Love your story, and I’m so happy to hear that the fire has been reignited!
I got into yoyos in middle school back in the late 80’s/early 90’s (yeah, I’m old), and was all about my Yomega Fireballs. The Raider with a ball bearing had just come out when I kinda lost interest in yoyos, but I thought it was the pinnacle of yoyo technology at the time.
Fast forward to late 2024, a friend from middle school gifted me a Fireball, the yoyo we both saved up money to buy as kids, and the model we both learned on. I immediately opened it, and started trying to remember the few tricks I learned as a kid. My kids thought it was cool that I was able to immediately throw a few simple tricks, like rock the cradle, around the world, and they were really impressed with UFO. Of course, they immediately wanted to try, and wanted me to teach them how to yoyo. So, I bought them each a pair of Fireballs, and then started searching online for tricks since I knew there were others I’d learned and simply forgotten. And, wow, seeing modern 1A tricks and modern looking yoyos blew my mind. I had no idea how much things had changed.
So, my next step was to buy a few beginner modern yoyos, for my kids and I to all learn modern 1A on. Went overboard of course, and my wife had more and more sideways looks at me every time the shelf full of yoyos got more crowded. Kids and I learned to bind, I rediscovered simple string tricks like brain twister, trapeze, and brother, all of which are vastly easier on a modern yoyo than the Fireball I learned them on. I started going through the trick ladders here on YYE, yotricks, and Skill Addicts, and it was kinda fun, but after a couple of months and a few frustrating tricks I starting to lose momentum/interest.
But then, in my search for more beginner tricks to learn, I saw a short clip of modern 0A tricks, with lots of stalls, being performed on a simple wooden fixed axle very similar to one that I had as a kid and considered a vastly inferior yoyo back then. I knew immediately I needed to learn this “modern responsive” style. I then found Doc Pop, and the Bandalores, and then about halfway through Fixed Axle Feb I found my way here to the forums.
So, very long winded way to say that I’m a noob, who’s slowly learning the basics of modern 1A, but spending much more time focused on learning 0A (and occasionally working on 2A looping and responsive 5A). I’ve recently been working on a simple 0A combo, and am excited that I can now land it about 1/3 of the time (trap stall, to brother stall, to lunar stall, to bird stall, usually with a couple of pinwheels thrown in the mix).
I have fun with a few fixies and had a blast catching the 2nd half of FAF, but I really do prefer a modern responsive with bearings. Favorite throws right now are the PLTPS and a couple MR85 throws that I 3D printed. Just finished a quick session testing out more prototype printed throws before I take the kids to rock climbing practice.
