A couple of years ago, in 2006 to be exact, I got interested in fire spinning. At first I did not know what it was called, so I just googled fire dancing. A lot of pictures came up and so was the word POI.
I did a research on the word, and found out that POI is a performance art that originated from the Maori tribe in New Zealand. POI meaning, a ball and a string. In early history, POI was thought to be used by Maori men to practice their fighting skills. But now, POI is mostly used by Maori women during traditional performances in combination with music and story telling.
POI is now considered as an art all over the world, a form of exercise, juggling or dance. Modern time has adopted POI into different countries and culture; one of them is here in the Philippines.
There are different types of POI. For beginners, we usually recommend practicing with the use of Sock Poi. It’s basically tennis balls inside knee high socks.
After learning the basics, one can use a Tailed Poi / Fabric Poi. It is made up of a nylon string that’s attached to a bean bag or a tennis ball, and then covered with colorful fabrics. Also, an alternative for tailed poi is Flag Poi.
Professional poi artists prefer using different kinds of Fire Poi. It is made of Kevlar wicks—formed in different shapes and sizes—attached to metal chains. They soak it with Kerosene or Paraffin before lighting it up with fire. Do Not Use Gasoline!!!
An alternative to fire poi would be: Fire Staff, Fire Batons, Fire Fans and Fingers, Fire Swords, etc, etc.
For some who don’t have the courage to use fire. They can use Glow Poi instead, which are basically made from L.E.D. (light-emitting diode) that is better than regular light bulbs.
There are many websites that offer different POI products and FREE Online Video Tutorials. The most popular around the globe is
www.homeofpoi.com
They sell products with very good quality, plus they have tons of Free Video Tutorials that you can share with your friends.
But here in the Philippines, our leading POI group is called PlanetZips. Aside from selling POI products, they also offer POI lessons/classes every week. They also hold monthly gathering called Spindependence that showcase different Free Flowing Arts like: POI, Capoeira, Music, Dance, Photography, etc.
The Art of Poi has helped me a lot. It served as my cardiovascular exercise and somehow, it elevated my self-confidence. And in a few months, I’ll be trying out the Contact Fire Staff. Thanks to my auntie, who works in Abu Dhabi University for shouldering the shipping charges -- She also bought her first set of gears. I’m excited to teach her the basics when she visits next summer. ^_^ And hopefully, my dear sister, would continue her Poi lessons as well. ^_^
There are a lot of famous and amazing fire artist all over the world. But my ultimate idols are:
YUTA of Japan & NICK WOOLSEY of Canada
and of course, my master & sensei, Paulino Servado III of the Philippines (Founder of PlanetZips)
Here are some of my fave POI websites that offers FREE online video tutorials (but of course, nothing beats actual lessons ^_^)
http://www.homeofpoi.com
http://www.domorepoi.com
http://www.feuershow.de (choose the English flag for translations)
http://poicommunity.com/ (it's in Japanese so choose English)
If you have any questions regarding POI, feel free to contact me anytime ^_^. Who knows, maybe I might even teach you the basics for FREE ^_^ (coz I'm not a good teacher) ^_^
