So I have been throwing a yoyo for about 18 months now and have been really enjoying it but go through periods where I lose motivation.
The issue I have identified is that my interest in general piques when I am buying new throws or looking at new throws. I have gotten to an age and stage in life where I am no longer much of a consumer but for some reason with yoyos I want loads in each and every colour etc. I spend more time some days looking at throws than throwing and it annoys me, it kind of seems dumb!
I think part of the reason for this is that buying feels like it keeps me in the loop with the yoyo community , there are next to no throwers in my country, I dont realistically expect to ever see someone out throwing a yoyo. If I could join a club and go have real world conversations with humans and discuss and learn tricks then that would be the answer but I cant.
Probably a bit of a longwinded question but to summarise:
How do I stay motivated purely to the throwing side of things and block out the temptation to buy more? If any of you have done this I would love to hear your experience.
Modeling and 3D printing my own yo-yos helped me with the same dilemma. Still buy yo-yos here and there, but it’s drastically reduced when you can get that “try a new throw” sensation anytime you want for a dollar or two in filament cost.
Would love to 3d print a few counterweights for sure, not having access to a 3d printer throws a spanner in the works though! It must be really satisfying to design, make and then throw your own, even if it wasnt all that good.
I too have issues going through the trick list learning and it’s been over 12 years for me since starting out on unresponsive yoyos. To me the trick list doesn’t matter as much as my enjoyment for throws.
Like you, I do love to monger the BST for throws I can rescue but I constantly have to tell myself I don’t need it. That being said, I can’t resist a good bundle deal! I personally set a low total yoyo count to keep around. If I go over, then I need to decide what I keep vs what I sell. I’m not a collector nor do I gain any enjoyment from shelf queens. My enjoyment stems from the yoyos I absolutely love and enjoy picking up at least once a week. If not, it can probably go. You should set an arbitrary maximum for yourself too!
Now as far as feeling attached to the community, so far since returning to yoyoing, I’ve really enjoyed the forums here and have had many good private conversations with other folks about yoyos or anything! If you ever want to chat just hit me up!
This is what you need to do. You need to get your best playing yo-yo.
You need hire a Helicopter Pilot to drop you off directly in the center of Wild Killer Pig Country.
You need to think like a Native Islander. Wearing nothing but board short and a pair of flip flops, you need to seek out the Alpha Pig.
Draw a line in the sand and hopefully you speak a little Pig Latin. You need to embarrass the Pig in front of his Crew.
Double wrap the loop on your finger. Using your yo-yo as a Weapon of survival, you need to challenge the Super-Pig to a Death Match.
Once you survive your struggle of Death, you and your yo-yo will develop a bond stronger than Superglue Gel.
You will be inseparable and be motivated to continue on together, all the way to the very top of the YYE Trick ladder. Nothing will stop you. No trick will prove too difficult. I mean, what trick could possibly be more difficult than killing a giant mutant sociopathic Pig?
And you will no longer be cursed by the impulsive adventure of wanting countless yo-yos.
You will be happy with the yo-yo that you bonded with.
Do you have anyone in your circles that you’d want to yoyo with? It’s been less than two years since I found this site to try to get advice on how to bind and I’ve given anyone who might enjoy it a yoyo. Only one of those people ended up learning to bind afaik. And as much as I enjoy going to meet people and talk yoyo, most of it is me yoyoing by myself at home and reading this forum.
I haven’t personally figured out a way to stop wanting to get everything new that comes out, but at a certain point I started to pick up at a slower rate because a lot are going to functionally be the same at any particular skill level I happen to be at.
Watching videos of my favorite throwers helps motivate me to learn more rather than buy more as well. And although I mostly use the trick list/ladder on this site, I have to give credit to the YYTricks instagram account for putting out really clean content with quick & concise rundowns of a lot of tricks that are new to me. Good luck and don’t beat yourself up for wanting a new one every once in a while. Even some of the best players seem to also collect and enjoy that side of it.
The issue you need to figure out is why you’re tempted to buy new throws.
For me, I wanted to find “the one.” which meant I had to buy to try. So my solution won’t work for you.
For you, maybe you just like the look or want to start collecting. Is that necessarily a bad thing? As long as you like them, you can afford it, and it makes you happy, is there an issue?
I feel like the whole reason I joined this community, and continue to stay is because it’s really inclusive to everyone. You could throw 1 yoyo for 8 hours a day every day, or you could never throw and own 10,000 yoyos and no one would judge either differently. Both love our hobby and are enjoying it the way they see fit, in the way that makes them happy.
edit: forgot to add, if you’re just trying to balance buying and progression. Make a list of 10 tricks (pick a number) and reward yourself with a throw after you complete the list, then repeat.
You can set yourself goals in terms of new tricks to learn. Then you can reward yourself with a new yoyo when you learn enough tricks (or a hard enough trick) to reach one of your goals.
The struggle is real. I would only say that learning the hard tricks that made me quit trying to learn new tricks 17 years ago is extremely satisfying and its helping drive me to the next handful of tricks. I learned wristmout which leads to spirit bomb, and i started on cheeze whip to get into wristmount, and im getting better at magic drop and shockwave, and then i can start looking at superman (magnitudes harder than the afore mentioned tricks). I like to collect too, and my pursuit is of relics from my early days of throwing (playmaxx cold fusion gt im calling you out, lol), and finding the ones that feel the best help me land tricks, and make learning new tricks a little easier. Both are generally endless, lifetime pursuits. Yoyo_cubicle has a good idea.