So. I had a Yoyo back in the 1990’s. What’s changed?

So. I had a Yoyo back in the 1990’s. What’s changed? Can I still “walk the dog”?

Oh, the 90’s. A time of pokemon cards, pogs, cereal chosen primarily based on the free toy, Art Attack, and yoyos. Yes, the yoyo craze. Playgrounds full of kids violently swinging “around the world”, getting all digits involved in an unforgiving tangle in a “rock the baby” and ever escalating arguments on who can throw the longest sleeper. An adolescence brought to you by Duncan, Yomega and Henry’s.

So, What’s changed?

Everything.

The leap in technology in creating yoyo has been vast. In the 90’s we were playing with a pedal go cart, in the mid 2000’s we were playing with f1 cars, today we are playing with space rockets, so to speak. World record sleepers went from a few mins to nearly half an hour.

And fancy yoyos means fancy tricks. The new common style among pros and hobbyist alike is “unresponsive” yoyoing. Which means that you have to do a special trick to make it return to your hand, opening up fleets of new tricks and styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8pmieoAi4I

But that all still the same principle of finger-attached-to-string-attached to-yoyo. Nothing else has changed, right?

Like I said, everything changed.

Over the last 2 decades, new bewildering and mystifying styles of play have come about.

Think 1 “unresponsive” is just on challenging enough for you? Try 2 unresponsive yoyos, one in each hand. Also known as 3A.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLXwPeA9W4

Think having the yoyo attached to your finger is soooooooooo 90’s? 5A is for you! Instead of the string attached to your finger, it is attached to a counterweight, allowing for it to easily be released and swung/thrown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg17FtXw8Q0

Do you feel that having the yoyo attached to the end of the string is just too restrictive? 4A is just what you need! In a similar style to diabolo, the yoyo is not attached to the string at all, allowing it to be thrown and caught again on the sting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy8BDmCUmX8

Now that your mind is well and truly blown, I can hear you ask, “how do I get back into it?”

Well, first you’re gonna need a yoyo.

If you’re fingers still remember how to throw a sleeper, I suggest the Infinity Blaze.

http://www.oddballs.co.uk/infinity-blaze-yoyo-p-3951.html

Out of the box, you’ll be able to throw a good long sleeper and do all those awesome tricks you remember. Flags, stars, cat’s cradle, rock the baby etc. But here’s the jazz: this one comes with a 2nd wider bearing. So you can modify this yoyo to become Unresponsive and learn all these swanky new fangled modern tricks like slacks, whips and rejections.

You’ll need to learn to “bind” the yoyo (the mentioned special trick.) Good news! Youtube was invented since the 90’s. Youtube will be your friend and mentor as you progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0wnN4blxII

“But, Can I still still walk the dog!!??” I hear you ask.

Yes. And do it with a titanium yoyo, it will spark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GLfNBkkmTc

Enjoy.

Jimi