Just because I pick up on verbal idiosyncrasies: Drex uses the phrase "and everything" 18 times in this video. Personal favorites: "static poi made of climbing rope and everything" (what would those look like?) and "practicing the three-beat weave and everything" (everyone goes through trying to learn one thing and also everything at the same time). Great perspective on the learning process. I like defining progress by attitudes of familiarity and connectedness instead of particular moves.
I also end phrases with "right?" a lot...especially in my choreo tutorials. It can be hard working without a script because I frequently don't actually know where I'm going to end a block of text.
I actually appreciate Drex's tone and speech. I find myself saying "yeah?" a lot at the end of my sentences; I aspire at least to be 1/10th of an instructor that he has been for all of us in the community.
@@scottiefox2525 Absolutely. I was having fun with noticing things, not mocking. Everyone has unconscious habits and phrases they throw in without thinking about it, and while talking about a subject you know and care about sounds easy, very few people can do it while looking and sounding watchable and clear. I believe Drex has put a lot of time and effort into his on-camera presence, and it shows. I appreciate him loads, and I hope my above comment doesn't seem like an attack on him.
@@isaacwebb7918 nah it's just friendly bantering, as long as the intention behind it wasn't bad most people can see that. Although text on the internet is harder to interpret than in life due to context/tone and everything
I first saw and tried poi 25 years ago, on a beach, on fire. I got burnt. It wasnt a problem but it did start my poi & staff journey. I took one lesson and done some workshops, more fire too. 25 years later (and lots of gaps) i still consider myself a beginner, but i'm getting better again. Thanks Drex for the vids, theyre a great help.
I’m a beginner and was spinning a lightweight set. I got a set of heavier ones and it helped my practice a lot. I can feel the beats better with the weight. Used your code Drex, thank you for all your videos!!
I'm a beginner with some light LED poi. Some tricks like the Superman I've found especially tough with them, so I'm gonna get some heavier contact poi to try it with. Your comment put me over the edge on it so thanks for sharing!
I was gonna say the same thing! When my first, 15$ set of LED poi broke, I decided to make the jump to PodPoi because they are rechargeable and come with a lifetime warranty. When I finally got them I was AMAZED at how much of a difference having a little more weight made to my flow. Once you know you are going to stick with the flow arts, upgrading to something with a little heft will immediately up your game.
@@e.rosehuttner2681 podpoi are really the best, expensive but I've had the v2's for nearly a year now and they're still amazing as always. If you think of how much time you spend having fun with them (I've probably used them for a good 500 hours) you can see it's well worth it (vs say a game for £60 for 40 hours of fun...also it's great exercise and kinda like meditating, my v2's were £160) I was really struggling with hyperloops and wraps but as soon as I got the podpoi it just worked! then after a while it translated to my other poi (£30 LEDs - very light but usb chargeable, sock poi with juggling balls, contact ones for tossing). When Drex was talking about weight and length I was pretty surprised people actually spin like that, it drives me nuts (might be my OCD) when the length/weight is off
I agree a thousand percent! I came from a dance performance background before coming to fire and flow. It's very noticeable to me when people get focused on high-level tricks but aren't able to transition or become very stiff and withdrawn once their poi is lit because they haven't crossed the fire gap. I also teach a safety class anytime I burn with new people because there doesn't seem to be enough emphasis on this for sure.
Agreed. And as someone on Facebook pointed out (and I wished I'd thought to say in this video), skill level does not equal good or bad. I've seen tons of beginner spinners that I think are quite good and several advanced spinners that are awful :-P
Interesting/refreshing that you did not say something like “number of moves/tricks you know.” I’ve seen some spinners throw like 20 different tricks in the span of 10 seconds but it looks forced and not at all flowing with the music...but then I’ve seen other spinners do a two-beat weave with slight rhythm variations for a solid 60 seconds straight and it looks so entrancing and CLEAN that they look intermediate despite possibly only know 5 moves 🙂 Sorta like that video you did about slowing down your flow
Yes, that was 100% deliberate. I don't think we can really define beginners or intermediates by the depth of their poi vocabulary. I think it comes down a lot more to how comfortable they are with the tool. Part of the problem there is that there's no real canon of poi moves that absolutely everyone learns to get to a certain stage of their learning, so you inevitably leave things out or require people to learn things they just might not be interested in. This seemed like a more even-handed way of going about it.
I think one thing to add to the topic of "correct" poi to use as a beginner is the hardness of the poi. I thought it was a good idea getting a pair of wooden practice poi from pyroterra to practice with and it was definitely a slow and painful experience. After switching to soft orb poi I learned much faster because I wasn't afraid of failing as much.
Realized a part of me was fishing for which moves I do as progress, perhaps I’m somewhere between a beginner and an intermediate; noticing your video is more considerate and accurate on its criteria. A plus
Most of the best poi spinners are so talented because they love the process! They get in the flow and it is therapeutic and benefits them in physical, psychological and possibly spiritual ways! Being a beginner is okay! Just enjoy the process! You have so many blissful hours of poi practice to engage in!
I dont think a fire gap should be something that determines someone's skill level. I barely ever spin fire. I dont have a fear of fire, I just enjoy relaxing and getting lost in spinning for long periods of time. Fire is just kind of a hassle to me.
A lot of people have had this feedback and I would push back on it and say that just because you've never had a fear of fire doesn't mean that nobody ever has. I've been there for a lot of peoples' first burn over the years and from what I can tell your experience is the exception rather than the rule.
@@DrexFactor I'm not saying I'm impervious to fear of fire. It definitely makes me a little nervous and im definitely way better spinning non fire props. I spin because its relaxing and I can get immersed in it. With fire you have a short burn time and it's not relaxing. And I'm someone who loves engaging in high risk behavior for the rush. I love climbing tall things and I used to write graffiti and did several billboards, highway overhead green signs(heavens) and other crazy stuff. I *LOVED* the rush I got from that. I had heard many spinners say they got a huge rush from spinning fire so I couldn't wait to try it. When i did it was a big let down. I guess I was expecting too much.
@@cabooseabs6864 I guess the main point as I understand it: being intermediate or advanced spinner is not only related to skill, but also to life experiences. Fire gap has nothing to do with skill level, only with the term "intermediate spinner" :) It's like to call yourself experienced climber you can say know how to relax you hands, know this and that techniques and do at least 5.8 routes most of the time, or (like here) you can say no matter if you do any routes up to 5.15 blindfolded upside down, and you instruct for 30 years already, to call yourself experienced rock climber you need to have seen a real mountain at least once in your life. Or you can win world championships in the tunnel, but you are not an experienced skydiver unless you do at least one jump from real plane.. well you get the idea. For advanced POI spinner I might even add: need to spin poi on at least one music festival and have tried a few moves with staff or other props.
@@DrexFactor I didn't even like juggling fire, it's annoying, like 5 minutes at most? Then you need blankets, water, some flammable liquid, specific other stuff (carry case, kevlar wraps). Like I just wanna spin/juggle
Honestly not me with the fire, I just picked it up, I started with LED pod poi then on my 3rd time spinning I moved to fire and have never gone back, now I’ve been spinning fire for over a year. I have a background with dangerous liquids, so I was comfortable and knew I could be safe. I don’t think everyone is afraid of fire to start.
i really appreciate you making this video. i have been spinning for just under a year & usually by myself so no real idea what i’m doing other than what i see on the internet. i’m a drummer so the rhythm comes naturally, and i definitely spent the first few months solely working on clean plane control because, to me, that is the foundation of what makes poi spinning so beautiful. i then transitioned into trying to pick up on terminology via internet comment context clues to try to learn what to search for that i just saw in a video lol, so i think more in-depth disscusive videos like this could be hugely helpful tools to spinners like myself. love the humility & elegance with which you comment on everything here, and really appreciate you taking the time to speak on it!
Hey Drex, I really like your tutorials but I appreciate your other content just as much. Think pieces like this one show me what a great attitude and perspective you have, which makes me more drawn to you as an instructor. I also really enjoy the poi profiles!
I'm back a year later and I've definitely fixed my transitions. :) now I'm creating new tricks and combo's and transition according to my own style. feels really nice to be Intermediate to advanced now a year later. :)
So i realized drex is cataloging almost every poi flow artist cause every beginner turns to drex and he ask a few qustions. Then he teaches poi in a fantastic way he teaches every aspect of poi and is poi every poi journey is drex would say he has reached master of poi status
For the longest time I blamed the chains on one of my fire poi for my mediocre tangles. Turns out it's totally possible to do air wraps on chains if you actually practice - which is sort of what you're saying at 4:20. Couldn't agree more.
This actually illustrates nicely how Russian categorisation is so much different. All these features you list are beginner level prerequisites over there :D
It's funny you should bring that up...I definitely consider Russian poi spinning to be a unique school and style in itself with a different set of expectations. This may or may not be getting covered in another upcoming video ;)
The ability to get the switch from trick to trick without messing with my flow is what has made me feel like i have gotten better at spinning. I need to clean up my meltdowns, snakes and, spin a set of fire poi before I consider my intermediate
I'm somewhere in between beginner and intermediate. I know a lot of different moves, and more basic moves like weaves and fountains are beginning to look super clean. But the flow state still only happens very rarely, and transitions are my biggest issue. My goal is to have a big library of different moves and that i would have a way to transition between them in a natural looking way, so i could go to dancefloors and raves to spin poi instead of dancing. I'm getting old and crazy all-out dancing all night just isn't feasible anymore 😂
All ur vids r great drex...im like right at the end of being a beginner, transitioning into intermediate....i had like a year long brush with poi like 10byears ago or so, and i havnt spun since then, but like 3 weeks ago a made a pair of sock poi and it started coming back to me right away, so i bought a pair of ultrapoi helix, i liked them yes, but immediately wanted the contact poi type so i got the ultrapoi orb poi, which i really like...so anyway ur vids and watching ppl like u mentioned and others, r all a huge inspiration, and i love ur outlook and the way u break things down that are pretty easy to understand....it sucks not having anyone to practice with but im really enjoying being back in the game
I agree with most of what you said. I can relate in the sense that socks got me on the proper path to execute the basics an when I switched to contact poi it was a noticable game changer. I have more experience with contact juggling so contact poi meshed with my flow a lot easier than i thought. Ive been able to step it up by spinning 4 all summer long an im working on the juggle toss here an their with my flow. I dont make videos yet cuz im looking for a solid tripod but when i do ill shoot u a video.. i have my own things that i look for when i see a beginner working towards intermediate but you were on point with what to look for an im sure most would agree, unless they are stuck in the beginner phase. An to them its always a matter of time and consistency!.
We shall see! I'm a little gunshy given some of the response to this one. Also I think coming up with characteristics for it is going to be a little more challenging than it was here.
@@DrexFactor thanks for all the content anyways. I spun for 3 yrs w/o lookin up tricks and just learned from seeing people. Bc a friend recommended i find my flow first. And I'm super glad i did. The last year and half ive been watchin your videos a lot. And feel i learn tricks so much easier. I love all you do keep it up
As far as the "new set of poi" point. I actually didn't ever consider that different equipment made too much of a difference when I was new and learning. I couldn't even touch the 3-beat-wave until I picked up a heavier set of poi. As somebody who learned through the glow-stringing route, I'd say that light-weight poi are simply more challenging to learn with. Whenever others try my poi, they comment on how light they are.
Do all your quarantine content tutorials, until can transition smoothly between each video /trick and do the trick 10 times, in all timing and directions. And all the combos without thinking. That's my goal!
Hi drex , I saw this title and thought now this is a helpful topic... @ the point im writing this message is just under the 2 min. Mark on the video. I am saving rest for later but jic I forget... I'd like to suggest a theory on how to properly Guage the level in which you perform your said prop. My gut is telling me that it's less about how many or even what "tricks" you can do but more about how they are set up and executed . Example ... what movements and positions can u get into and out of with a smooth flow/transition, can u unravel the next mysterious move easily or does it take effort .? After all it's not about the prop. (Hince "prop" ) it's about the flow! But again this is just a gut feeling I have on this topic ! Maybe u went on after my 2 min. Limit just now to explain something very similar and if so , my bad lol😅 as usual thanks for your content u r a great part of the community
Tried fire a few times. Weaves and fountains were simple enough, but as soon as I wanted to try tuck turns (which I can do naturally w/o fire) my brain shut off. It's like I completely forgot how to do it.
The thing holding me back is my transitions. My plane control is pretty dang good. I can do every stall in the box you teach easy and have been working on each timing and direction with them. I've got the pendulums down all across the board. Its just incorporating those both into the tricks i already know to move to other tricks. I also have a hard time remembering everything i know how to do. Like I have the muscle memory for whenever I'm reminded of a move. But without transitions it feels like i just do move 1 then move 2 then 3 and 4. People who watch me say I'm really good! But all i do to get those responses is showing off that i can do inspin and antispin flowers in almost any timing and direction sometimes even using different planes too. And I'm able to theorize all day while I'm at work about the different tricks possible and how I can practice them once I'm home from work. Its one thing to know timing and directions, but a higher understanding of them is needed to incorporate it into things you already know how to do. Like this last week i thought of how to use one hand to do an inspin flower and another hand to do an anti spin flower while doing same time split direction extensions. I got the idea from the nevisoul almost. It just doesnt trace your body as much. Basically I think theres a point too where you are able to vividly see something that you can do with poi in your mind in a more complex way. I remember when I first started, I just watched your videos to learn things. Instead of trying things on my own. Thats helped me get better.
Short response: you've got to drill the transitions like you do the tricks. Then the pieces will start to fall into place. Repeat them over and over again until you're comfortable with them.
It helped me to make combinations and then drill those. (find moved that are the same timing and direction and string 3 or 4 of them together, for example, or moves that are not the same timing and direction and choose moves can connect them and practice those.) I have seen people give their combos names too so that they can remember them.
only thing that keeps me from paying you more attetion to your chsnnel is you just talk way too much...I get annoyed with it very quickly. Hope you can clean it up shorten the talk...no pun intended.
