Devil Stick: The Full Flip

Building on the tick-tock in the air, students learn to make the stick do a full rotation before catching it again. It demands control of strike force and reading the object's spin.

How to play

1. Review the tick-tock in the air, going for ten taps in a row (5 min).
2. High, slow tick-tock: strike a little lower so the stick rises and the spin is easy to see (7 min).
3. Full flip: a firmer strike below the middle, let it rotate once, and catch it back into tick-tock (8 min).
4. Combo: three tick-tocks, one flip and three more tick-tocks (6 min).
5. Show your best combo to your partner, who gives one tip (4 min).

Rules

• Short turns per pair, switching every minute.
• Nobody stands in front of the person working.
• Work away from walls, windows and lights.
• Leave a dropped stick still and pick it up; don't kick it.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students without a solid tick-tock: keep working the progression from the floor.
• Students with low vision: use a stick with colored tips against a plain background.
• Shoulder injury: work with a shorter stick at chest height.

Learning goals

• Expand the devil stick trick repertoire.
• Match strike force to the spin you want.
• Persist through a task with lots of misses.

Equipment for a class of 25

• devil sticks with hand sticks: 15

Teacher tip

Space groups well apart: the stick sometimes flies off. Common mistake: striking at the middle, which only pushes it; the flip strike is clearly below the middle.

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