Wormhole is a trick that follows up Ripcord. It is very much like a reverse Ripcord; as the trick starts with the yo-yo on one side of the string (split bottom mount, Ripcord), and then ends up on the other side of the string (reverse mount).
Step 1 - Ripcord
 |
Ripcord begins with a standard split bottom entry mount. If you do not know how to do this mount, please visit Ken's World on a String. |
Steps 2 through 6 can be skipped, and are only additional "flash" for the trick. Click here to skip to Step 7.
Step 2 - Ripcord
| Next, you want to tilt your whole "string-and-yo-yo-setup" toward you. This is the beginning of another trick called Chain Reaction (This trick can be found at Ken's World, if you wish to see it), and is accomplished by moving your left hand behind your right hand. As this happens, the yo-yo will follow the orange arrow and you will be left in the position shown in Step 3. |  |
Step 3 - Ripcord
 |
As you move your hand in the direction of the blue arrow in Step 2, you will arrive in this position at one moment. Without stopping, continue moving your left hand behind your right as shown in the current picture. As this happens, the yo-yo will eventually jump strings from its current position onto the red string. |
Step 4 - Ripcord
| You should now be in this position. The red string segment in this picture is the same red segment shown in Step 3. |  |
Step 5 - Ripcord
 |
The red yo-yo string segment in this picture is not
the same red segments shown in Steps 3 and 4.
Now, you are going to go back to the position of the split bottom mount you started with. To do so, simply move your hands back in the direction you came from. The yo-yo will hop off it's current string and onto the newly colored red string |
Step 6 - Ripcord
| As your left hand follows the arrow from Step 5, your hand will end up in the position shown to the right. The red string in this picture is the same as in Step 5. Continue moving your left hand in the direction of the arrow, and you will return to the position from Step 1. |  |
You will be back in this position.
Step 7 - Ripcord
 |
This position to the left is a split bottom mount but
may look a little deformed if you compare it to the picture above.
Next, you are going to swing the yo-yo in the direction of the orange arrow. This can be done by slightly moving both hands in a small semi-circle forward motion as shown by the blue arrows, or just give the yo-yo some forward momentum any way you can. |
Step 8 - Ripcord
| As you can see, the yo-yo is continuing to travel in the direction of the orange arrow because of the "push" you gave in Step 7. While this is happening, move your hand in the arc motion shown by the blue arrow. You will end up pushing against the two string segments that are wrapped around your right pointer finger. |  |
Step 9 - Ripcord
 |
After following the blue arc arrow of Step 8, you will
notice you separated the bottom two segments into two halves. In the
picture to the left, one pair of strings (the ones closest to you), are
colored red. This red string is going to become important in the next
step.
The yo-yo is continuing around in the direction of the orange arrow. While this is occurring, move your left hand forward and upward to the same height of your right hand. |
This is a picture of Step 9, except the dotted lines show what is going on behind the hand.
Step 10 - Ripcord
| As the yo-yo continues around the left hand, it will begin to fall on the red string segments shown to the right. These segments are the same ones shown in Step 9. Make you sure you land the yo-yo on both segments (this is not hard, because the segments are vertically aligned). |  |
Step 11 - Ripcord
 |
You will find yourself in the position to the left. The red strings are the same as in Steps 9 and 10. Before doing the arrow motions shown, take a clear look at the black and white, arrow free, picture below this text so you can make sure you are clearly in this position. |
You should be in this position. There are three string segments between the left
hand and the yo-yo, and two segments between the right hand and the yo-yo.
Step 12 - Ripcord
| The string that is newly colored red is going to play an
important role in the next few steps, so please pay attention to it. The
next pictures will not show it red.
Now, doing a little "swing" motion like in Step 7 (keeping both hands about the same height), fling the yo-yo over your left hand in the direction of the orange arrow as shown in the picture to the right. |
 |
You will end up in the following position. The arrows in this picture do not show what to do next. They show what you just did to get into this position.
 |
This picture is a no-arrow, black and white of where you should be at. Of course, this is in mid yo-yo swing so you wont be in this position for more than a split second. |
Step 13 - Ripcord
| The red string segments in the picture to the right are
the same as the ones in Step 12.
You will notice that the yo-yo will still be rotating in its circular path from the "swing motion." As it rotates up in the air, move your left hand forward just a little (this is not required, but it gives you more room for the next part of this step). Then, the yo-yo will continue in its path until it lands on both red strings, as the blue arrow depicts. |
 |
Step 14 - Ripcord
 |
The red string segments in the picture to the left are
the same ones in Step 13.
You should arrive in a new complicated position. Notice how many segments there are coming from the hands to the yo-yo: 5 from the left hand and 2 from the right! The yo-yo will probably start to slow down since there are so many strings there, so quickly move on to step 15. |
Step 15 - Ripcord Dismount
| Now it is time to dismount. This is done completely different than the actual dismount for Ripcord. You want to get the yo-yo off of the doubled-up red string. To do this, move your hand in the direction of the blue arrow. However, and this is important, you do NOT want to thread the green string in the groove of the yo-yo. This may seem awkward at first, but it isn't terribly hard. |  |
Step 16 - Ripcord Dismount
 |
If you didn't thread the green string in the yo-yo groove during Step 15, this is where you will be at. Continue moving your hand in the direction of the blue arrow shown to the left. |
Step 17 - Ripcord Dismount
| You should now be in this position. The dotted lines show what's going on behind the hand. In case you can't tell, it goes from the yo-yo finger, then around and over the left hand pointer finger, around and under the right hand pointer finger then back over the left hand pointer finger, around and under the yo-yo, then finally back over the pointer finger of your left hand. Whew! It's a lot more complicated than it sounds. If it looks like you're in this general position, then proceed to Step 18. |  |
Step 18 - Ripcord Dismount
 |
This is the same position as Step 17, however I have re-colored the strings. The reason is that you now want to drop the red string that is looped around your left hand pointer finger (the one coming from your yo-yo finger). Just let it drop off the finger and go to Step 19. |
Step 19 - Ripcord Dismount
| You should now be in the position to the right. Move your right hand in the direction of the blue arrow, past the left hand (meaning that the right hand is now between your body and the left hand). |  |
Step 20 - Ripcord Dismount
 |
You are now in a reverse mount. You could also get to this position by throwing a trapeze and turning sideways but then you skip half of Wormhole. If you are just practicing then you might want to start with this position. Make sure your formation looks like the picture to the left and go on to Step 21. |
Step 21 - Wormhole
| You are now going to pluck the red string with your right
hand. It does not matter whether you doing it with your pointer finger or
middle finger. I personally use my middle finger, but the illustrations
show me plucking with the pointer finger to make the illustrations more
clear...after all, it will get confusing when everything is coming from
the middle finger.
If you do not understand what "plucking" means, simply move your right hand in the direction of the blue arrow and hook the red string with a finger (pointer or middle). |
 |
Step 22 - Wormhole
 |
Here is a picture in mid-pluck. |
Step 23 - Wormhole
| The hands' position to the right show how your formation should look. Now it is time to do a backwards barrel roll. You can do more than one, but my illustrations will only show one barrel roll. To do a barrel roll, move your right hand in the direction of the blue arrow. |  |
Step 24 - Wormhole
 |
As you move your right hand under the yo-yo, the yo-yo will eventually hop strings as the orange arrow shows. Continue to move your hand in the direction of the blue arrow. |
Step 25 - Wormhole
| After the yo-yo hops, you should be in a position similar to the one on the right. Now you are going to do another circular rotation...except this time with the left hand. Move your left hand in the direction of the blue arrow, toward the blue X. Once your hand reaches the X, without stopping, continue to Step 24. |  |
Step 24 - Wormhole
 |
Continue moving your left hand in the direction of the blue arrow. |
Step 25 - Wormhole
| Continue going in the direction of the blue arrow with your left hand until you reach the blue X. You have just completed the backwards barrel roll. You can go into more if you like (I don't suggest more than 2; I always just stick with one). When you are done barrel rolling, go to the next step. |  |
Step 26 - Wormhole
 |
You should now be in the position to the left. Now, pull back your right hand. Doing so will cause the yo-yo to go up and forward. You can make this happen by giving the yo-yo a swing, as well. |
Step 27 - Wormhole
| If you pulled back your right hand fast and smoothly enough, then you will have the distorted triangle figure shown to the right. The yo-yo should continue going upwards from the momentum given in Step 27. When this happens, move your left hand pointer finger in the direction of the blue arrow. You should end up pushing against the double string coming from your right hand to the yo-yo. |  |
Step 28 - Wormhole
 |
This part gets semi-tricky. As your hand pushes against the string from Step 27. The yo-yo's path will follow in the direction of the orange arrow; it will travel over your left hand. It is eventually going to land on the red double string. Sometime before this happens, move your left hand up to be in the same horizontal plane as your right hand. |
Step 29 - Wormhole
| You should now be in a position where your hands are somewhat horizontal from each other (depending on when you did the move in Step 28). This picture shows the yo-yo as it is about to fall on the string. |  |
Step 30 - Wormhole
 |
As the yo-yo lands on the red double string. You are going to repeat your motions from Steps 27-30. Your yo-yo should be already going (slightly) in the direction of the orange arrow due to its momentum. Bring your left hand towards the double red string closest to your body until you are pressing up against it. |
Step 31 - Wormhole
| You should now be in a position similar to the one on the right. The yo-yo will, again, go over your left hand. By moving your hand in the direction of the blue arrow, the yo-yo will "pop-up" more, and thusly continue traveling in the direction of the orange arrow. |  |
Step 32 - Wormhole
 |
The yo-yo should still be rotating in the direction of the small orange arrow shown to the left. Sometime in the immediate future you are going to want to horizontally align your hands again. To do this, follow the blue arrow with your left hand until you reach the blue arrow, then stop. |
Step 33 - Wormhole
| You should end up in this position for a split second before the yo-yo falls on both the red strings. |  |
Step 34 - Wormhole
 |
You will now be in the position to the left. Notice how many string segments there are! Because of this, the yo-yo may slow down rapidly...so, proceed to Step 35 quickly! |
Step 35 - Wormhole
| You now want to drop the red string from your right pointer finger. After doing so, move your right hand under the yo-yo by following the blue arrow. Stop at the blue X, when both of your hands are vertically aligned. |  |
Step 36 - Wormhole
 |
Now you will be in this formation. Although you might not be able to tell right away, but you are in the perfect position for a vertical triple roll out! |
Step 37 - Wormhole
| Now, simply flip the yo-yo into the air as shown in the picture to the right. This can be accomplished by making little upwards looping motions with your left hand, or just do it however feels comfortable. One the yo-yo rolls out three times, then just give it a tug and it will come back to your hand. You have just completed Wormhole! That wasn't too bad was it? |  |
| There are many problems you can encounter when doing Wormhole. One main one is that the yo-yo slows down too considerably when doing steps that force many string segments into the yo-yo groove. To counter this problem, either learn to keep everything perfectly aligned, or widen your string gap if you can. If available, I would use a A-Line Cherry Bomb for this trick since it is an awesome sleeper and has an adjustable string gap. If you have already mastered Atomic Smasher, Hydrogen Bomb, and those types of tricks, Wormhole isn't to hard to learn. The main problem is just that the yo-yo runs out of spin too fast, but with practice the trick will become fairly easy. |