Introduction: Ed's A-Y Entry - Picture Tricks

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A Few Fun Picture Tricks...

sure, youre awesome at complex 1a tricks. ladder escape and rancid milk represent tiny elements within your massive tech combos. you are the bees flipping knees.

trouble is, you can throw that junk all day, and 7-year-old kids will look at you and say so what. theyll say so what because your tricks only really connect with you (or maybe with the top 0.5% of tech yo-yo players). KNOW WHAT YOU NEED?

in addition to burgermilk (do a search), you need to know some sweet picture tricks... old-school tricks that actually look like something, and will instantly catapult you from the level of obscure, introspective yo-yo guy into the stratosphere that is the identity of aweome guy-who-actually-makes-me-CARE-about-his-yo-yo-tricks.

plus, theyre fun.

I. chinese cradle
a. throw a hard sleeper.
b. this trick is mainly done by sequentially making eiffel towers over the fingers of your throwhand. 1st, let the string drape over your thowhand index finger. with your freehand index and thumb, pull down the segment between your index and middle fingers. then use your freehand index and thumb to pinch the string hanging down to the yo-yo and pull it out, making what will almost look like a little eiffel tower.
c. repeat the step b process, draping the string over your throwhand ring finger.
d. same thing... this time over your throwhand thumb.
e. once more, over your throwhand pinky.
f. pull that last section out extra far to make a tiny triangular cradle.
g. rock the yo-yo back and forth in and out of the cradle. when you are ready, drop everything. make sure that the yo-yo is in FRONT of the cradle. it should drop out straight with no knots.

II. spaghetti
a. throw a sleeper.
b. pull out looped sections of string from the main string leading to the yo-yo, pinching each loop between your thumb and index fingers.
c. after you have 4 or 5 loops (resembling noodles), let go of everything. if you have a responsive yo-yo (like a tom kuhn no-jive for example), it will come up as you let go. by keeping your throwhand finger close to your mouth, it will look as if you are sucking the spaghetti into your mouth. this is a GREAT trick to do for kids, and it is SUPER easy to teach.

III. 2-handed star
a. throw a hard sleeper, with your palm pointed down.
b. pull the string leading to the yo-yo with your freehand thumb.
c. pull another segment (below the 1st) using your throwhand pinky.
d. point your freehand index like a gun, and pull out a 3rd segment. at this point, you can see about half of the 5 pointed star.
e. stick your throwhand thumb in-between the string segments you are holding, and pull the string leading to the yo-yo back out toward you.
f. point your throwhand index down and pull the string leading to the yo-yo up, forming the top point of the star.
g. let go of everything and tug the yo-yo back up.

IV. 1-handed star
a. this trick is quick and small, and really nifty. it happens by rotating your throwhand around 2.5 times, lifting segments with different fingers as you go. throw a hard sleeper, again keeping your palm down.
b. bring your throwhand thumb to the inside of the string (starting near your palm and pulling out. if you are a righty, the motion goes from your right to left).
c. tilt your hand up (like a handshake). curl your throwhand ring finger around the string as you point your palm back down.
d. as you continue to rotate your palm around (like you were doing the whatever,œ talk to the palm motion), let the string fall over the top of your index finger. at this point your pinky is the only finger with no string on it.
e. continue to rotate your palm, wrapping the string with your pinky.
f. as it comes around the final time, the string should go over your pinky, UNDER your ring finger, and again over your middle finger, completing the star.
g. drop it all, and tug it up.

V. houdini star
a. probably the easiest star. start b throwing a houdini drop (a double or nothing, with the string going across your left thumb first (as opposed to over your index twice.
b. reach across with your throwhand thumb, and pull the string segment leading DIRECTLY to the yo-yo across the string leading to your throwhand middle finger.
c. let go of everything except your freehand, landing you in trapeze.

VI. behind bars
a. also known as the coolest trick ever. throw a sleeper.
b. using alternating hands/digits, pull out segments of string creating bars
c. start with your freehand index, then throwhand index, freehand middle, throwhand middle, etc. all the way to the pinky.
d. once you have the bars, rotate them so that the yo-yo is behind them.
e. a cool aspect of this trick (not shown) is that you can end it via sidewinder, pulling the bars out to the side, and letting the string segments shuffle back into the gap of the yo-yo, adjusting string tension.

VII. bow and arrow
a. ridiculously easy. this requires a responsive yo-yo in order not to look like a total dolt. throw a sleeper.
b. use your freehand index to pull a segment string between your throwhand index and throwhand thumb, as if you were drawing back a bowstring.
c. let go (with gusto). your responsive yo-yo should snap back to your hand dramatically. this is a good trick to do in front of a kids face.

VIII. bow and arrow (version 2)
a. NOT as good in front of a kids face. it could bust it. throw sleeper.
b. begin to perform rock the baby, pulling the cradle in from behind (as opposed to from the front.
c. instead of rocking it back out the front, mount the yo-yo on the left string segment. let the yo-yo fall, in a kind of one-handed trapeze held by your middle finger.
d. use your freehand thumb to draw the bow. when youve drawn enough, shoot the yo-yo out in front of you, as if it were an arrow.
e. a responsive yo-yo will snap back to your palm.

IX. darth vader
a. this is a fairly tough picture trick. for brevity, only the end is shown. throw a hard sleeper.
b. there is NO WAY i can explain this as well as they do here (with pictures), so i defer to this website: yoyovids.tripod.com/tricks/dv.shtml

X. bank deposit (not really a picture trick... but cool).
a. simple, but not easy, and like so many things in life... it depends on your choice of pants. throw a breakaway between your legs.
b. let the yo-yo curl up and under your freehand-side leg, landing in your pocket.
c. if you are awesomer than me, you can do this without either
i. opening your pocket with your hand.
ii. lifting your freehand-side leg.

hope you dig these. i do.
its nice to remember that a yo-yo trick doesnt have to be HARD to be GREAT.
have fun.

-ed