Step 2: One handed spin - Flower stick Trick

The One-Handed Spin (spinning) is a classic flower stick trick (called also flowerstick) where the stick spins in the air using only one handstick. This move is an important basic technique in flowerstick play and a great step toward more advanced tricks. In this step-by-step flowerstick tutorial, you will learn how to control the spin smoothly and keep the stick rotating with just one handstick.

Steps for beginners

Steps for beginners

1. Starting Position

2. Spinning once on the ground

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

Raise the handstick high enough and with enough power to allow the flower stick 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 flower stick are touching throughout.

Continue spinning/lifting and try to play with your handstick as close to the centre of the flower stick 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 flower stick, but also to combine the spin with the Tic-Tac.

Advanced Step

7. Right hand, left hand

if you’re already good with your stronger hand, try it also with your weaker hand. Good flower stick 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 flower stick 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 Step

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# flower stick Tutorial - One handed spin

An easy and attractive move: spinnig the flower stick with 1 handstick

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 flower stick 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 flower stick 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 flower stick tricks

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.
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 flower stick, the faster you play.
If you want to play slowly, you need to play with the flower stick 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Ready to master spinning tricks? Check out our professional flower sticks or choose a budget-friendly fiberglass flowerstick!

Flower Stick Types