Chopsticks and yoyo size question

Alright, so I seen a couple of awsome tricks recently that involve the trick “chopsticks”. My problem is that I cannot seem to land it in between my fingers, I either miss or it hits my fingers. I know it takes practice, but is there a possibility that my yoyo may be too big for me? I can’t even perform chopsticks using my thumb and middle finger and I see other people doing with just index and thumb.

So… at the start of what Size does a yoyo become considered to be “Oversized” (in mm measurements by Diameter) what measurement does it become considered “Undersized”?

I personally find oversized above 56mm

Under 54mm is undersized
54-56mm is normal sized
Above 56mm is oversized

I’m on the same page as n00bbeginner here regarding sizes, but at the same time you’ll find the size classes vary among players too.

It’s a lot of practice. I practiced on an undersized yoyo and once you get better at landing it you should be able to do it easier on a larger yoyo. Once I got it down with a 50mm I was able to do it on a 54mm yoyo and after a bit 56mm was pretty easy too.

Good luck! :slight_smile:

I agree with the practicing with a smaller yoyo to an extent… but i dont think it matters too much… If you can reach your fingers around the yoyo normally you can do chopsticks with it. Chopsticks take A LOT of practice. It is not a type of trick where you can learn it in one day, took me a month or two to get half decent at it and im still getting better at it now. At first i could barely do it with a markmont next… now i can do it with big yoyos like the h5xchief. Usually people say practice… but for real… practice practice practice. Chop sticks are hard yet extremely fun.

Size of the YoYo rarely matters. It’s all in the string and finger positioning. Some protips.
Instead of using just your index finger, try using your other fingers to loop the string around. When I first started using this method, I had my index and middle finger in the string, but as I grew as a player, I had my ring finger in there as well. Another way to prevent the string around your fingers to slip around is incorporate the PINCH. Kind of difficult for me to explain, but all you really do is use the finger that isn’t wrapped around the string to PINCH where it makes contact on your adjacent finger. For example, string is wrapped around index and middle finger, use your ring finger to practically hold the string. Of course, you’re not going to pinch at all times, but it helps hold that slack in place. Over time, you’ll be able to control when to pinch. This is all non throwhand by the way.
Imagine yourself holding a box of cereal with your non throwhand. Make that two boxes. You want to train your fingers to hold that position. Build some muscles. As you do chopsticks, you might notice string slipping into your knuckles. This method prevents that. By holding the box, you’re essentially keeping that wrap as close to your fingertips as you can. Remember, right angles are your friend, the straighter your index fingers are, the more slipping into the knuckle you’re going to get. Slipping back is going to get that string in your way, you’re going to want to move it as far away as you can. HOLD THE BOX. Again, this is very difficult to explain through plain text.
Last but not least, shorten your string. Not saying to physically cut your string, but grab part of it with your throwhand. The more control you have, the smoother your chopsticks are going to be. Longer strings tend to make tricks look wonky.

I’m not going to say these tips are endorsed by everyone, they’re just things I’ve been using ever since I started venturing into the world of chopsticks. I hope this wall of text benefits your trick endeavors.

MORE FINGERS
PINCH
HOLD THE BOX
SHORTEN STRING

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^ From the master himself

Thank you very much, but I am no master.

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well… definitely one of my favorite players, and definitely one of the best at chopsticks.

size definitely doesn’t matter, I’ve done chopsticks with a big yo before. (once, just to see if I could)
but undersized throws are typically better for it. Which is probably the main reason why the markmont is undersized.

I generally just consider anything under 54mm to be undersized, and anything at or above to be oversized. With exceptions of course, like 4a yoyos would be in their own category, as would things like mighty fleas/aoda littles.

Personally i find my two hands smaller than boys at my age and i used to think i can only do chopsticks with undersized yoyo. Now i can only feel comfortable doing it with full sized yoyos
Unless you have you have some kind of baby hands size shouldn’t be a matter for you IMO, practice is :smiley:

When I first began doing chopstick like tricks, I felt the same way. As i got better at Chopsticks I found that the size of the yoyo no longer mattered