Q&A: Making sure thread the needle is smooth both ways

Refine Thread The Needle so it stays smooth in both directions by rebuilding the entry with slow, controlled timing. Nick Woolsey focuses on the lead-up in same-time backwards spinning, bringing the poi together gradually and tracking which head is on top as the other ‘chases’ underneath to avoid collisions and tangles.

You’ll drill alternating left-under/right-under pathways without relying on crossing the hands, then scale up from larger circles to smaller, full-length poi patterns. The goal is clean pathway awareness, relaxed control through the close pass, and balancing your weaker side by giving it extra reps.