About

Pen Spinning - Pen Spinning is an artistic hand sport, with the primary objective of using the hands or other objects to manipulate the pen in a certain physical way that causes visually pleasing effects. It is often categorized as a form of "micro-juggling". (Micro-juggling is broad term that describes a particular type of contact juggling in which a small object is used.)

View on Pen Spinning in General

Pen Spinning is often stereotyped as only something students who otherwise have nothing to do would choose to practice. Actually, there's more to Pen Spinning than just that. Pen Spinning is a hand sport expressed artistically in which your imagination is the only limit. Patience, dexterity, and comprehension are required to be able to aesthetically perform the different Pen Spinning tricks and combinations of tricks. As Pen Spinning is often associated with linkage of various tricks, I suspect that, generally speaking, Pen Spinners can build a greater capacity for logic than non-Pen Spinners!


Mission Statement of The Troposphere

To enhance the awareness of Pen Spinning knowledge and to encourage the practice of Pen Spinning worldwide.


Troposphere Timeline

August 26, 2003 - The first version of the Troposphere was released on August 26, 2003. The original version was designed to be a Personal web page combined with Pen Spinning elements. The primary purpose was to store and present the videos, tutorials, and general Pen Spinning-related thoughts that I had created at the Pentix Board (the predecessor of today’s Universal Pen Spinning Board) in an organized fashion.

September 1, 2003 – Added new domain http://www.troposphere.tk.

October 1, 2003 – The first Troposphere Online Community Group (located inside Yahoo! Groups) was created. The Community was based on the Chinese language, with hopes of building a bridge between Occidental Pen Spinners with our counterparts in the Far East.

December 18, 2003 – The first of two Troposphere Promotional Videos was released, with the purpose of attracting new entrants into this art. Tricks featured in this video included the Backriser and Multiple Thumbspins.

December 23, 2003 – English and Japanese Communities (Yahoo! Groups) were created.

January 11, 2004 – The Troposphere officially joined the UPSB as an affiliate site.

June 6, 2004 – The second of two Troposphere Promotional Videos was released within the Troposphere Communities. This video was posted onto the Main website. Main tricks featured in this video included the Backaround Reverse and Twisted Pass.

August 24, 2004 – The English Troposphere Yahoo! Group was shut down.

September 28, 2004 – Chinese Troposphere Group welcomed its 300th member.

December 30, 2004 – The second and newest version of the Troposphere was released on this date. The “Personal web page” component was withdrawn and the entire site was redesigned. The second Troposphere Promotional Video, along with several new videos that have been stored within the Yahoo! Groups, were uploaded onto the Main website.

January, 2005 - Participated in a collaboration Pen Spinning video made by UPSB and PenDolSa communities. The video can be downloaded at SuperHandz.


The Author of The Troposphere Pen Spinning Site

Name: Darren (nhk_9 at UPSB)
Occupation: Full-time Student
Location: British Columbia, Canada

How I got started with PS: A friend of mine demonstrated the Thumbspin to me back in the first year of high-school, and showed me how to perform tricks effortlessly. I thought the trick was spectacular, and decided to learn it to the best of my abilities. Later, I started to realize that it’s possible to practice Pen Spinning while performing other activites such as reading and browsing.

Pen Spin Endeavours: As a member of the Naming Committee at UPSB, I assist in the organization of English Pen Spinning nomenclature in use today. Aside from that, I would occasionally develop Freestyle Combos. My latest projects include the making of a feature video, separate from the promotional videos.

Favourite Tricks: ThumbSpin 1.5 Normal (aka Forward 1.5)
Backaround Normal

Favourite Combos: Inverse Sonic 1.5 to Continuous Fingerless ThumbSpin 1.5, NeoBak Fall, Continuous Backaround 1.5 Normal

Tricks learned: Most major variations of ThumbSpin, Infinity, Backaround, Sonic, Shadow, Charge families etc..

Most frequently used combination: Backaround 1.5 to Forward 1.5. The tricks that I practice less often are most FingerPass variations, i-Sonic, and two-handed tricks.

Favourite Conceptual Combo: Continuous BackRiser 2.0 Normal

PS-related Vision: One day, Pen Spinning shall become an art that has a status equivalent, if not more than, of that of mainstream juggling.