TIGHT KNIT – Editor’s Notes

A few months ago, some people were talking in Discord about how recent CV’s were too similar to one another. At the time, I thought this was uncharitable, and that the similarities between CV’s didn’t affect my enjoyment of them much. 

But in the time since that conversation, I’ve realized that I was partially wrong. My enjoyment in the moment of watching a CV the first time was mostly unaffected by its similarity to others, maybe, but the enjoyment I got when returning to those CV’s later on related more closely with their distinctiveness. More artful CV’s like End of the World Album, more eccentric CV’s like Odd Meter, more atmospheric CV’s like hyp_notic_, more emotive CV’s like Gleam, and even CV’s with over-the-top production value like Dance Above the Floor.

The lesson from this might have been to gain a professional acumen in motion design like Lotus. That wasn’t realistic. It may also have been to develop a reputation and network of international penspinners that would allow me to get top-tier public submissions with exactly the type of spinning I wanted for my project. That also seemed unrealistic, and would leave too much out of my control. 

What I ended up with was a simple answer: start by using music that I enjoy, music that isn’t typically used for CV’s, use it well, and use it distinctively. Music is a huge part of my life (both of my parents are music professors) and my very favorite CV’s always use music that I find very evocative: End of the World Album, 春風, Odd Meter, Imy, Gleam, Tsumrabbit, MAWA & DADA (I’ll return to these soon). 

I listen to a lot of rap and hip-hop. My top 4 artists in Spotify in 2021 were Isaiah Rashad, Tyler, the Creator, Vince Staples, and Freddie Gibbs. So a lot of my favorite music to listen to never really appears in or spinning CV’s. And these genres contain an enormous emotive and energetic range. It’s not like I wanted to shoehorn art punk or ambient music into the CV form. 

With a very wide genre selected, I needed to use it distinctively. You might already all be thinking of the same CV’s as I am, but they really are great projects: MAWA and DADA from Joshin. Both of these CV’s use three different music tracks, one after the other, linked together in clever and surprisingly smooth ways.

I won’t bore you with the details, but it took me a while to hunt for tracks that I thought worked well together. I tried tracks from Isaiah Rashad, Goldlink, The Avalanches, Noname, Vince Staples, Frank Ocean, Danny Brown, and MF DOOM. What I ended up with was the two tracks you hear in the CV currently, from Brockhampton and Earl Sweatshirt. It’s not the smoothest combination I tried (that was with a different Earl track and a lo-fi track from Leon Chang), but I think they achieve the right mood and contrast – fairly dim and bleak at first, then breaking into something more celebratory, but still a bit wistful. I also needed tracks that didn’t have extremely contemporary or high-tech sounds, to match the vaguely early-90’s-inspired designs I created for performer names.

For the edit, I stuck with that early-90’s-informed aesthetic throughout most of the features, with a focus on mood and effects, in order to showcase the spinning as much as possible. I had the idea early on to substitute one letter of every spinner’s name with a vaguely early-90’s-style design element, and I decided to commit to it throughout the whole CV. I worried at several points that the designs might be hard to interpret by some viewers, but I think the aesthetic consistency is worth it. I created the designs one by one as I received submissions or commitments, so the design work was spaced out over the whole time I was working on the CV.

The combos

Now I’ll get into the combos themselves, and what I find special about each one. The opening and closing are from me. I really like the setup of the opening credits, and I think it sets the perfect tone. I had to lean really far over my table to get the right angle, so I could only film a very simple fs. The spinning isn’t the main focus, though, so that’s fine. The outro fs took a little more effort because I’m not great at spinning Dr. Grip, but I’m happy with the result.

I knew I wanted Caster in this CV, because his style feels perfectly rhythmic and stable. He was the first person I invited. Gleam is probably my most-watched CV ever, and his opening combo is perfect for it. This one has a great rhythmic feeling and some lovely signature Caster-style tricks near the beginning.

Huwng was another early invite. I have really loved his recent spinning, and I knew he would have the perfect style and energy for the CV. His actual submission turned out to be an even better fit for the CV than I expected, with a moody, atmospheric, setup and a pair of nicely emphasized hand movements right in the middle of the combo.

I’ve always thought that Naruse was highly underrated, and his overall nostalgic aesthetic is closely related to the visual style I wanted for this CV in the first place. He sent me two combos, both excellent. This one has a particularly great finishing sequence, and I think it ends up as one of the highlights of the CV.

Timeless is one of the best MX stylists under the UPSB umbrella, and his spinning still has a distinctive character, even without any particular quirks. Timeless sent me a very nice combo with a setup that didn’t look very good with my intended edits, so I asked him if he could send another. I’m glad I did, because the setup he ended up with is one of the best in the CV.

Minh is a really good spinner, and it’s a shame I’ve only really seen 2 or 3 other combos from him. When I invited Huwng, he mentioned that Minh could film a combo for the CV as well, so I asked for a short (6-8s) combo. He filmed a short and longer (10s) version, and I liked the longer combo so much that I had to include it among the full-length entries.

Seiray7!! Seiray is a really entertaining spinner, and I’m really happy he submitted to this CV. That thumbsidespin rev is worth a few more watches, if you didn’t catch it the first time. This combo shows just how much structural completeness can fit into a very short amount of time.

I messaged RPD for advice early in the process of planning this CV, and I asked him if he could film something short at the same time. The “mountaineer aesthetic” of the setup, as RPD put it, complements the CV well, and I really want to get a colorgel MX now. I also feel like the variety of tricks and short structure help build the energy of this section of the CV.

Every few months Monheim comes back into the PS world, and I’m glad I caught him during one of those moments. He filmed this combo within just a couple days, and it’s actually an Eban copy, of his combo from Portal 02. It looks great on Monheim, though, and suits him very well.

Magic* has been posting some really great fs collections on Twitter recently, so I was really excited when he submitted to my CV. He has some really dynamic links that look effortless and elegant with his hands and style.

I battled against Mi in 2014 – I teamed up with Eriror, and Mi was paired with ACT – and I lost badly. I was really excited to see him submit to my CV, as I’ve always thought he was a tremendously underrated spinner. Spinners with similar styles (sutomo, imbocd) may show more extreme technical ability, but Mi’s style is a level above in elegance and smoothness.

I think I’ve liked about 95% of the short clips that Kusasi shares on Twitter, which is a lot of videos. Seeing any one of them makes it clear that there aren’t many spinners with a better combination of finger-form refinement, high-tempo energy, and out-of-the-box ideas.

Everyone was excited when ps-728 returned to the penspinning world this year, but I thought I would make the most of the opportunity and invite him to the CV. He clearly committed fully to this fs, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. It’s a great combination of old-time spinning and pure fun. The second half of this CV is intended to act as a free, lively celebration of ps, and this combo adds to it perfectly.

Herenz just be my favorite spinner in the world right now, and probably for the last year or so. This combo is a standout from him, in my opinion, with dynamic accelerations and perfectly controlled hand accents. I just hope everyone else invites Herenz to their own CV’s so we can see more and more clips.

I hope you all enjoy the CV! I put a lot of thought into it, and I think it’s an effective execution of what I wanted to create. Hopefully it will be remembered for a little while. Watch it here: (link)

Penspinning World Tournament 2021 Round 1 Commentary and Predictions – Padrace

You can access all WT21 Round 1 combos in this YouTube channel, for reference.

Group A:

1. Mond. This combo is truly overkill for Round 1, but it probably didn’t require overkill effort from Mond. He’s very quiet with material between competitions, but his WC20 stuff created very high expectations for this WT, and there’s plenty of reason to think he has improved dramatically, as well. The opening links are great, but those back-to-back PD releases 5 seconds are the most memorable part of the combo.

2. M1ch1. This is a tough prediction to make, but since this combo’s only weakness is its difficulty (even then, it’s far from easy), it’s likely to score well overall. 3-5s is a really enjoyable section and the finishing sequence is extremely memorable. 8-12s feels a bit plain, but the combo is full of cool stuff integrated and executed very well.

3. Vanilla. This was a tough call at #3, and ultimately it depends on the judges’ personal interpretation and scaling of criteria. This combo’s difficulty is among the highest of this round, and it shows off a fair breadth of material, although I have my doubts about how much further variety we’ll see from Vanilla in this tournament. If he has to maintain this filming setup going forward, so be it, but the material would be far more visually effective (which will be important in future rounds) with a more traditional setup. Beyond that, late offcams and an unconvincing indexbak catch at 11s are weak points in an otherwise impressively executed combo.

4. Petuy. I told myself I wouldn’t predict any ties in this post, but I was soooo tempted to avoid making a real call here. Petuy’s combo has a lot to love about it, and there is a good mix of somewhat subtle sonic/pass sequences and flashy highlight tricks. Just the sort of construction principles I love. However, washed-out presentation may make some judges shave a point off, consciously or unconsciously, and the execution at points has a shakiness that is only reduced by years of experience. I think this combo deserves to pass based on its creative construction and consistent visual effectiveness.

First elimination: Fizz. It just feels… wrong to predict that a combo of this caliber will be eliminated in R1. Clearly Fizz has highly developed, smooth spinning, has lost no skill over the past 10 years, and stands out from the R1 field with 2p2h spinning. Unfortunately, his trick selection and combo structure are likely to result in significant deductions in originality and effectiveness. I’ll be a bit surprised but not at all disappointed if Fizz sneaks into that #3 or #4 spot.

Group B:

I won’t do actual predictions for this group, but I’ll point out some of my favorite highlights.

Obviously Beck kicked ass. But I’d better see some really wild knuckle topspins from him this tournament! Overall, it’s actually impressive that the repetitiveness within this combo is so easy to overlook, as it feels complete, structured, and exciting throughout.

Hubik’s combo is so wild. Those fl thumbtaps/half FLTA things leading into the finishing sequence are so weird, but they don’t feel awkward at all and I enjoy them more than I would expect. 6-8 seconds is an obvious low point in the combo, but the rest is non-stop excitement. Hubik’s success in this tournament will depend on his ability to avoid recycling and maintain strong enough execution without offcams.

Altttt’s combo is really nice. The opening has some really cool finger positions and impressive technical material, and the knuckle-to-normal midbust at 7-8 seconds is a sneaky little highlight. I think the structure could be slightly less blocky, and hand motion needs to be restricted just a bit more throughout, but it’s a really enjoyable and impressive combo.

FLow has a lot of the ingredients for a terrific combo, and the fxxk->wiper at 5s and the sequence at 14-15s are really enjoyable highlights. If this combo were 40% shorter, it would be 40% better.

For far different reasons, I don’t think Weerman or 3ird are likely to make it to R2, but their combos are terrific and I always have high hopes when their names appear in a CV.

Also I like my combo :)

Group C:

1. Eriror. Does this make me an out-of-touch oldie? That’s fine, because most of the judges are too ;) In all seriousness, this combo hits all criteria fairly strongly, with a slightly below-average degree of originality and a slightly above-average WT difficulty. Combined with sky-high execution and excellent integration & effect, I think this combo should fare well.

2. Arthur. It’s hard to predict at the moment how combos like this will be scored by the judges, but it’s very impressive. The speed and confidence of Arthur’s spinning, along with phenomenally strong control for the material used, should lead to high difficulty and execution scores. The structure is actually pretty satisfying to me, too, but I’m guessing it won’t be a particularly strong point with the judges. The elephant in the room, again, is presentation, and Arthur’s is even less refined than Vanilla’s. I don’t think this will be a major factor with combos at this level until the next round, but it will start making a big difference soon.

3. Juzzle. This isn’t Juzzle’s best combo ever, but it might have his best presentation ever, which helps a lot. The spiderspin rev at 10s really pops out and adds a memorable center to boost the combo’s integration and effect. And with the repetitive bunched-up hand positions throughout the rest of the combo, it’s sorely needed. There are other combos I enjoy a bit more in this group, but I think this one is likely to score fairly evenly, and holding back on his more typical material may prove to be a good strategy for Juzzle.

4. Pall. Pall’s combo is presented well, has a high standard of execution, is thoughtfully structured, and contains material right around the WT difficulty average. Pall’s work here is just creative and difficult enough to keep both of those scores from being real weaknesses. I could be wrong, but I think this is the right type of combo to be able to sneak into the #4 spot. These combo has strong enough aspects that Pall can survive, but I think it may be essentially a coin flip between him and Allwars.

First elimination: Allwars. This is a really tough call, but the execution and structure of this combo are weak enough to be real low points in most score tables. The highly repetitive hand motions from 4-7s and the jarring grab at 8s will certainly bring down execution, integration, and effect. This combo is riding on the strength of its originality foremost, its difficulty second, and, to a lesser degree, its density.

Group D:

1. EffecT: Group D is weak overall, and this is an easy call at #1. EffecT’s combo doesn’t really stand out from his usual material – I think there are even a couple CV combos from EffecT that could fare just as well or a bit better in WT. That being said, the first 4 seconds are fantastic and the flying, theatrical tricks from 9-12s are really well done. This is as crisp and intentional as EffecT’s spinning has ever been, I think, and every link seems to be performed with pacing and effect in mind. This combo will get good scores.

2. Luscas. Man, the rest of the contenders in this group are nearly indistinguishable. Luscas has enough truly interesting links to stand out a bit from the crowd, but his combo is simply too short and the finisher is a bit of a letdown. There are enough nice things in here that it might gain .5 points or so above the rest of the group. Who knows. 4-5s looks very nice, though.

3. Tktron. Another combo benefitting from the weakness of this group, but it may be my second favorite, personally. The palmside pinky counter at 4s and FL handaround thing at 5s look really great and give the first half of this combo excellent integration and effect. The next highlight at 10s is unfortunately quite similar and also offcam, and the finisher is a major letdown. I think this combo will advance, though, as it has real strengths that most of this group lacks.

4. Ence. This combo is frustratingly sparse and unstructured, but if we simply throw out the density and integration scores, we’re left with a combo that covers the bulk of the scorebook decently well. 3s and 6s give the opening sequences some interesting material, but then at 11s we’re met with a hand wiggle that leads into a solid 5-7 seconds with very little substance. The counter at 18s is the next memorable moment, and it’s nice, but there’s just not much solid ground in this combo. I have no idea where this might rank, really.

First elimination: Gurke, Nachii. Gurke’s combo could certainly pass, but its weaknesses in execution and integration could make it slip out of contention. The finisher is pretty cool, though. Nachii’s combo has the opposite problem – its execution and integration are excellent, but its originality and difficulty will bring its overall score way down. I could easily see either of these combos potentially beating Ence for the #4 spot, but… I had to make a prediction.

Group E:

1. Zefia. This isn’t even a hot take, really. I could see Zefia being #1 on all 5 scorecards. This combo is really consistent in every way, with a solid theme, wonderful execution, a lovely structure, well-integrated ideas, and some real difficulty in there, for good measure. This combo will most likely receive the highest average scores of all combos in this round.

2. i.suk. No, I don’t think Saltient will take this spot from i.suk. This entire combo is dense and exciting, although the wiper entry at 3-4s is a little bothersome, and the wrist counters at 7s have lost a lot of their appeal, I think. Everything else in there? Fantastic, executed with visual effect in mind, and highly technically impressive.

3. Criswea!!. Easily the most shocking entry of this round. By far. Maybe the most shocking WT R1 entry ever? I don’t know. Either way, this combo is truly brilliant, involving less of the cool pen-on-pen interaction from RPD’s iconic PSO20 masterpiece, but involving significantly more simultaneous spinning, which strikes me as the primary frontier of 1p2h spinning going forward.

4. Saltient. He could obviously finish higher in this group, as high as #2, but this combo has more apparent weaknesses from a judging standpoint, so this is the easiest place to put it. Some components of execution may be unsatisfactory to some judges, especially refinement and tempo. Combined with the potential for deductions in effect, I think this incredible combo will likely finish at #4. 

First elimination: does it really matter? No other spinner has a chance of advancing, but Taka will probably take the fifth spot, and Agiota and Azeru had nice combos as well. 

Group F: 

1. Ketain. There’s no chance of a repeat R1 exit for Ketain this time. This combo is silky smooth, has highly technical sections, and doesn’t overdo difficult tricks at the expense of effect, structure, and execution (which is what sank Ketain’s chances in WT19). It’s hard to impress with a pure power finishing sequence in 2021, and they can often feel poorly structured, but this one builds on the momentum of the combo and feels satisfactory.

2. Haton. I wasn’t familiar with Haton at all before watching this combo, but it’s really quite good. The main problems are the finisher and the presentation, which is a bit dark and grainy, and the yellowish tone doesn’t look great with the wisteria element (which is nonetheless a nice color). The bulk of the material is great, though: the pd mirrored power pass at 4-5s looks nice, and the curled counter after the pd arounds at 11s is fantastic. Again, the finisher is a letdown, but the combo is executed and constructed well overall.

3. abc. This is a bit of a risky call, because abc’s difficulty scores are unlikely to be very high, but this combo is very nice overall. The bits of difficult material are distributed and integrated well, execution is excellent, and the overall effectiveness of the combo is strong. It’s fairly memorable without relying on major highlights, which is impressive.

4. Kres. This combo could take the #3 spot, depending on how judges respond to its strengths and weaknesses, which are fairly obvious. The dense construction and rather subtle technical highlights are obvious strengths, with links at 2-5s standing out especially well. The rapid, clean palm orientation changes starting at 7s are excellent and save the unexceptional finisher from being disappointing. The clear weaknesses of this combo are in the refinement and control subcategories of execution, as there are a couple hitches in rotation where the fingers lag just a bit behind the pen. Given the technical advancement and relative density of this combo, though, they are impressively minor.

First elimination: Dentol, Hector, and Kurinto stack up pretty evenly in that order, just out of the top 4 in this group. If Dentol had put a bit more thought into the structure and difficulty of his combo, he’d easily be in the mix for top 3; if Hector’s finisher and presentation were improved, he would be a major contender; and if Kurinto condensed his combo just a bit and had a more exciting tempo, he could fight to advance.

Group G:

1. Seiray7. I had thought about putting Jiv. here for the pure elegance and precision of his combo, but I think the creativity gap will be greater than the execution gap in determining the winner between two fantastic combos with roughly equal difficulty and effectiveness. The suspension at 2s is obviously striking, the rev. TA link at 6s is exciting, the DArKT-style pinky counter at 8s is really satisfying, the wiper entries right after are impressively fast and precise, and the finisher is extremely memorable, even if the execution is slightly off. Awesome combo, and one of the most enjoyable entries in Round 1.

2. Jiv. This combo could also easily win this group, and it’s also one of my favorite 4 or 5 combos from the entire round. There are a million different planes of rotation at play in this combo, and each one feels intentional. There really aren’t any problems with the combo itself: the first 7 or so seconds are fantastic, and the subpar link after the FLTA catch at 9s is only a minor interruption. The rest of the combo gets flashier and it’s exciting to bring the finisher so close to the camera. Jiv. has made slightly more thrilling combos recently, but this is a terrific start to what I expect will be a highly memorable WT run.

3. V01D. I’m not generally partial to combos that rely on specific technical elements and subtle variations at the expense of good structure, tempo, and effect, but this combo largely avoids those issues due to thoughtful construction, clean execution, and appealing effect. (That being said, I’m watching it in the official WT Drive to avoid the YouTube chapter breakdowns, which seem a bit over-indulgent). The first 5 seconds have a great flow, and technical details like the 24 side sonic counter at 3s are executed very well and don’t interrupt the flow and effect of the combo. The biggest issue here is the structure – after the well-structured first half, there’s a rather abrupt shift to power sequences, which result in an over-simple A –> B structure overall. For Round 1, though, it’s not much of a problem.

4. Sweg. This is really close – I could see it finishing anywhere from 3 to 6-ish, but I think this combo is the most likely to advance, if only because of its effect and execution. The first 4 seconds are visually nice and fairly technical, which is great, but unfortunately they contain most of the combo’s technical material. From 4-8s there’s a notable lack of anything particularly difficult, which is only slightly improved in the combo’s remaining sequences. I know that this is the exact same problem that I have in most of my combos, but I can still recognize it when it happens! All in all, Sweg is going to need universal appreciation from the judges for his effect and execution in order to be in the top 4, I think.

First elimination: 17e, Monstrata, Wei. These are all strong combos, and any of them could end up barely making the cut. 17e’s execution is a bit chaotic, though, and 2 identical thumb lever links are redundant. Monstrata’s material is appealing and technical, but sections feel repetitive, not particularly fresh, and quite a bit too… clockwise. Wei’s combo is really nice, but her flow is interrupted greatly by the links following the 23 fc. Karuna’s combo also deserves a shoutout for special material and ideas, but the execution simply isn’t quite clean enough to advance.

Group H:

1. TUv4. Along with Mond and EffecT, this is one of the most obvious group winners in this round. There’s very little in here that we haven’t seen from TUv4 in one form or another, but it’s a pretty glorious compilation of his best material. The first 5 seconds have some of the best links in the combo (that’s a major trend in this round: strong opening sequences), and while 7-9s is fairly repetitive, the combo moves on to larger highlights quickly enough that it’s not too dull. The palm-pinky swivel to wrist-around at 15s is obviously one of the coolest highlights in this tournament so far, which makes it barely forgivable that the rest of the finishing sequence is identical to his finisher in his final Japan Cup 2019 combo. This combo has obvious weaknesses, which will be shown in its scores, but its highlights are simply too nice.

2. MK. Look, I didn’t expect this at all, and maybe I’m simply overreacting based on surprise factor. HOWEVER… while this group’s best combos are very strong overall, the entries from Wabi and Gollumsk8 fall far short of spectacular, and both present obvious weaknesses that will show up in the scores. This combo, on the other hand, has no true weak points in the score book, though its originality is clearly mediocre. I was aware of MK’s high potential from his PPP SpinFest combo, but this is far ahead of that: a real, grown-up, structured, polished (no pun intended, honestly) combo. Even the “filler” links add a lot of substance. I hope MK has what it takes to continue producing combos at this level, but this looked easy enough that I expect he does.

3. Wabi. Maybe? Perhaps? This combo is spectacularly executed and very well structured, but it doesn’t contain anything particularly original and doesn’t take a single serious technical risk. But the technical aspects of the combo still meet WT standards with room to spare, and the freshness of some of the links in here should receive an originality score somewhat close to the average. Execution is still the largest of the judgment criteria, so this combo can certainly place above MK, but it’s a close call.

4. Gollumsk8. This is one of the only groups, along with E (of course), in which I’m almost 100% certain that my predicted #4 will advance to R2. Frankly, this combo could be #2 in this group, but it has an obvious deficit in execution when compared with the top 3, which leaves this as the most predictable outcome. I should mention how much I like this combo, though: I like it a lot. The counter at 2s is fun, the tempo is great throughout, the pinky counters at 11-12s are impressive, and the finisher is a great highlight. Unfortunately, the thumb fishing at 8s has tons of excess hand motion, and the general hand motion throughout will definitely depress execution scores in the control and refinement subcategories.

First elimination: Mordecai, Sepelathons. Mordecai’s combo would advance from many other groups, but the top 4 in group H seem pretty clear. The entire wiper sequence from 5-8s is a great segment, though, and stands out even in this group. Every combo in this group is quite good, really, and Sepelathons in particular will have a ton of future success in competition. Unfortunately, the loping & repetitive rhythm of his sonic sequences in this combo will probably bring his effectiveness and execution down too far for his difficulty to make up the difference.

This WT round is shockingly good, by my evaluation. Can’t wait for round 2, and I hope to be competing for at least a couple more rounds.

Easy Processes for Experimentation in PS

While I’m constantly trying to broaden my strengths in penspinning, I suspect I’ll always be known for one main thing: original tricks. I won’t even go as far as to claim that I’m known for original concepts – more often than not, I only explore my best ideas a little beyond the surface. Then I get restless and move on to focus on something else. As long as I keep people guessing, I’ll be proud of my PS work.

On the one hand, this has largely allowed me to avoid the, ummm… “perfectionism paralysis” that plagues many veteran spinners. On the other hand, it’s likely held back my ability to carve out a distinctive stylistic legacy or attain the level of advancement of others with my experience. I don’t regret my priorities, though.

What many spinners don’t realize is that you do not need years and years of experience in order to start coming up with fresh, surprising, and memorable ideas. Admittedly, it was a little bit easier to come up with fresh ideas when I started in 2011, but the principle remains true. All you need is a basic understanding of what you find exciting, an appreciation for many different styles and flavors of penspinning, and a few methods that allow you to experiment effectively. For the first two parts, you’re on your own. The third part is what I’ll try to help with. Here are some strategies you can employ in order to come up with fresh tricks and linkages.

A little bit of background

A few different spinners, especially i.suk, have outlined their thought processes for cultivating creative PS ideas. Often, these frameworks focus on the conceptual, rather than the purely experimental. This is vital for the development of PS on a high level, but I’m going to focus instead on pure, in-the-moment, freeform experimentation, for a few reasons:

1. There aren’t any resources (as far as I know) for people who want to come up with wacky, exciting tricks and linkages, without first developing concepts to accompany them.

2. This is my primary mode of experimentation: when I develop concepts more fully, it’s almost always after the process of free experimentation.

3. Developing concepts in PS requires years of experience in order to do it effectively. Free experimentation, on the other hand, can be used to great effect by spinners of any experience level, and then refined with experience.

Now, on to the main points:

1. Pay attention when you fail

This is the most important method to learn because you can employ it every single time you spin. If you fail a lot, as you should, you know that paying close attention to what happens is necessary in order to correct your mistakes and learn the trick that you’re trying to execute. But there’s something else you can do with your dropped attempts: use the “wrong” mechanic to go in a totally new direction.

One good example of this is my finisher for the Workshop’s SpinFest collab, which I originally came up with many years ago while still learning how to do a reliable hai tua.

Because I wasn’t bringing my fingers close enough together, raised my thumb too high, and hadn’t perfected the hand-turning motion for hai tua, I found the pen catching on my thumb and breaking rotation. I then had the idea that this thumb & pinky impact could be used to reverse the spinning direction, and tried filming it. At that time, the effect looked horrible and I wasn’t able to generate enough reverse momentum to make the trick usable, but it eventually worked out pretty well in my SpinFest combo.

Believe it or not, this is also how I started experimenting with stringing seasicks together with low hand motion. When your hands are slippery, seasicks sometimes result from spinning a slick barrel. Once I noticed how the accidental change in finger position could be used to link things effectively, I had new ideas about what to explore next.

2. Start with an unconventional position

It’s not always easy to find creative or original links that create a truly distinctive effect or surprising visual impact. Sometimes your best, coolest idea just doesn’t look that striking on camera, and that’s fine – small details are exciting in their own way. But it’s not impossible to create visual effects that stand out reliably. Just start with a crazy visual position you want to use, then work backwards to figure out how you can use it in context.

This is how I came up with the weird fingercross linkage in my WT19 R6 combo, which I never perfected but am nonetheless proud of. I hoped to achieve a bizarre tangle of fingercrosses and figured out a way to get there with a pen in my hand. I’ve used this approach a lot – 2020’1st, WT19 R1, and my upcoming UPSB4th combo.

I should mention that the best ideas from this experimentation process come from different planes of rotation, angles, hand positions, and ways of holding the pen. Don’t just try fingercrosses – try stalls, parallel world arm twists, unconventional fingerslots, knuckles, and environmental interactions, as well.

3. Release the pen

This one seems silly, but it can reveal a lot about the different ways to exert force on the pen while spinning. Pause at any moment during a trick, link, or combo, and try two or three different ways to make the pen leave your hand. You don’t need to worry about the pen while it’s in the air, so releases are perfect sites for pure experimentation – instead of thinking through an entire elaborate concept, all you need is one very brief action of making the pen zoom.

My examples all belong to the loosely defined trick family of “flicks,” but needless to say there are all sorts of releases you can use involving hitting the pen, throwing it, swinging it, pinching the barrel (something I’ve been excited to explore more), and so on. And no trick is too lowly to link into a highlight – my three examples all start with charge 23, the most unremarkable trick imaginable.

If you find yourself stuck when coming up with a combo breakdown, try different ways to release the pen. You’ll always have several options.

4. Think about forces

In order to accelerate (read: “spin”) or even hold your pen, you need to exert a force. And our hands are capable of an extremely complex range of motions – that’s why we have already formulated thousands of different tricks we can perform. One of the broadest, most useful ways we can categorize these motions is the way they exert force on the pen.

There’s a lot more going on in the mechanics of penspinning than I understand, and probably more than is useful to think about in the first place. But this type of thinking is underdeveloped: at any point, the motions of the pen and fingers are governed by friction, angular momentum in several dimensions, linear momentum in several dimensions, gripping pressure, gravity, normal force, etc. Even the tension across the barrel is in play. Each of these can be manipulated in one way or another to come up with new mechanics for penspinning.

Take seasick-pass reverse 12-23 (or whatever you want to call it), for example. I’ve executed it in three ways, all of which involve, in conjunction with others, gravity, friction, linear momentum, and angular momentum. The first version relies primarily on gravity, low friction between pen & finger, and a little bit on angular momentum near the end. The second version relies primarily on linear momentum and low friction, coupled with the movement of the hand. The third version is especially interesting, relying on the difference in friction between the two gripping fingers, along with angular momentum after the contact point passes the center of the pen, resulting in low hand movement.

(This is all fairly undeveloped, and I might try to write a full article on these ideas at another time)

Most of the time, though, it’s a lot simpler. I’m fond of applying and releasing barrel tension and want to explore more “pinching” forces in the future:

5. Focus on finishers

Okay, okay, I know… this is as much a weakness of mine as it is a strength. Often my best highlights and most memorable ideas come at the very end of my combos. In part, that’s because I rely a lot on experimental ideas that involve losing control of the pen for a period of time. But mostly, it’s because it’s way easier to come up with new finishers than to incorporate new ideas into the middle of a combo, since all you have to figure out is the catch.

Basically, if you want to get started on creating your own original effect, try coming up with a flashy finisher to get the creative process in motion.

(BONUS) Think about the non-spinning fingers

This is discussed frequently when spinners analyze styles of finger positioning, refinement, and individual style, but it can also be an important part of coming up with new tricks and effects. I’m including it only as a “bonus” entry because I simply don’t have all that much to say about it. Here are a few examples of what I mean:

Alright, that’s all I have for you in this article! This one was interesting to write, since it focused solely on my own spinning experiences and habits. For the next one, I’ll return to analysis of other spinners, paired with my own outlooks and interests.

Tensions & Releases in Effect-Focused Penspinning

Many penspinners have used the concepts of tension and release to describe the satisfying effect of well-structured combos. I thought I’d investigate this further.

I’m not going to write anything comprehensive or systematic. I’m just going to present one or two ideas that I believe apply to tension and release generally, then talk about several varied types of tension and release, with examples of each. I’ll also add that many of my examples, if not most, demonstrate multiple different types of tension and release. While the various types I’m outlining certainly combine with and compound each other, I’ll only discuss my examples in terms of the specific type of tension and release that they exemplify.

What can we say about tension and release generally?

There are only a couple of things that I can say about tension and release as a whole. The first throughline of most types of tension & release is pause. Only two of the tension “families” I will write about don’t obviously involve pauses of some sort.

Structural placement is also important to all the types of tensions I will write about. Basically, if a period of tension and release occurs near the very beginning of a combo, it’s unlikely to make a large impact. The placement of any period of tension and release makes a big difference in how it impacts the viewer.

What sorts of aspects of PS can create tension and release? What types of tension and release can we identify in existing combos?

I’ll go over these in the order that they occurred to me, on the very shaky assumption that the more obvious types are the most important.

1. Direction changes

This is the most obvious one to me, but maybe that’s just because it’s a personal favorite. Not just any direction changes, but repeated ones, followed by a section of same-direction spinning. Well-paced tipped sonics, sequenced counters, and interrupted charges suppress momentum and create tension as anticipation builds for the release of more directional spinning. Here’s a fantastic example from Fukrou’s combo in Anone:

Momentum is removed with every direction change, building tension until the pen reaches the 34 slot and the tension is released as the counterclockwise rotation continues through the finisher. In Ayano’s combo for JEB Spinfest 2019, we see tipped sonics paced deliberately enough to create a similar effect:

That’s one reason why Ayano’s combo is probably the highlight of the CV.

2. Speed changes

The most obvious component of pacing in PS is speed. There are other types of speed changes that can create tension and release, but the simplest demonstration of the principle is a slow period followed by an abrupt increase in speed. Here’s an example from MEL, in 1999CV:

MEL’s spinning in general is very fast, but the highlight effect of this indexaround is a result of the slower wipers that precede it. Here’s another example from Yua in his WT19 R1 combo:

This combo, on the other hand, is slow throughout, and this abrupt acceleration releases the tension held up to that point. It’s almost as if a spring is being wound up and released, as Yua’s finger mechanics remain perfectly relaxed while the pen accelerates.

3. Hand motion

The next fairly obvious type of tension and release is hand motion. It’s been important for effect-focused spinning – as recently as ~5 years ago, this was still the predominant way people identified “style.” Hand movements often take attention away from the pen, so some anticipation builds until the attention is returned to the pen, which serves as a release. Here’s an example from Menowa* in the 3rd place match of JEBT2012:

The focus is on the motion of the hand, with the pen motion briefly isolated around its lower tip, building tension to be released when the pen spins on the ring and the hand becomes still. Another good example comes from VicGotGame’s best remembered combo, WT11 R1:

Basically the same principle we saw with Menowa*: the focus is on the hand movement, and the anticipation resolves with the TA rev 0.5 (or whatever the proper notation is).

4. Finger positioning

Now we’re entering some less obvious sources of tension and release, but they are probably just as important (maybe more so) than the more obvious ones, since their effects, being non-obvious, are more organic. Finger positioning has been discussed at length, but mostly in terms of aesthetic forms, impressions of relaxation, and technical precision. Finger positioning can also develop and release visual tensions, however. Take a look at this example from Malimo’s combo in Japen 14th:

The fingers curl up and squeeze together for a sequence, building a visual and sympathetic-physical tension which is released as the fingers are straightened in the following sequence. These links produce an effect similar to the clips I showed from Yua and MEL, as if the pen is being accelerated dramatically, but the speed of rotation actually remains fairly consistent. A different demonstration of this effect can be observed in Herenz’s second-round combo in PSO20 Aestheticism (as Seiji):

In this instance, it’a a bit more obvious: in the first FLTA, the hand is bunched together with all the fingers closed in a fist; in the second, they are immediately opened and straightened. It’s a purely stylized effect, completely unnecessary to the tricks being performed, but it quickly builds and subsequently releases visual tension.

5. Repetition

When we think of repetition, we often think of continuous tricks, like power tricks, performed multiple times for high difficulty. But any type of repetition can also build tension to be released when the combo moves on to other tricks. A perfect example of this is right in the middle of Octopus’s combo for imy:

It’s an unexpected sequence, and the TA reverses are so identical that a lot of tension builds until the combo goes on to other tricks. I’ll go back to Malimo for another example, using his combo for DG7th:

This sequence has so many repeated motions, it’s hard to account for them all. The first part has three aggressive “grabbing” motions in a row, but the most notable tension and release is found in the repeated pass->sonic counters, building tension both by rapid direction changes and exact repetition, then resolving both by breaking the repeated pattern and maintaining clockwise rotation until the end of the combo.

6. Unstable “slots”

When I say “unstable,” I don’s mean lacking in stability in the sense that penspinners typically use. I mean the quality of a slot where the pen can’t remain indefinitely, or where it’s especially contingent, like topspins or vertical stalls. In these cases, the tension wears off after a time, like with a topspin that continues spinning until it stops, or a vertical stall that remains long enough that there doesn’t seem to be a chance of it falling. Here’s an example of how a topspin link can build and release tension, from Furaru:

The middlespin reverse comes out of nowhere, and is ended as seamlessly as it was begun. It makes you hold your breath for a second, even when you expect it. Another example is from Menowa*’s combo for the final round of the 2018 Japan Cup:

This one made my heart stop the first time I saw it – the stall has barely any time to build tension, but a ton of tension is built and released nonetheless.

7. Changes in center of rotation

I don’t think I’ve ever heard others talk about this phenomenon of effect, but it’s one of my favorite ways to analyze pleasing combo structures. Simply put, a lot of nice effects can be accomplished by the pen switching from rotating around its center to rotating around its tip and vice-versa. In particular, tension is often built when the pen rotates around its tip, to be released when it returns to rotating around its center. Here’s an example from DArKT, in his combo for Coffeelucky 7th:

Both the TA reverse and the middle-pinkyaround (whatever that’s called) are really satisfying to watch in this clip because they break up wiper sections by instead rotating the pen around its center. For another example of this, let’s look at Drowsy’s WT19 R3 combo:

In this clip we see the effect three times, and each one builds tension in proportion with the amount of wiper section that comes before it, so each subsequent link builds more tension than the last. This effect, I think, is one of the main reasons this combo is so satisfying to watch.

8. Deferred finishers

This type of tension and release is completely different from the others on this list, since it depends entirely on subverting conventional combo structure, and far less on the ways certain tricks are performed. Basically, when a trick is expected to be the finisher of a combo, but the combo continues further, considerable tension is built until the actual finisher. Here’s a great example from Malimo in End of the World Album:

At first, we expect the combo to finish with a classic 122 bust, then it goes on and we expect it, perhaps, to finish with a scissorspin to TA. When that expectation is dashed, we might anticipate the wiper in the thumb and index to lead to an index bust yet again, or a charge 12 rev to TA. By the end of the finish sequence, extraordinary tension has been built by our expectations repeatedly being broken and reformulated. It’s one of my favorite finishing sequences ever. Here’s a less striking but still very nice example from Wabi in JapEn 2020:

The pinky catch feels just flashy enough to lead up to a finisher, so we expect a simple 122 finisher again. Instead, Wabi’s hand turns upward, and the double bust finish arrives after some quick passes.

I’m hoping to write some more of these before long. Let me know what your thoughts were on the article and keep the discussion going! Also give me topic recommendations that you would like me to write about.