Amazing how this quirky little wonder of physics can entrance, entertain, instruct, frustrate. I love the many facets of this hobby: skill development, collecting, aesthetic appreciation, self-harm.
Being a relative noob to advanced play, I’ll likely bore most of you who’ve already been through the same as my typical neophyte sputterings. If you <click…bye> I don’t blame ya. For the rest of you, clear a space I’m just warming up!
My 2 new throws have upped my ambition & determination to improve past Kwyjibo, Kamikaze & Boingy Boing. Throw time has ballooned to hours a day (I have lots of time, I’m retired & never impregnated anyone). The iYoyo Iceberg I’m not feeling yet - odd bearing & seems light for my ham-handed play - but the Wilderness 7075 wow…just wow. I’ve already seen marked improvement in just a few days, wish I’d started out on this thing.
I even landed spirit bomb for the first time yesterday! Albeit with a misshapen, quasimodo style, but hey I even got the dismount, again mutantly.
I’ve also learned 2 key axioms: 1) If I wear a belt with a metal buckle, my new mint-condition yoyo will SEEK IT LIKE A MAGNETIC HOMING MISSILE and 2) I will never, be able to do a snap start, ever. AAMOF I’m pretty sure all the videos I’ve seen are deepfakes, this seems physically impossible.
Finally, a couple of tools that have been a must for me.
Tool #1: an Android app called Precise Frame mpv video player; it allows you to slow down video, seek backwards/forwards by seconds & step through frame-by-frame both ways. Youtube’s controls aren’t sufficient for me, and many times a tutorial fails to mention key things like “Ahh…he grabbed the string with his NTH there…” etc. Invaluable for yoyoing & my other hobby: pen spinning. Um I mean one of my ridiculously many other hobbies.
Tool #2: a lock pick, for snags. One type of snarl in particular keeps plaguing me, pics below. Obiously I’ve spent more $ on yoyos than a camera! This snag happens so annoyingly often that I had to come up with an alternative to constantly taking the yoyo apart; I’d wear out the axle threads. The lockpick (yep, one of my other hobbies) isn’t sharp & doesn’t harm the string. I just wish I could figure out what causes the snag, seems to happen on even just a regular throw. Pulling it open in the 2nd pic, the center string goes to the axle; how TF has it looped around itself from a simple throw?!!
also be careful with the lockpick. the ones i have and have seen are stainless steel and they’ll def scratch al ano. there are a couple options you can find that are a softer grade al and are ano safe, or just buy/print a plastic one. i have a wooden toothpick in just about every cabinet and bookcase all over the house lol 