Chopsticks

Devil Sticks originated in China. A natural variation is to emulate another great Chinese invention, chopsticks. While the grip used is not identical, the similarity of using two slender sticks in one hand to manipulate other objects is too great to not call this move chopsticks.

 

With your palms up hold both handsticks in one hand so they cross at a point just over your palm. The cross point should be about two inches from the near ends of the hand­sticks. The outer hands tick is on the bottom, being held between the thumb and base of the forefinger. The thumb and forefinger brace the inner (top) handstick, while the other three fingers wrap around both sticks. This grip provides a rigid V-span in which to work the center stick.

 

Start by resting the center stick on the hor­izontal handsticks with your palm up. Flick the center stick up, pull your hand back, and reinsert the handsticks around the center stick with your palm now facing the inside. Gently rock the center stick back and forth by rotating your wrist.

 

The hands ticks trap the center stick around the mid-point as in trapping. Rotate your wrist to change the hands tick positions. Be careful now, some people want to rotate their wrist the wrong way. Alternately point your palm up and then to the inside, not the outside. The motion should not feel strained at all. Think of winding a self-winding wristwatch. The hands ticks stay almost horizontal throughout the entire cycle. The wrist rotation should be just enough to lean the center stick over the other way. Once it is flicked, you are through rotating your wrist that direction. Reverse the direction of your wrist to again meet the center stick.

 

The open "V" of the chopsticks grip tends to send the center stick forward and into a helicopter spin. Somehow my hands learned how to straighten out this spin without informing my brain. Most people make this adjustment fairly easily through trial and error, just keep at it.

 

You like the chopsticks style of Devil Sticking? Try some flips and half-flips. Pull your hand back out of the wall plane to clear the center stick as it spins, and reinsert back into the plane to make the catch.

 

 rollovers is that of a taffy machine with the Devil Stick being the piece of taffy:

 

The Devil Stick is mostly trapped between the two handsticks, which keeps it from falling. The lift comes from the near handstick, from horizon to about sixty degrees.

Rollovers can be done in either direction. To switch directions, have your hands pedal backward instead of forward. Whichever way you're headed, remember to watch out for your chin.

 

Balancing

Invariably, people who spend time with the Devil Stick learn balance tricks. The long, ta­pering dimensions of the center stick make this an ideal balancing prop. The contrast between the constant motion while Devil Sticking and the absolute stillness while balancing provides a nice range of skills.

 

The most important point to remember while balancing is to watch the top. Everything

else will fall into place (actually stay in place, which is more desirable) with a little practice. All the following explanations are given to jus­tify one point, watch the top.

 

The Goal of Balancing

What happens when you are balancing is that the center stick starts to lean over and you make a precise adjustment to bring the bottom under the top to keep it vertical. It begins to lean over again, and you make another adjustment to bring the bottom back under the top, and so on. Instead of keeping the Devil Stick absolutely stationary, you are constantly stopping it from falling and correcting back to vertical again, over and over. The trick is to make these ad­justments so quickly and precisely that you are the only one who notices the movement. The illusion to others is that the stick is always per­fectly still. Make very small, quick corrections to maintain the balance and no one will detect you are out of control for the majority of time.

 

Watch the Top

Always watch the top of the object. It is the top that must remain stationary. If the top starts to fall then it will bring the whole stick down with it. The bottom can be moved all over the place to get underneath the falling top in order to keep the Devil Stick vertical.

 

The bottom is connected to the top and is in contact with some part of your body that you can move. Use the bottom as the relay station to control the top. Remember, watch the top, quickly move the bottom under the leaning top to regain a vertical position, and keep the bottom in a horizontal plane.

 

A larger, longer, or heavier object has more mass and will be easier to. keep at rest (main­tain a balance) than a smaller, shorter, or lighter one. A pool cue is easier to balance than the center stick of a Devil Stick set because it has more mass.

 

Also, recall that objects fall from the top down. The more mass or weight there is at the top of the object, the easier it will be to balance. A pool cue with the heavy end up is easier to balance than a pool cue with the light end up.