Today’s thoughts:
Starting a tower trick contest was the best idea ever because now every day I get to log into instagram and watch a bunch of towers. It’s really the best treat for myself
The very idea of a string formation that holds its shape in a cool way is just the best, and towers are the best of 'em
I totally get that.
The way I think of stuff is that I spend time and energy on both emulating stuff I like in order to learn, on one hand, and then figuring out my own “language” in any given medium (yoyoing, music, whatever), on the other hand. Both are crucial practices that feed each other. For example, I want to attain enough proficiency to come up with yoyo tricks I like, so I learn from others.
Either way, it’s the same for me as what you’re saying, in that the goal is not to work within a pre-existing rating system of what’s good or not. Because, as a general point, many things that I think are good/crucial/life-giving in life do not score points that can be assigned a competitive or monetary value according to established rating systems.
i’m not here to please other people, but i do want people to be happy. i want my family and friends to be happy, and people to be treated fairly and justly. and i’d like to contribute to that, but not at the expense of my morals or for the sake of the being on the team
i have a buddy who says, “if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” if youdon’t like something, giddy-up! dude’s like a doctor or somethin… @yoyodoc
Formal contests are not for everyone. They aren’t for me, for instance. But not because I have anything against “doing what others do (or demand),” but simply because I don’t derive much, if any, enjoyment out of being declared better than someone else at something. I’m just not that ego-invested in yoyoing (or any performance skill, for that matter).
However, a little friendly competition between friends can be very effective in fast-tracking one’s skills.
@zslane were you the person who was big into performance oriented/optimized yo-yos?
I’m finding myself leaning more and more this way. I already did before, but now I’m finding most of my monometals lacking in power and stability in comparison to my bimetals. And I’ve found a few bimetals that don’t suffer from the overly dense and weighty feeling that a lot have.
Also everyone I’ll be putting my stuff im getting rid of up for sale tonight, excited to start my (hopefully) final collection purge. Always a chance I unload a few more in the future.
I am definitely in the camp that prefers performance-oriented yoyos, yes. My favorite monometals are those that perform like bi-metals, e.g., VTWO, Top Deck, Banshee, etc.
The Top Deck, to me, is so down to earth and subdued in appearence - meaning unflashy-looking compared to newer yoyos that are hyped as competition, high-performance throws that I forget it was designed by a competitor for competition. I can’t express how much I love my Top Deck. It is simply the best yoyo I have ever thrown.
Yeah, the Top Deck is an absolute beast. Part of how it achieves its incredible power is by having extremely thin walls (allowing for more rim weight by proportion). So thin that you can actually separate the bearing seat from the rest of the yoyo if you hit it against something hard enough (like the ground).
Well, that scared me a lot! Mine took one hit in January and that did not happen. Thankfully! So is it considered a fragile yoyo? It feels like a very solid, sturdy yoyo.
Whoa!
Apparently that wasn’t the only time that’s happened to a Top Deck. I recall it being mentioned that someone else reported the same thing in the past.
There are a couple examples in that thread. One Drop was also tagged.
I forgot about seeing that thread when it was originally put up. That’s pretty scary but I have not hit a hard surface since January. It’ll still be my main EDC. I never use string that is at the end of its life and I prefer string length that is never higher than my waist since I only do frontstyle.
One of the traits I’m using to decide what yoyos to get rid of is how much I actually bring it out of the house with me. Like when I play to compare I often find myself having trouble considering selling it because I thoroughly enjoy 95% of my collection.
But then I think, despite me really enjoying this yo-yo, how often am I actually taking it out with me? That’s generally a good indicator of how much i really like the yo-yo, and it separates the quality from affection.
Just cuz I really like how a yo-yo plays doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to reach for it frequently. I’ve found that most of the ones that stand the test are yo-yos that I was incredibly excited to purchase, as opposed to ones I bought because I love the brand or throws I didn’t feel as strongly about but thought I might like. So if you’re not amped about a yo-yo you’re looking at, there’s a good chance it’s not going to see a ton of play, regardless of how good it is.
One thing that makes me a very reluctant seller is Seller’s Regret. I’ve seen far too many instances of people selling a yoyo (or anything remotely collectible for that matter) and then trying to re-acquire it many years later when it is infinitely harder to do so. I’ve been bit by this a little in the past–not with yoyos, but with other things–and it sucks.
Yeah I feel the same, it’s another aspect that makes selling stuff difficult. However, I’ve decided that I need to trust the decisions of my past self. If old Durfee got rid of something there was a good reason.
I have a list of all the yoyos I’ve sold that I check every so often and I might regret something for a bit but that passes after a few days and I don’t care anymore.
Learning to let go has been one of the largest hurdles in my life, in many things.
My dad and cousin trade constantly. Cars, fishing gear, hobby stuff. I guess growing up watching my dad made me want to keep my stuff. I also take very good care of my belongings and have trouble trusting other people took care of the item I could be receiving from them in a trade. I know not much could go wrong on a yoyo, but when it comes to cars boats fishing gear etc… I just dont trust people lol.
Some things definitely need to go. Either they take up a lot of space, or they’ve been supplanted by something vastly superior, or both (old computer gear is a good example of this).
But yoyos take up very little space. Honestly, there is no truly compelling reason to get rid of them. “Need” is irrelevant; I didn’t get them out of need in the first place, so I’m not going to sell them due to lack of it either. And the fact that I am not playing a particular yoyo now is actually not an accurate indicator of how much I might want to play it in the future, especially in the far future where it becomes harder to predict how my tastes/preferences/curiosities might change and evolve.
The only opposing force is the nagging sense that I have “too many yoyos” and that they are adding clutter to my life in some vaguely intangible way. I acknowledge this feeling, but I also acknowledge that it is sheer angst, and I try not to pay heed to such neuroses.