Devil sticks

Devil stick (also Devil Stick, devilstick, devil-stick, Rhythm Stick, Rhythm Sticks etc., or plural forms) manipulation is a form of gyroscopic juggling, or equilibristics and is generally considered to be one of the 'circus arts'. The name "Devil" stick supposedly comes from the old Greek word "Devil", "Dallo" or "Diaballo", meaning "to toss to" or "to throw to". Sometimes called "devil-sticking" other terms often used are: "twirling", "sticking" and "stick juggling".

A set of devil sticks is made up of three pieces - the baton and two control sticks - but it will often be called a "pair of sticks".

Typically if a center stick is not tapered (i.e. a straight dowel or rod) and possesses tassels at its end, then it is known as a "Flower Stick" (as the tassels, when the stick is spun, will twirl outwards and resemble an open flower). This term is also now used to describe a straight center stick with any weights (not just tassels) at its end and sometimes refers to hybrid sticks which are both tapered and have weights. Tapered sticks without end weights are known simply as Devil Sticks. Flower sticks can also be properly called "Devil Sticks" as that is the more general term.

Description

A set of devil sticks consists of one baton—usually about 60-120 cm (2-4 feet) long—and two control sticks—generally about 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick and 30-50 cm (12-20 inches) long—which are used to manipulate the baton. The baton (often called "the center stick" or simply "the stick") is in some instances tapered from the end to the center, typically about 3 cm (1.2 inch) in diameter at the ends and 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) in the middle. Designs and measurements vary quite widely, in the extreme case the center stick may be as short as 1 foot or so, ranging to the extreme length of slightly more than twice that of the juggler's height. Most commonly, though, control sticks will be about as long as the combined length of the juggler's hand and forearm, the baton being slightly longer than the width of the juggler's upper body.

Basic manipulation

A devil stick baton is lifted/struck/stroked alternately by the two control sticks ('handsticks', or 'sidesticks'). The handsticks, and sometimes the baton as well, are often covered with a material to provide good 'grip' or friction when in contact with the devil stick, though some sets are made of slippery polished, bare hardwood. In one basic stick maneuver, known as the Pendulum or the Idle, the center stick is lifted alternately with the left and right handsticks touching the baton at a point about halfway between the center of gravity and each end, causing the ends to swing to either side while the center of the baton remains at a somewhat constant height

The pendulum is an important move to learn, because to a great extent, all of the more difficult maneuvers rely on this skill.

The 'helicopter' spin is a variation in which a horizontal rotational force is applied as the baton 'pendulums' in the vertical plane, causing a continuous rotation in a nearly horizontal plane. Advanced twirlers can twirl the stick with one stick only (called the infinity roll), with an arm, knee or other limb and are able to manipulate the baton in any plane above below or in front of or behind the performer's body while walking, unicycling or tightrope balancing. Some can even twirl two batons simultaneously.

History

Juggling Sticks have continuously evolved as they were passed down through the centuries. Apparently originating in Africa earlier than 3000 B.C.E., there are pictures of juggling sticks on friezes found in Egyptian tombs. Juggling historians have asserted that the 'devil sticks' followed the Silk Road, (not a road at all, but a series of caravan- and shipping- routes through Southern Asia) from Cairo to China. Whether they were reinvented in, or travelled to, China, there is no doubt that by 2000 B.C.E. the Chinese were using juggling sticks. It is commonly believed that Marco Polo then brought juggling sticks to Europe from the Orient. Juggling sticks have been used in Europe since the Renaissance.

Modern sticks

Some modern devil sticks have soft ends for safety and a different style of play - although it is actually quite possible to knock oneself unconscious with some of the faster, harder, heavier 'unpadded' batons.

These are often colorfully decorated and are known variously as Quick Stix, Crystal Stix, Hippie Sticks, Luna Sticks, Equilibristicks (a play on the word 'equilibristics'), Trick Sticks, Stunt Sticks and many other names. Despite the plethora of names, stick twirlers often call them simply 'sticks'.

As new materials and construction techniques become available, resourceful jugglers and craftspersons have advanced the design of the 'modern devilstick', making them more durable, more portable, or having physical properties that enable jugglers to perform feats previously deemed impossible or too difficult to accomplish. It is a widely held belief that 'sticks' will continue to advance as construction techniques and materials become more advanced or as materials become more widely available.

Fiddlestix, one 'modern' design, are made of cylindrical aluminum alloy or titanium shafts, either hollow or solid. The center stick is wrapped spirally with dense suede, butted edge-to-edge to make a smooth, suede covered 'frictive surface'. The sidesticks are either similarly covered with suede ('slider set' is what this is called, as the suede can help the centerstick to slide smoothly along the control stick) or are covered with surgical rubber or silicone tubing (a gripper set). In the case of the solid titanium baton, the surface of the stick is either machine-milled or grit-blasted, to produce the friction surface and there is no covering on the length of the center stick. This type of stick is almost universally paired with control sticks covered in a soft natural latex, silicone, or hard vulcanised rubber tubing - materials which provide varying degrees of friction against the bare metal of the baton's control surface.

The ends of the Fiddlestix baton are wrapped with a one to two inch (5 cm) thick layered, floppy 'tassel' of fringed suede. These tassels (wrapped axially and with the fringe pointing away from the center of the baton) are heavier and less flexible than those of a 'Flower stick'. The purpose of the Fiddlestix tassels is to retard rotation about the long axis of the center stick, and to move the moment of inertia further from the center of mass and closer to the tassel. Another benefit is that extending the moment of interia creates a larger 'sweet spot' (the point at which the control stick has the greatest degree of controlled influence on the movement of the baton). The larger sweet spot combined with increased rotational inertia allows the sticks to be manipulated in ways that would be impossible otherwise, increasing the illusion that the laws of physics/gravity are being broken. (This process can be simply understood with the highschool physics equation F=Iα. Where F is the force being applied, I is the moment of inertia and α is the rotational acceleration. F in this case can be seen as the cross product of force and radius. For a more intuitive view of the equation rearrange it to be α=F/I, here it is clear the the acceleration is dependent upon force and moment of interia.)

Though the name "Fiddlestix" has been subsequently registered as a trademark for several different products and services^*, the 'Fiddlestix' design is in the public domain, placed there by the doctrine of prior art in August of 1987 (at a Mountain Aire festival, featuring Aerobatic exhibitions, and concerts by Carlos Santana and the Grateful Dead) in Calaveras County California by their designer, Glenn, (also known as Bongo, Bongo the Clown), a juggler from Eugene, Oregon. Glenn began freely sharing the design with other jugglers, and explaining its physics, in an apparently successful effort to avoid the new physical properties of his toy design being patented by corporate toy companies. Since then numerous variations on the 'inertia tassel' design have been created - as well as some designs that have tassels of such slight mass as to be merely decorative.

One interesting variation on the Fiddlestix design is a 'folding' stick, which can be stored in a pouch less than 2 inches round by 12 inches long. These folding sets are not as durable as the non-folding type, but are a good choice for those who like to always have a set of sticks on hand.

Group activities

Though stick manipulation may seem at first glance to be a solo performance art, there are numerous group activities which 'stickers' enjoy:

Passing

Two or more twirlers sling the center stick back and forth amongst themselves, either with one shared stick, or with everyone passing their own stick at once.

Juggle till you drop

Juggle till you drop is an activity in which a group of twirlers share one stick - the juggler with the stick attempts increasingly more difficult and flamboyant tricks, during his turn, attempting to 'push the envelope' so hard that he loses control and drops the stick - a drop is when the stick hits the ground and comes to rest - whereupon he immediately hands the control sticks to the next player, who attempts an even more difficult combination of moves. The point of the game is to juggle so aggressively that each turn lasts a matter of seconds. This results in:

everyone gets to play, even with only one stick in the group...
everyone sees each other push the limits, and often new tricks are invented based on 'mistakes', or derived from another juggler's attempts...
one has an opportunity to rest, as juggling at the edge of your abilities uses lots of energy.

Half-sticking

Where two jugglers, standing shoulder to shoulder facing in the same direction, each with one control stick, juggle together ala' a three-legged race, each one only doing half the work.

Combat sticks

'Solo': two or more stickers use their center stick only, to knock the others' stick to the ground. A variation on this allows them to use their control sticks as well.. there are also anything goes variations, where the first to drop the stick loses, and anything short of actual violence is allowed.
'Team': Generally the same as above, but with two or more teams competing.
'Devil duels': two competitors stand in a circle with devil sticks and attempt to hit the other person's torso with the moving devil stick. The first person to hit the other a certain number of times wins. The stick may be knocked off balance by the other player's stick but not by any part of their body, hitting the stick with parts of your body or knocking the opponent's head with the moving stick may count as a foul, game is forfeit when an agreed-upon number of fouls is reached. Various other rules may be used as appropriate to the players' skill levels.

Jolleystick

Basically volley ball with Devil Sticks.

Each player has one control stick and stands either side of the net, a centre stick is used as the volley ball which is tossed over the net to the other side of the court. The centre stick my be hit as many times as the player likes and it can be manipulated in any plane before being passed across.

Scoring and faults are the same as normal volley ball.

Propeller Endurance

A group of spinners will perform an infinite propeller for as long as they can. A host may ask the spinners to change directions or hands. once there is only a small amount of spinners left the game turns into Gladiators/Combat sticks

Fire Devil sticking

Fire devil sticking includes the same categories of play described above. Flaming devil sticks have wicks on the ends allowing them to be set afire, using a variety of flammable liquids as fuel. Firesticking is an inherently hazardous activity. Appropriate fire precautions should always be taken when using burning fuels. Serious burns, and damage to property, can result from mishandling burning materials.

External links

Devil Sticks Tutorials Page (Simply Circus) This page contains online books and tutorials for learning and performing devil sticks.
Devilstick.de This site contains many devil stick trick descriptions most of which are accompanied by animations.
Stixguru.com This site contains a lot of high quality video demonstrations of various tricks being performed with flower sticks.
Devilsticking.org This community site for devilstickers includes a forum for devilstick discussion with categories devoted to subjects such as equipment and techniques.
Devilstick.org This venerable devilstick site contains trick descriptions, links to vendors, and "The Devilstick F.A.Q."

Juggling

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Devil sticks