Learn How To Devil Stick (Beginner)

You may have seen them -- performers juggling a stick up in the air, seemingly defying the laws of physics -- but wouldn't you like to learn how to manipulate those mysterious devilsticks for yourself? Read on to find out!

All you really need to begin devilsticking are the sticks themselves (the main baton and two hand sticks), pictured on the right, and a willingness to keep trying, no matter how many times you drop the sticks to begin with.

The very first thing you need to learn is how to perform the tic-toc. This is also called the idle, or the pendulum. Basically you are tossing the main stick between the two hand sticks. The biggest mistake most people make at this point is trying to toss the main stick too quickly. Just relax, and let gravity swing the main stick before you give it the little push it needs to reach your other hand. See the video --

After you have mastered the tic-toc, you can move on to your first true trick of devilsticking: the flip. This is an extremely simply trick to perform; from the tic-toc, simply push up with one of your hand sticks (left or right, doesn't matter), sending the main stick spinning in the air. You then catch the main stick with the hand stick opposite the one you used to toss the main stick. See the video--

The goal of the horizontal spin is to get the main stick spinning, you guessed it, horizontally. To do this, begin in the tic-toc. When the main stick hits your right hand stick, thrust the hand stick forward and toss back to your left hand, as though you were doing the normal tic-toc. When the main stick reaches your left hand stick, pull the hand stick back towards you and toss to the right hand stick. Continue doing this, and the baton will begin to spin on an axis. The closer you hit to the center of the main stick, the more horizontal the axis will be. See the video--

After you master these few simple tricks, you will be able to move on to some more advanced techniques laid out in my Learn How To Devil stick intermediate and advanced hubs at http://jakechristensen9.hubpages.com/hub/Learn-How-to-Devil-Stick-Intermediate and http://jakechristensen9.hubpages.com/hub/Learn-How-To-Devil-Stick-Advanced