Ultimate Diabolo Trick Guide

Simple Throw

Start the Diablo going fairly quickly. Then sharply pull your arms apart. The Diablo should shoot up off the string into the air. It is important that you keep your hands at the same height, otherwise the Diablo may not go straight up.

Now the hard part. To catch the Diabolo, aim your right handstick at it with the string tight. This way, you can look straight at it making it easier to catch. Line it up so the Diablo hits your string almost at the top, where it meets your handstick. When the Diablo does hit the string, let it go slack slightly, just enough to stop it bouncing. Then let it roll gently down. Congratulations, you've done your first trick!

Over the Leg

Ahhhh, throwing you in at the deep end here. Start the Diabolo going fairly quickly. Then lower the string slightly and put your right leg on the string about a third of the way down with the Diabolo on the left. Then quickly raise your right handstick. The Diablo should go over your leg onto the string on the other side. The weight of the Diabolo should bring down below your leg, ready to be thrown again. The best part of this trick is that iti s a Driving trick. The Diablo speeds up instead of slowing down during this trick, so you can keep repeating without having to get it going again!

Around the World (with a stopover)

Not much of a trick in itself, but is the beginnings of many. First, move your right handstick forward slightly. Then swing the Diabolo to the right, up round the handstick. You should be aiming to land the Diabolo on the string. To get out of this, swing the Diabolo up over the handstick.

You can also try repeating, but the string will tighten on the Diabolo and may snag, and you'll run out of string after three (usually). You can even swing it to the left, and then to the right. Go ahead, experiment, but you must do the opposite to what you did to get into it, to get out of it.

You are now ready to start tackling the other tricks. You can do them in any order, but they are set out in a fairly sensible manner.

Whipping

Whipping is most definately a required techniqe. It is the best way to speed up the Diabolo. One thing to note is that the right hand and arm do nearly all the work in this 'trick'.

Begin with a gentle swing of the Diabolo to the right. Once it has gone as far as possible, 'whip' it over to the your left by pulling your right arm in and pointing the handstick to the left.

As the Diabolo rolls past in front of you, bring your left arm inwards so your handsticks (if not arms) cross. This should be times so your hands meet just as the Diabolo reaches it's limit on the left.

Now pull your right hand to the right and point (to the right) with the handstick. It is vitally important that you don't try and whi[ the Diabolo back otherwise you'll slow it down again. Instead, just let it roll to the right.Then once it has gone as far as possible, whip to the left again.

One thing to remember is to alternate which hands goes over which when they cross. If you keep repoeating the same (usually right under left) the Diabolo will tilt and fall off

.