on the ends of the Poi produce some really captivating patterns as they are swung and manipulated around in your practiced routine. Originating with the Maori people of New Zealand (and still practiced today), Poi has made itself all the way around the world and is a popular hobby among people studying the Arts. The materials and styles of Poi have developed and changed as the hobby has taken off around the world. Poi can have many different meanings according to what type of Poi you are referring to. Not too expensive to buy, Poi and juggling are easy hobbies to start and best enjoyed outside or with plenty of space surrounding you.
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Poi Spinning Basic Moves and Tricks
Poi has a long tradition with New Zealand’s Maori people. Spinning Poi are weighted balls at the end of strings, which have a long, colourful ribbon attached, so that they can be spun around the body making hundreds of different patterns.
In order to gain a basic understanding of how poi works, you should consider that you are standing within a large dice. There are 4 walls surrounding you (front, left, behind and to the right of you) and of course the floor below you and ceiling above you. These six walls will form the planes/areas that your poi move in. You have a poi in each hand. Please try the following basic moves to get started.
spin both poi going forwards
spin both poi going backwards
spin one poi going forwards and the other going backwards
Now combine these movements (above) with changing the speed of the poi, so that:
the poi both move at the same speed (synchronised)
one poi is half a circle ahead of the other one (out of synchronisation)
spin one poi above head and one to the side (out of synchronisation so that they don’t collide!)
draw circles in front of your body – in both the horizontal and vertical planes
Basic Tricks To Attempt once you have Mastered everything above
Criss-Cross
Use just one poi to begin with.Start rotating the poi forwards, then cross your arm over across your body so the poi is rotating forwards, but on the other side of your body then bring your arm back so the poi crosses to the original side. Try and get this so the poi does one rotation on each side of your body. Now switch hands and repeat the procedure so both hands can do it. Now finally try this with a poi in each hand
2-Beat Weave
This is actually a criss-cross with the poi out of sync. Each poi does one rotation on the same side of the body.
Butterfly
Hold the poi in front of your body at arms length. Swing the poi inwards so they are spinning in sync and slowly move your hands closer together. Eventually one hand should be above (and slightly in front of the other. This works well if your wrists are very relaxed. With glow poi this trick looks great, and you can really see the Butterfly’s wings.
Circles
You can spin large circles that keep your arms outstretched, or you can spin lots of little circles directly in front, behind or at the side of yourself. You can spin circles under the leg. The only place you can’t do a big circle is behind the back (unless you are totally double-jointed!) Practice with one poi to discover all the different places you can spin a large and small circle, then try with 2!
Tadpoles
Draw a circle in front of you with a poi parallel to the floor (just like you were stirring a cup of tea). The circle should be small. Bring in the second poi so that it does an alternating circle (eg so they don’t collide). This looks like 2 tadpoles swimming in a pond. The tadpoles can then go in the same direction.
Poi can have a steep learning curve while you learn certain tricks and it is much easier to learn from finding someone at a Juggling Club to teach you (or through seeing diagrams in a book or watching someone on DVD), but with enough practice and the occasional bit of guidance, you will soon be moving the poi fluidly all over the body and even become more flexible as you attempt the behind the back tricks!
Steve Thomson is a professional juggler based in East Midlands. He has an online juggling store (UK only) called Jugglingworld.biz.
His Jugglingworld Website has tricks pages and beginners guides for over 30 different skills-based props so if you ever want to learn a new skill, this is the place to start! Tricks Section. If you know of any further tricks please visit my Poi Tricks Page and add them using the Comments page at the bottom (pass the knowledge on!)
Twitter name is @stevejuggler
Article Source: Poi Spinning Basic Moves and Tricks
