Hard

Punching Bag

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Like Hop The Fence, but straight out in front of you.  Yo-yos must stay above your waist.

Snap Wind

Monday, February 6th, 2006

Basically, all you are doing is turning the yo-yo with your thumb and fingers.  The reason this is the Snap Wind, is that once you get good at it, you can put enough force into it to wind the yo-yo AND snap your fingers.  For many players this is what sets the serious players apart from the beginners.

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

Bow and Arow Mount

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

Boingy Boingy

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Start with a Split Bottom Mount. Move your throwing hand up and your other hand down. Many players will tell you that the boingy motion is achieved by moving your throwing hand straight up and down with no front-to-back motion at all. Some players will tell you that there is an extremely slight forward motion of the top hand when the yo-yo boings forward. Try both methods out and see what works best for you.

Tips:
- this trick takes an immense amount of practice. You can do it, but to make it look smooth will take a long time, so keep at it.
- It is a little easier when you are learning if your throwing hand is not directly above your non-throw hand. Keep your throw hand back a little bit so that the yo-yo is boinging upward at a bit of an angle. Then when you get comfortable straighten it out so Steve Brown won�t make fun of you. ;)

Cattle Crossing

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Milk The Cow, but where the paths of the yo-yos cross.

Cattle Crossing (behind the back)

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

See Cattle Crossing, and then the name says it all.

Punching Bag

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Like Mile The Cow, but straight out in front of you.  Yo-yos must stay above your waist.

Spread Eagle Loops

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Two-handed Inside Loops with arms outstretched.

Spread Eagle Warp Drive

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Two-handed Warp Drive with arms outstretched.

Vertical Punches

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Milk the Cow done straight up into the air.

Vertical Punches (Inside/ Outside)

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Milk the Cow done straight up into the air with the yo-yos going alternately on the inside and the outside of your wrists.

Rock the Alien Baby

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Do the Flying Saucer, quickly make a cradle with the string, and rock the saucer through the cradle before it stops spinning.  Almost always gets tangled.

Eli Hops (behind back)

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

See Eli Hops, and then make it WAY harder by doing them behind your back.

Mach 5

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Start with a Split Bottom Mount.  Then take your non-yo-yo hand (the left hand for right-handed players) and move it forward and down in a circle that goes under the yo-yo, continues the circle over, and then goes back under the yo-yo again.  Stop your hand underneath the yo-yo.  Now rotate both hands around the yo-yo so that it stays in the same spot.  You are doing Mach 5.

To get out, stop your rotation with your yo-yo hand nearest to your chest.  Bring both hands together, and drop the string off your yo-yo hand (the right hand for right-handed players).  Bring your non-yo-yo hand down and let the yo-yo dismount off the string toward you.

Tips:
- use an unresponsive yo-yo
- throw hard, you will need a lot of spin time for this one.

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

Robin Hood

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

by Chris Mulhall (aka “Sideshow”)

The start is the same as Double or Nothing, but instead of catching the yo-yo on the string the second time around, you want to sneak it in between the thumb and first finger of your free hand just before you would normally do a double or nothing catch.

Tips:
- Be careful to land the string as far out on your thumb and first finger as possible to make room for the yo-yo.
- At first, it is much easier to do this trick if you rotate your hands so that your free hand is above your dominant hand for the catch.  Besides, that’s the way many real archers pull back their bows anyway.

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

Shockwave (Modified)

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Watch the video a bunch of times, then follow the tips.

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

Tips:
- Keep your thumb pointing straight out at a 90-degree angle, and pulling back to keep tension on the string.
- Try to hit the string as far out toward the tip of your first finger on your dominant hand as possible. These first two tips together will ensure maximum spread of the strings for the second landing on the string.
- When flipping the yo-yo over your dominant hand it is important that it not go any higher than the tip of your thumb. If the yo-yo goes too high, the string won’t pop off like it’s supposed to.

Shoot the Moon

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

Start by doing a forward pass upward at about a 45-degree angle with your hand up in the air above shoulder height.  As the yo-yo comes back toward your hand, flick your wrist to push the yo-yo upward and almost vertical (about a 15 degree angle) behind you.  When the yo-yo comes back to your hand again, push it forward into another 45-degree angle forward pass.

Tips:

- Make sure your first throw is up at an angle, not straight out or down
- The first push (when you push the yo-yo up) takes more force than the second push (when the yo-yo is going out).
- Some people find it easiest to keep their wrist locked, and only move their arm back slightly for the first (upward) push, and flick their wrist only for the second (outward) push.
- Unlike with continuous Loops the yo-yo should not flip over when you do Shoot the Moon.  If you use a yo-yo with different color sides the colors should always stay on the same side while you do the trick.

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie

Suicide

Thursday, January 15th, 2004

This trick looks deceivingly simple. It’s not.  Start with a Trapeze. Then swing the yo-yo sideways toward your dominant hand, let go of the loop of string on your free hand, allow the loop and the yo-yo to swing over your dominant hand, then stick the first finger of your free hand back into the trapeze loop when it swings back around.

Tips:
- First of all you need a very unresponsive yo-yo.  If you try to use a responsive one it will catch and wind back up when you do this trick.
- Be certain that your string is adjusted to be completely neutral.  This trick is nearly impossible if the trapeze loop gets all twisted up on the way around your dominant hand.
- Make sure you have good lighting.  For real.  It’s surprising how much of a difference this makes.  If you can’t see the loop of string well, it will be much harder to catch it on your finger.  Light coming from behind you works well.
- When you swing the yo-yo around your hand, release it so that it flies almost straight up, in a slow, gentle arc.  Follow the yo-yo a little bit with your dominant hand so that you maintain the shape of the loop while it’s in the air, and you aren’t accidentally pulling it closed in transit.
- When first learning, stick all five fingers on your free hand out to improve your chances of catching the string on one of them.  You only have to use your first finger for contests and coolness.
- This is a trick that will benefit from serious repetition, and lots of practice.

Quick Time Logo
Click Here to View the QuickTime Movie