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[ortwin]

...The way you do cable car is interesting. I had to slow down the video to see what you did.  I learned the trick with the top going over the string (around the hand)  I don't think I have ever seen it done the other way.

....

I found videos of both ways when I looked for tutorials on that trick. I tried to do it with the top going over the string, so far without success. I think it would look cooler over the string.
Ta0 describes here both ways:
"Notes:[/size] The string can be wrapped around the tip by going under or over the spintop. The first version seems to be more common but the difficulty is similar."
[/size]

[Texture]

I consider to try getting out of the trick by adding the second half of the gyroscopic flop after the actual merry go round. Do you think it is feasible?

It is possible if you bind the top the other direction with upside down crazy 8s:

[ta0]

I consider to try getting out of the trick by adding the second half of the gyroscopic flop after the actual merry go round. Do you think it is feasible?

It is possible if you bind the top the other direction with upside down crazy 8s:

If the top is hanging upside down, I cannot gyro flop it in place to stand up. I guess while doing gyro flops there is some momentum at the bottom that helps the top start to rise. To make a hanging top flip up, I need to help it by turning my body to the left (for a lefty probably to the right) while I'm pulling at the ends of the string: that is enough to make it flip up.

The upside-down MGR was invented by John Hornbeck and his playing buddy around 2001. John was the first to perform it on a freestyle, at the Bay Area Classic. His description on the boards was something like from blizzard going over the arm . . . (?) I think I once saw the video of BAC but I don't know if it can be found somewhere. I could never figure it out, so I came up with the method that Kirk showed, and is the one I have always taught.

[ta0]

...The way you do cable car is interesting. I had to slow down the video to see what you did.  I learned the trick with the top going over the string (around the hand)  I don't think I have ever seen it done the other way.

I found videos of both ways when I looked for tutorials on that trick. I tried to do it with the top going over the string, so far without success. I think it would look cooler over the string.
Ta0 describes here both ways:
The string can be wrapped around the tip by going under or over the spintop. The first version seems to be more common but the difficulty is similar.

Here is a spintop brainteaser: how do you do the cable car trick in the reverse direction: starting on the non-throwing hand?

[Texture]

Here is a spintop brainteaser: how do you do the cable car trick in the reverse direction: starting on the non-throwing hand?

Starting and ending on the non-throw hand? Because the trick zorro would technically be a cable car starting from the non-throw hand but ending on the throw hand.

[ta0]

Here is a spintop brainteaser: how do you do the cable car trick in the reverse direction: starting on the non-throwing hand?

Starting and ending on the non-throw hand? Because the trick zorro would technically be a cable car starting from the non-throw hand but ending on the throw hand.

Yes, starting by sliding the top from the non-throwing hand to the throwing hand, binding the top with the throwing hand and wire walking back to the non-throwing hand.

Neff's original Zorro adds a wire walker starting from the non-throwing hand before a regular cable car. Without realizing it, when I learned the trick I started the first wirewalker from the throwing hand and ended up doing a reverse direction cable car . . .

[ortwin]

...

Here is a spintop brainteaser: how do you do the cable car trick in the reverse direction: starting on the non-throwing hand?

My guess is, that you have to place the string between your body and the top before the sliding part. And then the arc the top describes when sliding, is toward your body not outward as in the regular cable car.
I do not feel ready just yet to try this trick:

• not enough space between my hands and my chest to comfortably let the top slide down in that area
• it would ask too much of my poor non throw hand, it can't even safely receive a regular wirewalker yet

[ta0]

My guess is, that you have to place the string between your body and the top before the sliding part. And then the arc the top describes when sliding, is toward your body not outward as in the regular

You got the theory right!

[ortwin]

Not a progress report this time I just wanted to share briefly another top induced encounter:
As I was practicing this evening  at what became lately my usual spot I heard some strollers approach speaking Spanish with each other. I thought, oh, if these people are watching me now I should give it my very best and do tricks I feel already save with. After all if they speak Spanish they might have seen  a spin top before, unlike other people that pass by.  Sure enough I even heard the word "Colombia" as they got closer. So when young man and the young woman reached me I smiled at them and asked them to throw some tops with me. - Luckily tonight I had a few tops with me, not only the one or two as usual.
They picked up a top each and it was obvious that they must have played as kids. So we threw quite a few spinners together aiming at a Frisbee. They were rusty for sure, but the guy even tried a boomerang.
Communication was difficult since my spanish is "very poco" at most and their English was not good. They are Colombians in Germany to study German. But beginners I would say.
Anyways, another  fun meeting induced by top playing.

[ta0]

Good story!
It's curious to me that throw tops are currently pretty unknown in Germany. Historically, Germans made a lot of toy tops. There are also their theoretical contributions to the subject. In addition, I imagine they played pegtops before WWII: Lourens said that in Holland it was a rite of passage for every boy.

[Kirk]

I could never figure it out, so I came up with the method that Kirk showed, and is the one I have always taught.

Ta0's way to do upside down merry-go-round  need not be done with a bearing top, and is really not to hard with a fixt tip top.

[ortwin]

That it can be done with fixed tip top is a strong argument!
I will aim for being able to do it both ways!
The Texture way will teach me and give me more practice on "gyroflop" and "mach5" like tricks,
the "ta0 way" will teach me a better and more automated handling of the top on the string. Thanks for pointing out the fixed tip possibility. But I won't add it to my goal list for the fixed tip just now. First experiments that I made indicated it is not in my reach with a fixed tip yet.

[Texture]

Of course, the easiest way to do the UD merry-go-round with a fixed tip is to just throw and upside-down boomerang to lasso. 

[ortwin]

Progress: I was just able for the first time to perform a  corkscrew with a fixed tip top!
The YYF Short Circuit  was the top used for this.


Actually this was not even on my list and I found it to be almost easier than with the bearing tops. Maybe it is that the tip of this top goes better with the string than the tips of the other tops I tried?

[ortwin]

question:is there a "right" way to do the trick "around the world".
ta0 is saying:


"19. Around the World – 2 Pt
Throw Trapeze, swing top in a vertical plane one full circle at full string length. Return to hand."

I tried to do that today. In most of my best tries the top left the string after about 1/3 of the circle. Once I  managed the full circle but the return to the hand was not quite as it should be.
Now I looked again at this video from Chris Neff:

He does it not from a trapeze, but from a boomerang. That "could" be easier, not?
Any further tips anybody  except "practice harder"?