Level Up Your Poi: 6 Advanced Concepts with @drexfactor
Advanced poi spinning is more than collecting difficult tricks. It is the practice of controlling timing, pathways, momentum, and expression. Then combining those skills until your movement feels like your own. In this guide, UltraPoi sponsor Ben “Drex” Drexler breaks down waist wraps, tempo, flow state, G snatches, the Gumby, and a final integration lesson.
Meet DrexFactor Shop Advanced PoiWhat Makes Poi Spinning “Advanced”?
An advanced spinner does not simply move faster. They can change direction without losing the plane, shift timing intentionally, recover cleanly, and connect technical ideas to music or emotion. Treat each tutorial below as a concept to explore, not a move to rush through.
Keep planes clean before adding speed.
Explore both directions and sides.
Let rhythm and movement shape the trick.
“The goal is not only to land the trick. The goal is to understand it well enough to make it yours.”UltraPoi Advanced Practice Note
Waist Wraps: Let Momentum Travel Around You
Waist wraps turn your torso into part of the poi pathway. Begin slowly and pay attention to where the tether contacts your body, how the head exits the wrap, and whether the release returns to a controlled plane. Practice the entry and exit separately before connecting them.
Technical poi becomes more readable when the body supports the prop pathway. Save with sponsor code drexfact0r.
Tempo: Spin With the Music, Not Just Near It
Tempo practice builds the bridge between tricks and performance. Choose a song with a clear beat. First match one full poi circle to each beat; then experiment with half-time, double-time, pauses, and accents. The contrast between speeds is often more expressive than constant motion.
Musicality begins when you choose when to move... and when not to.Advanced Poi Practice
Flow State: Create Conditions for Effortless Connection
Flow state cannot be forced, but it can be invited. Choose a challenge just beyond your comfort zone, remove distractions, and set a short practice window. Instead of judging each mistake, notice what the poi are already doing and respond. Familiar transitions are excellent anchors when improvisation starts to feel scattered.
G Snatches: Precision, Timing, and Confident Catches
Snatches add sharp punctuation to a sequence. Build them at low speed with generous space, watching the relationship between the poi head, tether, and catching hand. A clean snatch comes from predicting the pathway—not chasing the prop after release.
The Gumby: Add Body Movement to Technical Poi
The Gumby challenges you to coordinate the poi pattern with a changing body position. Learn the hand pathway first, then layer in the torso and footwork. Film from the front and side: what feels dramatic from inside the move may read differently to an audience.
The body is not background scenery. It is one of the moving parts of the pattern.Advanced Poi Performance Note
Integration: Turn Five Skills Into One Conversation
Once each concept feels stable, connect two at a time. Move from a tempo change into a wrap, exit into a snatch, then let a body-led transition create room for the Gumby. Keep the first sequence short enough to repeat cleanly. Complexity becomes compelling when the audience can still follow your intention.
Meet Ben “Drex” Drexler
Drex is a movement artist, circus performer, dancer, and teacher whose work blends technical poi with contemporary dance and storytelling. After discovering poi in 2006, he built a career around making advanced concepts approachable and helping spinners find their own creative voice.
His preferred LED setup is the OrbPoi Pro with UltraKnob Pro LED handles, set to an end-to-end length of approximately 23 inches. That combination supports the contact, toss, catch, and dance-fusion vocabulary featured throughout his work.
“OrbPoi Pro is perfect for my needs, whether it’s making video content, practicing for a show, or spinning for a live audience.”Ben “Drex” Drexler
Choose Your Advanced Poi
OrbPoi Pro
Built for contact poi, rolls, tosses, juggling, and powerful visual trails. The 97 mm silicone heads create a predictable spherical shape, while optional UltraKnob Pro LED handles brighten both ends of every movement.
- 97 mm poi heads at approximately 185 g each
- 15 adjustable color modes and 45 flash patterns
- Rechargeable LED system
- Customizable 3/8-inch hybrid rope
- Optional rechargeable LED knob handles
HelixPoi Pro
A responsive glow-stick poi system for tech patterns, tosses, catches, and fast directional changes. Soft Helix Pro cases protect the lights, while the built-in lower mass supports balance and control.
- 5.25-inch × 1-inch heads at approximately 80 g each
- 15 color modes and 45 flash patterns
- USB-rechargeable lights with up to 12 hours of runtime
- Soft protective cases with button and charging access
- UltraKnob Pro and symmetrical Double Helix options
Enter sponsor code drexfact0r when shopping at UltraPoi.com.
A Simple 30-Minute Advanced Poi Session
Warm up planes, direction changes, and both sides.
Isolate one tutorial concept at low speed.
Connect it to one familiar entry and exit.
Freestyle through one full song without stopping.
Film, review, and write down one adjustment.
Keep the adjustment small and measurable.