I think it’s also important that we remember in these conversations that we’re talking about yoyos, which means we need to keep it serious, stake out rigid positions that we protect to the death, and keep the fun and good cheer to a minimum. THE BARE MINIMUM! :
Also, I’ve got something I feel that I should come clean about … I’ve been feeling extra guilty about it since I’ve learned and made up so many unresponsive tricks. I never learned Jamaican Flag. :-[
If I didn’t sound cheery in my posts, I apologize. 
I have also never learned Jamaican Flag. Or tower. Or star.
I gotta get on some picture tricks!
i started with magic yoyo t5 -unresponsive- and i didnt knew this was unresponsive but i learned to bind and now i know what yoyos are unresponsive lol
I’m not a canine of opinions.
Only facts.
This is the best paragraph in this thread. This is a lot of what I have been trying to say, and you said it quite eloquently.
Oh, I do agree we think very similarly about this topic, and I think we are doing well at supporting each other here. I loved that paragraph above quite a bit, as well as most of what you are saying in this thread.
The writing analogy was spot on!
I will admit, though I am a staunch believer that there is no need to start responsive play, I did start playing responsively, and can do all the beginner and intermediate tricks on a responsive yoyo (though not that smoothly) and can do the Jamaican flag and Eiffel Tower.
Again…I never learned any picture tricks. :-[ I skipped them. : I’m guilty too. I feel so much better now that we all got that out of the way. It’s like a weight has been lifted. Honestly, I sort of regret skipping them. I told Andre that the person who was working with me at the time did not think the picture tricks were worth the time. He gave me this look… :-\
I will go back and learn them. 
I was wondering if the people who started unresponsive had that feeling deep inside like they missed a little something. I thought maybe even if some started unresponsive, a few would feel the need to go back…just curious about what they missed. I have to admit that I’m curious about those picture tricks now. Not that it’s any big deal, but I think you get the gist.
So, I think it’s as valid an opinion that someone should start responsive…as much as the opinion that there is no need to do so. I think there are good arguments either way, and for many of us, what’s done is done anyway. I just wonder that now that what’s done is done…if you could do it over again…would it still be the same? If I could do it all over again…I’d learn the picture tricks as a beginner. I can go back and do it, but now it feels a bit silly at this stage. I wonder if the people who start unresponsive, have gone back to learn responsive play. If so, do they think going back has helped them, or not so much? I’d like to take the discussion in that direction. Also, in that regard, perhaps learning responsive after playing unresponsive should not be perceived as “going backward” anyway. For some, it might be perceived as going forward…you never know.
With the current fixed-axle renaissance, there are people for whom responsive play is indeed “moving forward”. I’ve seen some of the top competitors throwing things like stalls and string-kinked Shoot The Moons into their routines. Anybody who “gets” it has no choice-- NO CHOICE I TELL YOU – but to just love it.
I also dig it when there’s a nice picture or two in any given routine. It helps break things up, add variety, and showcase the performer’s depth. In particular, there are plenty of tricks that incorporate a tower element. I’ve seen some “instant picture” tricks that blew my mind as much as any slacky whippy combo could.
So yeah. Responsive can and should be a part of “moving forward”, too!
Starting unresponsive just slows you down. A beginner shouldn’t have to bind after everything he/she does. Not to mention, a beginner throw isn’t that hard, which helps binds. And responsive yoyos allow some “novelty” tricks that can be quite entertaining to one starting their yoyo journey.
There is also something to be said about going unresponsive too quickly. It can also slow you down. I actually got quite far with my old responsive Dash. It help that I could just pull it up after my tricks. And even though I was getting somewhat good with the old Dash, when I got my first unresponsive (Ooch Yo, I was a big Yomega fan, LOL) I was pretty clumsy using it at first.
I started responsive, because back in my day we didn’t have the “kite stores” that sold some unresponsive yoyos, we had to buy from Wally World, Butterfly’s and Imperials…
Back in my day we didn’t have Yoyoexpert, if you wanted a cool yoyo you had to live in California, or Czech Republic…
So that’s why I started responsive, because back in my day, it wasn’t easy to get a unresponsive yoyo…
From what I’ve seen you can learn the same trick on both unresponsive and responsive
Having to practice that trick on responsive makes you smoother because if you don’t do it smoothly you’re getting hit in the knuckles. you generally have to practice that trick a good amount more before you can hit it successfuly but once you hit it you’ve learned the flow you need for it. On an unresponsive yoyo you don’t need to know the flow of the trick in order to hit it since the chances of it snagging because you’re sloppy are generally decreased.
Okay, your post and Sparhawk’s last post are very interesting. They totally make sense when I think about it. They are legitimate reasons why it might be “better” to start responsive. I’m forming my own opinion about this, and for the reason you state…I think starting responsive would be my advice if anyone asked me. It’s what ever they choose, but if I gave my advice, for those reasons, it would be “responsive.” I think that having to bind after every trick might be a hassle for the average person, and sparhawk makes a good point about smoothness being required because if you don’t do it properly on a responsive yo-yo, you pay with a smack in the knuckles. Very good posts here. Really got me thinking now.
I did mention the “repeated throws” thing back on page 2… (noting that it’s especially helpful on responsive if you learn hand start early on!) … where’s my cookie?
^ Okay…one for you too.
I really like the thing about responsive forcing you to throw more, and more importantly “harder,” and such. Building a strong throw is good in the beginning. The wheels are turning over here…but right now I think if there is advice given…response for me is the way to go. I think people can choose what appeals most to them, but if anyone asked me, I’d say responsive not just for the above reason, but also because it’s the way I started and I think those tricks are truly a lot of fun. Also, I think someone who plays responsive might sooner discover an appreciation for 2A. Unresponsive is so far removed from 2A, that I think there is not the slightest introduction to it at all.
Again…still thinking. :-\
I have a feeling that I am going to get ripped apart for saying this, but i started unresponsive (well technically i had an x-brain 12 years ago…). I don’t really see what the big deal is.
Last November my buddy got a starlight his mom sent him in a birthday package that she titled “the box of re-discovering your childhood”. We both thought it was broke since it didn’t come back up. Then one day he figured out how to bind on accident, so we messed around on that for a week or so. I finally found YYE when looking into getting my own throw, and we found all the tutorials. I got an unresponsive throw because that is what I thought I had to use to do all those cool tricks.
Anyways, I got my first responsive throw (one/fhz) a few months back. The responsiveness didn’t really throw me off that much (only a few cracked knuckles on some ninja vanishes) , and the high walls weren’t too bad either. I was able to do most of my tricks on that no problem. I only ran into major issues when I went to a fixed axle throw, which I am working on now, but from what I have heard most people have. Maybe we should have all started on a Fixed axle???
Now I’m not saying you guys are wrong about it being better to start on a responsive throw, I’m just saying there might not be a “best way” for everyone. I feel like i’m doing ok so far, but maybe my opinion isn’t worth anything since kids starting 5 years ago were alot better then me (not quite sure how that is measured, it would sure be interesting to see a video playlist put together comparing us against the new come-ers of years past.) …that and I started on electric guitar(playing jazz if that counts for anything GregP, no cover up distortion for me )
p.s sorry about the spelling and such, I wrote this at 3am because I can’t sleep due to extreme paranoia from “house sitting” a huge sketchy house. These things were not made to be alone in!..or am I alone?
No one will rip you apart here…that’s not what this is for. I think it’s interesting how you came across the unresponsive yo-yo first. That would explain your familiarity with unresponsive before responsive. Most people don’t even know an unresponsive yo-yo exists…even by accident, so they play responsive having no other apparent options anyway. I think that most of us would agree that what works for one, does not necessarily work best for all.
I think big houses are scary, if there aren’t a lot of people around regularly, like a descent size family. I grew up in a big house, which had it’s advantages, but as us kids grew up and moved out one by one…gradually, it got spooky in there at night. I was the youngest of three, so you can imagine…spooky. :-\
I cleaned this up a bit, rather than just removing or locking it. Why don’t we have a do over, peeps? Let’s try to keep it civil. Thanks!
Same!
Here is the advice I gave someone looking for a yo-yo for his 6 year old daughter. Sort of goes along with this:
In the end it all depends on the age and the comfort level. I find younger kids WANT to learn how to make it go up and down so a responsive yo-yo is a perfect fit. Quite a few of my students call the yo-yo in my classroom a cheater yo-yo because of the bearing and it is metal. 
I have shown a couple Jensen and Haponik videos in my class and get quite a few staring in amazement.
As far as I can tell there are some tricks that can be landed on responsive only. But maybe I’m wrong, wouldn’t be the first time.
Stop n’ go, pop the clutch, forward pass.
I remember landing pop the clutch. It looked so easy, but it kept hitting my arm on the way up. The pure joy of hitting it was amazing. Maybe I will feel the same way about other tricks, but give me a little time and I will forget how much trouble I had with them and it will be on to the next trick.