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Tricks - Plate Spinning
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Very impressive if you
can master several spinning plates at the same
time. Relatively easy to teach and learn. Kids
love spinning plates. If you can spin several
spinning plates and pass them out to the kiddies,
then they are very happy! |
So how do I spin a plate then?
Technical bit: Spinning plates have a large
rim on the underside. This is important. If you look
at the underside, you will see that it slopes towards
the middle. Please remember this! Do not use normal
plates!
Method#1: Most people's first instincts
when they try to plate spin, is to balance the plate
on the stick and using their hand to spin it and gather
speed. This method works, but your hands will eventually
become too full if you are going to do a routine which
involves spinning many plates!
The Best Method: Now place the
stick on the rim of the plate (so that the plate hangs
like a jacket on a hook). Slowly let your plate circle
the stick, so that the rest of the plate is not touching
the stick. Steadily increase your circular wrist motion,
so that the plate speeds up. Do not lassoo the plate
(the stick should go round the plate, it should not
stay at the same point on the plate). You can gradually
increase the speed and you will see the plate become
horizontal. All you need to do at this stage is to
stop spinning your stick. The underside is sloped
towards the middle, so the stick naturally finds the
middle of the plate, and hey presto, you have one
spinning plate!
HAVING PROBLEMS?: Spinning a plate
is far harder than you might think. Please persevere
with it, as I guarantee that once you have managed
to spin a plate, you will be able to learn a load
of tricks on this page in absolutely no time! The
main problem that people have is lassooing the plate
(where the stick is staying in the same position on
the underside of the plate and therefore not speeding
up and being flung around in a circle). To stop this
happening, get the plate started and then use your
spare hand to grip your arm and stop it moving completely!
The wrist should be the only part of your arm that
needs to move. The wrist should speed up the plate
till it looks horizontal, then just stop, and it will
float to the middle.
So what can I do once I have a plate spinning?
You only have a limited amount of time before the
plate grinds to a halt, which is why most spinning
plate routines do not last long.
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Throw and catch
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Do not throw the plate too high!
A simple low throw will suffice. When the plate
is about to land, bring the stick down (to lessen
the impact). When you can do this, try turning
the stick the other way round to catch the plate!
(you will have to experiment with the best way
to hold the stick to achieve this.
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Under the leg
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Pass the stick under your leg to your
other hand. You are then free to start up another
spinning plate! |
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Spin on finger
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Once the plate is spinning, you can
replace the stick with one of your fingers. Be
sure and make it a clean swap - don't be scared,
it doesn't hurt! Kiddies love doing this! |
Go for numbers
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Try to see how many plates you can
spin at the same time. I can have 6 plates spinning
at the same time. What I do is start one in my
left hand and pass the stick and plate over to
my right hand, and then immediately start another
one and do the same. The hardest part is being
able to put a plate on a stick (as your other
hand is in use!). Practice trying different ways
of holding numerous plates in the other hand until
you find a way that leaves part of your hand free
to hold the plate until it fits on a stick. Remember
you have a time limit (as plates spin for relatively
short periods of time), and that the plates in
one hand should not collide with each other or
the other sticks or else they will slow down or
fall off. |
 Now
what?
I have always found that the only limit with
plate-spinning, is your own imagination! If you
can spin a plate smoothly, and do the above tricks,
you should have absolutely no problem attempting
and succeeding at the following tricks (let me
know how you get on!!) :-)
| Quick
way to spin a plate |
Hold the
plate in your hand horizontally (by the
rim) and simply throw straight up in the
air as you twist your hand to give it some
spin (then of course catch it on the stick)!
This looks more flashier than the normal
way of starting plates, and is quicker too! |
| Chin
Balancing |
Get the plate spinning fast,
and then place the stick onto your chin. This
trick may take a while to get used to, and
can be very dangerous to your face! When you
balance, try looking at the centre of the
plate (where the top end of your stick is).
Once you have mastered the balancing, you
have two spare hands in which to juggle or
do something else with!! |
| Flourish |
When you throw your plate high
in the air, you have plenty of time to do
a fancy flourish (movement) with your stick
(or even flip it like a club). Do remember
to catch the plate also! |
| Suicide |
Throw your plate in the air,
but at the same time, let go of the stick
also - they will both go up and down at the
same time. You can then catch both of them!
It's that simple! |
| Curls |
While holding the plate on a stick with
your right arm, curl it under your body (you
may need to hold the stick near the plate
end to do this!) Pass it behind your back,
and then curl it back under your left arm
using your left arm. |
| Two Plates Routine |
Get a plate spinning on a stick in each
hand, then try throwing them both and catching
on opposite sticks. You should throw one slightly
higher than the other one to achieve this!
Try throwing them and turning the sticks round
so that you catch on the opposite ends of
the sticks. |
| Juggle |
Combine spinning a plate in one hand with
juggling 2 balls in the other! Not as difficult
as you might think! |
| Other Balancing Moves |
As well as the chin balance (see above),
you could try balancing the spinning plate
stick (while having a plate spinning on
it) on other parts of your body such as...
palm of your hand, one finger, forehead,
foot etc!
(thanks to Becky for sending in the balancing
idea!) |
A routine for you to try out
It should only take 20 seconds to perform once
you get it done.
1) Spin one plate,
2) pass it under the leg to the weaker hand.
3) Get another plate spinning
4) work both your hands up the stick so that you
can spin the plates on your fingers at the same
time
5) drop the sticks and let the plates spin on
your finger
6) take a bow while they are still spinning!
OTHER TRICKS TO TRY OUT
(added 11 April 2005)
| A throw
start |
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Grip the underside
of the plate around the lipped rim of
the plate using one hand
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Toss the plate into
the air with as much spin as possible
and catch on the stick.
This is the really fast and impressive
way of starting a plate spinning.
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| Start
a plate using your weaker hand |
More difficult than you think
and I have never mastered this, but it leads
to many possibilities such as starting up
two plates at the same time or synchronising
your act, so that you then throw both plates
onto the opposite sticks etc! |
| Throw,
tap and catch |
Toss the plate from the stick,
tap the side of the plate lightly (so as not
to knock it off balance or alter its course),
then catch back on the stick. Now try throwing
and tapping twice or even three times! Not
as easy as it sounds! |
| Unicycle
Routine |
Fix some plate sticks around the stage area,
and then start up a spinning plate and ride
your unicycle to the first stick and place
the plate on it, then go back and start up
another plate. See how many plates you can
have spinning around the room. it could be
quite a comical unicycle plate spinning routine! |
If you come up with any tricks I could add to
my page, then please let me know! With plates,
the only limit is your imagination as it doesn't
normally take long to learn any tricks!
What next?
If you have mastered all these tricks
and are ready to move on, then please let me know.
I will be happy to write more of the hundreds of
tricks that are possible with plate spinning. One
good way to reinforce what you have learned, is
to teach others. When you explain a trick, it sometimes
helps to reinforce it in your own mind (and you
will therefore understand the trick better!)
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