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Juggling Lessons

Your first trick with the diabolo is to throw it high into the air, and catch it on the string.

Notice that the diabolo is caught close to the hand, and it rolls down the string which adds spin to the diabolo.

Throwing the diabolo. Start with the diabolo spinning quickly, and make sure that it is level. Point the tips of the hand sticks in towards each other. Rapidly pull your hands apart, and turn your wrists out. The diabolo will leap into the air. Your first throws should be about five feet over your head. Catching the diabolo. To make the catch, the string mustn't have any slack in it. It is easier to make a catch above your head, than it is in front of you. Raise the hand slightly higher than the , so that once you make the catch, the diabolo can "roll" down the string, and pick up spin . Catch the diabolo fairly close to the hand stick. As soon as the diabolo hits the string, bring your hands together so the diabolo doesn't bounce off of the string.

Once you have the hang of throwing and catching the diabolo, the fun really starts. You'll notice that higher throws aren't too much harder to catch than low throws. A twenty-foot high throw is an impressive trick, which you can pick up quickly.

You can also do tricks like pirouettes while the diabolo is in the air. If you do only a half pirouette, and then make the catch, the diabolo will be spinning in the opposite direction, and you will need to either

1. Add more spin to the diabolo, by pulling with the hand
2. Throw the diabolo, and complete the turn.

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