I think the vast majority of people learn Hop the Fence after they have learned Inside Loops. Usually because of a contest or for use in various two-handed tricks. It is also a trick that is not well understood by many people. I had to basically feel out the trick on my own, and it took me a while before I knew if what I was doing was correct. So I hope this guide will help out with learning this important but often overlooked trick.
As for when you should learn this trick, there is no real rules. As I said most people learn Inside Loops first, but that is not needed. I venture to say that Hop the Fences are actually easier in some regards, since you don't have to be fighting gravity. However, it does take a while to get the hang of and just because you are good with Inside Loops doesn't mean Hop the Fence will be a breeze. Just try to keep in mind how long it took you to get good at Inside Loops. That usually helps to keep things in perspective. As always, the trick is to keep plugging away at it.
The recommendations for yo-yos, string, finger protection, etc. for Inside Loops all apply to Hop the Fence. Check there for more information.
Basically Hop the Fence is a reverse loop. The yo-yo travels in an elipse that goes in the opposite direction as Inside Loops. Unlike Inside Loops, Hops tend to be easiest to do downward. Reverse loops in general can go downward, in front of you, over your head, even behind you. But Hop the Fence, where the yo-yo goes downward, is the easiest to control. I think this has to do both with the physics of the trick, and the range of motion and strengths of the human arm, wrist, and fingers.
Generally you start with a Throwdown. As the yo-yo comes back up, you snap your wrist down, sending the yo-yo back down again. The yo-yo travels in one circular direction, going away from you as it goes over, and towards you as it goes under. You catch it with your palm down.
Note: The terms Hop the Fence and Planet Hop are often switched around and messed with. My personal definition is in line with the AYYA, a lot of the people online, the Spintastics video, and the Dennis McBride Two-Handed video. Hop the Fence for me is a reverse loop, one that always goes in one direction. And Planet Hop as a trick where the yo-yo goes back and forth over your hand in two directions (the same as Reach for the Moon but upside-down).
Just like with Inside Loops, the yo-yo flips over for each Hop. Again, it may be helpfull to have a yo-yo with multi-colored sides to see this effect. Also, since Hops tend to be somewhat slower than Inside Loops, you can actually see the yo-yo flipping over to some degree.
This effects the string tension in a way opposite from Inside Loops. Hops in your right hand will make the string tighter. Hops in your left hand will make the string looser.
Note: It IS possible to do Hops without the yo-yo flipping each time. This is an easier thing to happen with Hops then it is with Inside Loops. It is still less stable then the flipping motion, but it can be done either by accident or purposely, especially with a butterfly. But I would recommend against this method in general. There might be certain limited instances where it could be helpfull, but I think the problems very much outweight the benefits in most cases.
The relationship of the gap width versus the string width effects the height of your Hops. Again, this is the opposite of Inside Loops. A small gap will tend to make the yo-yo go up and away from you. A large gap will tend to make it go down and towards you.
Ok, this is probably the part that is the most confusing to someone starting out. The angles for Inside Loops are fairly well known, but not so much for Hops. If you just throw the yo-yo down and hope for the best when you snap your wrist, it is going to get frustrating fairly quickly.
What you want to do is to imagine a clock built into the floor, so that you'd be looking at it dead on if you are looking straight down (as you normally will be for Hops).
Now, you want the yo-yo at a 1 o'clock angle for your right hand, and an 11 o'clock angle for your left hand. Since you are looking straight down, it is really the side of the yo-yo away from you tilted in relation to the side closest to you, not the top and bottom. But while you are looking down, the yo-yo should look like it is tilted about how it is for inside loops.
But it is important to note that since the yo-yo is going up and down, you have a bit more leway than you do with Inside Loops. If the tilt "falls over" in Inside Loops, it will usually immediately go out of control unless you have the skill to actually do horizontal loops. But if the tilt changes in Hops, you could actually turn your body in a circle following the tilt of the yo-yo around.
Of course you don't want to have to be following it around like that, but you have a bit more leway to experiment with correcting the angle. The angle of the yo-yo is in relation to your wrist motion. You want the 1 o'clock and 11 o'clock for when your wrist motion is straight forwards. Some people prefer to do their hops a little bit away from them to the side. Like if you are right-handed, you might find it more comfortable to have yo-yo at a 2 o'clock angle and do your wrist motion a bit more to the right.
Having the angle consistant, and being in control of it, is the most important part.
Ok, now hopefully you have a general idea of how Hops work, and some of the more technical aspects. Here is some additional information on applying that to actually doing Hops.
Just like with any kind of loops, the throw is very important. In order to get off to a good start, you need a good throw.
As mentioned previously, this is a basic Throwdown. My main advice is to throw it at the angle you are going to Hop at. This way it is already angled and you can just start a straight motion right away.
It is tempting just to move your whole arm up and down when doing this trick, but try to use mostly your wrist. Usually it is good to keep your upper arm mostly at your side, forearm extended forwards, fingers extended, and palm to the side. Basically as if you were going to shake someone's hand. But when I say fingers extended, I don't mean rigid. Just have them comfortably open, a bit curled.
Then as the yo-yo comes up, you snap your wrist down. Almost like a Karate Chop motion, except that only your wrist is moving. Not your whole arm.
I find that for Hops, it tends to be almost all wrist, with just a bit of fingers. I tend to use much more fingers in Inside Loops then I do for Hops. But don't take that in stone either. Everyone loops in slightly different ways, so try to experiment and find what is comfortable for you.
When you do the wrist motion, the yo-yo will basically jump over your fingers. That's why I said to keep them curled a bit. This way you don't have to worry about your palm. That is off to the side. The yo-yo just goes over your fingers. As it goes over, you can either keep your index finger where it is (which is fine), or you can move your index finger out of the way slightly. I usually move it since I like the yo-yo going right over the finger that effects it most (the middle), but that is totally up to you.
Also, remember that the only part of your hand that the yo-yo really cares about is where the string is connected to it. Where the slipknot is on your finger. You want this spot on your finger to make a circular motion, but at the same time that circle needs stay in a straight plane. And it is that plane that is going to effect the yo-yo directly.
Lastly, timing is very important in Hops. Don't wait until the yo-yo hits you in the hand before you start to loop. It isn't quite the same pulling and throwing sensation that it is with Inside Loops, but you are still pulling the yo-yo around for Hops. It needs to be a smooth motion.
As for overall speed, don't worry about doing fast Hops until you are doing well. Just take your time. It is much more important to have a consistant rhythm then a fast one. One nice thing about Hops is that they can be done very slowly.
I think that covers most of the aspects of inside loops. Here is some miscellaneous tips and advice for when things go wrong.
The advice of Practicing Good Loops, Stamina, and Double Looped string from the Inside Loops section also applies to Hop the Fence. Look in that section for more information.
Something that might help to keep your Hops consistant is if I do a good one, see the point on the floor where the yo-yo was when it was fully extended. Then try to throw the next loop so it goes out to exactly the same spot. If your arm stays in the same spot, and the yo-yo goes out to the same spot, everything should hopefully be consistant.
As I mentioned above, it is possible that the angle will keep changing with every loop, making you turn around to follow it. I'd recommend really trying to keep your feet planted in one spot and try to control the angle. If it goes totally out of whack, start over.
The trick is figuring out the direction of your hops versus the angle on the yo-yo, to keep it from going out of control, and to keep it at that same angle. I find that for loops there tends to be a "sweet spot" where if your wrist motion goes a particular way, the yo-yo goes around very smoothly. It can take a while to find it, but there is definately a difference between smooth hops and rough ones.
Also the information on Nudging for Inside Loops also applies to Hops. There is a certain area of motion where if you change the direction of your wrist motion slightly, the yo-yo's angle will turn to follow it. This is important not only for correcting when the angles get messed up, but also to purposely change things. That opens up various kinds of transitions you can do (but I'll leave that for another section).