Getting whipped with a Whip doing the Plastic Whip

General Yo-Yo
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So, Monday, I noticed a bunch of kids with yoyos at my kids’ school. I figured some teacher had it as part of a lesson or something. Turns out they are selling them in the “spirit store”. I think they had a NED show or something.

Anyhow, I’ve been throwing at the school while waiting to pick up kids. This is Kindergarten and regular. Anyhow, after “regular”, I tend to get a crowd. They are asking questions, I’m directing them here. I’m being asked to do crappy tricks, which is great, that’s all I can do! Please the crowd, seed the interest, make them happy! Wednesday, this girl was walking away but kept turning around to watch me do whatever I was having a rough time doing, smiling the whole time. Clearly, yoyo IS joy!

Anyjow, today, I got to school early to get one kid from kindergarten(the other is still in school, I leave in a bit to get that one). I was wearing my regular shoes rather than inlines as I had to some other stuff so I drove, got the kid and then ran other errands. But, before I got him, I was throwing my Whip, because it’s light and my hand is sore from being smacked doing plastic Whip(usually from when I pull too straight and the yoyo will come back even if it’s unresponsive). Even with a tiny breeze, it was blowing stuff around too much for me and my mediocre skills to get this trick done. Hence, the title here.

Today, when I get my other kid, I’ll have my YYE Medium Bag full of yoyos, and a few others. Show some variety. Metals, plastics, metal/plastics, big, small, wide, even an Unleashed. Even though what I throw the most is my DM2.

So, apparently I am the “yoyo guy” now. I asked my boy, 5, if I was cool or a dork. He said I was a dork. Whatever. I’m still having fun!

Just doing my job. Spreading the joy. Chances are I might get some more “converts” this weekend. I can’t get any kids from school on Friday, I’m out doing sound production for an anime convention. I’m doing most of my final packing of small gear right now. Accessories make the event! I should have lots of time to practice and I’m carrying a hard drive with my collection of yoyo tricks on it(it’s big, like 36GB of videos including all the YYE tutorials and more!) I can watch my vids during the convention while the panels run. The question is WHERE do I practice… There are so many places to hide in a hotel if you know where you can and cannot go!

Carry on. Nothing to see here.

(note: I am not a fan of anime, I just don’t care for it)

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That’s great bro! About the kids yo-yoing not you getting smacked with plastick whip… I have heard there is a kid in middle school, 6th grade actually, that yo-yo’s. I’m in high school(just turned a freshman) and can’t really “investigate.” My brother says he’s a felon and has gone to jail over strangaling a kid with his yo-yo string, so probably not coming over to my house. As far as anime, I think it’s more of an “acquired” taste. ;D

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That’s great, always good to hear about people spreading the yoyo joy.

The whip thing sounds unusual, tr cleaning the bearing and playing it dry for a bit, is it more unresponsive?

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This thread reminds me of last year, during my niece’s softball practices and games. Figured that I’d be doing a lot of sitting around, I figured that I may as well bring a couple yoyos with me. After a couple practices, I was quickly recognized as the ‘yoyo dude/guy/man/whatever.’ I actually had to bring some plastics to let some of the kids try. Softball season’s coming up again, meaning I can only further spread the interest of yoyoing. Wait until some of the familiar faces see me this year…I’ll have some new stuff to show!

And the best name I think I heard someone describe me was a ‘yoyo ninja’ from a random teenager walking by. He looked at his friend and said “Hey, check this out…that guy’s like a yoyo ninja or something.” followed by a shout-out to me saying “Hey, man, that’s some cool stuff!”

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yeah for some reason my yyf whip was always just a little bit responsive too, it seemed like no matter what I did it always had some response to it.

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How long did it take you to come up with that awesome thread title?

1 Like
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I hate STRONGLY DISLIKE the kids with the big egos. I brought my N5 to school yesterday and was yoyoing during class (Teacher didn’t care) and This kid’s like “Oh, I can do that” so I said “Bet you 10 bucks you can’t get it up” (Long story why I don’t like this kid) and I let him try so he fails at throwing it and ends up wrapping it around a chair.

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What grades/classes are you guys in if you get to throw during class? At my school if you would do that they would like write you up for a detention lol… And probably keep my yoyo:(

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On the trip back from the school to the house.

My kids ride their bikes to/from school, and I inline skate with my YYE Medium Back over my shoulder full of yoyos.

No, not really. My DM2 is about as dead unresponsive as it comes, but if I jerk it straight up, it will end up coming back at me.

I haven’t cleaned the bearing NOR lubed the bearing in my WHIP since I got it, but now that you bring it up, I’m gonna clean it tomorrow just for maintenance purposes. It was the DM2 popping me in the hand that was causing the soreness. That’s what I love about my collection. With different shapes, sizes and weights, I can adjust easily. I like heavy yoyos, but when I need a break, get something light and keep on going. My biggest problem that day was the slight breeze blowing my string around making the plastic whip impossible for my pathetic skills to land.

My WHIP otherwise is dead unresponsive.

I’m a parent, throwing AFTER school. My 2nd grader is smuggling her Legacy II to school. I suggested “hey, I could bring it to you”, but I think she likes the idea of having it nearby. I did instruct her to leave it in her backpack until after school. My kindergartener likes me to bring his yoyo to him for after school

On another topic, I’m thinking of doing a weekly or twice a month “yoyo club” for the kids at that school at the park behind the school on Saturday. Parental attendance will be highly recommended and encouraged. If kids want to yoyo, I want to get them started right. All they need to do is show up and bring a yoyo. Then in 2 months, they’ll see how lame I am as they kick my butt! It won’t matter as long as they are enjoying it. I’m going to start the first one with a quick over-view of shapes, purposes and axles so people know what to look for, then the rest of the time doing simple tricks, adjusting strings and fixing yoyos. I can answer questions for kids and parents.

I so can’t wait for my skills to get better. I need to learn looping, and some 4A and 5A. The more I throw, the more I get excited. I may not be the greatest player, but I hope my enthusiasm is making up for it. For me, this is hard work. I’ve never had so much fun in a long time that didn’t involve live sound!

Wednesday, back to throwing after school with the kids for a few minutes! I find it hard to leave the school on time now, people keep stopping to ask questions.

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I love hearing about the way you guys have been promoting yoyoing! I need to start throwing when I pick up my son from preschool. He always wants to play “just 5 more minutes” anyway, so why not use the opportunity to spread the word a little?

Regarding slack tricks in the wind, does anyone have any tips?

I notice that if I’m doing something like the Zipper while it’s windy, I can see a bow in the string (since it’s a front mount, it’s easy to see). I can correct for this about 70% of the time. But with whips (laceration and plastic whip being the only ones I know so far), I have a lot more trouble correcting for wind.

From watching expert and high-speed videos, I get the sense that a well-thrown whip has a well-defined loop to it. It seems like this ought to hold its shape even in the wind, and so I am hopeful that it’s possible to do slacks in all kinds of conditions.

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That question was aimed more at people like Plastic Whip who are actually still in school

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I heard them announce over the school’s PA today as I was dropping my kids off that “yoyos will be on say today before school starting at 8:45 for 10 minutes and will go on sale at 8:30 tomorrow”.

So, K-6 grade, so what, 12-13 max?

I’m seeing lots of kids with yoyos. Saw a few crappy ones at SacAnime over the weekend too. Kids up to 18, maybe 21 tops I’m guessing.

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I’m going to start bringing a yoyo to school just because I think quite a few of my friends are interested, or atleast they will pretend. Still haven’t seen anybody else yoyoing in my hometown though

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My kid is doing the world’s worst job of smuggling her yoyos to school. She keeps telling me she’s doing it. I keep saying DO NOT take them out until after school or other appropriate time.

All I note is the smiles I get and the crowds that come and that I get silly questions and requests. I’m sick of doing rock the baby, but they want it and they get it.

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Not bringing up a dead thread from the dead.

Update:
The NED show has come and gone and the school’s window for selling merch for the NED show has expired. Now there’s kids with yoyos and no guidance unless there are parents willing to step it up. The school has also placed a “no more yoyos after the 27th”. So, it’s time to step it up. The question is: who is going to step it up. Looks like that falls on me, a goofy parent inline skating around, loaded down with yoyos.

Also, long story short, but the husband of a sister in law has a previous kid from a previous relationship. This is one of those “it’s a small world after all” stories. He goes to the same school my kids do and as no surprise lives nearby. He’s expressed interest in the yoyo, and since his father(the husband mentioned above) saw me with the yoyo rather recently, it was respectfully requested that I come by and show his son some tricks. He’s gone from gravity pull/sleeper with a clutch-type yoyo to using my stock FHZ and doing Rock the baby, Eiffel Tower and wants to bind. He may be coming over frequently for “lessons”.

I think I’m going to check the weather and see about organizing an informal meet at the park behind the school This park has grassy areas, playgrounds, tables, a water fountain AND most importantly: restrooms. Of course, it will be open to all, but will be intended for the kids from that school.

I suppose it doesn’t help that kids at the school now know me as “yoyo guy”.

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I’m signed up to do a yoyo demonstration at my son’s school carnival in late March. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and it seems like the initial “wow” factor of a guy doing yoyo tricks can spark the initial interest, but you’ve got to follow up with some support for the interest to really take root.

So I’ve been watching this thread avidly and look forward to you posting about your experiences with the afterschool group.