Inspirational Spin Top Videos

This is a compilation video I put together featuring Strommol8 spin tops and a group of players from the iTopSpin forum.  It is sort of a snapshot in time of the active forum members in early 2011.

This is Tyler Young. He got second recently at the Czech yo-yo nationals, spin top division. Jakub Konečný won, but it could not have been by much because Tyler’s routine is solid.

OK this one is a little different, it is more about a single trick on the video rather than the video as a whole.  This is Pulpowsky (top spinner from Spain) in one of his early videos that demonstrates some basic fixed tip tricks… at least I thought they were basic until I tried the trick he does at 0:53.  It is called Acensor, meaning lift, like an elevator (there are a couple of tricks called Acensor actually, but this one is the more difficult one).  Anyway, in my book, if you can do this trick you are a certified top spinner.  You must exhibit control of the precession to be able to execute this trick, and you can’t do it if you lack patience.  Can you tell I have been watching Avatar the last Airbender with my son again?

Meet Adrian.  He’s been spinning tops for like, a week, and he is ridiculous.

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Look Steve, a COW!!!

The week that Mark McBride, Steve Brown and I shot this video was perhaps one of the best times of my life.  Steve only gave me a few weeks notice that I had better work on my top skills because we are going to shoot an instructional video.  I was not an accomplised spinner then, but I was learning from two of the best at the time, Steve Brown and Jon Gates (Dave Bazan and Herman Lao were also incredible then, but I had no opportunity to learn from them).  After this video I did’t spin tops again until 2009 when I met Ta0.  That’s another story.

ANYWAY, there is a little bit of incorrect advice in this video.  One example is to cut your string to be as high as your collar… don’t do that.  DO have a ridiculous amount of fun with your top though.

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In 2009 we took a family vacation to Orlando Florida, and we planned it so I could stop by the World Yo-Yo Contest and see what had been going on the last eight years.  My mind was blown, unresponsive play didn’t really exist the last time I threw a yo-yo.  It was actually un-inspiring in a way, the gap between my skill level and everyone else in the room seemed so vast I never even took out a yo-yo.  I have caught up a little since then, but what really grabbed my attention at Worlds 2009 was meeting a guy who calls himself ta0.  That’s T - A - zero, it is his screen name and the name of his website; ta0.com.

I saw ta0 off in a corner foot starting a top (like snap starting but by stomping the top in the ground).  I was all like WAT.  I approached him and he recognized me immediately from the video above; HTBAP vol 2.  He showed me a couple of tricks that blew me away, including Stariway to Heaven, which is like corkscrew but you walk the top UP your arm.  I joined his spin top forum immediately and I basically live there now.

ta0 has numerous you-tube videos and many more on his site, so it is hard to pick a video that shows all that is ta0, but let’s try this one.  This was back when S8 came out with it’s second wave of tops.

Not thread hijacking.

These videos have all been amazing and inspirational. I have some spin tops and I’m still working at throwing them right. I don’t expect to be amazing, but these videos really keep me going.

I’m more into yoyo. But I do want some spin top skills too! Please, keep adding to this thread!

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Thanks for the feedback! I’ll keep posting for a while, this is fun :slight_smile:

Here’s one that should help to learn regenerations:

That was great. I’m not to that point yet, but that top-down view is really what is needed.

I downloaded that and the left handed one. I’ll be playing right handed, but even so, good to have an alternate view.

Here are some fine young players from Mexico, featuring Aaron, Cinthya, and Crisztian.

Cinthya throws pretty hard  ;D

My head asplode at 0:24 every time.

That’s Apex.  Maker of fine spin top string and a great yo-yo player too.

Actually, we had met a couple of days before, at Lucky’s.  I did recognize you from the Duncan video and I asked you to pose for a photograph with my giant top Figaro (under a light rain).
Getting you back into tops must be one of my biggest contributions to the hobby/sport.  :slight_smile:

Ta0, you have a knack for correcting people  ;D  Yeah I was giving he abridged version, the full, full version would take all night to type  :slight_smile:

So here’s me again.  This one is by request.

Bigger tops?  Longer strings?  No nub to keep your string on the tip?  Crowds of people in the streets? 
Introducing spinning tops Colombian style:

I have a couple of Colombian tops and man, learning to throw and handle them is like learning all over again.  The moves are big and people love it.

BTW, this video is on Taka’s channel.  I hear he’s a pretty good yo-yo player.

Continuing on the Colombian theme for a moment, there’s THIS GUY who WHIPS like CRAZY.

Oh yeah, here is a Jakub in his video entirely filled with upside down tricks. WAT

https://vimeo.com/album/1656099/video/27142428

This video requires no introduction.

Play with your rings!  The little white ring that comes with a Duncan Imperial is intended to be tied on one end of the string making it easier for beginners to wind up the top.  This can also be accomplished by tying a loop in the end of the string FYI.  Anyway, you can do tricks with that ring!  The Imperial ring will fit over most S8 crowns (not an accident) and Spintastics crowns.  They are too small for Bearing Kings, but every BK I mod gets trimmed down for the ring.  Anyway here is an example of the tricks you can do:

That was so cool how you effortlessly moved from that ring back to the string.

I’m so busy trying to improve my yoyo game I haven’t even touched any of my tops in months. I gotta make more yoyo headway right now.

I’ve been downloading every single video you’ve shared via this thread. I’ll be watching them and learning from them. All I can do right now is throw them down and get a bit of spin from them, which for now, is more than sufficient for me, but as most palyers go, I’m not satisfied .

More please!

By the way, seeing your top-down views of the regenerations really made the function of those make a lot of sense.

The overhead view is the way to go for spin top tuts :slight_smile:

Ladies and Gentlemen, once again; David Buhrmester!