I was looking for the answers in this forum and didn't see them, but I was wondering if any of you could possibly give tips to help me control the baton.

I just got them this past weekend and I'm liking them so far. The two main problems that I seem to have are getting the baton to stay in one general area and just rotate and having the baton spin off of the handsticks and out away from me.

I realize that I've got a lot of learning to do, but any tips would be really helpful...

Thanks!

Controle will come with practice, and it shouldn't take too long for you to get the devil stick to stay in one spot.

I learned basic controle by practicing in a chair, in front of my TV set.

Devil Stick was a strange one for me. One of those props that I just couldn't do then suddenly I could. I can't remember ever sitting down and learning it like I did with ball juggling. The same happened with diabolo.

What are your handsticks covered with?

If you've got rubber coating I'd go get a set that's silicone covered if you can. They are less "slippy".

Also the basic idle (where the baton rocks back and forth between the handsticks) should be more of a throw and catch compared to a hit with the sticks... Does that make sense?

Good luck with it

Easy easy shanti shanti
like roslyn says do not hit the baton but merly touch it without much force - to give it the right direction and let gravity do most of the work.
Most beginners hit too hard and go way too fast. Let it land (till it ALMOST tops over at the wrong side) before you give it a little upward motion to the other hand again.
To get the feeling you could also move the baton between your hands (without the handsticks) first for a while. Try too move it slow and gentle.

Good luck! As always practise will help
(not that I am a very goood devilsticker by the way- and oh I do like to use flowersticks as they move slower and I think they look nicer (but opinions on what looks nicer vary)

I have been working with and without the handsticks to get the feel and have improved a lot in the short time I've had them. The handsticks that I have are covered in silicone. I find myself going faster than what I've seen most people idle at but I think that's just a practice thing. I'm sure that I'll get the hang of it with practice...

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Another good tip if you're having trouble staying in one spot is to try to keep the sticks roughly paralell, if they "v" outward the stick will run away from you, and if they "v" inward it will move closer to you.
Once you find the 'sweet spot' on the center stick where the tosses and catches take place you can slow down a great deal, but pace is an individual thing.

This is my fav prop out of all of them. I learned on my knees, that's what she said, so that way I didn't have to bend over every time I dropped. Keep the hand sticks like rail road tracks. They just move up and down and don't V out as stated above.

First focus on trapping, where both hand sticks contact the center stick. Then work on "tick tock" where only one stick catches and then throws to the other side. With this you can do under the leg and behind the back. Helicopter will just come naturally you just have to learn how to control it. Airplane takes a bit longer and the control thing as well. Just keep in mind, as others have stated, you are catching and throwing the center stick with the hand sticks and not hitting it.

Keep it up!

The biggest problem with tick tock is people hit the stick sideways rather than upwards. This leads to little or nothing to counteract the downwards force of gravity and so the devilstick gets lower and lower. Hitting the devilstick faster doesn't help much, although you may get more hits before it falls. When teaching devilstick I get people trying out lots of different tricks before I move on to tick tock, however I know a lot of people think of it as a starting trick. One of the biggest problems is people then teach beginners to start with it resting on the floor and to push it sideways backwards and forwards. See first sentence.

Nigel

who hasn't posted in ages and thought he might see what is happening on here

"One of the biggest problems is people then teach beginners to start with it resting on the floor and to push it sideways backwards and forwards. "
I actually do that........
Do you really think this is so bad?
Seriously...???
I do think it helps to get some feeling with the devilsticks and as soon as they get the sideway direction (without the stick moving away from or towards your body) I let them slowly get up and take the devilstick along. In that way you will have to move the devilstick upwards (even more then when you start standing up).
It seem to help for a lot of people. But if you really think this is bad bad bad I can experiment with leaving it out

By the way I also do start with other tricks before the tick tack. And once it is ticktacking off the floor and in the air I do empasize a lot that the devilstick should go from (almost) horizontal to (almost) horizontal rather then staying almost vertical.

I really hope this way is not so very bad after all

I teach tick tock by first getting people to hold the devilstick horizontally on the two handsticks and first learning to do half flips in both directions by bringing one hand forcibly upwards. After that I get them doing a single tick in each direction by learning to hit upwards the appropriate amount to get the stick back to it's atarting (rest) position. From there it is easier to develop tick tock. At no point do I encourage sideways hitting.

I also spend a lot of time trying to teach people who have learnt a skill with poor technique how to then do the skill with better technique, even occasionally with proper technique (although that is very difficult). I generally find that people who learn properly to start with have less problems later. Unfortunately I was self taught and have a number of problems that I am still trying to correct years later.

Nigel

has very firm views about teaching circus skills but is willing to change them if people can justify teaching in a different way

Hi Nigel,
Thanks for your reply!
Ha ha I also have very firm views etc (nicely put!) but here I am not trying to convince you but I was seriously trying to find out whether I should be willing to change the way I do teach it
Your point was totally new to me - just never looked at it that way.
I will definitly try your approach and will see if it ill work better (as in quicker getting to a nice ticktack).

I am also mostly self taught (of course with the occasional tips of friend jugglers!) and developped some bad techiques as well over the years. They can get pretty deep into your system I now often am working on taking steps back - back to the basics) and practicing on the proper technique there. Like spinning my clubs way to fast (not as in intentially but as in a habit) and using a lot of wrist. I can control it now but if I do not focus on it (but focus on a new trick or so) I fall back into the old habit.

I used to teach tick tock by having them stand and do 180 flips with the center stick. The problem was getting them to control it. They would just throw it up all crazy like so now I have them on their knees and I am in front of them on mine. I put my index and middle finger of one of my hands on the center of the center stick. I then ask them to throw it to the other side. I makes sure it then flips and doesn't go side to side. Once they get the hang of it I let go of the stick and they have to learn the control and how to keep the hand sticks parallel.

I do teach trapping first. That's pretty easy for most to pick up right away. Tick tock is just the next step to doing tricks and over all general control.

I also have them stick their index finger up along the hand sticks and tell them to imagine that the hand sticks are just extensions of their fingers. I now wonder if that is a good technique as I now have pain in my hands. Could just be that I'm getting old or could be the 20+ years of juggling.

Also have 20+ years of juggling. When I had pains in my hands it was arthritis but fortunately a controllable type. I generally dislike anything which causes a juggler to be bending their backs all the time but kneeling down eliminates that. The problem with the devil stick resting on the floor is the tendency towards sideways hitting. Why encourage a bad habit when it is as easy to eliminate it with proper tuition?

Wow...I forgot about this thread...but I'm glad I came back to it. I have been busy and haven't had a lot of time for the devil sticks lately, but I have a lot more information to go on once I get back to them! Thank you for all of the tips and insight! They are very much appreciated...

Might have to get hold of some again. Never gotten the hang of them, but this looks useful.

Nigel,

Everyone has there own way to teach and even to juggle. My partner holds two clubs in one hand differently than I do yet we can still pass all day long. He does a three ball flash differently than I do. He throws two high and I throw one high and claw the lower two. It's all in how you learn or maybe it's just why they make more than one flavor (flavour) of ice cream?

I agree to keep people from having to bend over to much is a plus. Granted that is part of the exercise that juggling offers but to start you don't want them to be discouraged. That was the main reason I teach sticks on the ground. I wish I could show you a video. I'll try to explain,

We kneel down facing each other. I have them hold the hand sticks out and I grab onto the ends. I then move the sticks up and down explaining how they must stay like a rail road track and not v out or v in and must not dip up or down. (which I do while holding the ends so they know what it feels like to do it wrong and how it feels when correct.) Once they have the up and down movement I place the center stick in between. As I said before, I hold it in the very center with my middle and index finger of my right hand. (this acts like training wheels/stabilizers) I ask them to throw one end of the center stick up and not over. As they do I "control" the stick with my fingers to help it land where it should. After a few tries of this back and forth I show them how hitting the stick to the side is wrong because you want it to do a 180 flip and not bounce back and forth vertically. Also explaining how the center mark stays right in front of you and doesn't travel left or right. From there I get them doing it and then get them to squat and try to stand up as they get better and then teach them how to kick it up with there toe so they never have to bend over again.

that's how I taught myself with out any books or teacher so that is how I teach. It took me two weeks to learn the basic tick tock but I can teach someone in 5 minutes. That doesn't mean they can do it but they know how to do it and what it feels like. After that it's up to how much they play with it.


Regards,
Ted