Hey there all!
I felt like letting my thoughts out about something and thought maybe it could benefit those here in some way. So here goes!
I began like most people do in yoyoing by learning 1A. It was the starting point that stuck with me as I progressed onward, and while I was aware of 2A existing (As all the big thp guys of the time were stars of the style), I was more than happy to stick with 1A and chill out with learning new tricks.
Around the start of 2004, I was getting to a weird point in 1A where I felt really bored with it, and tricks were either uninteresting for me, or just seemed too complex for me to have a desire to learn.
This boredom led me to break out of my comfort zone and try a bit of 5A. Little did I know that 5A would become the style I one day would win US Nationals in, but it was out of the sheer boredom that I took it up.
As the years went on, I found myself reaching points of stagnation in each style that would lead me to switch to another, and as I did this, I began developing a lot of crossover ideas and concepts from building my fundamentals for each.
One might think that there wouldn’t be any crossover from 5A into 2A, or 3A into 1A, but I found that there were many unexplored ideas and concepts that had I not delved into other styles, I probably would not have figured out for myself.
Looking through yoyo history, crossover concepts have developed within many styles and produced some very unique ideas. 3A players adding 2A style Tanglers into their combos is a prime example. A few 2A players adding pinch slacks into their freestyles is another. Some of the tech 4A players of the past such as Alex Wilden and Sebastian Brock using dense 1A tech concepts was a definite example that led to a whole new movement of 4A for a few years also.
I think its easy in today’s day and age to think that you should only focus on 1 style as a player (especially 1A) but I feel that the more you branch out and experiment, the more fun you can have with your yoyoing. This goes beyond the 5 styles as well and goes for the more obscure like Moebius, fixed axle, double dragon etc.
Even as a player who chooses to focus on one style more exclusively for innovation or competitive reasons, the experimentation outside your main can help improve your main style and help you find new inspiration that you may never have even considered.
For myself, while its true Im a US national, regional, and state 5A champion, I do not actually consider 5A my “main” style, and really I don’t consider any of the other 4 my main either. Instead, I see it all as a collective whole and thus, yoyoing itself is my main style. And really I think this is something others should try to develop a mindset for.
Anyways, hope this little ramble maybe inspired or shed some light.
Much love
- J