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Section Contents:
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You are here: Simply Circus>>Community>>Tutorials>>Manipulation>>Misc.>>Pencil
Manipulation
Introduction
Pencil Manipulation is a form of contact juggling in which a pencil or pencil
like object (pencil/pen/cigarette/toothbrush etc) is twirled, flipped and spun
with the fingers.
When learning some of the dynamic moves it is easier to practice with
something large as it will make the trick slower and easier to learn. You can
then reduce the size of the object until you are able to perform it with a
pencil.
NOTE: All tricks are static unless otherwise specified.
Links
There are two other pages on pencil manipulation that I know of.
- Pen
Spinning This page contains a lot of tricks along with some animations.
- Pencil
Flipping This page contains very comprehensive descriptions (along with
excellent gifs) of a few tricks.
Arm Roll - (Dynamic)
| This is basically a contact juggling move in which an
object is rolled along the arm.
|
| Start
| Start with the forearm parallel to the ground with a pencil balanced
on the fingers, perpendicular to them.
|
| Description
| Tilt the arm back and move the arm foreward so that the pencil rolls
down the arm to the elbow joint. Reverse the move so that the pencil
returns to the start.
|
Balance -(Dynamic)
| With a lot of practice a pen can be balanced on it's end
on various parts of the body. A nice variation is to balance a pen on an
extended index finger.
Balancing things is a common jugglers trick so take a look at the Juggling
Information Service for tips on balancing objects.
An simple move is to balance the pen at its middle on an index
finger.
|
Behind The Hand Twirl
| In this trick the pencil is twirled around the back of the
hand and back across the front to return to the start after rotating 540
degrees.
|
| Start
| Start by holding the end of the pencil with the thumb and finger 1.
The hand should be held flat with the palm down and the pencil pointing
upwards.
|
| Description
|
- Push upwards with the thumb and at the same time loosen your grip
on the pencil so that it falls across the back of the knuckles.
Raise finger 4 so that the pen is resting on the other fingers and
under finger 4.
- Release the pencil with the thumb and let the tip of the pencil
swing down to point towards the ground. The pencil should be held in
the middle with fingers 3 and 4.
- Rotate the pencil 90 degrees so that the tip of the pencil is
directly below finger 1.
- Place finger 1 under the pen and release the grip on the pencil
with fingers 3 and 4. The pen should now be held by its tip with
fingers 1 and 2, the end pointing towards the ground.
- Now grab the pencil with the thumb and finger 1, remove finger 2
and return to the starting position (except now you are holding the
tip of the pencil).
- Repeat.
|
| Two Pen Twirl
|
| This trick involves performing a Behind
The Hand Twirl on each hand and transferring the pencils from hand
to hand during the move.
|
| Start
| Start with pen 1 in the left hand in the normal starting position and
pen 2 in the right hand, between fingers 3 and 4.
|
| Description
|
- Perform half of the normal twirl with each hand. Pen 1 is now
between the left fingers 3 and 4 and pen 2 is held at one end with
the right thumb and finger 1.
- The right hand now grabs middle of pen 1 with fingers 3 and 4 and
the left hand grabs the upper end pen 2 with the thumb and finger 1.
|
| Comments
| A slightly better version is to alternate between one full twirl and
one and a half twirls before exchanging the pens. This way the pens are
in different positions for each exchange and they are twirling longer
which looks better.
|
Cigarette Toss - (Dynamic)
| In this trick you place a cigarette on the hand, slap that
arm and the cigarette leaps up to be caught in the mouth.
|
| Start
| Hold the forearm out parallel to the ground, palm up. Place a
cigarette in the middle of the palm parallel to the fingers with the
filter pointing out.
|
| Description
| Sharply hit the base of the wrist with the other hand while moving the
hand with the cigarette up slightly. The cigarette should fly up into
the air to be caught in the mouth.
|
| Comments
| This trick can also be done with other objects. Jackie Chan often does
it in his movies with small lollies and I have seen it done with a
burning match.
|
Classic Finger Twirl
| This trick involves twirling the pencil through the
fingers in a manner similiar to baton twirling.
|
| Start
| Start by holding a pen in the middle between fingers 1 and 2. This
description describes rotating clockwise on the right hand.
|
| Description
|
- Rotate the pen 90 degrees by pulling backwards with finger 1.
- Place finger 3 on the same side of the pen as finger 1 and release
the grip with finger 1. Rotate the pen 180 degrees.
- Place finger 4 on the same side of the pen as finger 2 and release
the grip with finger 2. Rotate the pen 180 degrees.
- Place finger 2 on the same side of the pen as finger 4 and release
the grip with finger 4. Rotate the pen 180 degrees.
- Place finger 1 on the same side of the pen as finger 3 and release
the grip with finger 3. Rotate the pen 90 degrees. You will now be
at position 1 above and can repeat the steps.
|
| Comments
| It can be performed anticlockwise by reversing the steps. I find the
clockwise version easiest but both should be practiced.
|
| Twirl Down Slide
|
| In this trick the pen is twirled down, then slid back to
the start.
|
| Start
| Start in the same position described above.
|
| Description
| Twirl the pen anti-clockwise down until it is between fingers 3 and 4.
From here grab the pen between the thumb and finger 3 and slide it
across the fingers back to the starting point.
|
| Comments
| This can also be performed in the reverse direction.
|
| TwoPenTwirl
|
| This is a variation of the Pen Twirl done with two pens on
one hand.
|
| Start
| Start with pen 1 between fingers 1 and 2, and pen 2 between fingers 3
and 4.
|
| Description
|
- Rotate pen 2 clockwise to a position between fingers 2 and 3.
- Rotate pen 1 anti-clockwise to a position between fingers 3 and 4.
- Rotate pen 2 clockwise to a position between finger 1 and 2.
|
| Comments
| This is the basic move which can be extended by rotating the pens in
different ways.
|
Drumstick Twirl
| This is a trick that drummers often perform with
drumsticks.
|
| Start
| Hole the right hand out with the fingers pointing up and the palm
facing you. Place a drumstick at its middle between fingers 2 and 3 with
the tip pointing away from you.
|
| Description
|
- Rotate the stick 90 degrees by lowering the fingers until the palm
is facing up. The tip is pointing down.
- Rotate the stick 90 degrees by turning the hand to the right. The
fingers are now pointing right with the palm facing away and the tip
pointing towards you.
- Rotate the stick 90 degrees by turning the hand back to the left.
The fingers are now pointing away from you with the palm facing down
and the tip pointing up.
- Rotate the stick 90 degrees by turning the hand to the left and
returning it to the starting position.
|
| Comments
| When the trick is done fast the hand should not move as much as
described above and should remain facing left.
This description describes the drumstick rotating in a vertical
plane. It can also be rotated in a horizontal plane without too much
trouble.
|
Finger 1 Spin
| This trick is basically the same as the Heads
Up Spin coin trick.
|
| Start
| Start with the pen held by the end between finger 1 and the thumb.
|
| Description
| Now push the pen over the back of finger 1 with the thumb until it can
be grabbed with finger 2. Release the pen with the thumb and continue
the rotation until the thumb can replace finger 2 to return to the
starting position.
|
| Circle Spin
|
| If you attempt to keep the tip of the pen stationary
during the rotation (by moving the hand in a circle) you can produce an
interesting illusion. If performed correctly it will look like the tip
of the pen is fixed in the air and you are rotating the rest of the pen
about this point.
|
Fingertip Spin
These tricks involve spinning the pencil horizontally on the fingertips.
| Six Fingertip Spin
|
| This trick involves spinning a pen horizontally between
the tips of three fingers of each hand.
|
| Start
| Start by placing the thumb, finger 1 and finger 2 of the right hand
together so that the tips for a triangle. Point this triangle upwards
and balance a pen at it's mid point on the triangle. Form a similiar
triangle with the left hand and place it on the pen (over the right
handed triangle). The left fingers are pointing towards the ground.
|
| Description
| Now perform the moves of the Pen
Spin simultaneously with the fingers of each hand so that the pen
spins in a plane parellel to the ground.
|
| Comments
| For this trick (and the next two tricks) make sure that contact is
only made with the tips of the fingers. Otherwise you might as well be
doing a normal spin.
|
| Four Fingertip Spin
|
| Once you can do the above trick smoothly you should be
able to remove the thumb and finger 2 of the left hand. Now the spin is
created by the fingers of the right hand, while the left index finger
helps maintain the balance.
|
| Three Fingertip Spin
|
| For this trick you simply remove the left index finger
(Although "simply" is probably not the right word :-)
|
| Comments
| This is hard because the pen only rests on the fingertips and it is
hard to maintain the balance, while keeping the pen spinning smoothly.
To practice this I marked the centre of the pen allowing me to easily
tell where the balance point is, and I could then keep this point
centered on the finger tips.
This trick looks really nice when you can do it fast and smoothly.
This trick will be static when first learning due to the slow spin,
but as skill increases and the speed of the pen increases it will become
a dynamic trick.
|
| Six Fingertip Spin - Two Pens
|
| For this trick start in the same position as for the Six
Fingertip Spin but you now have two pens, one is resting on top of
the other (the pens are parallel with each other). The bottom hand now
spins the bottom pen in one direction while the top hand spins the top
pen in the opposite direction. Make sure that when the pens are not
parallel, they are touching at about their midpoints.
|
Hand Twirl
| This trick involves wrapping a pen around the back of the
hand. There is a similiar move that is performed in staff twirling.
|
| Start
| This trick works better with long, heavy objects but can be done with
the right type of pen. Start by making a fist with the right hand and
insert the very end of a pencil into the hole formed by the right index
finger.
|
| Description
| Gently throw the pen to the right so that it wraps over the back of
the hand. As it rolls of the other side of the hand catch it. The pen
will perform a 360 degree spin during the move.
|
Letterman Toss - (Dynamic)
| This is a trick that Dave Letterman does on The Letterman
Show fairly regularly. The method may be slightly different but the
effect is the same.
|
| Start
| Hold out the hand palm down and hold a pencil by resting it on the
thumb and finger 2 and placing finger 1 on top of the pen. The end of
the pen should be on the thumb with the tip pointing away from you.
|
| Description
| Push down with finger 1 and quickly remove the thumb. The pen should
now fly straight up into the air spinning rapidly. With practice you
should be able to catch it again ready for another toss.
|
Lid Removal Spin
| This is a neat way of removing a pen lid one handed and
then replacing the lid.
|
| Start
| Start with the pen held in the middle with the thumb and the first two
fingers. The lid should be pointing up.
|
| Description
|
- Spin the pen 180 degrees between the thumb and first two fingers.
(See Coin
Spin for a description of this).
- Grab the lid with finger 4 and pull up with the thumb and finger 1
to remove the lid.
- Perform another 180 degree rotation and insert the end of the pen
into the lid.
- Perform one more 180 degree spin to arrive in a normal writing
position.
|
| Comments
| The steps can be reversed to replace the lid on the end of the pen.
|
One Finger Spin - (Dynamic)
| This is a trick in which an L shaped object is spun on the
end of the finger.
I originally saw this trick performed with a toothbrush but it can be
done with any L shaped object. It can be done with a pen with a bit of
modification. You need a pen with the type of lid that has a long pointy
bit for clipping the pen to a shirt. Bend back the pointy bit until it
is at a 90 degree angle (or slightly less) with the pen.
The pen should look like this:
Make sure that the resulting bent lid at least as long as the width
of your index finger as this makes the trick easier.
|
| Start
| Hold out an extended right index finger, palm pointing down. Balance
the underside of the bent lid on top of the finger so that the pen is
perpendicular to the ground and against the right side of the finger.
|
| Description
| Rotate the finger in clockwise circles so that the pen also rotates.
The start is done with a large circle, but once the pen is spinning make
the circles smaller.
|
| Comments
| You can do this in the other direction by starting with the pen on the
other side of the finger. Also try it with other fingers and both hands
at once.
The spin can be stopped in several ways (These descriptions assume
clockwise spinning on the right index finger):
- As the pen comes over the top of the finger extend finger 4 (the
pinkie) and let the pen land on it. The pen should now be resting on
the back of finger 1 and finger 4. From here you can go back into
the spin by removing finger 4.
- As the tip of the pen swings around to point directly up grab the
lower part of the pen (The part below the index finger) between the
thumb and the index finger. The timing for this method is tricky.
From here you can let the pen fall to the right and continue
spinning.
- As the pen swings down to point towards the ground rotate the hand
to the right 90 degrees (so that the palm faces left) and bend the
index finger. If timed right the pen will fly of to the left to be
caught in the left hand.
- I can't do this reliably. As the tip of the pen swings over the
top of the index finger, reverse the rotation of the finger. The pen
comes of the finger and the finger hits the pen near the tip
reversing its spin. The end of the pen should then flick up into the
hand where it is caught.
|
| Variations
|
- Two pens on the same finger. This doesn't usually last long.
- Toss the pen in the air, catch it on a finger and go straight into
a spin. I can do this occasionally but it's pretty hard.
Here is some stuff I'm working on but can't do yet.
- Try two pens on the same hand. One on the finger 1 and the other
on finger 4. The pens keep colliding so you need to either have
short pens or work out how to offset the spinning pens.
- I'm trying to work out a way to transfer the spinning pen to
another finger. No luck yet :-(
|
Palm Flip
| In this trick the pen is held horizontally between the
palms and flipped about in various ways.
|
| Start
| Hold both hands out in front of you with the palms pointing in towards
each other. Hold a pen so that each end of the pen touches one of the
palms. The pen should be parallel to the ground.
|
| Description
| Now toss the pen by pulling up with one hand. Make the pen flip 180
degrees to be caught in the starting position, although the ends have
changed places.
|
| Comments
| The flip can be performed vertically or horizontally. Try doing 360
degree flips or more.
A neat illusion can be created as follows. Start as above. Move both
hands up as if you are about to throw the pen. Push slightly to the
right and remove the left hand. Don't flip the pen but make it remain in
place, still touching the right hand. Momentarily this looks like the
pen is sticking to the right hand. This move is similiar in concept to
the standard cigar box move. To extend the illusion alternate between
removing the left, then right hands.
|
Palm Rotation
| This trick involves rorating an object that is centered on
the palm.
|
| Start
| This trick requires a larger and heavier object than a pen. Place the
object across the right palm so that it is over the base of the thumb
and the base of finger 4.
|
| Description
| You can now cause the object to rotate continually bu pushing to the
left with the thumb and to the right with the fingers. Try to keep the
rotation as smooth as possible, with a minimum amount of movement with
the fingers.
|
Pen Spin
This trick is exactly the same as the Coin
Spin trick, but performed with a pencil. Note that only the left and right
versions of the spin work. Forward and back do not.
Quick Flip - (Dynamic)
| This is a simple trick that looks more impressive than it
really is, especially when performed repeatedly.
|
| Start
| Hold a pen at its middle with the thumb and finger 1.
|
| Description
| Now place finger 2 on the same side of the pen as the thumb and with
one quick motion push forward with finger 2 and back with finger 1 while
removing the thumb. The pen will rotate 180 degrees. At this point you
stop pushing and the momentum of the pen should cause it to reverse its
spin and return back to the starting position.
|
Rotation Tricks
These tricks involve rotating a pen with the fingers of both hands.
| Tip Walk Rotation
|
| In this trick the pen is rotated with the fingertips of
each hand.
|
| Start
| Start with the pen held vertically with the right thumb on the bottom
and the left finger 1 on the top.
|
| Description
|
- Rotate the pen 180 degrees (the left finger goes arounf the back).
The left finger 1 is now on the bottom and the right thumb is on
top.
- Replace the left finger 1 with the left thumb and the right thumb
with the right finger 1.
- Repeat.
|
| Comments
| A variation is to alternate between using fingers 1, 2 and 3 of either
hand.
|
| Double Spin Rotation
|
| In this trick the pencil is continually rotated in a
vertical plane by performing pen spins on each end.
|
| Start
| Start with the pen held vertically gripped at the top with the right
thumb and finger 2 and at the bottom with the left thumb and finger 2.
|
| Description
| Now perform a pen spin on each end of the pen. The effect is that the
pen continually rotates in a vertical plane.
|
| Finger 2 Rotation
|
| In this trick the pen is continually rotated around finger
2.
|
| Start
| Hold the pencil in the middle with finger 1 and 2 of the right hand,
palm facing you. Grab the far end of the pencil with the left hand.
|
| Description
|
- With the left hand rotate the pen downwards so that is touching
the back of finger 2.
- Grab the pen with right finger 3 and remove right finger 1.
- Continue the rotation with the left hand 180 degrees until the pen
is resting on the bottom of finger 2.
- Grab the pen with right finger 1 and remove right finger 3.
Continue the rotation to get back to the start.
|
| Comments
| The left hand can either keep a solid grip on the end of the pen or
perform a pen spin or finger 1 spin.
A nice variation is to have both hands perform the same moves that
the right hand performs above.
|
| Alternating Index Rotation
|
| In this trick the pen is alternatly rotated around each
index finger.
|
| Start
| Hold the pencil at an end with the thumb and finger 1 of the right
hand. Thumb on top pencil pointing away from you. Hold the other end in
a similiar manner but with finger 1 on top.
|
| Description
|
- Release the grip with right thumb and rotate the far end to the
front by going below the left finger 1.
- Grab the far end with the right thumb on the bottom of the pen.
The pen has rotated 180 degrees and the hands swapped places.
Repeat.
|
| Comments
| Now place the pen parallel to your body and perform the same move by
alternately rotating the pen around right finger 1 then left finger 1.
The pen should remain parallel to you.
|
Sonic - (Dynamic)
In this trick the pen is spun 360 degrees horizontally between pairs of fingers.
| Finger 2 Sonic
|
| This trick involves spinning the pencil around finger 2.
|
| Start
| To start the trick hold out the hand with the palm down. Place a
pencil so that its end is resting on the web of skin between the base of
the thumb and finger 1 while the other end rests on the first knuckle of
finger 3. About 1/3 of the pencil should be hanging over the end of
finger 3. The second joint of finger 2 should be resting on top of the
middle of the pencil and curled slightly inwards, while fingers 1 and 3
are straight.
|
| Description
| Now apply pressure downwards with finger 2 and release the grip on the
end of the pencil (where it touches the web of the thumb). The pencil
will now perform a 360 degree anticlockwise spin to be caught between
fingers 1 and 2. It should be pointing in the same direction as it was
at the start.
During the spin the pencil moves as follows:
- 1st 90 degrees: The end of the pencil moves anticlockwise
until it is under finger 4. The tip of the pencil is over finger 1.
- 2nd 90 degrees: The end of the pencil continues
anticlockwise and the entire pencil moves to the top of the hand. It
is now basically resting on top of finger 2, parallel to this finger
with the end of the pencil pointing away from the hand.
- Rest of the spin: The pencil continues spinning in the same
direction and the end of the pencil moves under finger 1 to be
caught between finger 1 and finger 2.
To finish the trick place the end of the pencil at the web of the thumb
and move the top of the pencil back to the starting position. With
practice you should be able to perform this trick continually.
|
| Variations
| Finger 3: Start as for the Finger
2 version but with the top of the pen on finger 4. The pen now spins
around finger 3 to be caught between fingers 2 and 3. This version is
harder than the Finger 2 version.
Finger 1: Start as for the Finger
2 version but with the top of the pen on finger 2. The pen now spins
around finger 1 to be caught between the thumb and finger 1. The catch is
slightly different to the other versions.
Finger 2 and 3: Start as for the Finger 3 version but allow the
pen to spin around both fingers 3 and 2, to be caught between fingers 1
and 2.
|
| Twisted Sonic
|
| This is a variation of Sonic in which the under the finger
rather then over it.
|
| Start
| Start as for a Finger
2 Sonic, but make sure finger 1 is below finger 2 rather than above
it.
|
| Description
| Perform a Finger
2 Sonic but keep finger 2 above finger 3. this will cause the end of
the pencil to rotate under finger 2 to a position between finger 1 and
2. The tip of the pencil will now be near the base of the thumb as the
pen has rotated 180 during the move
|
| Reverse Sonic
|
| Any of the above Sonic variations can be performed in
reverse, but this is pretty hard. I can't do it yet.
|
| Fake Sonic
|
| Begin a normal Sonic but instead of releasing the grip on
the pencil and letting it spin to the top of the hand, keep a firm grip
on it with the fingers so that the end of the pen rotates 360 degrees
below the hand. The trick finishes in the starting position.
|
| Super Sonic
|
| This trick involves performing a Finger 3 Sonic, Finger 2
Sonic and a Finger 1 Sonic in rapid sucession.
|
| Harmonic Sonic
|
| Perform one of the Sonic variations followed immediately
by its reverse version.
|
| Hand To Hand Transfer
|
| This allows the pen to be transferred from hand to hand.
|
| Start
| Start the Finger 2 Sonic while moving the hand with the pencil
towards the other hand.
|
| Description
| Halfway through the spin release the pencil and allow it to fly across
to the other hand. If the timing is correct the pencil should land in
the other hand in the normal starting position for a Finger 2 Sonic.
You will need to experiment with the position of the catching hand so
that you can get the pencil to land in the right position.
|
| Comments
| A nice looking combination is to do a Finger 2 Sonic on the
right hand, toss the pencil to the left hand, do a Finger 2 Sonic
and toss it back to the right hand.
|
Table Spin - (Dynamic)
| Start
| Place the pen on a table with about 1-2 cm of the end of the pen
hanging of the edge of the table.
|
| Description
| Sharply hit the unserside of the end of the pen so that it fly up into
the air. Let the pen rotate through 450 degrees so that it can be caught
in a normal writing position.
|
Thumb Spin - (Dynamic)
These tricks involves spinning a pencil around the thumb in various ways.
| Normal
|
| In this trick the pencil is spun around the thumb.
|
| Start
| Start with the hand held with the palm held perpendicular to the
ground. Hold the end of the pen between the thumb and fingers 1 and 2.
Finger 1 should be about 1cm from the end of the pen and the thumb
should be roughly between fingers 1 and 2. The thumb should be making
contact with the pen at the lower portion of the pad.
|
| Description
| Push firmly against the pen with finger 2 and then release the pen
with finger 1. The pen should now spin around the thumb (just below the
thumb nail) to be caught between the thumb and finger 1. The action
should be just like snapping the fingers.
|
| Comments
| The Double Thumb Spin can also be performed in which the pen
performs two rotations around the thumb before being caught.
You can finish the trick by catching either the end or the tip of the
pen (assuming you started holding the end). From here you can do several
things:
- End - I find this finish the hardest. From here you can
perform:
- Another thumb spin.
- A pen spin in preperation for a reverse thumb spin.
- Tip - From here you can perform:
- A reverse spin.
- Behind the hand twirl to prepare for another thumb
spin.
- Finger 1 Spin to prepare for another thumb spin. I
think this variation is the same as the Cardoid trick
described in the first link above.
|
| Reverse
|
| In this variation the pencil is spun around the thumb in
the opposite direction.
|
| Start
| The hand position is the same as for the Normal
Thumb Spin . The pencil should be held at the end between the thumb
and fingers 1 and 2.
|
| Description
| Push with finger 1 and release the end of the pencil with finger 2 so
that the pencil wraps around the thumb to be caught between the thumb
and finger 2.
|
| Comments
| The Double Reverse Thumb Spin can also be performed in which
the pencil performs two reverse rotations around the thumb before being
caught as normal.
|
| Semi Reverse
|
| In this variation the pencil spins 180 degrees on top of
the thumb, rather than spinning around the thumb.
|
| Start
| Start as for a Reverse
Thumb Spin.
|
| Description
| Begin the spin as for a regular reverse spin but make sure that the
pen remains on top of the hand. The center of rotation for the pen
should be over the crook of the thumb. The trick finishes with the pen
falling down between the thumb and finger 1 to be caught in its original
position (although it has rotated 180 degrees).
|
| Comments
| The Double Semi Reverse can also be performed in which the
pencil performs a full rotation on top of the hand before being caught
as normal.
|
| Axle
|
| This is an extension of the Normal
Thumb Spin. The pencil performs a 1 and 1/2 rotations before it is
caught between fingers 1 and 2.
|
| Start
| Start as for the Normal
Thumb Spin.
|
| Description
| Perform the normal spin but allow the pencil to perform an extra half
rotation, to be caught between figners 1 and 2.
|
| Comments
| The Double Axle can also be performed in which the pencil
performs 2 and 1/2 rotations around the thumb to be caught as for the
normal axle. Reverse variations of the Axle and Double Axle
can also be performed.
|
| Spin To Balance
|
| When performing either the normal or reverse thumb spin,
if you do not generate quite enough power to get the pen all the way
around the thumb you can cause the pen to finish in a balance across the
top of the thumb and finger 1.
|
Toss To Thumb Spin - (Dynamic)
| These tricks involve tossing the pen from the hand and
having it bounce off the thumb in various ways.
|
| Start
| Hold the right hand out, palm up with the fingers pointing to the
left. Place a pen across the fingers with the tip pointing away from
you. The thumb is then extended over the pen.
|
| Description
| There are several variations that can be performed:
Thumb Wrap
Toss the pen straight up without imparting any spin on it. The pen
should be made to hit the thumb just below its middle point. If
performed correctly the pen should now rapidly spin around the thumb to
be caught in it's starting position.
Fast Spin
Do the same pen toss as described above but make the end of the pen hit
the thumb. The pen will spin 360 degrees, very fast, to be caught in the
starting position.
Fake Spin
Toss up the pen so that it will perform a normal 360 degree spin. After
the toss the palm rotates to the right. It should now be perpendicular
to the ground with the fingers pointing away from you and the thumb
entended to the left. As the pen completes the first 180 degrees of the
spin the tip of the pen should be directly over the thumb. The thumb
hits the tip of the pen and reverses the direction of its spin. The pen
now spins 360 degrees in the reverse direction (away from you) to be
caught in the normal starting position (Although the tip of the pen is
now pointing towards you).
|
Two Finger Twirl
| Start
| Start by holding the pencil in the middle with the index finger of
each hand (The back of one finger and the bottom of the other).
|
| Description
| Rotate one finger around the other so that the pencil also rotates
around the finger. The grip on the pencil tends to move away from the
middle. This can be avoided by adjusting which finger moves the pencil.
|
Two Handed Rotation
| In this trick a pen is rotated through 720 degrees with
two hands.
|
| Start
| Start with a pen held at each end with the thumb and finger 1 of each
hand. The thumbs should be on the bottom and the pen parallel to the
ground.
|
| Description
|
- Rotate the pen 360 degrees anti clockwise (The two ends of the
pens will move around the circumference of a circle). The left hand
should move over the right suring this move. You should now be back
to the start, but the thumbs are now on top.
- Continue the move with another 360 degree rotation, but now the
right hand move over the top.
- Repeat.
|
Vertical Spin - (Dynamic)
| In this trick the pen is made to wrap around finger 2
vertically.
|
| Start
| Hold out the right hand with the palm perpendicular to the ground,
with the palm facing left. Place the end of the pencil on the web of
skin between the thumb and finger 1. Place the middle of the pencil
between the very ends of finger2 2 and 3 (between the nails). Extend
finger 1 and keep it pulled back as it should not get in the way of the
trick.
|
| Description
| Apply pressure to the pen by pushing up with finger 3 and let the end
of the pencil slide of the thumb. The pencil will spin around finger 2
to be caught in the crook of the thumb.
|
|
