A
Asynch(ronous): When you play with multiple diabolos in the string, it refers to the way you move your hands. In this case, your hands move differently (one goes up while the other goes down).
Axle: The metal part in the middle of your diabolo where the string goes.
B
Battle: Diabolo competition organised (usually during juggling conventions) to determine who is the most exciting diabolist. It is very much like a hip-hop dance battle but with diabolo tricks. Here is an example:
Bearing (axle): Unlike with the fixed axle where the entire diabolo rotates as one, the bearing can be stationary while the rest of the diabolo still spins. It allows you to do tricks without losing as much speed as you would with a fixed axle.
Body move: Any trick that involves you moving your body
BTB: Behind The Back
C
Collab(oration video): A compilation of small videos by multiple jugglers. For example:
Combo (or combination): A sequence of tricks with no acceleration in between.
Convention : A gathering of jugglers that usually includes a gala show, an open stage, games, workshops and more. I love them, if you find one near you, go there ! https://www.jugglingedge.com/events.php to find one.
Cups: The big plastic bowls of the diabolo. Here in blue:
D
Darkside: A string position where the diabolo is on the other side of the string and your arms are crossed so that the diabolo doesn’t drop. This is the starting position of many tricks, like mini genocide, cat’s cradle,…
dca: refers to THE diabolo forum http://diabolo.ca/
Diabolist: another name for diabolo player
Diabology: The first DVD all about diabolo with tutorials and inspiring videos.
Drop: When you mess up and the diabolo escapes you and drops on the floor.
DSSS: The Diabolo SiteSwap Simulator, a very useful tool for diabolo high but you’ll need to know a bit about siteswap http://www.artofdiabolo.com/dsss/dsss.php
E
EJC: European Juggling Convention
F
Fan: A really cool 2 diabolos trick with lots of variations
Fixed axle: The most common type of diabolo axle and the best for total beginners. It is a simple piece of metal in the middle of the diabolo.
FTS: Feed The Sun. A trick with multiple diabolos that consist of throwing one diabolo higher (out of the shuffle) and doing a sun with the other diabolo(s)
G
Galexis: A style of diabolo juggling invented by Alexis Levillon where one diabolo is on the vertical plan and the other is on the horizontal plan. The style is at 0:43 in this video :
Geno(cide): A trick where one stick is released and the diabolo is not in contact with the string.
Grind: A trick where the diabolo is spinning on a stick, a finger or anywhere that isn’t the string or in the air.
H
High: When juggling with multiple diabolos and only one is in contact with the string. When you throw the diabolos high.
Hubs: The parts of your diabolo between the cups and the axle. Here in white:
I
IJA: International Juggler’s Association https://www.juggle.org/
Integral: A trick where the 2 sticks are released and fly around. You usually still hold the string.
J
K
Knots: A type of tricks where you play with the string making knots.
L
Loop diabolo: A style of diabolo juggling where you don’t use sticks, only one loop of string.
Low: When juggling with multiple diabolos in the string. When you throw the diabolos low.
M
Monobolo: A one-sided diabolo with only one cup.
N
N for nothing there. Tell me what I missed!
O
Orbit: A trick where the diabolo goes around your body, arm or leg.
P
Planet Diabolo: A DVD in the same style as diabology, with tutorials and great videos. Here is the YouTube channel and here you can buy the DVD on Amazon.
Q
Qualify (a trick): To qualify a trick you need to do it twice in a row. For example, to qualify two diabolos juggling, you will need to catch 4 times (catch each diabolo twice).
R
Routine: A succession of tricks and combinations. This is the juggling part of a performance.
S
Shuffle: The basic pattern for juggling multiple diabolos. The diabolos go round: on the string from your dominant hand to the other, then thrown back towards the dominant hand.
Siteswap: It is a numeric juggling notation used to describe the rythm of throws and their trajectories. In diabolo, it is mostly used for high.
Slacks: Tricks where you move your stick(s) in such a way that a loop of string is formed and passes around the diabolo and/or stick(s). Example :
Sprinkler: A trick with multiple diabolos where you wrap the string around the diabolos.
Suicide: A trick where one stick is released and the diabolo is still in contact with the string. Suicides can also refer to a category of tricks where sticks are released.
Synch(ronous): when you play with multiple diabolos in the string, it refers to the way you moves your hands. In this case, both hands move the same way (up together and down together).
T
Tricks: All the cool things you can do with the combination of diabolos, string and sticks
U
V
Vertax: A style of diabolo where the tricks are performed on the horizontal plan. It comes from the contraction of VERTical Axis. You can find tutorials here.
W
Wrap: When the string is wrapped around the diabolo axle. There are two types of wrap: internal and external. The internal wrap is when you wrap with your dominant hand between the diabolo and your body. The external wrap is when you wrap with your dominant hand between the diabolo and your audience.
X
Y
Yoyo: A juggling prop similar (in shape) to the diabolo, but very different. It is smaller (around 55mm for the yoyo and over 140mm for a good diabolo). The string is attached to your finger and the yoyo doesn’t usually leave the string. For more on this prop, go to https://yoyoexpert.com/learn/
