Staff spinning is the easiest of the circus skills to find equipment for as essentially all you need is a long stick or pole. Staff spinning has long been an art form in many cultures, such as Polynesian Fire dances. Also known as deeblesticks, a great deal of the techniques evolved from martial art forms such as bo and jo stick, eskrima and aikido. More recently is is becoming increasing popular as a circus art and is now common place at celebrations and special events in many countries, most noticeably Thailand and parts of Australia.

While all staffs follow the same solid construction, their key differences are both weight and length. A lighter staff is useful for fast spinning and has the advantage of hurting less when you invariably knock yourself, it can also be thrown higher and tends to be more expensive. Whereas a heavier staff has greater momentum and so requires greater upper body strength to spin it quickly. Heavier staffs also make 'contact' spinning moves easier to perform as their weight helps it to stick to your body and not fly off.

A longer staff spins a lot slower due to its length and weight, but the wide diameter of its spin more than make up for this. Two short staffs look more complex, but almost seem less 'dangerous' due to the longer staffs constant intertwining around your body. Short staffs do however bring the flame a lot closer to your body, making burns are more ready danger. If you like spinning with one, you will probably take up both eventually, so don't worry about which one to go for first. It is of course also possible to spin two long staffs at once, and you gain a visual aspect, whilst losing a few of the tricks from each of single long staff, and dual short staffs.

Finally you may choose to make your own staff to save on money, or just to practice and see if you think it's something you want to learn before going out and buying a ready made one. Before making or buying one though you need to decide on a few things....

The first thing you need to decide is whether you want to spin 1 staff or 2. Most people start off with one medium length staff and this is what I recommend, although it's not uncommon for spinners to start on 2 shorter length staffs and then move onto more technical moves with 1 staff.

The next thing you should think about is the length of your staff, do you want to spin a small one or go supersize?

Short Staff

They are usually light, much easier to transport, easier to carry around to practice sessions and more conspicous on public transport. Very good for baton style moves. Lots of little spins all around the place. Good for doubles when you are learning, not so good for contact, because they are not very heavy, but it is possible. They do also need to be pushed a lot which means to keep the spin going you need to exert a lot more force and they are easier to burn yourself with as there are flames really close to you the whole time. It is also hard to hurt yourself when practicing if you whack yourself there is not a lot of kinetic energy behind it. It is not going to bump and leave a bruise as much as a long staff. A short staff is generally shorter than the length of your leg.

Long Staff

They are harder to transport unless they break down into multiple parts. They are good for speed and for contact moves which roll around the body. The weight allows it to have its own momentum. It is harder to burn yourself, but much easier to whack yourself and leave bruises. The length of the staff can limit the number of moves you want to do, particularly if it is going to keep hitting the ground. So it is particularly a good idea to not have it much taller than yourself, but there are lots of people who have it taller than themselves and really enjoy it. Ground to shoulder height is a good length to start with.

Material/Weight

For material there are 4 main options: Bamboo, Wood, Aluminium and Carbon Fibre.
Bamboo is purely to start off with, being very cheap. It can be dropped without damage to most flooring, and without concern for the staffs themselves. Due to its very light weight mis-throws when practicing inside are not as dangerous. However its lightness also makes the speed of spin a little more than that of a heavier material, making some tricks seem harder than they would otherwise be. A good place to find some bamboo is either a Chinese market or a garden centre.

Wood is a much heavier alternative and not really the best option unless you can't find bamboo, in which case it is nice and cheap and easy to learn with. Its weight helps it move slower aiding in learning. It is by no means bad, and is what I first learnt with; however, it fails on every comparison with aluminium and should be a second choice.

Wooden doweling from a hardware store is great. A little thicker and more dangerous to personal safety (due to weight) are actual martial art staffs from a martial art supply store. These are almost identical to a wooden broom handle except are slightly heavier and are made of a much tougher wood.

Aluminium is arguably the best material to use. It is light, smooth surfaced, will not splinter, dissipates heat well, will not burn, very strong, and is naturally shiny. If you're intending on making your own staff then the best source for aluminum tubing is a home supply store such as B&Q. (Look for shower rods)

Carbon Fibre is the lightest of all and can be spun extremely fast. It doesn't have the same momentum as aluminium and so requires a lot of effort to keep it spinning at speed. Carbon fibre staff will always remain straight unlike aluminium which can become bowed over time. The main disadvantage however is that it tends to be black and so has no 'shine' to it. This makes catching a lot more difficult as there is no reference point to show how fast it's spinning.

For further information or questions contact the societies staff spinner, James ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )