How to Teach Beginning Yo-yo Skills
Teaching a beginner to use a Yo-yo is more difficult than learning it yourself. When you learned Yo-yo, you probably spent a great deal of time practicing and gaining a feel for how the Yo-yo works. This is the best way to learn, because you respond to how the Yo-yo moves. Teaching the Yo-yo involves making the student comfortable with the device, and building a firm foundation of knowledge.
Instructions
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Tell the student about the theory and history of the Yo-yo. Explain how Yo-yo works, its history and the different designs. Learning these steps helps the student visualize the mechanics of working with a Yo-yo. This enables thim to progress further when he has mastered the basics.
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Show the student how to hold the Yo-yo. Tie a permanent loop and knot in the end of the string. Feed a small amount of string through the loop, and place it over your middle finger. This is a slip-knot that holds the Yo-yo in place. Hold the Yo-yo in the palm of your hand. This is the basic start position; demonstrate it to your student.
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Teach the student the basic tricks, from which she can learn other tricks. The most obvious is the creeper or sleeper move. Demonstrate this by throwing the yo-yo down, out of your hand. Depending on the model, this causes it to go down to the ground, and stay there for a period of time. Quickly tug on the string -- to coil the yo-yo back up -- when it loses some of its momentum. Demonstrate this move.
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Tell the student to practice these moves. Becoming comfortable with a Yo-yo is crucial to further development. When the student has mastered the creeper move, he will have an appreciation of how to hold and perform tricks. Learning to maneuver a Yo-yo is tricky, and requires many hours of practice.
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References
- Photo Credit Yoyo image by YvesBonnet from Fotolia.com