So, you got your first yoyo.
Now what?
In this video we are going to teach you everything
you need to know to learn tricks like this.
Well, maybe not that exactly, but we will
help you get through all the fundamentals
so that you can start learning famous tricks
like Rock the Baby, and from there you can
move on to some of the most amazing tricks
that have ever been done with a yoyo.
So the first question is, how do you get this
loop on your finger.
Well actually it’s not this finger, in yo-yoing
we use our middle finger, but the answer should
seem obvious.
You just put your finger right into the loop.
But you don’t want to do that, because if
it does not fit tight enough, this could happen.
So here’s what you can do.
Start with this loop at the top of the string,
and then unwrap a couple of inches of string
from the yoyo.
Then you want to take these strings and fold
them over onto themselves so that it creates
another loop.
Take this loop, and you want to feed it right
through this loop at the top of the string,
and then you want to stick your middle finger
into that loop.
Then you can pull it tight.
Here’s a tip: you can see on one side of
the string there are two strings, and on the
other side there is just one.
So what you want to do is you always want
those double strings to be facing your ring
finger, just like that.
So now that the yoyo is on your finger you
are ready to throw it… but not quite yet.
If you hold the yoyo in your hand backwards,
this might happen.
So start with your palm facing up, and what
you want if for the string to be going from
your middle finger over the top of the yoyo,
like this.
That way, when the yoyo is rolled up tight,
it will still be able to roll off your hand
nicely, so you can get a straight throw.
What you don’t want is for the string to
be going from your finger to the bottom of
the yoyo, because that is backwards, and we
know what will happen if we throw it that
way.
Once you have the yoyo on your finger and
you are holding it the right way, you are
ready to learn how to throw.
What you want to do is make a muscle, then
you are going to extend your arm.
As you extend it you are going to let the
yoyo go.
When it gets to the bottom of the string you
turn your hand over give it a little tug,
and then catch it when it comes back up.
The reason you want to throw like this, instead
of just dropping the yoyo, is because you
can get a lot more power, which means a lot
more spin in your throw when you throw it
that way, which means you can do better tricks.
Even with your first throw you may find that
you are immediately running into problems.
The most common problem for new players is
that you hit the ground when you throw it.
If this is happening to you, one thing that
you can do is you can try setting your hand,
your opposite hand, as the same height as
your belly button, and slap your yoyo hand
into it when you throw.
That will keep your yoyo hand from going too
low when you throw it.
If the yoyo still hits the ground when you
throw it that way, that means that your string
is too long for your height, and you need
to adjust it.
We have a video that shows you how to do that,
and you definitely want to check that out.
A second problem is that the yoyo may not
come back up when you pull on it.
The most common reason for this is that you
are not throwing the yoyo hard enough so that
when you tug on the string it is not spinning
fast enough for the string to get caught in
the gap or to wind all the way back up.
The faster a yoyo is spinning, the easier
it is going to be for the yoyo to wind back
up.
If you want to add some more power to your
throw, what you can do is lift your elbow
and then drop it as you throw, and that will
help the yoyo to spin as fast as possible.
The second reason why this might be happening
is you may be tugging the yoyo up wrong.
What you don’t want to do is raise your
whole arm to try to get the yoyo to come back
up because that motion isn’t fast enough.
What you do want to do is give a little flick
with your wrist to try to pop the yoyo up
three or four inches, and that gives the string
enough slack so that the spin of the yoyo
can grab the string and wind the yoyo back
up.
If you are sure that your yoyo is spinning
fast enough, and that you are pulling it up
correctly, but it is still not coming back
you may have gotten what is called an unresponsive
yoyo, and this is especially likely if your
yoyo is made out of metal.
Unresponsive yoyos are designed to never come
back no matter how fast they are spinning
or how you pull them up.
To get an unresponsive yoyo to come back you
need to learn a trick called the Bind.
We have videos that teach you how to bind,
so you are going to want to check those out.
At some point when you are learning how to
yoyo, you are going to need to wind the string
back up.
There are fast ways to do this, and we teach
you how to do that in other videos, but for
now it is not a bad idea to just learn to
wind it in the conventional way.
With a lot of yoyos, if you pull the string
too tight as you try to wind it the string
will just spin around the axle, and the yoyo
won’t wind up.
In most cases you can get the string to wind
if you just start off really lightly, then
eventually you will see it wrap around the
axle and you can wind it all the way up.
If that doesn’t work, there is another technique
you can try.
What you are going to do is put your first
finger over the gap of the yoyo and then take
the string and wind over that finger one time.
Then, lift it up and wind under your finger
three or four times.
You can wind pretty tight because you are
holding the string with this first finger.
You should be able to remove this finger and
wind the yoyo up the rest of the way.
If you can’t wind the yoyo even after that,
you may need to wind under your finger several
more times, until you get it right.
When you are yo-yoing long enough, one of
the things you will encounter is what yoyoers
call string tension and what some new players
call spaghetti string.
Spaghetti string is frustrating because it
can cause all kinds of problems, and it can
make things really frustrating.
There are tricks that are designed to help
you quickly remove string tension, like UFO,
and we have videos on those, and you can check
those out.
If you are a new player, there is a really
easy way to deal with string tension.
What you do is you take the string off your
finger, and you let it hand.
You can see that it naturally untwists itself
and that removes most or all of the tension.
Before you put the yoyo back onto your finger
you want to wind the yoyo back up, because
if you put it back onto your finger first
that will actually add tension back into the
string.
String tension naturally builds up as you
play with a yoyo.
One thing you can do to counteract the string
tension is when you do wind the yoyo back
up, if you wind it in the reverse direction,
so you are actually winding towards yourself,
that will counteract that string tension so
it will be less of a problem.
The biggest problem that string tension can
cause, is that with some yoyos it can actually
keep your yoyo from sleeping.
That is not the only reason why a yoyo might
not sleep, so we made a video that covers
all the different reasons this might happen,
so if your yoyo is not sleeping, you may want
to check that video out.
Another common problem that new players experience
is that when their yoyo sleeps it is tilted
or leaning or it’s crooked.
In no case is this the fault of the yoyo,
even if a yoyo is wildly imbalanced it would
not cause this to happen.
In every case it has to do with how you throw
the yoyo.
If a yoyo is not spinning fast enough it will
have a greater tendency to lean, but in most
cases it just means that your throw is crooked.
If you want to have a straight throw, the
first thing you should do is line up your
shoulder, your elbow, and your wrist, and
that will help keep your throw straight.
A second thing is that a lot of new players
have a tendency to turn their hands over too
quickly.
If you turn your hand over while you throw
the yoyo that will cause it to lean and possibly
even spin out.
If you are having a hard time keeping yourself
from turning your hand over you can use the
technique we showed earlier where you slap
your other hand like that, and that will make
sure that you don’t turn your hand over
while you throw.
Another common problem that comes up is that
as you throw the yoyo your finger will start
to hurt because the string is constantly gripping
it.
What happens over time is your finger will
naturally build up a callus which means that
your skin will get thicker there to protect
your finger, and that will stop it from hurting.
If you just want to keep practicing, and you
don’t want to stop regardless of the pain,
one thing you can do is get yoyo finger wrap
and that will help solve that problem as well.
One more tip to help you avoid some pain:
as your throw improves you will find that
the yoyo comes back faster and faster, and
eventually its slamming into your hand can
really hurt.
To keep that from happening, as the yoyo comes
back to your hand just move your hand away
from the yoyo a little bit, and that will
cushion the blow.
Remember, this is just the beginning.
We have all kinds of tricks on YoYoTricks.com
that you can learn.
If you want to learn on the go you can also
download our app for Apple or Android devices.
Once you have mastered the techniques in this
video, really, the sky’s the limit.