Circular Eli Hops is one of the hardest tricks I learned. It’s one of those tricks where its not the technical execution of the trick, but the feel and accuracy of it. Boingy Boing is also classified under these tricks. I couldn’t find any real explanation or tutorial on the trick, instead all I found were many videos showing people doing Circular Eli Hops but not explaining it. So I decided that for a full week I was going to practice Circular Eli Hops until I got it to a point were I could get it 6/10 times. The week is over and I’d say I can get it close to that, but I need to practice more. However I did learn how to do it and though it would be nice to share the tips I learned to do so.
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It important to know how to do Eli Hops first. Yeah…
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It is also important to know everything that is going on while doing Circular Eli Hops. Look at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwbEul4GvgY
Yeah, the video is in Spanish PORTUGUESE. So if you do understand what he is saying, GREAT! But if you don’t, like me, pay close attention to the yoyo, string, and his body.
Note how his body turns around 360 degrees for the full trick. That means that halfway through the trick his body is opposite of how he originally started. Practice doing that motion with your body without the yoyo. Got it? Lets continue…
Now notice how (especially when upside down) his Eli Hops are very small. I made a mistake when I was starting out. My Hops were very drastic and overdone. Smaller hops gives you more stability and its easier to land. Practice small Eli Hops a few times to get the hang of it.
The next thing I want you to notice is with the hands. I’m not sure if this helps too much. For me it didn’t make too much of a difference, but for you it may. When he is doing Eli Hops, both of his hand move closer together. When I usually do Eli hops, its only my non-throw hand that is moving. Try this to see if it help. -
Alright, now time to start practicing Circular Eli Hops.
This is a trick that has a certain feel for it. So what I want you to do is attempt the trick over and over again. Get a feel for it using the tips from above. I just want you to understand how it feels when attempting this trick. (Im sure you already have, but this is important)
Now for some tips to apply to you Circular Eli Hops that I’ve discovered: -
You have probably noticed that there is a point in where you end up missing the string or are unable to do Eli Hops. This is because you don’t have the feel for that spot yet. To help you get that feel, try progressive hops. Progressive hops are when you start your Circular Eli Hops, but as you go around you stop at a point and continue to do Eli Hops (not moving your body) at that point for a while. Once you have done a few hops you continue a small bit around, stop, and continue to do hops. Keep going until you mess up and have to restart. It is important to note that even if you miss that you can keep trying to do Eli Hops at that point in which you messed up, you don’t have to start all over again. This should be a daily routing when trying to learn Circular Eli Hops.
Another tip I learned is that you need to keep your body moving. If you stop or go very slowly you’ll most likely end up losing your “groove” and miss. Try to keep your body going around when attempting the trick. This of course is contradictory to Progressive Eli Hops, but Progressive is meant to help you do Eli Hops at different points in the “circle”. This tip is to help you when you are trying to do the trick for real.
Make sure the yoyo is parallel to you string at all times. If your hops are causing the yoyo to go out sideways, then you are doing it wrong and probably will miss most of the time. When you are doing regular Eli Hops, the yoyo is hopping parallel to the string. The yoyo doesn’t move up and to the side (unless you are trying to do this, which is an actual trick).
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n636/ProtegeKei/Circular.png
Very bad picture, is very bad. If you look above you’ll see that from an areal view, the top example is how your hops should look. The bottom one is not. It should look like this throughout the whole trick. Green “stick” represents finger
My last 2 tips I can say is to look at where your hands are. Yes on your arm, but when you are doing the trick. Now compare it to the guy in the video. Hand positioning may differ from person to person, but try to experiment and see if that helps. Also instead of doing your hops and hoping it lands on the string, actually try to guide the yoyo and string to meet each other. I overlooked this so much. When I actually tried to land my eli hops, my rate of succession was doubled.
Lastly, it all comes down to practice. Set aside a week (or two) to practice this trick, but remember this is supposed to be fun. When you are getting frustrated, you can either practice more and know that this is the only way you’ll get better, or take a break and settle your mind with some other tricks. Have fun and keep trying. Trust me, its worth it.
