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Published on November 25, 2007

Watch any bored schoolchild: when a pen isn't being put to paper it's usually rolling, twirling or tapping above the desk. It took just one bright spark to see the potential here for impressing friends, and the art of pen spinning was born.

Its Thai teen adherents claim that pen spinning's unlimited tricks and manipulations make for both a creative hobby and an effective form of stress therapy, and the word is being spread through a website dedicated to the practice.

Pakpoom "Tae" Magsilp, 16, of Saint John's Technology School, saw a video clip of pen spinning on a free forum at thaispinning.com around a year ago.

"My first thought was it shouldn't be possible," says Tae, who has since mastered some of the tricks. "I don't think I am addicted to it, but I have to spin a pen at least once a day."

Spinning a pen as if it were dropping to the ground, with his right palm downward, Tae's fingers seem to stroke the implement effortlessly through the air.

"This is called 'gravity', one of the most difficult tricks," he says.

Pen spinning can be described as a form of juggling that uses a writing tool like a pen or a pencil to perform different tricks. The results can be enchanting.

Like Tae, Sutiphan "Aun" Airsuwan, 15, of Chuanhun Bumphan School, was amazed by the video clip on thaispinning.com. "I tried learning a few tricks and discovered what fun it was," says Aun.

"When I'm stressed out with studies at school, spinning a pen helps," adds Niwat "Golf" Tapalad, 15, a school friend of Aun. "It's like a mind-emptying tool."

Another keen spinner, Panupong "MJ" Supasri, 15, of the Demonstration School of Ramkhamhaeng University, says, "Sometimes, just looking at the pens is enough to cheer me up." MJ started spinning three years ago, learning twirling tricks from the US-based pentrix.com. He got so engrossed that he created his own web board, but closed it after discovering a more comprehensive site at thaispinning.com, where he joined a larger community of like-minded souls. MJ was part of a Thai team that sent a video clip of their moves to an international online contest, coming third in a field of a dozen teams from around the world.

Pongtawat "Lip" Samutrattanakul, 17, of Suankularb Samutprakarn School, performs tricks using both hands. He started off by learning the simplest trick, known as the "thumbaround" - spinning a pen around the thumb using thumb, index and middle fingers - but still hasn't mastered the same trick in the reverse direction, the "thumbaround harmonic".

Surfing the Net one day, he discovered a limitless world of tricks that went beyond just spinning with the fingers. "I thought, wow, it's so cool! I've learned more and more complex tricks ever since," says Lip, who likes to keep a pen spiralling in his left hand while his right is busy with the computer mouse.

Tae, Aun, Golf, MJ and Lip are among more than 10,000 Thai teens who have joined the pen spinning Web community, according to Chatchai "J" Songnapawuttikul, webmaster and founder of thaispinner.com. Most are in secondary school, "because they have more free time after study than university students", says J, adding that around 30 regulars turn up in person to meetings in Bangkok, while there are also communities in Chiang Mai and other big provinces across the country.

J spent more than a decade at his desk without getting further than the "thumbaround harmonic".

Not until he was 21 did he discover and begin to explore the full potential of his writing implement. So far, from a handful of basic tricks, a repertoire of around 300 hybrid moves has developed. "They are limitless because you can create your own, combining the existing tricks as you please," J says.

"A friend of mine sent a video clip from the South Korea-based 'Pendolsa' Web community. But the explanations were in Korean so I turned to pentrix.com. My English was pretty poor at the time, but I was so obsessed with learning the new tricks I was watching that I managed to sharpen my English-language skills at the same time."

Beginners can best learn spinning with a pen around 18 centimetres long that will balance with its midpoint pivoting on a finger. J's imported pens can be used as normal writing tools but have grips at either end. They cost between Bt150 and Bt170.

"In fact, you can use anything that will balance crossways on your finger," J advises.

Watching someone repeatedly twiddling and dropping a pen as they try to master the difficult art, it's hard not to scoff. Many judge it less a hobby than a complete waste of time. J, however, strongly disagrees.

"We learn to be deter-mined. It takes effort, and achieving a certain difficult trick brings a real sense of pride. On top of that, I've heard that improving dexterity in the hands can help with brain development. It can also be meditative, helping to quiet the mind."

Pen spinners have reported an improved ability to concentrate on their studies, too, adds J, who seems to have benefited himself. He won several scholarships during his high school days, always had a grade-point average above 3.5, was awarded a bachelor's degree with first class honours at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Engineering, and is now pursuing a master's degree at the same institution.

Lip agrees, adding, "I've made friends from France, Germany and Japan through chatting about spinning on the Internet. In Thailand I have the chance to make friends from other schools, and we chat about study and other things, as well as pens."

"We meet occasionally to show off the tricks we've created and teach them to each other," says J.

At one such gathering Aun draws smiles from onlookers, giving a virtuoso display that combines difficult pen spinning moves with sleight-of-hand magic and card tricks. "I learned the magic and card tricks via the websites advertised on thaispinning.com."

Spinning has been a passport to a wider world of pen pals for many young Thais, but J has taken things a step further.

For him it's now a business, with a website that brings friends from different countries together to exchange pens and also offers imported spinning implements. The site he designed from scratch has now grown big enough to warrant its own server.

"When users started asking for the special models of pens used by spinning experts, I also taught myself the importing and marketing skills to provide them."

Aree Chaisatien

The Nation

Visit www.thaispinner.com and www.pentrix.com.