Driving the diabolo correctly – this is important not only as a beginner, but also as a professional. If you are an expert in playing diabolo, then you impress with outstanding trick combinations and magic knots, so that your audience is amazed with wide eyes. You’re damn proud of yourself that you’ve mastered the diabolo and that all the practice has paid off.
But to get to this level and become an outstanding performer, you need to build a solid foundation. Because without a secure foundation, you won’t learn some tricks at all, or it will take you a hell of a long time to be able to perform a trick with confidence. Imagine moving into a new house with your family. From the outside it looks stylish and unique, but at the slightest shake it collapses because the foundation is not strong enough.
Safely master the basics of driving.
Therefore, it is very important that you get the basics of playing the diabolo right. And this includes, above all, that you can drive the diabolo correctly. I myself have been playing diabolo for 17 years and would like to share my experience with you.
In the following I will give you 3 elementary rules for the right drive. This way you will keep the diabolo constantly in the string without it losing momentum or tipping out of the string. Finally, I’ll give you an important extra tip to really have the diabolo fully under control. After that, you’ll be able to drive the diabolo with confidence.
Let’s jump right in: You position yourself with your diabolo. Hold the sticks in your hands and do not tense up. The sticks point parallel to the front and not to the sides. The diabolo is lying straight on the floor. With a little momentum, move the diabolo to the left as seen from you and then lift it off the ground. If you are left-handed, move the diabolo to the right. You do this so that the diabolo now turns in the appropriate direction to give further momentum in the air with the sticks. It is important that you start driving the diabolo with the sticks immediately after you have moved it in the air, so that it gets enough momentum from the beginning and doesn’t start to float.
Rule 1: Propel the diabolo with the strong hand.
Driving the diabolo correctly is done primarily with your strong hand. You hold both hands and sticks parallel to each other. If you are right-handed, whip with your right hand, if you are left-handed, whip with your left hand. Let the weak hand be guided loosely by the strong hand and do not cramp it. Now you can continue to drive the diabolo indefinitely. You can also speed up the diabolo by either whipping it faster with your strong hand, or by pulling the string up longer with your strong hand. I recommend the second method so that you have more control and your strings don’t get tangled.
Rule 2: Proper driving requires balance.
But watch out! There is one important point to keep in mind in order to drive the diabolo in a really relaxed way and for as long as you want: It can easily happen that the diabolo gets out of control and tips forward or backwards out of the string. As soon as it moves in one direction, you have to react with your strong hand. This means you move it in the opposite direction that the diabolo is tipping. So if the diabolo tilts forward, you move your hand slightly backwards. If the diabolo tilts backwards, you move your hand slightly forward. In this way, we achieve a balance to stabilize the diabolo again.
Rule 3: Keep your arms steady.
The important thing is: You can push the diabolo slightly further during the stick movement, so that it does not lose its momentum. Also, you should not move the diabolo too much in the corresponding direction, but only slightly, to really keep control. Otherwise, it can happen that you are balancing all the time. Once you have realigned the diabolo so that it is straight again, you can drive the sticks parallel to each other again and continue to drive normally.
Extra tip: Change the direction as you like.
As promised, you now get an important extra tip. If you can drive your diabolo and keep it safely in the air, it’s time to take it to the next level. It can happen that the diabolo not only moves up and down, but also to the left and right. In this case, the diabolo doesn’t tip out of the string, but you want to control the diabolo, not the diabolo controlling you. Imagine you are standing in front of an audience and the diabolo turns 180 degrees, so your fans only see your back. So even the best trick master is only an amateur if the foundation is missing.
If you want to orient the diabolo to the right, take the lower part of your left stick (the place where your hand is) and carefully touch the left side of the bowl facing you. Hold the stick straight up while doing this. By touching it, the diabolo will turn back to the right.
If you want to orient the diabolo to the left, take the lower part of your right stick and carefully touch the left side of the shell facing away from you. While doing this, hold the stick straight up again. Touching it will turn the diabolo back to the left.
Now it’s your turn.
With these basics, you should be able to drive the diabolo properly and keep it safely in the air. If it only rarely, or even never, falls out of the string, then you have now mastered basic diabolo playing. From here, you can now improve your skills and learn your first tricks.
If you’re still having trouble driving the diabolo properly or have questions about specific tricks, feel free to message me or leave a comment. I will be happy to help you. Have a nice day.
Best regards
Bastian
The diabolo Circus from Henrys is a great choice for beginners
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