Chinese Yoyo

 

Defination:

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 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. 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 Yoyo
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 for the Chinese yo-yo, for which the Chinese characters and the pinyin 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.


Alternative defination of Chinese Yoyo
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.

Video

Brian's Legendary Chinese Yoyo Performance