One of my main hobbies is spending time on some sort of flow art. Most of the time I’ll be spinning poi with some friends but you could also find me contact juggling or hooping from time to time. It’s a way for me to have fun and relieve stress from school. It’s hard for me to put into words what exactly it’s all about but I did find a nice quote –

“Flow Arts is a general term used to describe the intersection of a variety of movement-based disciplines including dance, juggling, fire-spinning, and object manipulation.” — The Flow Arts Institute

Whether you want to start a new hobby or just want to have fun, here’s my guide to getting started in the flow arts.

Picking a prop

There are tons of flow props – Poi, Staves, Fans, Hoops, Balls, Wands, Rope darts, Meteors, Puppy hammers, S-staves, clubs, devil sticks, diabolos, and more! The first step is to pick a prop and stick to it. Most guys in the North American flow scene will start with poi and girls with start with hoops but you should pick a prop based on two things: How cool you think it looks, and how fun you think it looks. Here’s some images:

Poi: Poi.

Fans: Fans.

Hoops: Hoops.

Staff: Staff.

If you’re looking for something “flow-ey” then I recommend poi. If you’re going for something smooth I recommend contact juggling. If you don’t mind weight and want to be a badass, try out a staff. If you’re into circus stuff, go for devil sticks or diabolos. If you want something simple to chill then look into wands.

Obtaining a prop

Unless you plan on building a prop from scratch, you’re most likely going to be buying one online. Some good sites are Home of Poi, Flowtoys, Master Ong’s prop shop, and The DrexFactor store. If you’re on facebook you can also look for flow arts or circus groups in your area. There are usually local vendors that will sell you their extra props or custom make you props.

Starting out

Your best friend when starting out is patience. When I first started out, my friends were doing insane tricks and I wanted to get up to speed quick but I kept hitting myself. It was frustrating to say the least, but in a way it’s kind of like coding. You need to failing repeatedly to learn anything, and you have to do it a lot. As long as you practice frequently you will feel more comfortable with your prop, even if you aren’t learning a specific move or aren’t making progress, so be as patient as you can. To learn moves, it is best to find a community of artists nearby but if that isn’t possible then look to youtube for tutorials. Home of poi also offers tutorials for any props that you buy off of their website.

In a month of practice you will make significant progress and have a lot of fun as well. A big part of the enjoyment of flow for me is the sense of acheivement from finally learning that new move or showing my friends new tricks. If you keep it up for longer you will also begin to see the fruits of your labor grow into other parts of life. For me it boosted my work ethic, sense of determination, and self-esteem dramatically. You will feel a much greater sense of freedom and maybe find a new respect for other circus and flow arts performers. Overall, I think that learning a prop can be great for anyone and I hope that you start learning one whenever you can!