Not hitting the wall
No this isn't a thread about having problems spinning in small spaces. It is about hitting the infamous WALL of stopped learning. (aka spinners block) There used to be a thread about this but I think it might have gotten deleted when the server crashed. I remember alot of people saying from time to time this happens to them inculding myself. You just can't think of anything new to work on or have a bunch of patterns to learn first before you can move on to a higher level of spinning so you just feel stuck.
Since a bit before the new year I don't think this has happened to me at all. There is always something new to work on and it seems everyday I unlock new moves and generate new ideas. I don't see any end in sight either. Between hyperloops, throws, the bazillion and one types of weaves, different planes, and on and on and on yadda yadda yadda etc. there is so much to accomplish. It is almost like my spinning skills are comparable to an organism that keeps growing and evolving constantly. You could say I've reached point of enlightenment with poi. When I first started spinning I didn't realize how much you could do with a couple tennis balls in some socks and now the possiblities are astoudning.
Well I guess the point of this thread was to ask if some of the more advanced spinners ever hit the wall anymore. Theres so much to learn and discover once you get to a point I don't see how it's possible to get stuck in a rut.
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Not hitting the wall
I'm not sure if I'd consider myself a more experienced spinner, but I think its a pretty general condition, this so called 'hitting the wall.' I think later into ones poi education its not so much a lack of stuff to do- the more you learn, the more you realise there is is what I've found. There is, though, a case of losing interest.
I actually think that this is one of the more exciting periods for a spinner, as its periods like this that can drive you into another discipline. I've picked up all sorts of other juggling and spinning hobbies following getting sick of poi.
Actually getting sick of it does suck- I've been fortunate enough to only get mildly disheartened and then cracking something new which has dispelled any dissolution I've had.
Personally I'd put them down and try something else, or just ease off and try not to be too hard on yourself.
Chutney
Not hitting the wall
Maybe my post came off wrong. I meant this as a good thing not hitting the wall there is so much to do and learn it's great. And by more advanced i mean mastered the basics and can do some throws, do some hyperloops, spin inverted a bit ,and can flow between all these things. I guess someone who can do all the basics and pull off some harder and trickier moves. I've started spinning staff and juggling a bit but with poi it's like i hit an iceberg and only just realized the amount of ice thats under the surface. Once you get to a point I'm saying how can you find a lack of anything to do. Is there anyone out there who's mastered all known hyperloops, weaves, throws and the many different catches, wraps, butterflys, and on and on in every different plane. When I first started I would have blocks of learning because I didn't have the skills to do many advanced moves and I didnt even know they existed. Now ater spinning a while the possibilities seem endless. If anything the more I spin the more my interest grows.
Not hitting the wall
Rovo- Sorry dude, I must have zoned out whilst reading your message and made a mental assumption about what you put- You were clear, I was absent minded- sorry
Chutney
Not hitting the wall
i hit 'the wall' after about 4 months of spinning... and then i discovered spherc and the wonderful videos courtesy of matt and my eyes were opened. i have been spinning solo in a location devoid of poi ever since i started and i used to rely on HoP for tryin to find out about new moves (basically hyperloops). the more i read about them, the more i became confused until i found a link to this site. as you point out, the wall now no longer exists. and thats a good thing.
but i did used to find the sheer volume of moves hugely fustrating when i started spinning. i think new poisters dont face the obstacle of the wall anymore. instead i think some new spinners who visit this site and HoP might find themselves feeling more like they are drowning in moves they dont know.
poi can be likened to learning any dicipline, eg martial arts, an instrument or whatever, because when you reach grade 8 or black belt, thats when you start learning. everything up to that point has just been preparation. the thing about HoP and spherc to a certain extent is that all the knowlege becomes instantly available to any spinner of any level, which has its obvious plusses and equally minuses. you arent necessarily exposed to moves in a logical order. liken poi moves to thousands of boxes for instance. the first box is a safe. this represents the basic patterns. once you unlock those moves, you get into the safe and find lots of other boxes (eg weave variations, butterfly variations, tangles). unlock the weave box and you get loads of other boxes with variations and so on to infinity. but onsites like this and HoP you get ALL the boxes, all at once, and you dont necessarily have the knowlege to unlock the information in them. and thats when confusion and fustration sets in.
i think this can be either disheartening or incredibly motivating. i found it disheartening a while ago and now i find it motivating because firstly after about 3 months on spherc i understand most of what poeple are talking about and second i want to break the barriers that people have set.
im not trying to say here that this is a bad site for beginners. i think its a very friendly community and far more so because of its (small) size. spherc has taken me a long way in a short time and thats only thanks to the volume of info thats here. (and this has turned into a fat post because ive been meaning to write something about this for a while). but perhaps there might be somehting to be said for having a new spinners guide...(and ive been meaning to get on to that as well... he who cast the first stone and all...)
Not hitting the wall
I hit a wall a while back and wasn't motivated to learn anything for ages - and it wasn't a case of not having anything to learn by any means! As you say, the more you know the more you know there is to learn...
I'm too lazy to really get into learning juggling or staff though, I can do the very basics of each and that's about it
Not hitting the wall
Regarding Jon's comment on the volume of stuff available being intimidating- Yeah, I know what you mean. When I began reading and posting on Spherculism my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw all the tangles, throws, high beat ttns etc etc.
I stuck at learning what I thought was next proressions (higher beat weaves, BTB vaariations etc) and now a year on I look at the tutorials and am no longer intimidated- I just want more room to practice in
I think even if spinners are intimidated but hold on such that they don't stop spinning or reading sites like |S| then the exposure can only be a good thing. Once you hear so many peop[le talking about anti-spin or inverted weaves, you start thinking, well, I may as well have a go... and so it goes on
Not hitting the wall
First off chut it's cool I figured it was just a miscommunication.
Jon, how you said this site should be made easier to teach beginners, I think Matt addressed this in his post about Spherc 2. He talked about changing the tutorials so you can "unlock" moves as you master them which would in turn decrease the knowledge beginners would be exposed to. I thnk thats a pretty neat idea. Spiralx I know what you mean sometimes it just seems like even though you know what you can try and do you just don't care. And about juggling and staff.... I can juggle three balls poorly in one pattern but staff is alot more promising hopefully once it gets nice out I'll be able to try more stuff I can do a couple easy contact moves and a whole bunch of regular spinning but I havnt had the chance to really go out and just fool around with it for a long period of time.