Hey guys I might want to try a contest soon. Any recommendations or tips? Like, how good do I have yo be to stand a chance and no look like a fool?
Be good and don’t look like a fool
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…you words shall inspire me.to new heights
If you want to compete or do anything do it:
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Why fear looking like a fool? I doubt many competitors think that. It takes some courage to stand up there and go for it. Better to risk looking like a fool than missing out on an experience you desire.
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The way to get better at something is to do it. Each time it’s just going to get better.
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Don’t dwell and fret on fear. Fear of failure is the worst reason not to do something. If you don’t do something because you fear failure, guess what, you’ve already failed, you’ve failed to try.
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Take some pride in yourself when you take a risk and step out of your comfort zone.
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What you think about yourself is more important than what you believe others think about you.
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Create your own reality, don’t just be a victim of someone else’s.
Many of these are life tips but they work so well, so many times, for just about anything.
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Go up and do tricks you are confident with. Don’t worry about what would be “fresh” to anyone else. Maybe in the future you can think about those sorts of things, but as its a first time contest experience, best to just take a deep breath, go up there, and do what you know you can do. Find a good song that you feel you can flow well with, and you should be good to go.
I would also recommend practicing in front of people before the contest! Just to get over those stage fright nerves that plague all and even the best. 
Secrets to Throwing and Performing Success:
- Do tricks that you are comfortable with (aka make a routine that you will be comfortable doing and remembering)
- Take at least one risk (doesn’t have to be flashy, but it’s good to push your limits, maybe a 50-50 trick you are working on? ;))
- Smile
- Get the crowd involved
- Have fun doing it
Pick a song at the very beginning. If you can’t get your song memorized, how can you get the pacing right?
Get the crowd poppin’! I’m a shy, shy, shhhhy guy, so I’m not great at that, but a little bit of complicated tricks keep me up
As I said before, put complicated, but easy to land tricks. In my first freestyle… Ever. I tried to do some stupid improv ear trick because I forgot what to do, and I failed immensely. 
Variety. Say if you’re doing a prelim, you should have a couple tricks, a horizontal, a tech and a slack. That’s what I do at least.
Don’t be afraid to mess up! It’s not the end of the world if you miss that trick.
“IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER” - Bill Murray, Meatballs
Hope this helps!
im not very good at giving advice, but I will try lol…
(For all rounds: Sync to the music. And do not repeat the same elements per round, EVER. Also, move around the stage, I believe you will get a few more points, but don’t quote me on it. And most importantly, have fun and get the audience involved!)
Prelims: these are usually 1 minute long, this is where you want to score AS MANY POINTS AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. It also helps to come up with a couple original tricks/combos.
Semi-Finals: usually these are a bit longer than prelims, but are only at Nationals and Worlds. if you are doing one of these, add in one or two combos. (again, DONT REPEAT ELEMENTS)
Finals: This is where you can relax a bit on all the tricks, and get more audience involvement. This is also where you want to put your banger tricks. These freestyles usually last 2-3 minutes on end (again, depending on the level of the contest).
As for how to prepare…
*Change your string (and possibly break it in, time permitting) and your pads (also, break these in as well). You do not want to go up and miss every bind you try. (been there, done that XP)
*Make sure your bearing is clean and long spinning. Unless you are doing a looping freestyle, YOU NEEEEED to have an unresponsive bearing. I have found that using a KK or Center Trac is easier when it comes to unresponsive play, however some pros do use a normal flat bearing, so keep that in mind. In a nutshell, use the bearing you like best.
*if you can, practice your routine for 10-15 minutes at about 30 minutes before you get on stage.
*Wash your hands. I know this may seem weird, but if you don’t have gloves, washing your hands actually reduces the sweat buildup, therefore giving smooth string movement on your hands and fingers. (not to mention it keeps your string clean! ;D) Make sure to do this AFTER you are done practicing for those 10-15 minutes, better if you can do it 5-10 minutes before you are on. Don’t wash right before you go on stage though, because it will be the same as your hands being sweaty. After you wash your hands DO NOT YOYO, AT ALL! This makes your hands sweaty all over again, basically giving you another trip to the restroom. 
*CHECK YOUR STRING TENSION!!!
I literally cant stress this enough, if you do any slacks in your freestyle, having crappy string tension is not going to help. At all. Make sure to do this before EVERY routine (even though I don’t do slacks a lot, I still do it, out of habit lol)
ask me any other questions if you have them!
Awesome! Some of those i expected, but on the finals and rounds was hugely helpful! Cause my routine invovles going to and back to double or nothing, so thats REALLY good to know.
Also, should I use a yoyo i like and more comfertable with, or one that I like and am ok with, but it adds more dementions of play (like grinds)
use the yoyo that you practiced your routine with the most. also use a yoyo that compliments your play style. for example, if I was doing fingerspins in my freestyle, I would not bring up a yeti (even tho it a GREAT yoyo, and I like it). another example is if I was doing a really speedy, fast freestyle, I would want to bring up a yoyo that is easy to maneuver like the P-Wave, verses a yoyo that takes all your strength to go moderately fast, like the Aloha.
What contest are you competing at, if you don’t mind my asking?
Oh wait we’re giving actually advice?? ???
Anyway, for prelims, go for those string hits, because you want as many points as possible in that 1 minute,(which is why Hiroyuki almost always kills Prelims)
Also, think it goes without saying, but bring spares, as you may mess up your routine, and may need a “switch”
Finally, “insert generic quote along the lines of “Practice Makes Perfect””
dont do any trick that has a name!
Do tricks, go clean - (Palli I believe said that)
Umm, J.T. nickel’s Shuppett Donk?
Breakaway? trapeze?
The key thing is that you use your own elements along with tricks you may have learned from other people
I’m stealing this from a different post but if your scared of failing just watch this.
how one mans fail can be so many other peoples win.
None currently, I want to build up a routine as i don’t have one as of now, and get a little better (I’m about cleared the master list on here, but doesn’t mean I’m perfect by any means) handling whips and horizantal play but my n9 is helping with that.
Well that was awesome. XD Don’t know if that was a fail or just being funny. XD But see, his skills, I’m no where close to that. XD