Pen Spinning: History, Notation and Basic Tricks

You may have seen someone doing pen spinning, and if you haven't, then I believe at some point in your life you tried to spin a pen, maybe in school or even at work while thinking about something.

Anyway, pen spinning is exactly that: a pen turning through your fingers. Of course, just trying doesn't mean you succeeded, after all, there are people with absurd skill at it. Now let me tell you more about this very popular pastime around the world and especially in East Asia.

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What is pen spinning

Pen spinning is a form of juggling that uses a pen, and it can be a hobby or a competitive sport. That's right, it's not just a game or pastime to distract yourself; pen spinning is serious business.

The practice consists of spinning a pen in one or both hands quickly and smoothly, using fine motor coordination. The movements need to be almost perfect, because a small mistake sends the pen to the floor.

Spinners do not always use common pens. There are special pens called mods (modified pens), made from parts of different pens; the well-known ones are the Buster, Menowa, MX, Dr. KT and KIRER. The extra length and weight make some tricks easier to control. If you are curious about the pens themselves, our guide to Japanese stationery covers the models and the vocabulary around them.

The hobby is popular in Asian countries, where there are communities, tutorials and equipment made for it; this shows how seriously local spinners take it. Japan even has a pen spinning association and an annual festival in Tokyo.

How did pen spinning originate?

This practice has been quite common since the 1970s, and it's not uncommon to see people unconsciously spinning pens and pencils while their attention is elsewhere. From that everyday habit, the art became more elaborate, to the point it has reached today.

It is not clear where pen spinning originated. The internet popularized the hobby in the late 1990s and early 2000s, through videos and specialized websites. Hideaki Kondoh, a Japanese spinner, launched the first pen spinning website in December 1997 and named many of the tricks still used today. People have always spun pens at school; sooner or later, this would become a sport.

In Japan, as well as in several other countries around the world, there are in-person and online championships, and like any championship in any sport, there are prizes for the best spinners. The first World Tournament took place online in 2007, with 80 spinners from eight communities, and a year later Japan won the World Cup, a team event. The first Japanese national championship, in 2008, drew 276 participants and ended with a high school student as champion. A practitioner of pen spinning is also known as a pen spinner.

The finger notation behind pen spinning

Well, since we talked a bit about the theoretical part of this art, let's now move on to the practical part, starting with the notation.

Before picking up the pen, we need to know a few things to help us with the practice. To start, there is a specific notation in pen spinning, where the fingers and the spaces between them, called openings or slots, are numbered. It makes learning and explaining the techniques easier, because it gives a name to every position and a step-by-step description for each maneuver.

Let's go, we will start numbering the fingers:

• Finger T is the thumb (T comes from the English word thumb);
• Finger 1 is the index;
• Finger 2 is the middle;
• Finger 3 is the ring;
• Finger 4 is the pinky.

Next, the spaces between the fingers, called openings, use the same numbers:

• Opening T1 is the space between finger 1 and T;
• Opening 12 is the space between finger 1 and 2;
• Opening 23 is the space between finger 2 and 3;
• Opening 34 is the space between finger 3 and 4.

Okay, with the preparations done, now it's just a matter of getting to work. Every beginner in pen spinning needs to know four basic movements. They are fundamental to help stabilize the pen and improve fine motor coordination. They are also the basis for several other movements and higher-level combos.

These movements do not depend on special or modified pens (mods). Since all maneuvers have a normal direction and a reverse direction, they can be executed two ways; this detail will be better understood after practice. Trick names are conventionally in English, which helps when you look up tutorials.

Basic movements of pen spinning

1 - ThumbAround Normal: the pen is pushed by any finger except the thumb, usually the middle finger, and spins 360 degrees around the thumb. At the end of the maneuver, the pen is caught in the opening T1.

2 - FingerPass Normal: the simplest movement to understand and one of the most well-known, but many spinners consider it the hardest to make smooth. The pen passes from one opening to another sequentially, with half a turn between each (12, 23 and 34). On the palm side, it travels downward, then goes up on the other side of the hand.

3 - Sonic Normal: this technique quickly changes the pen from one finger position to another. The pen spins conically behind the fingers, without involving the thumb, between the openings 23 and 12. The name comes from the speed: compared with the ThumbAround, the pen seems to jump from one position to the next.

4 - Charge Normal: this technique only requires two fingers and has no finger swapping. The pen spins conically in one position, clockwise in the right hand and counterclockwise in the left when viewed from the palm side. It can be done in any opening, but beginners commonly use 12. It is similar to what drummers do with drumsticks.

The ThumbAround can take up to a month to feel natural, while the Sonic and the Charge usually take one to two weeks. The FingerPass may take up to a couple of months to become smooth, which is why beginners often find it frustrating.

Ready for pen spinning?

For beginners, these are fundamental movements; they need to be fully mastered before attempting to perform other maneuvers. Once these feel natural, the next step is linking them into combos. Do you practice or know someone who does? If you want to give any suggestions, just comment. For now, that's all I can offer you, my dear reader.