Introduction to Diabolo Juggling

Series Summary

Inspired by the Chinese yo-yo, the diabolo is a juggling prop that involves the use of a spool and string tossed by two sticks. There are many impressive tricks a juggler can perform with the diabolo, and various types of diabolos (rubber or steel, one string or two) can offer a juggler many options for performances.

In this free video clip series, learn the basics of diabolo juggling and various tricks for beginner jugglers. Everything from simple cat's cradle tricks to more difficult tricks such as the full suicide are included.

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Adria. I am one of the professional jugglers here on expertvillage.com. This is introduction to the diabolo. That would be this juggling prop right here that looks like an hourglass and looks like well, it looks like Minnie mouse’s bow. It looks like a whole bunch of things you can think of. I am not going to do any juggling in this segment. I am going to introduce you to the prop and tell you about its history. Here in America we call it the Chinese Yo Yo because it comes from China. That its most popular name here in America. In China it is called the Su Win; it also known as the diabolo. It is the second oldest juggling prop known to mankind. It is over 5000 years old. The only prop that we know that is older than that would be the ball. We have already looked at that extensively so we are going to put that beside for now. The diabolo or it is Su Win originated in China over 5000 years ago. Originally they were made of bamboo and reeds. On the outside, the reed pattern and the reeds crossing the sides. Every single diabolo is made by hand or Su Win at the time and that all had a unique reed pattern. When they spun, each one made a different sound and when you do different tricks, they also make different sounds. So you could in theory have a group of diabolists working together doing the same tricks in unison, a very beautiful chorus line effect creating an entire orchestra. That talent and that skill has pretty much been lost to us now. We have the history. There are some people who are trying to re-learn that skill but here we have the diabolo. Now during the dark ages anything that was considered an amusement to the people was called the tool of the devils. The inquisition traveled across here trying to convince every one that these looked like devil’s horns. I repeat Minnie Mouse bow! So what they tried to do was they actually named it diabolo, which is in Spanish for devil in order to create a fear in the people so that no one would use it. Of course, that did not work and diabolo has continued to practice the art. During the renaissance, jugglers took the diabolo and stuck in O the middle of the word changing it to the Greek work diabolo. Dia as in diameter. The Greek word diabolo means to throw across. "