I recently started to get into some basic unresponsive tricks, and have had decent success on some tricks! On the other hand, a lot of them have been INSANELY hard.
1: Double or Nothing. Whenever I try to do it, I almost always land on multiple or even all of the strings and I have no clue how to stop it!
2: Man on the Flying Trapeze and his Brother. I can do the GT version of it perfectly fine, but whenever I try to do it normally, I have the same problem with Double or Nothing and land on multiple strings.
3: (Throwing Into) Split Bottom Mount. I can get into the mount when I let the yo-yo sleep, get into position, and then do the motion. But doing it all in one smooth motion has been pretty tough for me.
4: Plastic Whip. This trick is absolutely terrifying to me. I have a hard time properly forming the slack, and even when I do, I either have a hard time getting into the string, or the slack just doesn’t move. I swear this trick actually hates me
I had the same problem when I was learning Double or nothing. The best advice I have is to learn it on a slim responsive yo-yo. The trick and motion of it is pretty easy as I’m sure you’ve felt but accuracy is something that comes with time and patience. The same goes for the split bottom. If you keep trying you will get it in time!
I learned how to do these on a very slim imperial shape and now it happens without even looking!
although learning tricks on a slim responsive yoyo would indeed force you to be more accurate, I wouldn’t say at all that would make it easier.
For doub nothin just try and layer the strings apart from each other on your knuckles from inside to outside as you wrap around. Like start your first wrap close tucked inside you nth index, and then by the time it is wrapping around that same finger again, just aim to wrap around more the tip of your finger. Spread them strings out!
Do not be afraid of “ plastic whip “ it is worth every second of fear when you land it. I would call it a one handed whip trick like “ gun slinger “ but front style… you can bind out if the mount once you have landed it. Once you have it down, It is a crowd pleaser…
You do a plastic whip… people watching are like “ what just happened “
Give them 3 seconds while it spins, to try and figure it out, and 3 bind watch the yo-yo novice’s brain melt a bit. Then they want to see it again. I do the “ gun slinger “ next.
( I mean novice in the sense that they do not understand what is happening, I have been there. )
Hope you get them all down soon
Everyone have a great week
Keep practicing and watch different videos of people teaching the tricks. Watch in slow motion. Listen to the advice in the tutorials if there’s any suggestions on making it easier or dealing with problems that come up. For most tricks like Double Or Nothing, as mentioned above by Threadkeeper, you’ll need to pay attention to where you let the string sit on your fingers so you maintain the separation you want and can more easily catch the yoyo on the string you want to. Like with learning to play music, it seems like time and attention are the only route to improvement. You’ll find that you get lucky on some tricks that you just get the first try (plastic whip was one of those for me), but most will be a grinds of varying duration.
Also if you look at @Threadkeeper ’s photo, notice how they have the string gripped by the middle, ring and pinky fingers. This way of holding the string also helps open up more space. It’s good to get used to grabbing the string like that right off a breakaway. In general, just bully the string segments you don’t want to land on out of the way. Use your thumbs annd other fingers as well as the placement of the string on your hands to do that.
This is key I think. While the string is wrapping around my non-throwhand pointer off the breakaway, my three fingers below the pointer are grabbing the string and closing against my palm. You should never land on all the strings if you do that.
Don’t treat the instructions as immutable. You can play around with slightly different techniques if they help you do the tricks. There are other cases, where the changes might make the trick different, but i wouldn’t worry to much about that in the beginning. Even if you practice a more complicated trick by omitting a particularly difficult part, you can come back later and add it back.
Alright, now I understand 1 & 2, but I still need a wee bit of help. I understand that I need to move the string out of the way by aiming it or moving the strings, but I still don’t know how to do it. Could do someone help with this (Preferably videoed since I have a bit of trouble with instructions only being visible)? Sorry in advance if this is a dumb question.
Also, one last thing, I need some more plastic whip advice! I’ve barely seen any of it, and it’s the one I’ve been struggling with the most!
Okay here’s a slowmo of plastic whip and Don. The thing about whips like plastic whip is you can just whip the string around while the Yoyo is in the air. You pull up and it takes all the pressure off the string and you’re free to whip it around. Then just whip it around your finger and under the Yoyo.
There is also a double or nothing clip where you can see how I grab the string with my throw hand and use the nth thumb to open up space. My tips from that other post apply here also. Try to pull the Yoyo onto the string vs just trying swing it and land it. Also try to get the Yoyo close to your finger and you’ll be less likely to miss.
