Tips on Creating Your Style (Glowstring) Part 2

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Friday, 08 February 2008 09:33

detailed article on the topics of unique combo versus poi moves versus generic combo, individuality, and style.

This is a summary of a discussion by Last_Singularity and I, regarding this issue in the recent chicago gathering thread. For convinence of reference, the video we refer to is here.

This video examplify my idealism of glowstringing, of how it should be. A clear message of non-competitiveness, PLUR and individuality. and i think that by focusing a lot more on unique pattern/combos instead of "moves" also helps on all those aspects:

- if you are not comparing technical skills, not looking at who can do the hardest move, most beat weaves, etc... it automaticallys makes it hard to compete, and more inspirational instead.

- if you are not focusing on "moves" it forces you to think creatively, to develop more individuality, and therefore, stand out from other stringers and thus, less boring for the audience. (jstudd and the other jay's video are prime examples of this).

- with those 2 points combines, people aren't sharing as teacher and students anymore. everyone is on the same level and you share your uniqueness, in order to spark creativity. (who's to say your uniqueness is better than mine? of course, this logic is only valid if everyone is willing to drop all their "moves" and focus on creating unique patterns/combos).

not saying that sharing as student/teacher is bad. but i think it's more beneficial in the long run this way. for example, you can be a teacher and share those little tips on how to do 5 beat btb weave, but all that does is breeding another person that can do the same move, looking pretty much the same while doing it.

but if you share your LOGIC behind your unique pattern/combo (aka. what makes your combo "tick"). it can very well spark a whole different pattern coming from someone else's perspective.

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You may say that even though this video is hailed to be the epitome of glowstringing evolutionary and individuality, there are still poi moves involved (even though very few but still existent). Jstudd did sun wraps & a butterfly; KO did a 5-beat cross, etc. Can and should poi moves be eliminated completely?

i believe that the ultimate goal for many dancers (glowstickers/glowstringers included) is to have their own distinct style. to stand out as an individual.

traditional poi moves already have a set pattern built in. for example, the over-under-out for weave. the overlapping-oppsite direction spin of butterfly, etc. that's the definition of a "move" afterall. a move is a pattern that everyone can follow. that's how you learn to weave, butterfly, btb weave, etc. because there's a set pattern, and you learn exactly how the move is suppose to be performed.

now, is that bad? not really. you can use poi moves to display your technical skills. you can plan your poi moves in between combos to give it breathing room (or combo-breaker as i sometimes call it. other moves in this category also includes spirals, orbit airwraps, some string wraps, etc. basically moves that lasts longer).

however, do i think traditional poi moves (and generic combos) display a stringer's creativity, individuality, and style? not really. why? because everyone's weave, butterfly, "moves" all look pretty much the same. that's the definition of a move. **keep in mind im only referring to traditional poi moves done with glowstring. using heavier poi sets to perform poi moves is a different story**

so to sum it up.

do i think poi moves are useless? no. i think poi moves are good as a learning tool. i think they can be used to display technical skills, or as combo-breakers.

do i think poi moves are useless at displaying creativity, individuality, or style? yes. even in this video, when the stringers are performing any "moves" or generic combos... they are not displaying style, because they look exactly the same as other stringers performing those same moves.

do i think poi moves should be eliminated? sometimes. i think by consciously removing all poi moves from your routine is a good way to force some effort into creating unique combos. i think that more often than not, stringers get too stuck on "learning move after move after move" mode, and that hinders the development of style.

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A good way to eliminate "moves" (for example, a butterfly), is to continue your wrap/trace/catch before they make a complete rotation in the opposite direction. as long as they don't make the circle, it won't look like a butterfly. you know what i mean?

here's a link to the video in reference - Wes 2.21.03 Glowstring Video

the segment from 0:20-0:25, i see it as 2 combos being broken off by the spiral. airwraps are pretty quick, and they are fitted at the end anyway... so this is how i see it: combo ending with airwrap > spiral > start another combo that ends with airwrap.

0:54 i did start with windmill. so i see this as windmill > begin catch combo.

sprials takes a while so it loose the combo-ness to it. when the sticks wind in and then wind back out, my mind is telling me that it's a spiral, not a part of the combo. kind of like how when i see 1 full rotation of butterfly, it registers as a butterfly. but if you stop it before then... then it's not really a butterfly yet. do you see what i'm getting at?

the length/duration of the move matters. some people used to argue with me that wraps themselves are moves, too. (which i agree to an extent) HOWEVER, they are much much much smaller moves than one full rotation of any swing or traditional poi moves. and the smallness of these "combo pieces" allows you to mesh them together and create a new pattern (or we call it "combo").

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Many people may assume that <b>what defines each combo as "unique" is the different sequencing</b> and combination of wraps. Because whether you or me does one wrap doesn't matter- each individual wrap looks the same. So when wraps (that look the same for all stringers) are linked together differently, a uniqueness arises. However, when you link different weaves or butterflies in different sequences, a uniqueness does...not arise? Why is this different?

why are wraps/traces/catches in different sequence "combos", but traditional poi moves in different sequences not? i would say it's because of the duration of the moves, and the size of the movement. as mentioned above, "combo pieces" are smaller than "moves" (and technicall just tiny moves themselves)... that's what enables them to be meshed together to create a new pattern, or new "move" if you will. but moves are already moves, if i see someone do a weave into btb weave, that's what im gonna see - 2 moves. why? because you can't really do 1/4 rotation and call that a weave still, then magically jump to 1/4 rotation btb weave without completing your circles.

to make it more clear with time duration. let's say a full weave takes 1 second to complete (3 beat, make it complete on both sides), an individual "combo piece" will probably only take 0.2 seconds (from the beginning of the wrap until it starts to bounce back). let's say i'm trying to construct an unique pattern/combo for myself.. it'll probably require 5-7 consecutive wrap/trace/catch, which coincidently, also lasts about 1 second... and they should mesh together well. so that when people see this sequence performed, people shouldn't see wrap-wrap-wrap-trace-wrap, they should 1 combo, or 1 "move" that you made up according to a unique pattern of yours. (check 0:20-0:25 of my 2.21.03 video to see what i mean). <b>because your combo should be meshed so well that people aren't recognizing the individual parts, but seeing it as a whole pattern</b>.

moreover, traditional poi moves often require both strings. you can't really weave or butterfly with just 1 string (ok technically you can with meteor, but that's a different story... you know what i mean). wrap/trace/catch can utilize the strings seperately. so this opens up the amount of different combination exponantially. you see? it's not like a sequence of poi moves where it's like weave > reverse weave > windmill. but it's more like left arm wrap (while the other string wraps on knee) > right string goes here with left string somewhere else > yada yada. you have the freedom to tweak every little part to suit your liking.

"moves" are basically patterns. weave = over-under-out. i like to see a unique combo as a "move/pattern with no name that you came up yourself that doesn't already exist"

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is what makes a unique combo unique just the difference in sequencing? technically yes. and that means people can copy the sequence and look pretty much the same. that's why it's easy to bite in stringing. HOWEVER, i think there's a line where you can cross from generic combos to very well-thought-out and unique ones.

let's use a combo of mine as example. look in Chicago Compilation 2002 @ 4:02 look at where i did the underarm butterfly double bicep wrap > straight into double neck wrap. personally, i think that's a very unique sequence i came up with, amith and many others agreed. through out the years i have seen other people do that same combo, but i would like to think that didnt make me any less unique. and i'm willing to bet they learned it from chicago compilation video. that's the difference it makes when you came up with a unique pattern of your own.

there are also other elements you can utilize other than just changing up the sequence. while you are moving from wrap to wrap within a combo, your body is bond to move from pose to pose. one example i like to use is my cross-leg combo (check my 2.21.03 video starting around 0:11). poses, or body positions, can be used as combo pieces too, very stylishly.

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