Been at it over a year and still am not very good.Actually horrible. :’(
I’m 47,threw in grade school,you know the deal. :-\
My main trick is rock-the-cradle,catch it trapeze,pop it off the string and bind it.
Stuck it a rut. ???
Bought a bunch of yo’s,and get that its more the player than an expensive yoyo.I have everything from old stand by duncan imperials to H-Spin Pyro.Some OD’s,YYF,RPM,Kuhn,but I seem to like Magic Yo Yo the best.The Purple-Line is my fav right now,can thumb grind it for about 5sec.Can get the Skyva to spin on my fingertip,never landed it.
So main question is;Should I stay or Should I go???
And if I stay,where to start?
Start with some trick tutorials on on this site or youtube. Pick one you thinks looks cool and maybe beyond your ability. Then break it down. Watch the first move and pause it. Try to do it. If you forget, rewind and watch it again. try try try again. You will get it eventually. maybe not in a day. maybe not in a month, But you will get it. Then move on to the next move. Repeat. Learn bigger tricks in smaller pieces. Remember you’ll miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Are you having fun? If so, stick with it. If not, what makes it not fun? Stop whatever that is. For me yoyoing quit being fun when I felt like I had to get better all the time and learn new tricks. It wasn’t fun because I compared my skills to others. For me it became fun when I only yoyoed when I wanted to and tried to mess around with tricks I loved and sometimes making new tricks.
Some things you could try maybe are:
-Different styles of yoyoing: maybe 1A just isn’t for you.
-find or start a club. People can help you learn.
Simply just try doing something different then you are doing now! Think outside the box, that’s where problems are solved.
I feel like yoyoing is something you never have to quit. You said it yourself, you’ve been throwing since you were younger. It’s something that’ll always be with you. I personally carry a throw with me everywhere I go. Work, weddings, taking my dog for a walk, anywhere I go it comes with me. That allows you to take it out for 30 seconds here and there or for a solid session of practice. There are some easier flashy tricks that can help your motivation for doing something great. I personally think The Matrix and Cold Fusion are a good foot in the door for that. Try going to the trick tutorial page on YYE and just scroll down the list. Start in the earlier stages and work your way down. When you find a trick you feel confident about trying, start throwing. It’s ok if you can’t land anything right away, as with anything else, it’s all about practice. Also watching some of the pros in some freestyle videos with a catchy song playing always boost my inspiration to play and get better.
Yes I try but dont stick to it.I just do the tricks I know and thats it,not progressing.
Guess the trouble is w/ spending time and follow thru.Do throw everyday atleast 20mins.
I learned the gyroscopic-flop,now cant remember how I got into it.
If you are doing the same things over and over, I’ll bet you are getting better at those tricks. More tricks doesn’t necessarily equate to “better.” It might be that you just need to stay with fundamental moves and tricks to improve your foundation. Check out the trick ladder they use for contests.
Determine what your motivation is for yo-yoing. If your motivation is just for some mind numbing relaxation with little or no thought, okay, nothing wrong with that. If you are goal oriented then you may need to set more achievable goals and give some thought to your practice. If you want to progress in anything your practice must have purpose.
In the end nobody can say you should quit or continue except one person, you! You like to yoyo even though you feel a bit frustrated at the moment, or you wouldn’t have made this thread.
Personally, I hope your future includes a yoyo in some capacity. To reiterate, if you choose to continue, I’d recommend the trick ladder, as a starting point, as it includes a great many fundamentals that will build the foundation for learning other more complicated tricks.
I have found that learning newer tricks which push your skill a touch does wonders. I really agree to work through the tutorials on here or look up the trick ladder. For me, working on finger spins, black hops, and spirit bomb has greatly improved my overall skill despite not being consistent with any of those tricks. And earlier, Rewind, McBride Rollercoaster, and cold fusion were huge in that area. Especially when life gets really busy, it’s good having those fun things to play with that you’re good at and a direction that will generally keep you pushing.
I’m about your age, I feel like I take a long time to learn tricks, but, I keep at it because I am having fun. Others have given similar advice, if you are enjoying yourself, keep going.
There are no yoyo police who will kick your front door in and take away yoyos for lack of skill (at least, if there are, they haven’t found my house yet ). More importantly, I haven’t met any yoyo people who I wouldn’t want to be friends with. From up and coming players to National Masters, everyone I’ve met has been kind, welcoming and encouraging. I hope you have that same experience.
Others have said “more doesn’t necesssrily mean better”, this is truth. There are tricks that I struggle through that you may not recognize as the same trick when you watch the YYE teaching video. But, someday, I will get smooth, as long as I’m willing to put in the work. Same for everyone.
You are the only one who can decide if you stay or go, but, you are always welcome here and at any real life yoyo events!
Remember, one of the great things about yo-yoing is that there are no metrics. There are no apt comparisons. Everybody is throwing the same trick. We get thrown down, spin around for awhile and do some things - some exciting and some ordinary - and then we get pulled back to the hand. Everybody’s experience is unique. Everybody’s is integral. No one’s is diminished on the basis of technical difficulty, rate of progression, or titles accrued. Some players may look like superheroes with a yo-yo on their finger, but all of us will take the slipknot off eventually.
I know it can be frustrating to see people doing incredible things with their yo-yo’s while you feel stuck doing the “same old thing”, but it doesn’t mean that they are necessarily getting more out of their playing than you are. I know some really amazing players who describe feeling COMPELLED to play - who feel pressure to constantly be creative or risk falling behind. I catch myself in that feeling and I don’t like it. There’s no ahead. There’s no behind. My “best” playing happens when I get out of my own way and out of my own head and forget about the silly stuff I attach to yo-yoing - specifically how I compare to anybody else, which is the stupidest and most common pitfall in this weird little art form.
The first great exploration in yo-yoing which everyone goes through has to do with HOW you play - what your hands do, what you’re capable of, how fast, how fluid, how many clicks. Maybe that exploration wins you Worlds or maybe it yields Rock the Baby, Man on Trapeze, and just a few other things. Regardless, the second, more important great exploration within yo-yoing concerns itself with WHY you play. That’s where yo-yoing transcends sport, transcends hobby, and becomes a tool for understanding (and accepting) yourself. A lot of players can do tons of tricks, but aren’t up for that challenge and never even touch it.
One approach would be to choose one trick you want to learn and back just practice it with the tricks you know until it becomes a trick you know.
That said I will echo others and ask, are you having fun? Because that’s what really matters. If yes then stick with it either just playing what you know or learning new tricks. If not then take a break. Just put the yoyos down for a while, being in a rut does not mean you have to quit forever.
My advice would be just have fun with it. I’ve been at it for 2 years and I still would not consider my self good at yoyoing. But I have fun with it. Just look on YouTube for tricks that you want to learn and go for it. One of my the first tricks that i learned that is pretty easy but looks boss is Ann Connolly’s magic trick. it’s a super fun trick. I still use elements from it in my combos today and it was a huge confidence booster for me when I just started. Keep at it and don’t overthink it it’s supposed to be fun. I hope this helps
It sounds like you are in a slight rut. I would follow-up on the trick ladder videos/tutorials. If your looking to build up your trick repertoire these contain many essential elements for future tricks. If you are landing the trapeze then work on the double-or-nothing and then up to skin the gerbil.
The other thing is to look at your own accomplishments landing the tricks without comparison to other players. It is easy to be overwhelmed by watching flawless videos online; but there were a bunch of knotted strings that led to the final cut. If you find a trick you really like… see if you can identify the trick creator and learn other tricks by that player. I spent some time going through moves created by Paul Escolar.
I think winter is one the best times to work on tricks (it is windy & snowing where I live). Here is a quick double-or-nothing video with an easy flourish along with skin the gerbil. Best wishes on landing your next trick!
As skitrz and a couple of others noted, go with the trick ladder stuff. I tend to do that and some of the more legacy tricks. I still have some of those that are not quite perfected.
You should just quit… thinking too much about it and just play.
Don’t think of getting better as a necessity.
Learn the tricks you want to learn, and don’t worry if you can’t do it today or this week or this month, learn other tricks. Sometimes when you return to it it will suddenly become much easier.
I’ve been yoyoing for like 8 years now, still do pretty much the same tricks from a few years ago. I also been doing 2a since like 2011 and even now I still mess up basic loops. It’s pretty lame compared to you who only been in it for slightly over a year?
But I like yoyoing, it makes me happy, that’s why I kept doing it.
You should quit. Then start 2a. It sounds like your the kind of person who might enjoy focusing on mastering skills rather then learning a thousand new combos. 2a tricks take longer to master then 1a, and you might feel less like you’re in a rut if you are mastering those types of tricks rather then just repeating the same stuff over and over again while others seem to be progressing faster. I may be completely wrong, but I just wanted to put that idea out there.
). More importantly, I haven’t met any yoyo people who I wouldn’t want to be friends with. From up and coming players to National Masters, everyone I’ve met has been kind, welcoming and encouraging. I hope you have that same experience.
