Chinese yo-yo
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The Chinese yo-yo is a toy from China consisting of two equally-sized discs connected with a long axle. The Chinese yo-yo is kept spinning on a string tied to two sticks at its ends. Each stick is held in one hand. In modern times, it is used as a children's toy and as a performance tool in juggling and sometimes in Chinese ethnic dance. It is possible to perform a large variety of tricks with the Chinese yo-yo which can be as easy as throwing the yo-yo up into the air or tossing it around the user's back. It was found during the Ming dynasty; roughly 1386-1644 A.D.
Like the Western yo-yo, it maintains its spinning motion through a gyroscopic effect based on conservation of angular momentum.
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[edit] Design
Chinese yo-yos were traditionally made of bamboo, which was very easy to break and not convenient for complicated tricks. Modern models, however, are now made of plastic, for added durability. The sticks used with the yo-yo continue to be made of wood.
Some Chinese yo-yos have grooves inset in the rim of the discs; these grooves causes them to make a whistling sound when spinning at high speeds. The sound allows the performer to gauge his speed and adjust the yo-yo accordingly.
[edit] Single bell chinese yoyo
A recently created Chinese yoyo is called the single bell Chinese yoyo, first made commercially available by chineseyoyoworld.com. The yoyo consists of only one bell, and creates an uneven weight distribution. This opens a wider variety of tricks that can be done, including spinning the yoyo as a top on the floor and recatching it.
[edit] Chinese name
There are many names in the Chinese language for the Chinese yo-yo, for which the Chinese characters and the pinyin are given here:
- 扯鈴 chě líng ("pull bell sound")
- 響簧 xiǎng huáng (a name given as if it's a sound instrument)
- (斗)空竹 dǒu kōng zhú ((shaking) Empty Bamboo)
[edit] Diabolo
The Chinese yo-yo is thousands of years old and has been adapted in the West as the diabolo. The Chinese yo-yo differs from the diabolo in two primary ways. First, the axle of the Chinese yo-yo is much longer than that of the diabolo. Also, the Chinese yo-yo has wheel-shaped discs, whereas the diabolo consists of two bell-shapes. The Chinese yoyo is also typically grooved and made of hard plastic, while diabolos are not grooved and usually made of a durable rubber material. For a comparison, see a picture of a Chinese yo-yo here and a picture of a diabolo here.
[edit] Chinese yo-yo tricks
There are many different ways to accelerate the yo-yo. The simplest way to accelerate your yo-yo is to move both sticks up and down; this is known as open string drive <--- (makes no sense at all). To speed the yo-yo up faster you will go into what is called closed string drive; in order to do this, you need to wrap the string around the yo-yo once. For beginners, to get into closed string drive put the yo-yo on the floor and have the string spread out under it. Now take the right stick and move it counter clockwise, lift up the yo-yo and move the string under it. Also note that when the yo-yo is running in the middle of the string, it will be called standard position.
Different tricks require the performer to be in different modes, closed string drive or open string drive <--- (only two tricks are in "closed string drive", one of which is accelerating, which isn't even a trick). An (O) will represent open string drive to do the trick and a (C) will represent that you will need to be in closed string drive, while (X) will require crossed strings. Some basics include:
- Accelerate (O/C) - the first thing you need to learn to accelerate. <--- (you need to learn Accelerate to learn to accelerate?? Genius!)
- Lift Up (O) - lift the yo-yo up while running on the string <--- (what do you picture when you read that? I picture someone holding the yo-yo up while balancing themselves on a string)
- Swing (O) - swing the yo-yo from the sticks clockwise and then counter clockwise (like a swing that goes over the top) <--- (not a trick)
- Elevator (C) - have one stick at the top and one at the bottom and pull the sticks apart, the yo-yo will ascend
- Toss and Catch (O) - launch the yo-yo into the air by separating the sticks rapidly. Catch on taut strings.
- Stick Grind (O) - get the yo-yo to run on the yo-yo stick
- Jumping (O) - have the yo-yo running on one of the sticks and then throw it into the air and catch it with the other stick
- Waterfall (O) - from standard position, take one stick and wrap it over the other stick and then under the yoyo; from here take the second stick and flip in the opposite direction
- Wrap and Escape (O) - from standard position, take one stick and wrap it over the other stick and then under the yoyo; from here move the first stick all the way over so that it crosses over the Chinese yoyo.
More advanced tricks include:
- Around the World (O) - push yo-yo up with one stick, then force the yo-yo down with enough momentum to circle around the other. <--- (no, actually, that's not what you do, that doesn't even make sense, once again)
- Propeller (X) - push one stick up into the air, allowing the yo-yo to fly into the air, and twirl the released stick around, catching it as it completes a revolution. <--- (again, makes no sense)
(I apologize to whoever wrote this; clearly you meant no harm, but I don't understand how you expected anyone to get any kind of information out of this. And to anyone who does care to learn some Chinese yo-yo tricks, I would recommend searching for a diabolo website or forum like http://diabolo.ca/index.php, as they are really quite helpful and filled with information. Or just see the diabolo page, as diabolos are basically yo-yos and the diabolo page is actually well-written.)
[edit] Alternative meaning for 'Chinese Yo-Yo'
Another toy named the Chinese Yo-Yo consists of a short stick with a long coil of paper wrapped tightly around one end. Typically the whole device is about 12" long with 4-6" of paper. With a light flick of the wrist, the coil of paper extends out for several feet in the direction of the flick. As the device is moved upright, the coil retracts back to the stick.
[edit] External sources
http://www.chineseyoyoworld.com Includes diabolo start-up tips and video tutorials
