How to Do the Skin the Gerbil Yo-Yo Trick

With this trick, you move into the realm of the cool-looking tricks that will make people stop and wonder how you can do what you're doing. But, as with all such tricks, it looks more complicated than it is. With a determined step-by-step approach, you can look as good and as fancy as the pros. Read on to learn how to do the Skin the Gerbil yo-yo trick.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Get your yo-yo into a traditional trapeze mount. Start out with a strong throw toward your non-throwing hand, and use the index finger of your non-throwing hand to bring the yo-yo up and around the outside, then over and down on the inside, until it comes to rest on the string. This first part of Skin the Gerbil looks like the yo-yo is resting on a trapeze.

2. Turn your throwing hand inward, and move it toward the yo-yo, which you allow to drop down, offering so string for slack. Push that two-layer string forward (toward the outside of your body) forcing the yo-yo once around your non-throwing hand, free and clear of the string, then once around again, allowing the yo-yo to land the center string.

3. Use your throwing hand to twist a little bit of string around the finger of your non-throwing hand, and create momentum which will bring the yo-yo backwards off of your non-throwing hand in one smooth loop.

4. Bring the yo-yo into another trapeze-like position by continuing the arc created by the previous step, allowing the yo-yo to swing around your throwing-hand index finger, again from the outside in, coming to rest on the string from that direction.

5. Reverse the loops once more, and bring the yo-yo around the non-throw index finger, missing the string on the first loop, but catching it on the second time around. That finishes Skin the Gerbil.

6. Dismount by reversing the previous steps until you get to a point where you can pull the yo-yo back up into starting position.