his idea! i also agree that a clutch system can be obstuctive to the learning process.
You are right, if anyone is looking to get a child started in yoyoing the way we discuss here a clutch yoyo would probably get kids off on the wrong foot and introduce bad habits they would have to break if they want to move forward in the sport. However, when we forum members here at YYE talk about yoyos we are all on a completely different page than a lion’s share of young kids who have never had a yoyo before and the parents who are going to buy one for them. In so many minds playing with a yoyo is throwing towards the floor and having it return to your hand again. That is pretty much the end of it. Maybe go around the world and of course, (shutter), walk the dog. Go much beyond this and their interest wanes rapidly. They wouldn’t even know what it means to have a yoyo sleep. They are not aware of much else in the world out there beyond a Duncan Imperial. A yoyo with a bearing, most people don’t even know such an animal exists. The thought of spending more than a few bucks on a yoyo would be ludicrous and having to teach a child how to properly throw a yoyo is a task they have no idea how to approach. (I remember my mother trying to show me how to throw a yoyo when I was a kid. She didn’t have a clue. She look like she was trying to dribble it like a basketball with the palm of her hand facing down. ??? She still does it that way.) For a clueless parent like this who is buying a yoyo for their young child, a clutch yoyo like the Yomega Brain could be just the ticket. These people, and their numbers are many, probably the majority, are a completely different social demographic then we here at YYE are a part of.
Would I buy my kid a clutch yoyo? Probably not. However my kid would have the advantage of a parent who knows how to throw correctly and desiring that the yoyo only return to their hand when they want it to. They would be steered in a completely different direction than most folks would point their kid right out of the starting gate.
I own a Brain as well as the Duncan Reflex simply because I’m a collector. Do I ever play with them? Of course not. However if someone were to ask me to recommend a yoyo they should buy for their 5 or 6 year old and I know once they hand the yoyo to their child the kid’s pretty much on their own from that point on, well, maybe a clutch yoyo wouldn’t be a bad place to recommend they start.
Clutch yoyos were an integral part of developing my throw.
Clutch yoyos facilitate a strong throw, and that really helped me. You need to throw a clutch yoyo pretty damn hard to get it to sleep, and that’s better.
The Power Brain XP wing was my first clutch. It had a switch on the side to turn the clutch system off. I’d say that’s useful.
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I think it depends on the person.
I started on a Reflex when I got into this. Why? I needed to build confidence fast. Then I moved onto an Imperial bought at the same time. Then I ordered a DM2 and while waiting bought a Butterfly. After the DM2 arrived, my “real” education started.
The thing is, if you can throw hard enough, the clutch systems work great for reasons mentioned: learning to develop a good, strong, straight throw. The objective is to disengage the clutch longer and longer. However, what if you’re a little kid who lacks the arm strength? These will just frustrate them. It’s better to start them on an inexpensive throw like an Imperial, fireball, Buterfly or even a ONE or Classic, or a good deal of other narrow gap or adjustable gab yoyos(Fast201, Velocity new/old, Speed Dial is a bit much). It doesn’t take as much as one might think to get a good throw going where you can tug it back. Odds are if they can tug it back, they can also probably start doing simple tricks.
My kid started at age 4 and a half(just turned 6). Started with a Yomega Brain. Started popping that clutch and moved to a ONE, then he’s been moving on and on. Protostar, DM2, G-Funk, any of my good stuff… the kid is a monster! I’ve got him set up to do anything. He can do 1A(G-Funk, DM2, Protostar), 2A(1 handed right now)(Pulse, pair of Unleashed, pair of Loop808’s), has 3A throws(pair of Classics siliconed and YYJ Speed bearings), 4A(Fiesta XX and a Flying Panda), and 5A(metal Drifter and a Freakhand). An older kid lost interest but started on my Reflex. She lost interest after getting a Starlight, CHaser and Legacy II and never learned responsive play.
A younger child(2.5 right now) got a Reflex, promptly lost it. We have torn the hour upside down looking for various things, we haven’t found it, so it’s effectively gone. I choose the Reflex over the “better” Brain because it’s cheaper and ideally it shouldn’t be needed for very long. She now has a ProZ, which is not viable since she refuses to take help to throw properly, so it’s just something to have, but she has a better shot with than than a clutch yoyo since she does have the strength to throw basic and tug return it. She just doesn’t, can’t and won’t for now, just too young.
There’s no clear right or wrong. I think if the kid is a bit older, yes, clutch yoyos are great to start, get basics, learn a few things, gain confidence, but then that’s it, they are done with it. It’s time to move on to something else. If they kid doesn’t have enough arm strength to disengage the clutch, then this is not the way to start out.
This is how I taught my friends how to throw a good sleeper.
After I first got a Yomega X-Brain in the 90’s, threw a sleeper, did a trick, then had it shoot back abruptly, hitting myself in the head causing severe cranial pain I would have to say it never helped me in any way. I always felt the clutch system was just something gimmicky to make you look cool around your friends because your yo-yo had a mind of its own.
I think that clutch yoyo’s are good to a point.
I believe that they should be used for the very beginning of someones life of yoyoing. It will teach them how to throw straight and hard. It will also build confidence by letting them know that is will come back up. they should have for about a week just so they can feel the sport and have fun. after that they just get a responsive yoyo and keep playing
bump!