a glaswegian asks, “I am assuming that flow is something more than just the graceful transition from pattern to pattern right?”

and I answered:
for me, flow in poi is the feeling of oneness with the poi’s weight, momentum and movement.  you can tell when you catch the wave of moving exactly in time with the poi (and the music, and your breath) so it all moves together as one.  like harmonizing with someone else’s voice or being a cog in a well oiled machine.  I’m not really making any decisions about what move to do as each movement is obviously implied by the previous.  time flies, slows and doesn’t exist.  the spinning and the moment are so compelling that everything else fades away.  it looks as good as it feels no matter what move or transition I’m doing.

Firedrums 2010 - Yuta & Thomas Nevisoul play tunnel poi.
this is not choreographed at all. 

a beautifully illustrated cartoon describing how eveybody’s mind works (sometimes) and the frequent result of resisting…

Only from stillness is anything possible.

I’m in Bali, helping teach and RECord a playpoi Flow Arts retreat.  I literally walked out of the sacred monkey forest temple where there were more monkeys that I possible could have shaken a stick at and into the internet.  I love living in the bridge between past and future.

I find myself, once again, in the AWESOME position of doing work for a western company while I, myself, am hanging my hats & hammocks in a 3rd world tropical paradise (this time with MORE MONKEYS (and less geckos)).

I’m here with teafaerie, major thom, alien jon, g, nick, banyan, gabe, knoxious dave (ella’s brother), gracie, the first-time-I’ve-met girlfriend of two old friends (pleased to report they’re both awesome), and a slew of other new friends.

we’re rocking the collective casbah.  especially getting climbed on by monkeys!

well played.  this is skillful and purty.

atomsphere:

One day in Switzerland last summer my friend Bibi, (Jeanine Reutemann), filmed me playing with various props at the Chateau Swamp in Uster.  She put together this rough cut for me and I was too eager to wait for the final version so I’m putting up this one as a preview. She is an amazing cinematographer and animator.  Check out her web site: www.redmorpheus.com.

One of the best fire spin videos in which I’ve ever taken part.  
Nick Woolsey, @AlienJon, Baz and @BURNINGdAN rock the Costa Rica casbah
music by Reza Moosavi and shot/edited by Matt Boyd. 
Thanks to all involved, this was heaps of fun and I’m proud of the result. 
(and I was there when you met)

alienjon:

The long anticipated fire poi footage from my fateful meeting with Nick Woolsey in Costa Rica.

I’m teaching Flow Arts classes coming up in November (our website explains Flow Arts) at Flow Temple in Hollywood. I’m SO excited about it. I LOVE teaching this stuff.

I LOVE the reactions I get from students… Handrew, a virtuoso pianist who’s been playing since age 5 and has a Masters degree in piano told me after taking my class for a month “Flow Arts has changed the way that I practice piano in such a positive way — it changes the way I look at my own ‘limitations.’” I am/was so proud of how Handrew rocked the class on many fronts. I totally get off on having such a profound effect.

I am still shaking with awesome that the big LA Times said about my little school, “Flow Temple is the fast track to Jedi status.”

I’ve been hard at play designing this new version of classes and I can’t hardly wait to get started. Flow Temple