Once you’ve learned the wrap acceleration (this is the acceleration you learn first with a wrap around the diabolo to increase speed faster) and your first 10 tricks, you might feel stuck not knowing what to learn next.
So how do you move on from the basics?
These first 10 tricks plus the wrap acceleration are the building blocks of diabolo, its the foundation on top of which you build the tricks from this list.
Here is a (very non-exhaustive) list of 40 tricks that are a combination of one or two of the basic tricks.
1. Trampoline
Prerequisites: throw and catch the diabolo.
The trick starts as a throw but instead of catching normally, you keep the string above your head, tight and horizontal and make the diabolo bounce back up. You can repeat the bounce as long as your diabolo still has spin and then you catch normally to end the trick.
2. Waterfall (also called forced sun)
Prerequisites: the wrap and the trapeze.
This trick is a knot ending in a trapeze position. To perform the waterfall, you need to wrap the string around the opposite stick and under the diabolo then flip the diabolo off the same way you would exit the trapeze.
3. Chinese Suicide
Prerequisites: the trapeze and the suicide.
Do a left trapeze.
Point your right stick at the diabolo aligned with the string and let go.
The stick travels around the diabolo like in the suicide, then catch.
4. Cat’s Cradle
Prerequisites: the trapeze.
This trick can be done a thousand ways, but the easiest way in my opinion is to start with a left trapeze.
Then pass the right stick in the loop formed around the left stick.
Pull your sticks apart a little and throw the diabolo out of the cradle.
Finally catch on the X formed by the string.
5. Double Trapeze
Do a trapeze twice in a row. You can do two on the left, two on the right, left then right or right then left. Then you exit in reverse order.
6. Ping Pong
Prerequisites: the leg orbit.
This trick is a variation from the leg orbit, where you bounce the diabolo back and forth between the two sides of the leg.
7. Loop
Prerequisites: throw and catch.
Step 1 is toss the diabolo, then while the diabolo is in the air, put the 2 sticks in your dominant hand and grab the middle of the string with your other hand. Finally catch the diabolo on the doubled string.
8. Whip Catch
Prerequisites: throw and catch.
Put both stick handles in one hand. Split the string with your other hand, toss the diabolo up and catch on the doubled string. This is the loop (number 7 on the list). Then throw the diabolo again and catch it whipping it with the loop.
9. Roller Coaster
Prerequisites: arm orbit.
With this trick, you creat a wrap around the arm and the diabolo revolves around your arm while staying in the wrap.
10. Coffee Grinder
Prerequisites: darkside and orbit.
With this trick, the diabolo orbits around a stick.
11. Fritz Release
Prerequisites: darkside and trapeze.
This is a magic knot that you release by throwing the diabolo sideways.
12. Duicide
Prerequisites: suicide.
Begin like a suicide but let go of both sticks so they do a full circle and catch them again.
13. Legocide
Prerequisites: leg orbit and suicide.
This is a cool way of exiting the leg orbit, it’s a suicide with one leg above the string.
14. Grind Toss
Prerequisites: grind and throw and catch.
For this one, you grind your diabolo on a stick, then throw the diabolo and catch on the stick again.
15. Tie
Prerequisites: throw and catch.
In the tie, the string is around your neck, and you throw and catch the diabolo from side to side of the string.
16. Slowcides
Prerequisites: suicide.
A stick release trick where you wrap and unwrap your diabolo with flying sticks. You have to learn this trick to be able to do almost any stick release combo and tricks like continuous mini-genocides.
17. Double Slowcide
Prerequisites: sun and suicide.
This trick is built on the previous one (slowcide). You basically do a sun and a wrap, release the stick. It goes around the diabolo twice before you catch the stick. It gives you time to do a pirouette for example.
18. Arm Stall
Prerequisites: arm orbit.
This is a nice way to pause your arm orbit.
19. Double Arm Orbit
Prerequisites: arm orbit.
This is an orbit around both arms.
20. Body Orbit
Prerequisites: leg orbit.
Like the name suggests, it’s an orbit around the body. The easiest way to start this trick is with a leg orbit, then you step over the string with the other leg while continuing the orbit motion.
21. Throw 180
Prerequisites: throw and catch and orbit.
For this trick, you have the diabolo go along the string as in the orbit but you throw the diabolo up rather than towards you dominant hand. While the diabolo is in the air you do a half pirouette, catch the diabolo near your dominant hand and repeat.
22. Genocide
Prerequisites: darkside and suicide.
This stick release trick is very impressive but not too difficult to learn. Just make sure you have plenty of space to practice!
23. V Catch
Prerequisites: sun.
This is a simple but pretty cool way to stop a 1 diabolo routine. The two sticks are in one hand forming a V and you catch the diabolo in the V.
24. Circle Acceleration
Prerequisites: leg orbit.
This is my favorite way to speed up my diabolo. You wrap the diabolo (internal or external) and you do the same motion with your hands as in the leg orbit.
25. Big Sun
Prerequisites: sun.
This is a sun above your head where you do a pirouette (360) under.
26. Back To Front Sun
Prerequisites: sun.
This tricks is two suns in a row. The first one is a normal one in front of you then following the motion you do the second one behind your back and you end up in the normal open string position.
27. Throw Start
Prerequisites: throw and catch.
A cool way to start where you have your sticks in your non dominant hand and throw the diabolo with your other hand, giving it some speed, then you catch it and start accelerating.
28. Flux Capacitor
Prerequisites: throw and catch and elevator.
A nice variation of the elevator.
29. Umbrella
Prerequisites: sun.
This one is impressive, it’s a series of suns stopped half way in the air and going back the other way.
30. Half Suicide Start
Prerequisites: suicide.
A really cool start that wrap the diabolo with a flying stick. It also works as a 2 diabolo start.
31. Infinite Suicide
Prerequisites: wrap and suicide.
Start with an internal wrap, let go of the non dominant stick and rewrap with your dominant hand as the diabolo unwraps. It’s called infinite because this trick adds spin to the diabolo so you can theoretically do it forever.
32. Between The Arms Sun
Prerequisites: sun.
This is a sun that goes between your arms instead of in front of both arms. At the end of the trick, you don’t have the usual sun string position, and end up with an open string.
33. Side Suns
Prerequisites: sun.
This is a combination of two suns. You have to stand sideways and do one sun on one side and the second sun on the other side (so left then right or right then left).
34. Al’s Release
Prerequisites: trapeze and throw and catch.
Another magic knot, it is the same principle as the half spaghetti executed in a different way.
35. Snapping The Violin String
Prerequisites: arm orbit and trapeze.
This is a cool way of exiting the arm orbit with a magic knot.
36. Arm Scisors
Prerequisites: throw and catch and darkside.
You start in the arm orbit position but instead of throwing the diabolo towards your dominant hand, you throw it straight up, catch it in darkside and end up in the arm stall position.
37. Finger Grind
Prerequisites: grind.
This is the same as the normal grind except you use your hand instead of the stick.
38. Suicide Loop
Prerequisites: suicide and sun.
This trick starts as a suicide but instead of catching the stick you grab the string and let the stick go under the diabolo once and then catch the stick.
39. Leg Stall
Prerequisites: leg orbit.
This is a nice way to pause your leg orbit.
40. Spaghetti
Prerequisites: half spaghetti.
This magic knot is a more complicated version of the half spaghetti.
