Couldn’t the same be said about certain sports like gymnastics, synchronized swimming or diving? They require skills (perhaps a bit more physical than throwing, but skills none the less). And the points are truly arbitrary or at times are based on the difficulty of a maneuver. This is a lot like yoyo scoring. And those sports I mentioned are performed at the Olympics. I’m just playing devil’s advocate, though because I still believe you need to sweat if you’re playing sports.
But, I think I’m going to start wearing a headband when I throw. All this athletic exercise is working up a bead or two.
That is truly not an accurate comparison. Music has been something that has been going on for the entirety of human history. Toying has really only been around for a hundred of years. And modern throwing, even less. I do agree with competition being good for Yoyoing, I said that in my post, but I also said the judging system needs to be changed severely.
I’m wondering what the point of your comment was, you did nothing but reiterate my own point, yet made it seem like you we’re disagreeing.
All of those sports mentioned have a very definitive set of judging. There isn’t true innovation in any of those things anymore. There are definitive tricks with different levels of difficulty. We are just barely breaking the tip of the iceberg with innovation of Yoyoing.
It takes skill, but not really physical attributes.
And don’t go telling me “Well so and so did a backflip in their freestyle”
That doesn’t mean that yoyoing at it’s simplest form is you doing a backflip while looping.
Would I consider the universal idea of yoyo a sport ( What society thinks of it, like they would think the hardest trick is loop the loop, or around the world) no.
Would I consider things like worlds a sport? As much as I would consider The world competition for poker a sport, and the world competition for darts a sport, so it is, but just barely.
Archery is about precision shooting. They use a target, and the goal is to hit that target in the most difficult place the most often. Even if you’re not competing with anyone at that moment, the goal for you is still exactly the same as any other archer. You’re all trying to hit the bullseye and the rate at which you do it is what signals your proficiency relative to all other archers.
Yoyo is not like this. I can walk the dog all day long if that pleases me and I’m yoyoing just as much as the guy who can do every trick in the book. There’s no way to compare our performance because we’re not in competition, nor do we have any definite goals by which to compete. Yoyoing is like painting in this way. No painting is “better” by any objective measure.
The difference is really whether or not a culture of non-competition actually exists. I mean, are there really people out there dedicating their lives to gymnastics, but not following the path that will win competitions? I really very much doubt that. I’d say what we think of as gymnastics is defined by the competition culture.
But with yoyoing there are these people. Most people, in fact. Those who actually train for string hits and high point value tricks are in the vast minority. For most people, just playing with the yoyo in whatever way they see fit comprises what it means to yoyo.
I’m not sure why the scoring system being set in stone is what would determine whether or not this was a sport. It’s coordinated body movement, strong eye hand coordination, and a solid grasp of physics. Sounds like the makings of an athlete to me. What throws everybody off is that there’s no running. In nearly all sports, the participants have somewhere to go in a real big hurry. They’re running this way and that, sometimes carrying an object while they run. Sometimes they give the object to other people on their team, but then that guy just starts running. If there was some kind of running involved in yoyoing, we probably wouldn’t have as much of a problem calling it a sport. We would have more of a problem landing the tricks though.
I really don’t think it’s about the physicality. Some people have a tough time with motorsports as a “sport” for this reason (even though most people just don’t know that it’s actually very physical), but racing is ultimately a sport because it requires competition. Even if it weren’t that physically demanding it’s still pitting two people’s bodies and brains against each other on a semi-level playing field.
Yoyoing is about expression. You and I can both be great and not ever do the same tricks as the other. Neither of us can come in “first” at our combos. Saying this isn’t a sport is not in any way saying that it’s not difficult. It’s not a criticism or a put down. That yoyoing is such a subjective art is what draws us to it, I think. It’s a way to be great at what you want to be great at.
I can definitely see that point. That is one of the wonderful things about playing though. You can have both worlds. For me it’s a few moments each day where I just play a game against gravity. But don’t get me wrong. I’d like to go compete once or twice. I’m old (43 yrs) so I truly have nothing to lose and couldn’t care less if I garbanzo failed in front of a few thousand people. It would still be pretty awesome. But my “routine” is only just over a minute long right now. But I throw to 80’s music. Rick Springfield or Hall & Oates anyone?
I do not have a stances here, but only pointing out questionable logic in some of your points. It does not matter whether my individual comments contradict with each other or not.
Now, the point of this comparison is to point out that, if one thing were an art form, competition would not in any way affect its essence (or as you’ve said, “slipping away”). It can be said that musical competitions makes it become all about winning rather than making art, but that is entirely not true. The flaw of your logic here is that you are assuming that competitions defines the essence of the sport, which is not true.
You make an excellent point. I’m sorry for the way I acted previously. I will try to sum up my whole point quickly so as I do not contradict myself as well as clarify what I am talking about.
I feel that in the current Yoyoing community people are designing tricks to score points in competition rather than making a trick because they want to express themselves. That is how it changes the essence of it. By changing the motivation behind what people do.
Yoyo is no more a sport than an instrument or a paint brush and easel.
Definition of Art
1 [mass noun] the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power:
Definition of Sport
1an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment:
Borrowed from the Oxford Dictionary
Now, which one does it seem more like. The only reason people think that it’s a sport is because of the contests. Take away the contests, and you have, much more clearly, an art. Would you say music is a sport just because there are band competitions? No, of course not. Why? Because it isn’t, its one of the oldest arts.
I think, if you were motivated enough, you could argue both sides here. Is it REQUIRED that we pick one or the other? Can’t it be both? It’s a spart form! ;D
But to be honest, this is my stance:
“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” - Ernest Hemingway
there is competition in yoyoing, official competitions, with judges, rules etc… so if someone wants to think it’s not a sport, it’s their own right, it doesn’t change anything for yoyoing what some individual think.
but those who actually do something about it, usually think it’s a sport or an art form. (namely contests and video/photography/media)
I guess if someone really gets into it, it may even be possible to turn it into a martial art, who knows? and really, who cares? it’s fun to do, awesome to meet people, challenging to compete in and a blast to film. all aspects of yoyoing can be fun, why restrict ourselves with naming everything?
what do you mean archery? Archery is pretty physical. Your pulling back around 60-90 pounds and holding it as still as possible. So lets say you pull 60. In one competition (or at least for us) we shoot 2 rounds at each distance. And we have a practice round for the 2 furthest. So 6 shots each round and 3 for each round. And you pull 60 on each shot so if you have 3 distances you shoot 42 shots. So at the end of the day you have pulled 2,520 pounds. So archery is a sport. Btw this is if you soot recurve not compound.
