How to Do the Trapeze With a Yo-Yo

If you love yo-yo tricks, you are in good company. The ancient Greeks and Mayans played with early forms of these toys, as did Napoleon the Great and King Lewis XVII. The Filipino immigrant Pedro Flores first introduced the name "yo-yo" in the 1920s, which means "spring" or "come-along." Yo-yos became immensely popular in the 1960s, and yo-yo masters performed myriad tricks with the toy, including the "Trapeze" or "Man on the Flying Trapeze." As its name suggests, it reminds many people of an acrobat flying toward a trapeze bar.

Instructions

1. • 1

     Hold the yo-yo in the palm of your dominant hand with the string looped around your ring finger. The string should come off the top, not the bottom of the yo-yo.

   • 2

     Hold it above your shoulder, with your palm up.

   • 3

     Throw it up, then sling it to one side.

   • 4

     Swing it toward your other hand.

   • 5

     Catch the string near the yo-yo with the bottom of your index finger and allow the yo-yo's momentum to carry it over the top of your hand.

   • 6

     Catch it on the string to complete the trapeze.