This article explains how to achieve some of the most popular ones! They may refer to other tricks you should try to learn (a quick Google search will find how to do those extra tricks)! The words devilstick and flowerstick are interchangeable throughout this article.
Balance Tricks Horizontal Balance - Place the middle of the devilstick on one handstick so that it is lying horizontally across.
Try to balance it.
You may find that the exact middle of the devilstick isn't exactly where you think, and it can be useful to mark the exact middle with a marker pen so that you can locate it easily in future! Balance - Balance the stick upright on a handstick, then try to spin it over and catch it once again in the upright position! Vertical Tricks Hands - Begin the tic-toc and then when it goes onto either handstick you drop the handstick in the other hand and start doing tic-toc with the palm of your hand and a handstick.
Then when it goes onto your palm you drop the other handstick and do tick-tock with both your palms.
It's helpful to do this double-sticking to keep in control.
When you've mastered this you can actually do half the devil-stick tricks with your hands! (apart from ones like the flourish and juggling!) I think it's a very good ending trick to have and a great trick altogether.
Orbit's Axis - This is where you do a walkaround the devilstick while keeping a propellor move going.
Not as easy as it sounds! Hold one handstick for this trick.
I start out with a propeller and make the devil stick rotate anti-clockwise.
Start walking around the devil stick.
I have the devil stick propelling in front of me, then I step to the side of the propeller, which means that I am now doing a one-handed buzz-saw with the end of the devil stick coming up and in towards.
Now step around again to continue the propellor.
This time it is now spinning in a clockwise motion (this is perhaps the hardest of the moves to transition into, but keep practicing)! Now step round again to continue with the propeller.
This time however I am spinning the devil stick in a clockwise motion.
You can continue to walk around the devil stick as much as you like.
The devil stick never changes its direction of spin.
The only thing that changes is where I stand.
Handstick Switch - Practice using your strong hand to flip the devilstick 180 degrees and catch it with the same hand.
As you flip the devilstick inwards, quickly transfer the handstick from your weak hand to your strong hand.
This leaves you tick-tocking single-handedly with both handsticks in your strong hand.
When you flip it inwards, you could grabbing the handstick back with your weakest hand, or you could grab both and keep the trick going.
Stop-Go - From normal tic-toc give the stick a slightly harder tap with your weaker hand.
Let the stick get to horizontal and stop it with your stronger hand (this needs a shorter tap than normal so pull the handstick away once the stick is stopped, this also makes the trick look better).
Quickly tap it upwards with your weaker hand to make it continue in the direction it was going before it was stopped.
Once you can do this try doing it one-handed (re-start the stick using the same hand you stopped it with) or adding extra spins before or after the stop.
Wrist Catch - To do this trick, you need to be holding the handsticks roughly in the middle.
While performing the basic tick-tock motion, move your strongest wrist in to the position of where the handstick would be and use the back of the handstick to trap the devilstick in between your wrist and handstick.
Turn your wrist inwards and let the devilstick go, and it will flip over your wrist, ready to be caught on the stick in your weakest hand.
Kick-Up Variations - From tic-toc let the stick drop so that it is horizontal when it's about knee height.
When it gets to that height kick it in the middle hard enough to get up to chest height and continue tick-tock.
If you kick it slightly off centre it will spin more and you can kick it from foot to foot.
You can also drop it from a helicopter spin but you need to get the spin so that it lands straight across your foot or it might hit your leg on the way back up.
Continuous Propellors - Try doing a continuous propellor on just one stick, then try switching to the other stick (perhaps with a high throw in between).
Now try to do continuous propellors in the opposite direction with both hands.
You will now be ready to try doing 2 devilstick propellors at the same time (one in each hand)! Single Sticking One handstick is now doing the work of two! There are over 50 variations of single stick moves, so this section was written to help give some ideas! Tap across with your handstick, then quickly pull your handstick out of position, and move it swiftly to the other side to be able to tap the devil stick back across! The devil stick will probably need a half or full spin to give you enough time to move your hand across your body.
Holding the Handstick Terminology - Pencil and Normal Normal grip hopefully explain themselves in the way that you hold the hand stick.
Now try the following single stick moves:
- Inside - devilstick is on the hand stick and is between the two handsticks like in a normal Tick Tock.
- Outside -The main stick is on the hand stick but is not between the two handsticks
- Front - in a normal tick tock the front of the stick is opposite your hand from your body
- Back - in a normal tick tock the back of the stick is between your hand and your body
- Over Hand - you reach over the main stick
- Under Hand - you reach under the main stick
- Normal grip/Inside/Front - Normal grip/outside/front/over hand
- Normal grip/Inside/Front -Flip- Normal grip/outside/Front
- Normal grip/Inside/Front - Pencil grip/outside/front
- Normal grip/Inside/Back - Normal grip/outside/Front