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Swinging the diabolo in a full vertical circle on the string. The first trick that looks like a trick, and the cheapest one to learn.
The diabolo stays on the string and you swing the whole thing over your head in a circle. It is the first trick most people land, because the diabolo never leaves the string and there is nothing to catch.
It also teaches something that pays off later: the diabolo will sit still in the string if the string keeps tension on it, whatever direction the string happens to be pointing.
The swing
- Get the diabolo fast and running true. A slow diabolo will fall out of the string at the top of the circle.
- Hold both sticks together, pointing forward, with the diabolo hanging in the string below them.
- Swing both hands up and over in a smooth vertical circle. Keep the sticks together and keep the string taut the whole way round.
- Let the diabolo come back down to the bottom, then either stop or go again.
Speed of the swing matters more than height. Too slow at the top and the string goes slack, which is when the diabolo drops out.
Keeping the string tight
The whole trick is string tension. At the top of the circle gravity is pulling the diabolo toward your hands rather than away from them, so the tension has to come from the speed of the swing. That is why a hesitant circle fails and a committed one works.
What goes wrong
It falls out at the top. The swing slowed down there. Go round faster, and do not pause to look at it.
It swings but loses all its speed. The sticks drifted apart, so the string sawed across the axle for a full revolution. Keep them together.
It hits you on the way round. The circle is too close to your body. Swing it out in front, not overhead.
It comes back down leaning badly. Normal. Correct it with a whip and go again.
Two in a row
Once one circle is comfortable, go straight into a second without stopping at the bottom. Continuous circles are the point: they look far better than a single one, they cost almost no extra skill, and they are the version worth learning.
When it is working
Three or four circles in a row, smooth, with the diabolo still fast at the end. The speed surviving the trick is the real test, because that is what tells you the string stayed where it should have.
