For those 2A cool kids out there, how long did it take you to start looping with both hands together? How much time did you practice per day?
I’m sure everyone’s journey is different for a multitude of reasons. I’m just interested in getting a ballpark estimate of what to expect on average.
Loop…… how well?
Do you mean looping good enough so when people see you looping, they will say, ‘well, he is using both hands… so there’s that’.
Or 2 hand looping good enough that when people see you looping, they will wonder if you compete in contests?
One thing seems to be proven… the younger you start, the faster you will get better.
Most of the kids, many years ago, that attended the Team High Performance Academy in Hawaii got very, very good.
Other factors include whether you have somebody already very good at 2A, to help you avoid developing bad habits.
If you live on a farm and just tell your Mom you are going out to the barn to throw for a few hours, that is much different than being at a yo-yo club with others watching you and helping correct your moves so you don’t forge Bad Habits into your Brain.
The quality of your yo-yos factor in.And the string that you use. You can sometimes adapt to yo-yos and string that aren’t very good…. But it can really slow down your learning curve when you are struggling to get you equipment to work well.
The actual durability of the skin on your fingers factor in. Some people seem to have naturally durable skin and never even wear any kind of tape. Other have thin skin and cut their fingers to ribbons, no matter what they do. It is very hard to concentrate your form and function, when your bleeding fingers are Screaming at you.
Your ability to focus is important. If you can’t concentrate, you are in for a struggle. If you have to stop throwing every time your phone rings, or every time you have to check Tic Tok for somebody doing something Stupid, nothing in the form of progress will happen.
If you get some good yo-yos/string to throw, and you lock yourself in a room and practice for 2 hours a day and you actually pay attention to what you are doing….And you videotape yourself throwing 2A and show the video to somebody that is already really good, they can give you tips on movements that may help you in the right direction, then you got a plan.
So… if you do everything correctly and you practice about 2 to or 3 hours a day, after a solid year, people will ‘know’ that you ‘Throw’.
2 or 3 years of ‘good and consistent practice’, and people will be asking you for advice.
All that being said, realize that most of the top 2A players have been tossing 2 handed for more than 10 years. Some have thrown 2A for over 20 years. Evan Nagao started when he was 2A years old. His Father Allen ran the THP Yo-yo Academy. And the older players were Always trying to show him stuff, lol.
Shu Takada has thrown 2A since he was a kid. Shingi Saito started throwing 2A when he was a kid.
I could go on for an hour.
Nothing wrong with your question… But, it doesn’t have a definitive answer. Every person will have a different 2A learning curve.
But, don’t be discouraged. A bad attitude/outlook, equals bad results.
Your biggest 2A learning enemy…. Is you. Thinking you don’t have potential. Thinking your progress is waaaay too slow. Calculating how long it might take to get ‘good’ and deciding it’s easier to just drag your feet and ‘Quit’
2A is a serious challenge. It will help you develop focus, eye hand coordination, patience, organization, etc.
You will hit some bumps here and there that may make you want to just slam your yo-yos into the pavement. But if you really want to throw some solid 2A, you will temper your frustration and develop an ability to stay calm and just shake off set backs.
Everything in life can be a challenge. People don’t climb Mountains because it’s easy. They climb Mountains so when they get to the top, they can look down and say, ‘damn, I’m a Mountain Man.
And 2A is not much different than climbing a Mountain.
Nobody starts karate as a Blackbelt.
Never…. never have the mindset, that if it’s gonna take 2 or 3 years, heck, forget about it.
Because you know what? 2 or 3 years from now, you will see some guy throwing some serious 2A and Suddenly realize you are now 2 or 3 years older and you could have been 2 or 3 years ‘Better’.
Play 2A…. You will certainly be better than the day you started.
I learned with my left hand to just do regular loops in about a week (for consistent loops). After I broke my wrist I started trying with my right hand and found it easier and got it down in a couple of hours. I still can’t do advance tricks with my right hand but I can do some basic stalls, inside outside loops, and some other basic stuff.
As for using both hands I still struggle a bit with that but could in a day or two could do basic loops.
Was learning, but then I accidentally dropped one of my Oracles and the hub broke 
It’s hard for me to say. In 2023 I started playing a lot of 2A after playing a bit more casually and having some success. From the start of 2023 it took me until April to hit 20ish inside loops consistently on both hands at once.
I think some things you can do to shorten this:
I still suck at two handed looping 5 years later. One handed offhand or not I’m okay though
Mine got the rhythm looping from my non-dominant hand by accident. I started looping sloppily and feeling bored until I gained momentum. I remember using the new Duncan Pulse at that time, and it worked wonders.
a couple months to do the basics (which is all i ever practiced or retained). i think it’s both a classic and valuable skill. one of the pearls i got from dale oliver was to only practice good loops. if you practice trying to save bad ones, you mainly practice getting into the bad ones lol. so as you start to lose control, stop and reset. try to hit one more clean one than you just did. 
The unfortunate part is that it’s an unteachable skill and is almost completely in the feel. I will say the most helpful thing you could do is use someone else’s known good set up. It might not be perfect but it can get you closer to what works for you.
If you know of , or meet someone “good” , they can help coach you. It’s easier to give someone advice on what they’re doing than to try and teach someone.
As stated, you honestly just have to do it and keep doing it regardless of how much you fail. Know that going in to it, you will fail. Lots. And that’s totally cool. It’s just part of it.
I enjoy pacing 2A almost 5 years after i started i can planet hop and loop 10-20 clean loops single handed… both at the same time i can only hit 2 or 3 clean. Can’t STM with both hands at all. Honestly haven’t tried anything else. 2A is hard but fun. Fyi i usually only work on 2A outside when it’s not freezing so i deff don’t practice 2A nearly as much as 1A and 5A.
But just yesterday i was on the school playground with my kids working on my loops and more kids and adults came up to me to ask question and comment on how cool that is them ever before, and I’ve been throwing 1A at that park infront of those people for the last 3 years.
it is and it’s not. (it mostly is lol.)
BUT, i got a lot out of shawn fumo’s written guides which are probably fully a quarter-century old now but just as relevant as ever for learning to loop - especially if you’re learning on wood.
Ah yes! I read those previously also. Very helpful!
I hope I didn’t make it sound bleak lol. There are resources. It does help. But it is definitely practice that makes it work. And one day it just clicks and you wonder what was so difficult about it
