# Skin The Gerbil- Help
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184
**Category:** Yo-Yo Tricks
**Created:** [March 23, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184 "2009-03-23T22:31:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/1 "2009-03-23T22:31:40Z")
So I was learning skin the gerbil, and after I do the swing, the first step, you have to land into a double trapeze right??? But the problem is the string is binding when I do that… Any ideas?
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### Author:  [@Samad](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Samad)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/2 "2009-03-23T22:45:12Z")
Loosen the gap.
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### Author:  [@americanfanclub](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/americanfanclub)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/3 "2009-03-23T22:54:31Z")
loosen the gap 🙂
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/4 "2009-03-23T23:03:18Z")
No… when I do then swing, the yoyo is half way between the strings… or roughly in the middle of the trapeze. When I do a double trapeze???, I need the yoyo to be more on my left, and when I pull it to my left, it binds, and snaps to my hands…
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### Author:  [@Samad](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Samad)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/5 "2009-03-23T23:23:30Z")
> [@Batryn](#):
>
> No… when I do then swing, the yoyo is half way between the strings… or roughly in the middle of the trapeze. When I do a double trapeze???, I need the yoyo to be more on my left, and when I pull it to my left, it binds, and snaps to my hands…
Oh! I think I understand. See if this vid helps.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SASxSB3YbIA)
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/6 "2009-03-23T23:51:32Z")
sorry… but not really ;D I’m trying to move the yoyo from my right side to the left… and it just binds, like you’re trying to bind.
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### Author:  [@knobbemoki1](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/knobbemoki1)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/7 "2009-03-24T00:00:29Z")
don’t let any slack
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/8 "2009-03-24T00:25:37Z")
No… I’m kinda confused about this right now… It’s that after the spin/ backwards braintwister, I need to move the yoyo further to the left to do the double trapeze, but when I move it to the left, it binds.
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### Author:  [@agentsac](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/agentsac)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/9 "2009-03-24T00:33:06Z")
What yo-yo are you using?
If you are trying to land the double-on trapeze closer to your left (i’m assuming non-throwhand) and you get any slack, try moving your throwhand with a quick motion to the right to take up the slack and force the yo-yo down and closer to the left hand. Take it slow at first. Although, I will say that there is nothing wrong with landing in the middle of the strings, it just makes it easier to land when closer to the left.
Also make sure you are swinging the yo-yo properly and not twisting it accidentally (i.e. binding it). This was my problem when I started.
knobbemoki1 gives good advice. Also, since I don’t know your skill level or anything, I’m assuming you’re throwing a breakaway (away to your right). If you throw a sidestyle sleeper (to your left) and then try doing the trick it will bind every time. A good description of this behavior can be found here:
[http://www.yonomicon.com/book/addendum.html](http://www.yonomicon.com/book/addendum.html)
under “Spin of the yo” half way down the page.
Mind the gap…
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### Author:  [@americanfanclub](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/americanfanclub)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/10 "2009-03-24T00:34:15Z")
do you mean everytime you do a trapeze and let the yo slide down the string, the yo binds and stops? ifthat is the case make the gap wider and the yo less responsive
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/11 "2009-03-24T00:56:16Z")
americanfanclub is right, and I have a DM. Even though the gap is as wide as possible, the string just winds up inside it… like I’m binding when I’m not. I still can’t stop doing that… unless I go slow, and just let the string go very slowly.s
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### Author:  [@agentsac](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/agentsac)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/12 "2009-03-24T01:10:10Z")
Dunno. It’s hard to tell without seeing you doing it. It “sounds” like you’re doing everything right. All I can say is if you can do it slow then start slow and work your way up. This is the only trick that this happens? Even a wide gap can bind under the right conditions. I guess there’s just a lot that could be going on here.
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/13 "2009-03-24T01:11:22Z")
Okay, simply, or not, what’s happening is when I land a trapeze, and move the yoyo from right to left, the string winds in the middle, and it binds… and I don’t like that.
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### Author:  [@americanfanclub](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/americanfanclub)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/14 "2009-03-24T01:16:11Z")
you need lube or thinner strings, my dm can go pretty far apart before the string gets stuck next to the bearing
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/15 "2009-03-24T01:20:09Z")
I got it ;D the string was too slack, so I just pulled a tight trapeze. Ty
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### Author:  [@edhaponik](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/edhaponik)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/16 "2009-03-24T12:17:43Z")
it’s not really a gap issue. gerbil can be done on a yo-yo with a really thin gap. make sure your string tension is pretty neutral, and work on not allowing any slack into your freehand.
as with all things, it’s just practice.
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### Author:  [@ilovetoyoyo97](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/ilovetoyoyo97)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/17 "2009-03-26T02:06:15Z")
The gap is probably too tight to go double on Trapeze…loosen it
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### Author:  [@Batryn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Batryn)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/18 "2009-03-26T02:07:30Z")
It’s okay?
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### Author:  [@Paolo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Paolo)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/skin-the-gerbil-help/1184/19 "2009-03-26T03:05:33Z")
ya
I had the same problem