The Chinese yo-yo is a toy from China consisting of two equally-sized discs connected with a long axle. The Chinese yo-yo is kept spinning on a string tied to two sticks at its ends. Each stick is held in one hand. In modern times, it is used as a children's toy and as a performance tool in juggling

Juggling

Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...

 and sometimes in Chinese ethnic dance. It is possible to perform a large variety of tricks with the Chinese yo-yo which can be as easy as throwing the yo-yo up into the air or tossing it around the user's back. It was found during the Ming dynasty; roughly 1386-1644.

Like the Western yo-yo, it maintains its spinning motion through a gyroscopic effect based on conservation of angular momentum.

Design

Chinese yo-yos were traditionally made of bamboo, which was very easy to break and not convenient for complicated tricks. Modern models, however, are now made of plastic for added durability. The sticks used with the yo-yo continue to be made of wood.

Some Chinese yo-yos have grooves inset in the rim of the discs; these grooves cause them to make a whistling sound when spinning at high speeds. The sound allows the performer to gauge his speed and adjust the yo-yo accordingly.

The Chinese yo-yo has been adapted in Western countries as the diabolo

Diabolo

The diabolo is a juggling prop consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand. A huge variety of tricks are possible using the sticks, string, and various body parts...

. The Chinese yo-yo differs from the diabolo in two primary ways. First, the axle of the Chinese yo-yo is much longer than that of the diabolo. Also, the Chinese yo-yo has wheel-shaped discs, whereas the diabolo consists of two bell-shapes. The Chinese yoyo is also typically grooved and made of hard plastic, while diabolos are not grooved and usually made of a durable rubber material. For a comparison, see a picture of a Chinese yo-yo here and a picture of a diabolo here.

Single-bell Chinese yo-yo

A recent variation on the Chinese yo-yo is called the single-bell Chinese yo-yo. The yo-yo consists of only one bell, and creates an uneven weight distribution. This makes a wider variety of tricks possible, including spinning the yo-yo as a top on the floor and recapturing it.

Chinese name

There are many names in the Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 for the Chinese yo-yo, for which the Chinese character

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

s and the pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

are given here:

• 扯鈴 chě líng ("pull bell sound")
• 響簧 xiǎng huáng (a name given as if it's a sound instrument)
• (抖)空竹 dǒu kōng zhú ((shaking) Empty Bamboo)

Tricks

There are many different ways to accelerate the yo-yo. The simplest way to accelerate your yo-yo is to move both sticks up and down; this is known as open string drive . To speed the yo-yo up faster you will go into what is called closed string drive; in order to do this, you need to wrap the string around the yo-yo once. For beginners, to get into closed string drive put the yo-yo on the floor and have the string spread out under it. Now take the right stick and move it counter clockwise, lift up the yo-yo and move the string under it. Also note that when the yo-yo is running in the middle of the string, it will be called standard position.

Different tricks require the performer to be in different modes, closed string drive or open string drive. There are only two tricks in the closed string drive, one of which is accelerating. An (O) will represent open string drive to do the trick and a (C) will represent that you will need to be in closed string drive, while (X) will require crossed strings. Some basics include:

Tricks

Name	Start up	Instructions
Accelerate	O/C	the first thing you need to learn to accelerate.
Lift Up	O	lift the yo-yo up while the yo-yo is running on the string.
Swing	O	swing the yo-yo from the sticks clockwise and then counter clockwise (like a swing that goes over the top)
Elevator	C	have one stick at the top and one at the bottom and pull the sticks apart, the yo-yo will ascend[also called ant climbing the tree]
Toss and Catch	O	launch the yo-yo into the air by separating the sticks rapidly. Catch on taut strings.
Stick Grind	O	get the yo-yo to run on the yo-yo stick
Jumping	O	have the yo-yo running on one of the sticks and then throw it into the air and catch it with the other stick
Waterfall	O	from standard position, take one stick and wrap it over the other stick and then under the yo-yo; from here take the second stick and flip in the opposite direction
Wrap and Escape	O	from standard position, take one stick and wrap it over the other stick and then under the yo-yo; from here move the first stick all the way over so that it crosses over the Chinese yo-yo.

More advanced tricks include:

Advanced tricks

Name	Start up	Instructions
Cicada/Fake Throw	O/C	move to side of yo-yo, then take one stick and quickly wrap it over the other stick, then under the yo-yo. go behind the first stick, and cross over the top. from this position, slide the stick under the yo-yo one last time and fling the yo-yo over. the yo-yo should swing back to you.
Around the World	O	push yo-yo up with one stick, then force the yo-yo down with enough momentum to circle around the other.
Genocide/Propeller	X	push one stick up into the air, allowing the yo-yo to fly into the air, and twirl the released stick around, catching it as it completes a revolution.

Alternative definition of 'Chinese yo-yo'

Another toy named the Chinese yo-yo consists of a short stick with a long coil of paper wrapped tightly around one end. Typically the whole device is about 12" long with 4-6" of paper. With a light flick of the wrist, the coil of paper extends out for several feet in the direction of the flick. As the device is moved upright, the coil retracts back to the stick. This is not similar at all to the other Chinese yo yo. This is also known as a paper laser. Another way to accelerate is to keep your left wrist taut (if you're right handed) and bounce your right arm like you're hitting a drum softly several times.

External sources

• Antique wood chinese yo-yo pictures.
• http://www.chineseyoyoworld.com Includes diabolo start-up tips and video tutorials
• http://www.cirqueshanghai.com Performance of Chinese Yo-Yo in Chicago
• http://www.chineseyoyoshop.com Large Chinese YoYo (Diabolo) selection, videos, and start up guides

http://diabolohelp.weebly.com/ instructions for beginners to learn how to use a diabolo.