I thought it would have taken longer but my hands are asking for 5A. Coming from spinning poi for many many years, I was no stranger to having 2 independent orbits to keep track of.
One of the only things that always bugged my about 1A is the ill symmetry. I felt imbalanced in my exercises. But after trying out a jokey 5A setup (OneStar and d20) I quickly found that my right hand was no longer the big boss on campus, but now my left hand can control with a slip or a toss, and suddenly I get to learn all the tricks again for my left hand. Its SO weird! But I love it and really feel hooked now.
After spending some time with the OneStar, I moved the setup over to a bashed and battered czechmark, and it felt totally different. SO much better than the light plastic. Then just for fun I put it on my BiMetal Superstar and WOW. it felt like a Cadillac. Then remember that I had a 7075 throw that I never really bonded with, a YYF Primo and I can say that we have bonded!
Anyway, my questions are what do I need to look out for in general for 5A?
Anything I should avoid or be aware of?
What are some of your favored setups?
What is a good weight for counterweight or does it really even matter?
I numbered your questions, so I will answer them in number order.
I am not sure what you mean by “look for,” but I am guessing you mean yoyos, string, counterweights. I prefer a big yoyo with lots of rimweight, a short string (I am not picky about what kind) and I like the newly released Ultraweights that I can’t tell you where they are from.
Never try to go to fast for yourself, you can end up hurting yourself.
GN Yoyo Co Phoenix, Kitty Fat String (Cut), Jake Elliott Ultraweight
I was not too picky about counterweights until another store released the Ultraweights. Now, that is all I use. They are incredible.
Ultraweight was already on my radar for sure.
I didnt know if there was a certain weight to c-weight ratio, or if it comes to personal preference or what. (looks to be preference)
Good tip about keeping it slow. Im a flow rider anyway with 1A, as the lightspeed combos are just too fast for me to keep up with. Like look at most Takeshi runs and then look at Harrison lee’s latest orca vid. I def roll like Mr Lee.
thanks for answering my questions. I look forward to seeing other’s feedback as well.
Any thoughts on the cannon or is it still too new to tell?
I absolutely love the Canon, but only for 1A. I like a big, heavy yoyo with lots of rimweight for 5A. (see my signature yoyo, the GN Phoenix). The Canon is more lightweight and speedy. However, if you prefer that when doing 5A, go for it.
As for a counterweight-to-yoyo ratio: some people say to use a counterweight that is about 1/3 the weight of the yoyo or something like that. I just ignore it and use whatever feels right to me.
There’s a link in that thread that leads to a thread by TotalArtist where he weighed a few CWs to see where they average.
The short version is that the ratio is about 1:6. The CWs were about 10g-12g and yoyos are obviously in the 60g-70g range. I’ve seen people double up on the dice though; so like you said, it’s mostly preference.
well that took me down a nice little hole of history and info. I had no idea about duncan’s patent on 5A play? I need to look more into this (or has it fizzled?).
:o
Thanks for the link! I learned alot.
Rethinking about this gave me an idea! I want to get one of those little keychain 3x3 rubik’s cubes and mod it for use as a CW! You could twist it into different patterns for new looks!
… Betcha can’t solve it while doing an under the leg trapeze! ;D