History
Poi is a form of juggling or object manipulation with balls on ropes, held in the hands and swung in various circular patterns, comparable to club twirling. It originated with the Maori people of New Zeeland (the word poi means "ball" in Māori). Women and men used it to increase flexibility, strength, and coordination. It developed into a traditional performance art practised mostly by women. This art, in conjunction with others including waiata a ringa, haka and titi torea, make up the performance of kapa haka (Māori culture groups).
Today, poi extends past the original Māori culture. A sub culture has sprung up in a few places, surrounding poi spinning as a hobby, exercise, or performance art. Poi dancers can sometimes be found performing alongside jugglers, staff spinners and other similar performers.Types of poi
Today there are many types of poi for practising and performing with
Flag poi
| These poi have flaps of material trailing behind the poi. They range from thin streamer like tails to full blown flags. These poi are soft light and easy to transport. The tails do create a lot of drag so they need to be spun quite fast to keep momentum and the tails sometimes get tangled so it is advised to avoid flags with more than 1 colour as seems joining colours aren’t very durable. |
 |
 |
Sock poi
| These poi are basically made from a weight in a sock. Most of you have seen or had a go with the pairs that I’m lending to the club. Any kind of football sock/stocking will do and a bag of rice or juggling ball will make a perfect weight. A bit more expensive than flag poi depending on what u use for a weight. these poi are normally used for practicing as they can be easily made to match the weight and length of a performance poi. |
 |
Glow poi
| Good fun in the dark when there is a lack of paraffin or it’s unsafe to use fire. They are the most expensive of the non fire poi but look visually most impressive. These are usually made from groups of LED’s and some times electronics to make the LED’s flash in patterns however glow sticks can be used as single use glow poi. The electronics are often encased in hard plastics for durability but this does mean mistakes often hurt when using glow poi and the electronics are still quite sensitive. |
 |
Fire poi
Within the category of fire poi there is the option of 5 wicks and 3 chains that you can mix and match.
Normal wicks
| Usually made from Kevlar wick wrapped around a steel core, these are the most common wicks as they are cheap relatively durable and are on fire!!! Some sets have exposed screws that can burn if your unlucky, however the ones shown opposite have no exposed metal and are the best poi for a first time fire user. |  |
Cathedral wicks
| These are made from layers of Kevlar wick wrapped back and forth in to a tower (like a paper spring) with a bolt threw the centre to hold it all together. Because the bolt is through the centre u can’t hit yourself with any burning hot metal with these poi and they hold more paraffin leading to longer burn times. Slight more expensive, slightly heavier. |  |
Snake wicks
| These are made from a length of Kevlar rope that runs the length of the poi so the whole length of the poi in on fire creating a wall of fire while spinning. reasonable expensive but make a nice change to the usual balls of fire |
 |
Monkey fist wicks
| These are made from Kevlar rope tied in to a knot and are my favourite. again the bolt is threw the top so there are no hot/ sharp bits they are pure wick so hold lots of paraffin , they are perfectly round so have a good fuel to air ratio for bigger flames and are quite heavy so keep there momentum well in complex tricks. Considerably more expensive, hard and heavy so hurt when u make mistakes. |  |
Death star wicks
| I've not seen these my self but they are a spiky ball like object made of Kevlar. All the spikes increase surface area allowing more fuel to burn at any time, making larger flames while spinning fast. The most expensive wicks because of the complex wrapping to make sturdy spikes, shorter burn time because of fast fuel consumption |  |
All these poi except snakes can be bought with 2 connection points allowing the creation of dual and triple wicked poi (like mine :D)
Chains
| Ball chain: Stainless steel balls give greatest swivel action and glide easily over the body. Never rusts. Helps prevent tangles. Can be used later for attaching fire heads. Reflects heat to maintain a lower temperature of the hardware for greater safety. |
 |
| Oval chain: The strongest and heaviest cords available with welded links. Chain is twisted at each link to allow a smooth profile for wrap style moves. Ideal for multiple headed or extra heavy fire poi wicks. |
 |
| Cable: VERY light but thin, hold a lot of heat and aren’t strong enough for some of the heavier poi. They are prone to kinks but are good for hyper loops when in good condition. |  |
Websites
Home of poi can help you choose the correct poi.
http://www.homeofpoi.com/shop/select_a_poi.php/start
