Whipping

This is more a technique to get the diabolo spinning quicker than a trick, but it does look fairly impressive if done well.

 

By flicking your wrist, move the tip of the right handstick outwards, making the diabolo move out to the right.

When the diabolo is as far out to the right as it goes, bring the right handstick back

across your body, again flicking your wrist, ending with your arms crossed.

 

When the diabolo is as far to the left as it goes, uncross your arms, moving the diabolo back over to the right.

 

Repeat the procedure, making the diabolo travel backwards and forwards in a line. To prevent the diabolo tilting, alternate the way you cross your arms when bringing the handstick back in, i.e. right arm over left, left arm over right.

Neck Bounce

Move so that you are facing the diabolo from the side. Holding the left handstick lower than the right, bring the string around the back of the neck and hold both handsticks in front of you pointing upwards. (see below)

Keeping the length of both strings equal, throw the diabolo from one side to the other. The throws need only be about 3 or 4 inches high. To get out of this, just reverse, making sure that the dia­bolo is on the side of the string it started on, bringing the right hands tick back around the neck.

 

Around the World from the Arm

This is a very impressive trick and fits in well with other "around the arm" tricks.

 

Wrap the string around the right arm. Throw the diabolo straight up about four inches. Quickly bring the string down over the diabolo using the left hands tick. Let the diabolo swing round over the arm, leaving your left hand in your right armpit. The diabolo should be hanging in the crook of your right arm.

Throw the diabolo by straightening your right arm.

 

Chinese Whipping

This is a more advanced technique for speeding up the diabolo. This works best when the diabolo is spinning fairly slowly.

 

With the right handstick, wrap the string around the far bell of the diabolo, as if you were going to perform "climbing the string." Using your wrist, flick the diabolo quickly up and to the left. Let the diabolo fall down on the left side of the left handstick to unwrap the string.

Tip: This takes a bit of practice but can work very well. It is easier if you are facing the diabolo from the side, so that you flick it up and away from you. With practice you can also do this a number of times without the string being unwrapped.

 

Two or More: The Theory

Two diabolos on one string is very impressive and opens up a whole new world

of tricks, which is only starting to be explored.

 

The theory is that the two diabolos circle each other and pick up spin from falling down the string. It is similar to having a diabolo going around your leg or arm - it picks up spin as it goes around.

Two or More: The Practice

However you start off with two diabolos ­ there are three different methods mentioned in this book - the way of keeping them going around is the same.

 

With two diabolos, most of the move­ment is done by the right hand. As a diabolo lands on the string, it is gently "pushed down" using the right hand. The handstick does not actually touch the diabolo though. The left hand controls the throw across the gap, but you do not actually use it to throw across, the diabolo will do that by itself.

 

This means that you will get a fairly large circle, which is easier to control.

It's all very well having this written here. When you get around to trying two, things happen quickly and you usually panic. The main thing is to relax and try and feel the rhythm of the diabolos going around. Once you get that you can worry about the finer points.