Well, given the vast number of excellent 0a, 1a, 3a, 4a, and 5a players out there who are pretty terrible–by their own admission–at looping, I would have to say that the 2a skill set is not as foundational to the other styles as you make it out to be. I would draw the line differently based on style of play.
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And I think that’s a valid way to do it.
Note, though, that I consider looping to be foundational not for a particular style (or all styles) of play but rather for what it means to play with a yoyo, in my opinion, which leans on tradition.
Anyway, thank you for helping me validate that this is, in fact, at least a controversial opinion. Now we just need some people to pile on and affirm that it’s unpopular.
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Given the proliferation of styles that have evolved in the decades since the yoyo was introduced to this country, it is hard to fathom how anyone could believe that any one (style-specific) skill set could come to define or characterize the entire activity. There’s a point where tradition blocks a clear perspective, and I think that is happening here.
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I feel ya on that. It’d be ideal, or at least pretty neat if all throwers were able to perform a few tricks on an old school / traditional yoyo. I think almost everyone on this forum can do that anyway but it’s just not their main focus. Not being able to perform a few loops or some basics is like having a masters degree in History but only history from 1980 to our current time.
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There certainly was a time when looping was not just foundational to yoyoing, it defined what yoyoing was for the most part. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Just like there was a time when programming in FORTRAN was foundational to programming, period. But that hasn’t been true for nearly four decades now.
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I’m firmly of the belief that yoyoing is play, and so am not a fan of anything that disqualifies anyone from being a “real” yo-yoer.
But I would be on board with a statement like
“It’s cool to learn how to loop, even if that’s not your main style. Maybe give it a try.”
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Right! Maybe I’m not a real yoyoer because I only throw unresponsive frontstyle and never really practice sidestyle except for the rare occassion where I try to do a breakaway. I just do what I find interesting. I can throw a few loops but rarely do.
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All you need to be a real yoyoer is to actually make yoyoing what you want it to be in your world. A real yoyoer simply yoyos for their own reasons.
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You know that really helps to be a all around great yo-yo pro?
Freaking lasers.
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You only need to own 1 yoyo for 1A… 
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So pick one yoyo based on your current daily session. Sell or give away the rest. What’s your pick?
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Oh man… @eternalmetal with the hard hitting truth.
This is a very difficult question.
If I had to sell or give away all my yoyos apart from just 1…
Duncan Freehand AL probably…
(Freehand AL and Memento are my two most used yoyos right now)
urgh there I said it, this will probably be another unpopular opinion too.
I actually sold a whole bunch of yoyos recently and only have a few left as it is though already
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Hmm. If I could only keep one yoyo for playing purposes, and one yoyo purely for showcase collection purposes, it would be my gold VTWO and my powder-coated white VTWO, respectively.
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Hmm if I can only have 1, I don’t want it to be the case but probably my first base. Not my favorite by any means but its an easy swap in and out of responsive play so it gives me the most options and is a solid yoyo for what it is in both styles.
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Only 1 yoyo - an easy question for me: CLYW Chief. 90% of the time I’m throwing a yoyo, it is a Chief.
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This reminds me of a conversation I had with my nephews just a few days ago. Long story short, I showed my family a few pics of a yoyo and my nephews both immediately went “That’s not a yoyo.” I’m just like “uhh, yeah it is.” I didn’t really know how to respond. But apparently in their little 7 and 11-year-old minds, a yoyo is shaped like a Duncan Imperial, and anything different from that isn’t a yoyo. They couldn’t comprehend a modern unresponsive wing-shaped chunk of metal as being in any way related to the plastic, relatively round down-and-uppers they’re used to.
Yes, I’m a terrible uncle for not introducing them to unresponsive yoyo before now, but I’m just gonna blame coronavirus since we don’t see each other as often these days.
Point is, that’s the same thing as this argument. To me, if you can throw a round thing on the end of a string and get it to return to your hand, then you’re yoyoing. Whether it’s just a down and up with a yoyo that has the string glued to the axle, or if you’re Gentry Stein, either way you’re a yoyoer. If all you can do is down and up then maybe you’re not a good yoyoer, but you’re still a yoyoer because you yoyo.
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He specified only 1 yoyo for 1A. So can I just keep the rest of my collection if I put counterweights on them?
Joking aside, the wording does leave it more open to have one yoyo per style of play (or two, as needed). I don’t play 2A, 3A or 4A (yet), but at least I could keep a yoyo for 1A and a different yoyo for 5A! Also a fixie for 0A, although I don’t have one yet.
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That’s actually pretty interesting. I was yoyoing around my grandpa a year or so ago and he did not realize how far yoyo tech has advanced. He could barely recognize it was a yoyo. I went into my room and pulled out a wooden yoyo (picture a generic wooden Duncan Tournament) and handed it to him. He then showed me his tricks (which were really cool and stuff even I cannot do). Point of the story is that there is not one type of yoyoer.
In my opinion, you should really dabble in all styles at least a little. Think about it learning a little 2a helps with regens. 5a opens your creativity. 1a is the building block for 3a and 5a. 3a is hard and will help you with complex mounts. 4a is just fun and is good for showing off.
Something interesting Tom said on one of his Throws and Brews videos is that we are too small of a community to create mini-groups. We are big enough to be a family, but we cannot have a sect that is against 5a or 2a or only plays Duncan. Really and truly, we show love. I often see on this forum that people do not necessarily stay because of yoyoing, they stay because of the family and friends they have made here.
Anyway, I think you hit it right on the head with there not being one type of yoyoer.
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My brother called me out for cheating when I was showing him modern unresponsive ball- bearing yo-yoing. That’s probably why I embrace 0A and keep wood in my daily rotation, I don’t always have to cheat.
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