# just starting... **URL:** \ **Category:** Spin Tops\ **Created:** [May 6, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241 "2013-05-06T21:37:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JeffreyKnox](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/jeffreyknox/32/1143_2.png) [@JeffreyKnox](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/JeffreyKnox)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241/1 "2013-05-06T21:37:04Z")
Hey guys! I just started spin top. I was given one by Joel Norris at Kansas States. I’m having a lot of trouble just throwing. Not sure how to throw it. I know how to hold it. Just not throw it. Any help will be greatly appreciated. thanks! Jeff ---
**Author:** ![kevinm](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/kevinm/32/697_2.png) [@kevinm](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/kevinm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241/2 "2013-05-06T23:14:04Z")
Hey Jeff, You will get the feel for it soon. The above sticky about how to get started w/spin tops is about as good as it gets for starter tips. I would just add that you might want to put some barriers up around where you throw, because you will be chasing the top for a while :wink: ---
**Author:** ![YodaGuy5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f0a364/32.png) [@YodaGuy5](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/YodaGuy5)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241/3 "2013-05-07T18:55:24Z")
Hey Jeffrey, It’s great you got one this weekend. I’m glad I got up there and competed. It just takes a ton of practice. Like Kevin said that stickys here really help. I would find Chris Neff’s channel on youtube also and watch the Duncan How to be a Player Vol 2 video(some of the info is wrong it was made in like 2001). Adam Brewster and I found it easier and more satisfying to skip straight to Boomerang when learning tops. If Joel gave you a top one of the advantages you may have over most newbies is your string should be the correct length. I finally got Boomerang while watching Revenge of the Sith, I don’t know if this will help you are not. Depends what side of the force you draw your power. ---
**Author:** ![FiveIronBrian](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/fiveironbrian/32/451_2.png) [@FiveIronBrian](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/FiveIronBrian)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241/4 "2013-05-07T19:47:56Z")
Yep, lot of great tips in the sticky. This is what works for me: start with the tip straight up, throw down and across your body. It’s mostly across, a little down. I found it really helped to start the throwing motion before releasing the top. I learned boomerang first too. Play over carpet, because sometimes it will unravel and bang, hit the floor. If it just unravels rather than unwinds, your motion is probably not quite downward enough or you’re releasing with the tip not straight up; the throw is toward the tip too much. Make sure the crown is taped. I think you’ll love spin tops, just stick with it. Whadja get? ---
**Author:** ![JeffreyKnox](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/jeffreyknox/32/1143_2.png) [@JeffreyKnox](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/JeffreyKnox)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241/5 "2013-05-07T20:26:06Z")
Thanks everyone! And I got a Duncan bearing king. I’ve almost got the throw down! ---
**Author:** ![YodaGuy5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f0a364/32.png) [@YodaGuy5](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/YodaGuy5)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/just-starting/53241/6 "2013-05-07T20:42:25Z")
Is it Neff modded or a stock bearing king? If it’s stock use some electrical tap around the rim. Neff has a video somewhere around here and on his website and youtube. If it was modded it should have a plastic pop/soda bottle around it and a hole in the top rather than a crown with a spot for a rip starter. Just make sure the string is the right size. “Before you start, tape your top! Some two-peice tops break easy if you don’t tape where the crown meets the body. The Duncan Rip Cord and Bearing King are especially fragile at this joint. Get some electrical tape and wrap the tape so the seam is going with the flow - if you throw right handed, hold the end of the tape under your left thumb with the point of the top pointing away from you, wraping the tape to the right. Wrap it twice and cut at the same spot where it begins to have minimal effect on balance. Don’t pull to tight, the tape will stretch back - only pull hard enough for the tape to lie flat on the surface with no ruffles.” "String length The “correct” string length is not based on the size of the person throwing it, it is based on the size and weight distribution of the top and the thickness of the string being used. Sometimes manufacturers supply string that is too long or too short making it difficult for a beginner to… begin. IMO, most tops fit in one of the two minimum sizes listed below. 60" regular string: Duncan Imperial Spintastics Sidewinder / Gladiator / Blizzard Yo Yo Jam Bulldog / Top Dog Yo Yo Factory Acrobat Strummol8 STB 2.0 64" thicker string: Duncan Bearing King / Rip Cord Spintastics Trompo Ggrande / Trompo Bearing Strummol8 Giulia Strummol8 Titi / Sophia"