2 / 7. One handed spin

Below you will find our step-by-step GIF series, and at the bottom of the page our tutorial video.

1. Starting Position

2. Spinning once on the ground

Hold one of the handsticks in your stronger hand and put one end of the flowerstick on it.

Raise the handstick high enough and with enough power to allow the flowerstick to turn over. The two sticks should touch each other the whole time.

3. Lifting and spinning it more

4. Spinning in the air

After each turn/ round, lift another one ensuring that the handstick and the flowerstick are touching throughout.

Continue spinning/lifting and try to play with your handstick as close to the centre of the flowerstick as possible. This will slow down the spinning.

5. Catch it with the other handstick

6. Combining it with the Tic-Tac

Take the other handstick in your hand and, after 2-3 spins, catch/ stop the flowerstick with the help of the other handstick.

Once you are confident with the catch, try not only to catch the flowerstick, but also to combine the spin with the Tic-Tac.

Advanced Level

7. Right hand, left hand

if you’re already good with your stronger hand, try it also with your weaker hand. Good tricks will come out of it 🙂

1. Starting Position

Hold one of the handsticks in your stronger hand and put one end of the flowerstick on it.

2. Spinning once on the ground

Raise the handstick high enough and with enough power to allow the flowerstick to turn over. The two sticks should touch each other the whole time.

3. Lifting and spinning it more

After each turn/ round, lift another one ensuring that the handstick and the flowerstick are touching throughout.

4. Spinning in the air

Continue spinning and try to play with your handstick as close to the centre of the flowerstick as possible. This slows down the spinning.

5. Catch it with the other handstick

Take the other handstick in your hand and, after 2-3 spins, catch/ stop the flowerstick with the help of the other handstick.

6. Connect it with the Tic-Tac

Once you are confident with the catch, try not only to catch the flowerstick, but also to combine the spin with the Tik-Tak.

Advanced Level

7. Right hand, left hand

Advanced level: if you’re already good with your stronger hand, try it also with your weaker hand. Good tricks will come out of it 🙂

2# Tutorial video - One handed spin

About the One-handed spin

If you can’t do the first trick (Helicopter), feel free to try this one. It’s easy, but at the same time, an impressive trick. You spin the flowerstick with one handstick, and when it has made a few turns, you stop/catch it with the other handstick. As you learn this, you’ll improve at other tricks too (e.g. the Helicopter will be easier). Once you’re confident with this trick and the Helicopter, it’s worth linking/ combining the two together before moving on to other tricks. The key to a truly spectacular game is the way you combine different tricks. So let’s go combo ☺

Common mistakes

  • You don’t raise your handstick high enough when playing on the ground. So it can’t turn over. This is especially difficult for younger children, who tend to lift with their elbows fixed (immobile). It’s important to lift your whole arm, not just your forearm. Even worse if you only play/lift from the wrist.
  • You raise the handstick too suddenly: when you first try to make a turn in the air, you might raise the handstick too suddenly. This will result in the flowerstick becoming unmanageable and it will fly away. You need to make a fast, dynamic movement, but not a sudden one, rather a steadily accelerating one. 
  • The handstick is facing downwards, so when you lift it, the flowerstick keeps falling in front of you. It should be at least horizontal, but preferably facing slightly upwards. It is also often the case that the handstick is still in a good (upright) position at the starting position, but when you lift it, you lose control and it droops a bit.
IMPORTANT

Always hold the handstick at the end. Even for the smaller ones, it’s better, because if you don’t leave enough space on it to play with, the stick will fall down very often. In addition, it will also make your wrists more flexible.

Advices that work for every trick

  1. If you can (also) play with the flowerstick slowly, you will also be able to do it quickly. The other way around is not necessarily true.
  2. The closer you play to the centre of the flowerstick, the slower you are able to play. The closer you play to the end of the flowerstick, the faster you play.
  3. If you want to play slowly, you need to play with the flowerstick closer to the centre of it (with the handsticks). At the same time, you also need to be more subtle with the handsticks. Flex your hands more. The handsticks should rather guide the flowerstick than hit it.
  4. For most tricks, it can be said that the handsticks should not be facing the ground. Instead, they should be horizontal or even slightly pointing upwards.
  5. Apart from a few extra advanced tricks, always hold the handsticks by their ends. This way, you’ll have more playing surface on them, and on the other hand, they won’t restrict your wrist movement. A loose (moving) wrist and hand position are very important parts of the game.
  6. One or two tricks can be learnt relatively quickly with a few repetitions. However, to repeat it many times over and over again typically requires a lot more learning. But that’s not what’s important. Instead of repetitions, try to combine the current trick with other tricks. You will learn a lot from it.
  7. If, despite lots of practice, you still can’t learn one or two movements or tricks, don’t be disappointed. Try something else for a few days and you’ll see that you’ll get better at what was difficult before. 
  8. This is most common in younger children (6-8 years old), but it can also happen at much older ages when they play only from the wrist or forearm. When this happens, their elbows do not move, and they simply cannot lift the flowerstick enough to turn it over. Or they may swing from the wrist so much that the stick flies away. The lesson is to get your whole body involved in the game, rather than just one or two parts of it.

 

Read more

Close

Additional - recommended - tricks

If you’re already good at this trick, or just want to practice something else, try the following tricks

1. Helicopter
Flowerstick-devilstick-tricks-tutorial-1-helicopter-mainGIF.2-big

The most important basic moves of the flowerstick game are in this trick. Lift, catch/ stop the stick in the air while spinning it.

3. Bicycle
flowerstick-devilstick-tricks-tutorial-3-bicycle-main-gif.1

With two handsticks, you roll the flowerstick in front of you as if you were riding a bicycle. It’s not a difficult trick, but to incorporate it into your game (combine it with other tricks), you need to know more tricks.

4. Throwing
Flowerstick-devilstick-tricks-tutorial-4-throw-mainGIF.1

One of the most spectacular elements of the game, but to really impress your audience (and yourself), it’s important that you can do the Helicopter and the One-Handed spin with confidence.

5. Foot-Tricks
Flowerstick-devilstick-tricks-tutorial-5-footgame-mainGIF.3

The first steps of the trick are not difficult. Feel free to start your flowerstick learning right here. But to make it a spectacular part of your game, you’ll need to know more tricks (especially the Helicopter and the One-Handed spin).

1. Helicopter
Flowerstick-devilstick-trick-tutorial-1-helicopter-mainGIF.2-small

The most important basic moves of the flowerstick game are in this trick. Lift, catch/ stop the stick in the air while spinning it.

3. Bicycle
flowerstick-devilstick-trick-tutorial-3-bicycle-main-gif-small.1

With two handsticks, you roll the flowerstick in front of you as if you were riding a bicycle. It’s not a difficult trick, but to incorporate it into your game (combine it with other tricks), you need to know more tricks.

4. Throwing
Flowerstick-devilstick-trick-tutorial-4-throw-mainGIF-small.1

One of the most spectacular elements of the game, but to really impress your audience (and yourself), it’s important that you can do the Helicopter and the One-Handed spin with confidence.

5. Foot-Tricks
Flowerstick-devilstick-trick-tutorial-5-footgame-mainGIF-small.3

The first steps of the trick are not difficult. Feel free to start your flowerstick learning right here. But to make it a spectacular part of your game, you’ll need to know more tricks (especially the Helicopter and the One-Handed spin).