String Whip (video help)

One of the most important elements in diabolo control is the ability to move the diabolo along the string. There are two parts. One is moving the diabolo from the right part of the string to the left. This has a different motion than going the other way around even though the motion looks fluid.

To move the diabolo from the right side to the left, you push your right hand across your body with a quick motion. The right arm does the moving and will first cross over and past the left handstick (see Figure 1). The left hand and stick remain motionless.

Figure 1: Click for Larger View

Now try the same thing but cross your right arm under the left arm (Figure 2). Once you feel comfortable with this move, you can begin using your wrists to get a better whip. The important thing is to keep the tips of your sticks within the plane of the diabolo’s axle, unless you are correcting.ing

Figure 2: Click for Larger View

Troubleshooting:
1) If your attempts cause the diabolo to tilt and twist up, your crossing motion may be moving the string outside the plane of the diabolo’s axle (your moving your stickpoint either forward or backward). Be conscious of where your stickpoints end up.

2) If the diabolo doesn’t move much to the left, try lowering your right hand so that the diabolo is close to the right stickpoint when you begin the motion.

This is half the motion of a string whip. Putting the two together is the easy part. Now for the hard part. Now that the diabolo is on your left side, we want it to return to the right without losing spin or grace. As if you were using an actual whip, your right stick turns (as in the throw) to be in line with the string. Now with the same speed as when you push the diabolo across, whip the right stick in a downward motion and the diabolo should glide back close to the stick (see video 1). Left hand still motionless. Problems result from whipping too hard or soft.

I primarily use this for correcting a tilting diabolo. If I see that it is tilting away from me, a few whips behind the string will straighten it out and continue the diabolo’s motion so that it doesn’t look like a correction. Of course the opposite applies if the diabolo is tilting back towards me. This takes hours of practice to feel completely comfortable with. Once you get good, the next step is the Cycle and Around the World.