Free Hand?

So, how soon should I try to learn free hand stuff?
I think a chess piece would be a good counter weight.

It all depends on how much you want to do it. You can start now really. there is no set time of 1a before you start any other style. Also I think you should get something better than a chess piece. something more round or square. Ball or dice.

Learn free hand when ever, a chess peice may be a little hard at first because it might hurt if it smacks your knuckles. maybe a bouncy ball would be better. There is no real ‘time’ to start FH

why don’t head to toys R us and grab a FHZ or FH 2010? you would get anything you need.
go for it my friend, just do it if you like it.

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Ok I tried it with the chess piece and it worked pretty well.

It is a plastic tournament weight pawn. It was pretty easy to attach too.

Going to have to work a lot on the throw I can tell, but I think it will be a fun thing to try.

I tell people to start 5a when you have a good handle of 1a. When you feel like you control the yoyo more than it controls you.

As for cw’s. I buy a duncan cw pack and use a bouncy ball or a dice. Drilling holes in dice is pretty popular, just make sure it is a good weight. Even drilling a bouncy ball out and making something to not allow the string to cut it is popular.

I play for 6/7 months and I did the switch to 5A (quit 1A, do 5A, well not really 5A, but I’m slowly replacing 1A tricks with 5A and always play with a CW)

I first started after 3 months or so, but it was really hard and I didn’t really keep at it, I was making good progress in 1A and 5A wasn’t getting me anywhere as I struggled with the basic tricks.

There are a few things, I believe, you need to have down before.

  1. rythm
  2. a certain flow/fluidity/smoothness
  3. alignment and throw
  4. basic yoyo string tricks principles and feel

I wouldn’t go with a chess piece at first, the rubber ball is the perfect practice CW for beginners and advanced players (Look at famous 5A players, many of em still use that ball)

I find 5A much more “natural” than 1A, which is the reason why I made the “switch” and plan on leaving 1A completely behind for now at least

You also need motivation because you’re gonna be a newbie again, of course, the more 1A you got down before, the easier it would be as you’ll be handling the yoyo well enough to focus on CW work

To me, the throw is way more natural and much easier than 1A throw (side throw/breakaway) that is

another reason why I would stay away from chess piece, is that it might get in the way of some tricks and make it harder for you to learn

bouncy ball is great for the first weeks, really

Try making the switch slowly. A lot of basic 1a principals transfer over to 5a. There are also quite a few that get thrown out the door as well. 5a is also way more forgiving if you mess up on a trick as you can usually get the tangle sorted out easier, or sometimes it can be a bigger mess though.

it’s pretty amazing how some principles that apply on 1A are totally different on 5A, I’ve been practicing for 10ish days now and man, the tension is driving me crazy

loving it tho

something like squishy is good like a bouncy ball cuz if it hits the yoyo it wont leave marks… and it doesnt hurt if u smack ur self by accident with it

a mighty flea :stuck_out_tongue:

in all seriousness, a bouncy ball or a homebrew die

yah, the chess piece is too ackward of a shape if you make a bad toss or something, it’ll eventually hurt you. i use a small die, and a 1/4" nut. i like lighter CW’s.

I actually switched totally to 5A for awhile, and now i just do both, cause 1A is good for other tricks and 5A is good for certain tricks. i also do prefer throwing with the CW, feels better.