Cane twirling...

[Zorba]

I can twirl a cane like the wind...

However, I recently learned a new technique and want to share. I was taught to hold/twirl by holding the cane between my thumb and forefinger - which works fine for me. BUT - I just had a class with a old skool teacher who twirls her cane between her forefinger and her middle finger, with an additional comment that she's also seen it between middle finger and ring finger!

So I tried it. I like it - although it will take some time to get used to and to re-train myself. I like it because it seems to give me better - or at least "easier" - control. Way less side to side arm movement: the thumb and forefinger technique that I've always used requires my concentration to keep the cane twirling in a flat circle, without the cane swinging out to the side. This "new" way its almost automatic - I don't have to concentrate as much on keeping it on track.

How were YOU trained?

 

[Roshanna]

I have only ever seen/learned the thumb-forefinger method, with the one exception of instead holding the cane in a firm backhanded grip with your whole hand when twirling on both sides of the body.

The immediate problem I can see with the 'between the fingers' approach is that it may make twirling easier, but I imagine it would make transitioning between twirling and doing other things with the cane more difficult?

 

[Darshiva]

I'll be sticking to thumb & forefinger. I have a disfigurement on my left hand that would impede my use of the prop to do it between the fingers, so I'd lack the balance I have now.

Actually, I tried it out out of curiousity. Either I have absolutely awesomely flawless technique with the thumb & forefinger version or you and I have such vastly different morphology as to make all the difference, Zorba! I might have students try out those variants until they find what works for them. Thanks. I never even considered it!

 

[Daimona]

I've done various versions of holding the cane in my career.
The forefinger middle finger version may be easier because you spend less energy on holding on to it, plus you don't need the wrist to be as flexible as necessary with the thumb forefinger grip and you could easily use the fingers and hand to adjust and make the cane twirl the way you want. The downside is that it is easier to loose to control (at least for me, as I usually prefer to dance with quite heavy sticks) than with the thumb and forefinger grip.

(I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm just very tired at the moment and really shouldn't be up typing anything...)

 

[Shanazel]

I rest the cane deep in the web between my thumb and forefinger and keep my hand open while twirling except for a gentle tap with the tips of my other fingers to keep the assaya in motion. I'm unlikely to change my grip after almost four decades but it is an interesting variation. My current method has the advantage of not requiring a lot of hand strength or dexterity, both of which have decreased as my hands become, ahem, older.

 

[Zorba]

The immediate problem I can see with the 'between the fingers' approach is that it may make twirling easier, but I imagine it would make transitioning between twirling and doing other things with the cane more difficult?

It hasn't been a problem - THUS FAR - for the all of 45 minutes I've done it! And it seems to be easy enough to transition between the two holds - but I'm still figuring this out. I'd never seen it before either, which is why I bring it up here. Another factoid: I dance with the lightest canes I can get - I don't like heavy! My "regular" cane is balsa wood, although bamboo is pretty good too. This may explain why this seems to work for me.

 

[Zorba]

I've done various versions of holding the cane in my career.
The forefinger middle finger version may be easier because you spend less energy on holding on to it, plus you don't need the wrist to be as flexible as necessary with the thumb forefinger grip and you could easily use the fingers and hand to adjust and make the cane twirl the way you want. The downside is that it is easier to loose to control (at least for me, as I usually prefer to dance with quite heavy sticks) than with the thumb and forefinger grip.

(I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm just very tired at the moment and really shouldn't be up typing anything...)

It actually makes total sense - my wrist will only bend back about sixty degrees, which requires my arm to move to compensate to keep the cane twirling straight (in the normal thumb/forefinger hold). I know some people can back bend their wrists approaching ninety degrees, which would help methinks. As above, my canes are very light, so losing it isn't as much of a consideration.

Anyway, that's my over analyzed thoughts on it at this particular moment in time. That may change!

 

[Daimona]

It actually makes total sense - my wrist will only bend back about sixty degrees, which requires my arm to move to compensate to keep the cane twirling straight (in the normal thumb/forefinger hold). I know some people can back bend their wrists approaching ninety degrees, which would help methinks. As above, my canes are very light, so losing it isn't as much of a consideration.

Good. Yes, I understand your troubles of getting flat circles if your wrist only bend back about sixty degrees. It is a common problem as far as I've seen. I realized this could be a problem for dancers learning to twirl a cane/stick when I started working with two sticks and my left wrist was a bit stiffer (app. 75 degrees) than my right (app. 80 degrees).

 

[Zorba]

One of my dance sisters in this same class tried double cane the other nite - and she did it like she'd been doing it for years!

I'm hopeless with my left hand.

 

[Shanazel]

All this talk about caning is liable to get us on some dicey sites...

 

[Kashmir]

I learnt resting it in the crook between thumb and finger and only closing the hand for a split second ie the hand is loose/relaxed for most of the time. (This technique seems to be standard in Egyptian folklore)

 

[Roshanna]

Another factoid: I dance with the lightest canes I can get - I don't like heavy! My "regular" cane is balsa wood, although bamboo is pretty good too. This may explain why this seems to work for me.

Ah, that might be the difference then. I like to dance with the heaviest sticks I can get my hands on (and also the longest, since I'm tall, and standard size ones tend to cause me problems if I want to rest one end on the floor or hit it on the floor), and feel really wrong trying to dance with a very thin/light one, because I am used to using the weight/momentum of the stick to get it to move in a certain way.

 

[Zorba]

I learnt resting it in the crook between thumb and finger and only closing the hand for a split second ie the hand is loose/relaxed for most of the time. (This technique seems to be standard in Egyptian folklore)

That's it exactly - what I learned as well.

 

[Zorba]

Ah, that might be the difference then. I like to dance with the heaviest sticks I can get my hands on (and also the longest, since I'm tall, and standard size ones tend to cause me problems if I want to rest one end on the floor or hit it on the floor), and feel really wrong trying to dance with a very thin/light one, because I am used to using the weight/momentum of the stick to get it to move in a certain way.

I know quite a few dancers who like heavier sticks/canes - personal pref and all that!

Heavy makes my hand tired and sore rather quickly. In fact, the folkloric troupe I'm in has a (straight) stick dance. Everyone's using 3/4", 4 foot long wooden dowels that are QUITE heavy. After trying this for awhile, I finally found a place in Colorado that would make me a 4 foot BALSA dowel 5/8" in diameter - it cost me a fortune but I'm not complaining! Aaaaaah! So much better...

My cane is also 5/8" diameter balsa - apparently you can't find/buy these anymore. Its really too short for me, but given its provenance (It used to belong to Nadia Gamal!), I "deal with it".

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I love this topic. Cane ANYTHING is my passion. As far as which fingers to twirl with, I don't think it's a written law that you use the standard thumb and forefinger but what works best. Cane dancing is like twirling a baton. When I was growing up we were told to use the "right" fingers while learning but after we got it, we could use what worked best as long as we remembered the beginnings.

I'd love to use cane with both hands too someday. I just love the look of the whole shebang.

 

[Shanazel]

I learned to use both hands at the same time. Used to practice at night by walking up and down the road in the dark twirling a cane in each hand or switching a single cane back and forth. Kept me from whacking lamps, cats, and china thingies on the fireplace mantle.

 

[Zorba]

I learned to use both hands at the same time. Used to practice at night by walking up and down the road in the dark twirling a cane in each hand or switching a single cane back and forth. Kept me from whacking lamps, cats, and china thingies on the fireplace mantle.

Snort! Cool beans.

 

[Shanazel]

Never had any problem with thugs, pickpockets, and mashers on those evenings, either.

 

[Jeanne]

Hey Zorba, maybe I'm being dense, but I'm having trouble visualizing how the thumb and forefinger technique works. I occasionally use thumb and finger for twirling overhead, which I don't do very much because it feels very clumsy to me -- so I wonder if what you're referring to is something different. I know it's hard to put these things into words, but could you try to describe the technique?

 

[Zorba]

I tried to find a picture online, but failed. At about 0:50 in this video:

[video=youtube;YkeSlUKr1GE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkeSlUKr1GE[/video]

Its the way I, and pretty much everybody else, has been taught.