Life has its ups and downs when you play yoyos

I mentioned elsewhere that I had started collecting and learning to use yoyos this year. Freddy suggested I post some pics and talk about it, so here we go.

First off, yoyoing has changed dramatically i the last 20 years or so. It's been changing little by little ever since the first yoyos were made in the US, but there have been several really big changes since I was a kid.

1. Competitive yoyoing now has multiple divisions, and because of that several distinct classes of yoyos have arisen. Classic yoyo tricks are a blend of 1A (string tricks) and 2A (looping tricks), but there are even more divisions now. The yoyos are basically now 3 different types, and they don't much work for one another. String trick yoyos, looping yoyos, and offstring yoyos. I play mostly 1A - I like the intricacies.

2. Most modern yoyos now have ball bearings in them. It lets them spin longer, but also changes some of their other characteristics, like when and how they come back. This isn't really new, but it wasn't the default when I was a kid.

3. Not all yoyos come back because you give them a tug anymore. These are called "unresponsive" for obvious reasons. Wider string gaps and larger bearings make these yoyos spin longer and allow you to do some tricks that are difficult to impossible with a traditional responsive set up. But you have to take a slightly more involved action called a "bind" to make them come back. They are pretty much the standard for 1A, 3A (two-handed string tricks) and 5A (string tricks where the string isn't attached to your hand.)

4. In addition to plastic and wood, yoyos now come in a few different metals, including titanium. A perfectly good responsive plastic yoyo for doing tricks might cost you $10. A competition oriented titanium yoyo is $250 or more.

When my son told me they'd been yoyoing during free time in class, and he'd been borrowing friends' yoyos to learn on, we went to our local game and skill toy store to see what we could find for him. I also dug up some yoyos that I got about 15 years ago when my younger kids also decided they wanted to learn.

One thing led to another, and I ended up more hooked on throwing (as its known) than Sean did.

So here's the family portrait:

Starting top row, left to right:

1. One Drop Benchmark O (unresponsive, aluminum)
   
2. CLYW Gnarwhal 2 (unresponsive, aluminum)
   
3. Yo Yo factory DV888 (responsive, aluminum)
   

Bottom Row:

1. Yo Yo Jam Classic (comes responsive, modified to unresponsive)
   
2. Yo Yo Factory Regen (unresponsive)
   
3. One Drop Rally (unresponsive, plastic w/ metal weight rings)
   
4. Magic Yoyo N12 (unresponsive, aluminum)
   

Here's a bit more detail on my favorites:


This video is a few months old, but it's the most recent video I have of me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqmZBum5tUc


So, anyone else here throw?

Wow - those are really nice! I had a Duncan yo-yo when I was a kid, but I couldn't do any tricks. Now I want to watch some competitions on YouTube


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So very cool Eric! I can only do one of these, the one where it hits the floor

very cool. I used to throw probably 10ish years ago. I can't remember exactly which type of yoyo I had, but I'm pretty sure they were duncans.

Eric, this is a phenomenal thread!  You are so darned talented, too.  I even like the way you show your miscues in the video; completely honest.

Those yo-yos are beautiful and I am flabergasted at the prices, even for a plain one.  Back in the dinosaur age, when I had a yo-yo, the choice of material was wood, wood, or wood. The brand choices were Cheerio or Duncan and the cost was 25¢.  (See, dinosaur age.  In fact, it might have been my pet Stegosaurus that stepped on it and broke mine. )

Yes, things have changed over the years. As with Freddy, dinosaurs roamed the earth when I had my Duncan(s). The one I remember most was made of green plastic but it never spun as long as those do. Amazing what ball bearings do instead of a loop of string spinning on metal. That was 50 years ago near as I can figure. I could walk the dog, let it hang at full length and spin then bring it back up. Of course throw it straight out and bring it back, who couldn't do that? It was pretty basic stuff. I wasn't very good.

Yours are shaped like an hourglass. Mine was shaped like an oval with a slot running down the middle of the long axis.

I'm 42 but remember going to the local convenience store when in was in grade 3-4 and they'd have a guy come and show you tricks. We'd go alone, to meet some strange guy, to show us yoyo tricks and reward us with toys or stickers, imagine that in this day and age.

Mine were basic wood, string and I could only do the basics. I wish I still had them. Your yoyos are beautiful and look as nice as seeing shave brushes on display. Some of those tricks you were doing look well beyond my learning curve.

Thanks for sharing. I had no idea yoyos were still around but you have peaked my interest in something else to look into. After I master Slacklining, I may try my hand at one.

Oh yeah, I loved the outtakes in your video!

All evidence has been buried. All tapes have been erased.

Wow - those are really nice! I had a Duncan yo-yo when I was a kid, but I couldn't do any tricks. Now I want to watch some competitions on YouTube

Lucky you, World Yo Yo Championships just ended recently in Japan, so there are some great videos out there. I personally tend to like the non-competition videos more, because there's not as much focus on doing as many tricks as possible in the time limit. Mark Montgomery, Mike Montgomery, Ann Connolly and Tessa Piccolo are some players whose styles I particularly like. Gentry Stein (2014 champion) is incredible to watch, but he plays so fast it's not as "tasty." Like listening to speed metal guitar vs. Joe Satriani.

Those yo-yos are beautiful and I am flabergasted at the prices, even for a plain one.  Back in the dinosaur age, when I had a yo-yo, the choice of material was wood, wood, or wood. The brand choices were Cheerio or Duncan and the cost was 25¢.  (See, dinosaur age.  In fact, it might have been my pet Stegosaurus that stepped on it and broke mine. )

Duncan still sells the basic fixed axle stuff, too. Something like an Imperial or a Butterfly (plastic with a fixed metal axle) runs in the $4-$7 range. Much like an action figure, or a couple of Matchbox cars - i.e. about what I paid for my Butterfly back in the 80's.

Yes, things have changed over the years. As with Freddy, dinosaurs roamed the earth when I had my Duncan(s). The one I remember most was made of green plastic but it never spun as long as those do. Amazing what ball bearings do instead of a loop of string spinning on metal. That was 50 years ago near as I can figure. I could walk the dog, let it hang at full length and spin then bring it back up. Of course throw it straight out and bring it back, who couldn't do that? It was pretty basic stuff. I wasn't very good.

Yours are shaped like an hourglass. Mine was shaped like an oval with a slot running down the middle of the long axis.

Fixed axle yoyoing seems to be undergoing something of a renaissance now. There are several companies that make really beautiful wooden fixed axle throws, and BC/Tom Khun, Duncan and a few others still sell basic fixed axle stuff, too. The guys throwing fixed these days are doing way more stuff than I could even do with mine. Stalls, suicides, flips, etc. When I was a kid the most I ever figured out was Around the World and Rock the Baby. YouTube is a wonderful thing!

The oval-with-a-slot (the "Imperial" style) is good for looping. In fact, we have a pink one that was my oldest daughter's - and now my 4 year old plays with it. Most looping yoyos these days are the "modified" shape, which is basically an Imperial but with the inside edge of the rim rounded out a little. I have a couple of Oracles but haven't put in near enough time with them to have learned much.

I'm 42 but remember going to the local convenience store when in was in grade 3-4 and they'd have a guy come and show you tricks. We'd go alone, to meet some strange guy, to show us yoyo tricks and reward us with toys or stickers, imagine that in this day and age.

They still have the Duncan demonstration team. They mostly go to malls now instead of convenience stores, but the concept is the same. Other manufacturers do similar stuff, but they don't have the reach or $ for a Duncan-scale effort.

My local skill-toy store (Air Traffic Kites and Games) has a "skill night" every Thursday where you can come and play with all their demo toys and the staff will help you learn about them - or your own. This includes yoyos, kendama, etc. It's pretty great, and the only way I learned the trick Kwijibo is because of one of the guys there.