I may have not read the post as intently as needed or maybe missed some big obvious post but what differentiates intermediate to advanced throwers? Assuming that spirit bomb is not the gateway trick of course.
The goal posts for that determination are always moving. You could point to some well-respected yoyo website’s trick ladder categories as a guide, but not everyone will agree with the tricks that appear in said categories. I think that for most seasoned players, the definition of “advanced yoyo play” is like Justice Potter Stewart’s opinion on obscenity, “I can’t define it but I know it when I see it.”
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How natural you look when you throw a breakaway.
Just kidding.
But with the thousands of trick videos I’ve seen, I can always tell a lot about a persons skill level as soon as they throw a yoyo.
Obviously I’m not saying I can tell how innovative their tricks are going to be and whatnot, but you can immediately see someone who hasn’t spent much time with the yo-yo in their hands.
And you’re right, it’s a difficult thing to nail down. It’s not so much about which exact tricks you know, and more about how comfortable you are with the yo-yo. If you’re going to land a double or nothing, do you even have to think about it? Or look?
Do you move minimally more from the wrist, or is “whole torso dip” present when you land on the string?
All these things are indicative of whether yo-yo is able to be more of a tool to express yourself with, and less of something that you have to worry about whether you’re going to throw straight and hit the string.
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not sure why i stopped watchin’ videos frame by frame to pick up new tricks. however, i still yoyo everyday.
i’ll come up with somethin’ new every 3 or 4 years. i’m 'bout due…
mgodzilla
sunny…
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There’s always gonna be someone better. You never know… could post a clip you hate and end up inspiring someone else
I have of stack of tricks under my belt after a year of non-responsive play - but I’ll be stuffed if I can do pop n fresh (after I get the yo in Mach 5 mount I just can’t get the back and forward popping motion) - so I suppose to answer your question, people get frustrated with mastering a trick.
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Welcome back!
Looping.
Having taken up looping six, maybe seven months ago I find I can do nothing other than whirl around a GHz D1 or a Duncan Hornet, Tournament or one of my own home-made loopers.
When it goes well it’s enormously satisfying, when it goes badly (frequently) I’m driven to rediscover the skill to do it well. The more the yo-yo whirls around, the tighter the string at its point of return and the neater the flip as it loops my hand the greater the joy.
Frankly, it’s a weird and frightening obsession that has blighted all my other yoyoing.
I’m like a crazed addict that must have a looping fix. Periodically I’ll throw breakaways to adjust tension or interleave outside loops with inside but then I’m driven to return to whirling round and round again.
I’m in a dark place.
Help.
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What caused you to stop learning old tricks?
How many folks could hang with the 60s yo-ers with fixed axle yo-yos doing (among other things) creeper, 3 leaf clover, sleeping beauty- both ways, shoot the moon 3xs, around the corner-pin wheel 2xs, two handed loops 5x’s , split the atom, 3 rolls.
New tricks are great, but some of that old stuff was really hard with the old yo-yos. Worth revisiting sometimes.
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I didn’t.
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My newborn son has all but halted my progress 
But I couldn’t be happier to spend time with my lil dude “Atlas” 
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Excellent thread and very nice, civil contributions from differing sides of the subject. Although I fall mostly in line with Nightshadow and Christopher Cotton, I have a somewhat different perspective. Although there are somewhat fuzzy definitions of “intermediate” and “advanced” (further complicated by YYE trick level classifications), I think most of us can agree enough for useful discourse.
Personally, I derive immense satisfaction from personal growth in all areas of life. My hobbies have reflected that and I’ve sought out pursuits that offer the opportunity for continuous progression. Throwing is no exception, and the vast majority of my throwing is devoted to learning new tricks, refining known tricks, or developing techniques. That said, I don’t do any creative or innovative throwing. I enjoy learning longer combinations created by amazing throwers. I suppose I would equate it to learning a musical instrument and learning songs from the greats without creating music of one’s own.
In regards to sharing videos of throwing, I have a couple of reservations. First, my throwing skill is significantly degraded when I put my throwing on display (the infamous “Check this out!” phenomenon) either in person or on video. Evidently people suffer from this to varying degrees. Second, as I don’t have any original tricks, I don’t see the point of producing a video of a trick when it can be enjoyed while performed at a far greater skill level than my own. I recognize that sharing videos can be a way to encourage throwing discussion instead of yoyo discussion, and I think it’s great for anyone who finds it beneficial. Also in regards to sharing, I think it’s important to recognize that the most important thing is to know and validate your own progress. Too often the social media platforms that pervade our society have led people to define their self worth through external validation (likes, followers, etc…).
Perhaps the root question that the disparate throwers might ask themselves runs along the lines of, “How does this activity enrich my life or benefit me?” I would posit that all of us have activities that fall into the numbing, relaxing, enjoyment category (Netflix, certain video games, throwing, etc…). Throwing a yoyo exclusively for this reason is evidently therapeutic and enjoyable to a large subset of throwers. Perhaps they are overly stressed in other areas and don’t wish to have the drive for improvement (and possible attendant frustration and feelings of inadequacy/failure) to intrude on or corrupt their current level of throwing enjoyment. That said, I think Nightshadow/Christopher’s essential question might be, “Could venturing out of one’s casual throwing comfort zone into the realm of improving provide additional enjoyment and possibly fulfillment?” The answer is likely, “It depends” based on individual throwers’ personalities, levels of personal development, perspectives, and life situations. I think many throwers would find the answer to be “Yes” if they decided to undertake it with a positive mentality. But, it’s obviously their absolute right to continue to enjoy throwing in whatever capacity they want to.
On a related note, the core of this discussion touches on the deeper and more significant subject of personal growth. I think many (most?) people are not completely satisfied with many areas of their lives, both in their current state and their trajectory. I believe it’s highly beneficial to push outside one’s comfort zone (if not in throwing, then in other areas of life) as that is where growth lies. And growth is necessary to be the best possible version of oneself.
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This post was awesome to read! I appreciate you joining in on the conversation.
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And I don’t make videos of my throwing for the same reason I don’t make videos of me doing Sudoku.
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Interesting thread, topic actually resonates with me as I’m certainly one of those who, for a few times, pushed to learn new tricks and fell into a rut/comfort zone. Why? I’m trying to figure this one out for myself actually. A good “thought provoking” thread for my brain to ponder 
When I started yoyoing as a kid, trick resources were far and few between…there was no Youtube and trying to decipher tricks from still images and diagrams was confusing…especially when it got to Split the Atom. That’s where I kind of drew the line and actually stepped away for a long while.
2010 - My nice comes home with a yoyo she got from school. She had heard that I knew some tricks so I had to dust off one of my old yoyos and show her some of what I knew (which was honestly not much). Curiosity struck me as to see what yoyoing was like in that time…it was a whole new world and realized what I had wouldn’t cut it for these newer tricks so I ended up buying a more modern, wider gap yoyo to see what I could do. From there I ended up stumbling upon YYE (when I joined the forums) and powered through a bunch of the ladder tricks/fundamentals including that Split the Atom that baffled me as a kid. From there I sort of fell into a rut as I wasn’t quite sure where to go next. I felt like I was sitting in this weird spot where the next tricks in my pipeline I wanted to learn were over my head so activity sort of waned.
2015 - I pick up a yoyo again and wind up finding a trick that looked simple but flashy for me to learn to get my feet wet again, and from there I was learning yet a bunch more tricks and learning what I liked and what tricks/elements I didn’t care for…and began to discover ripping tricks apart and mixing/matching elements for other things…whether if it flowed or not was another story. Spirit Bomb though was certainly a grind to remember as it took me a while for that trick to click with me. Often I wondered if my brain was even capable of understanding what was going on. From this point, progress came in waves…I’d have my good months, and then I’d have times where I honestly got lazy/felt comfortable with what I do know.
Today, I honestly haven’t had the drive to learn much of anything new and not quite sure why. I guess I feel comfortable/content with the broad amount of what I do know and am enjoying just making things flow. I do have a bunch of tricks to be learned that I just haven’t made effort to do by making a Youtube “tricks to learn” watch later list. During the shut down, I did pick up a few very simple elements to incorporate into my repertoire but nothing ground breaking. I also made time to dabble in other styles including modern responsive, 5A, and responsive 5A. Was certainly a lot of fun staring at the beginning with 5A in particular.
Working/adulting, I just haven’t really sat down to make much time to go through this list. By the time I get home, I honestly don’t feel like doing a thing as my line of work can sometimes be quite exhausting. I do take a yoyo with me to work and throw on my breaks (at times) but it’s mainly just refining what I know.
I also used to be really active on Instagram. That sort of waned after changes to the algorithm happened and my visibility took a sharp downhill turn. Was a bit demotivating and honestly, I’ve reached the point in life where social media platforms just aren’t cutting it for me anymore thanks to the algorithms deciding what’s popular. That and filming tricks is highly frustrating for me…I can be going just fine but then when I think I can film this clean trick, the universe decides otherwise for me.
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