I spin poi. I used to glowstring and I tried poi once and never went back. But I still love the community and since so many glowstringing moves are the same I can still use tutorials and stuff.

My simple question? If Im spinning poi, and someone asks me "thats really cool, what is that?" What do i say? Can I still tell them about glowsticking.com??? I would like them to understand the culture but since its not glow sticks.... I was just wondering WTF do i do?

if soemone says thats cool then say thanks... but if they are interested and want to get into it then refer them here i guess

just my guess (IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

If someone sees you spinning poi, thats poi. If someone sees you glowstringing then that's glowstringing in which you can refer them to glowsticking.com as well as an intro to glowsticking culture and all that if you like. Poi and glowstringing are a bit similar but two different things.

imo

Alright thanks, Does anyone know of anything I could refer them to if they happen to be interested? Something that shares the same type of ideals (i.e no battling no "crews" just to have fun and do something you enjoy and make a beautiful piece of art all that jazz.)

While the disciplines are similar visually, the cultures and values behind them, not so much. Crews, and competitions are pretty much a part of the fire spinning culture, and the reality of it is some of the more dedicated and prolific spinners are making a living from their spinning.

The thing is, that the glowsticking and poi cultures and communities are totally different and have different sets of values. Here at GSC we don't promote competitions and battles because activities like that add serious amounts of tension and drama to a scene that's already somewhat turbid.

Poi and fire spinning on the other hand, came into being(form a popularity perspective, not a historical one) as something more akin to a circus art or a performance art. Crews, ie. a group of people you perform with, or spin with all the time are plentiful and widely accepted, and competitions are also particularly common.

Whether these differences stem from the origins of the respective disciplines, the types of people who practice them, or even the general age differences between the practitioners, the reality of it is you will be hard pressed to find a poi community that holds the exact same values as GSC. With that said, the problems you see with battling and crews in the rave scene seem to be absent from the fire spinning scene, and the general view of most spinners I've met has been that poi is just another way to create beauty and express oneself.

Anyway, that went on alot longer then i intended, but to address your question, homeofpoi.com has a pretty good community http://www.homeofpoi.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php , the boards are a little slow, but the people there are great and very helpful should you have a question. You will certianly see mentions of performances, contests and crews, but just know that they have different meanings and functions within the firespinning community then they do in the glowstringing community, and shouldn't be seen as inherently detrimental.

Oh, and another good site without a real community around it, is Playpoi.com, more of a blog if anything, but it's a good resource for inspiration, and has some of the better tutorials out there, especially for beginners.

DISCLAIMER: This is all based on my experiences and opinions regarding the reality of this particular situation, the fact that crews and competitions exist in the poi firespinning world and not in the glowstringing world. I still firmly believe that glowsticking and crews/competitions do not mix, however i do believe that the poi/firespinning community is one that allows for and can handle such behavior in a mature and non-detrimental way. This does not mean that i think crews and battles and such are okay in glowstringing.

^That right there was beautiful.

I would agree that www.homeofpoi.com is a good place to refer them if they are interested in Poi moreso than sticking. Poi does however have a different culture as mentioned eloquently by Mr. Bacon. (IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Bacon that was really helpful! I hadn't thought about that stuff. Im not really familiar with Poi culture and how all that stuff works, but that explained it quite well. I have been to the playpoi website a couple of times before actually and I agree its a great site. I didn't think about that one.

Thanks a bunch guys! Even more proof your the best community! Im glad to be a part of it. (IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)