How to Do 5 Awesome Yo-Yo Tricks

Former Venturer Alex Curfmanis a yo-yo expert. He practices 10 or more hours a week and has excelled at tournaments. At the 2009 World Yo-Yo Championships, he broke the record for the longest Shoot the Moon, a complicated looping trick.

Here are some step-by-step instructions from Alex on how to do five yo-yo tricks:

SLEEPER

1. Hold the yo-yo in your hand, palm up, with the string wrapping over the top of the yo-yo.

2. Bend your elbow with the yo-yo near your ear, elbow pointing forward.

3. Unbend your arm and roll the yo-yo off the tips of your fingers. Snapping your wrist creates more spin.

4. Let the yo-yo reach the end of the string and pause for a few seconds, then with a tug, return the yo-yo to your hand.

ROCK THE BABY

1. Throw a sleeper. With your opposite hand, pinch the string midway down the string and raise your opposite hand.

2. Pinch the string with your throw hand a few inches above the yo-yo.

3. Bring your throw hand back above your opposite hand, spreading the fingers of your opposite hand to form a triangle with the string.

4. Swing the yo-yo back and forth inside the triangle.

BREAKAWAY

1. Hold the yo-yo the same way you would to perform a sleeper, but point your elbow to the side of your body.

2. Throw the yo-yo straight out to the side.

3. Let the yo-yo swing down in front of your body and up to the opposite shoulder.

4. Return the yo-yo to your hand.

BRAIN TWISTER

1. Throw a sleeper.

2. Place your opposite index finger against the string between you and the string.

3. Push your index finger away from you while you move your throw hand between you and your other hand.

4. Bring your throw hand under and then in front of the yo-yo, threading the string into the gap of the yo-yo.

5. Perform a somersault with the yo-yo by pushing your throw hand into the strings and pulling down with your opposite hand. Repeat three or more times.

6. Return the yo-yo to a sleeper, then back to your hand.

Trapeze

1. Throw a breakaway.

2. As the yo-yo passes in front of your body, place your opposite index finger on top of the string as close to the yo-yo as possible.

3. Allow the yo-yo to loop around your finger and land on the string underneath it.

5. Pull your extended finger out of the string and return the yo-yo to your hand.