This question is posted because anyone who has never seen someone yoyo thinks they look good. Then the question usually comes how good are you. So what do you think defines a “good” yoyo player (not a professional). Is it a certain trick? Using only tricks you develop? Do you have to compete to know? Let me know what you think so I can establish when I become a good yoyoer.
To me, yoyoing isn’t a hobby that works that way. It isn’t about being better or worse than anyone else. Personal preference and enjoyment are all that matters, so the amount of fun you have when throwing is much more important than the complexity and flow of your throwing.
Competitions are a great way for people to compare themselves to others, but they’re far from an objective measure of skill or talent.
Do you think you’re good at yoyoing? If so, fantastic. If not, keep practicing until you find something about your throwing that makes you proud. That’s the real goal of yoyoing.
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Skill is in the eye of the beer holder. Which is to say, your drunk friends will think you’re amazing.
What Nick said: if you think you’re good, then you’re good. If you don’t think you are, practice until you are. Or be content with your current skill level and keep that yo a-spinnin’.
Well, you’re better than 99.9% of the world, so I’d say that you’re pretty good in that sense.
Anyways… I think it’s not so much trick knowledge, but the ability to execute tricks correctly with a smooth style and good flow. I would say a player who is on Advanced part 1 and really knows those tricks, can execute them perfectly and smoothly with good flow is better than someone on master with a choppy execution and no smooth flow.
I’ve gotten to a point now where I’m pretty satisfied, but I’m not that advanced in the terms of trick vocabulary. I just have a nice flow and pretty good trick execution.
In the end though, it doesn’t matter. Just have fun and play yoyo, keep challenging yourself with tricks. There is no trick that sets the bar for how good a player is, there really is nothing to determine how good someone is. Keep throwing, and it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters.
That’s funny. And it can be used for so many things beyond throwing.
People might think I’m pretty good because I have a library of about 12 tricks that I can do flawlessly and flow them together pretty well. However, those are the ONLY tricks I know. But I like doing those few tricks well and don’t add another trick in until I’m happy with those. It’s making it very slow going, but like all these other guys said, it makes me happy/relaxed/inspired when I just have fun throwing.
I will probably always consider myself “okay” in terms of skill. I know lots of tricks, I’ve made up quite a few of my own, and I’m satisfied with the trick elements I do know. I’m still trying to further develop what I do have, but I will probably think of myself as an okay player for however long I stick with this hobby.
When you can throw it down and get it back to your hand.
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Yes that’s it. Was so happy when I first did it years ago. Then this bind thing came out…was happier when I got he yoyo up.
For me, it’s all relative. I’ve been learning and perfecting my Matrix lately and compared to anyone I know in real life, I’m good. And they think so too. Compared to the videos I see on the board, I’m not good enough and that makes me want to learn more tricks and get better overall so that I can be “good” compared to the videos I watch.
I think being a ‘good’ yoyo player has more to do with attitude and what you’re willing to do than what you can do. Not just putting in the time to improve your own skills but putting the time in to teach others and promote the hobby.
Yuki
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i absolutly agree. i yoyo whenever i can at school and iv’e gotten 4 people into the hobby and reinspired 2 others who yoyo’d when they were younger.there is nothing beter than the feeling that you get from helping others discover something.
I’ve concluded that I am good sometimes. Sounds like a good answer to give.
Drunk People-I’m Good
Feeling Good-I’m Good
People Who have never seen a yoyo- Awesome
Unable to hit strings and learn new tricks-Not Good
Watching professionals online-Also not good
When you can throw and have a smile on your face!
i think the trick that most indicates a player to be good is eli hops. Not to say if you can’t do it you aren’t good or if you can do it you are good, but I think it’s a good rule of thumb.
I’m so glad everyone’s not going “You’re only good when you can hit Yuuki Slack” (or something similar).
It is hard to quantify. For me it’s generally about how smooth and comfortable someone looks when they play. A neat, solid Rock the Baby with a smile on your face will beat a crappy Ladder Escape.
I’m good enough to share my yoyos and my skills, as they are. Nothing beats being good enough to help someone nail their first basic gravity pull and a few tricks. To see their smile, experience their joy, to be part of that is as good as it gets for me.
Teach others? Everyone is mean whenever I yoyo…
I know this feeling all to well. At my local club, I’m the “trick library”. The people that attend come to me when they want to learn tricks. The tricks they want to learn range from basic tricks, to plastic whip, up to Jensen combos. If I know it, I teach it.
Watching them hit the trick I just taught them puts as big of a smile on my face as it does on their face, and it’s such a great feeling.
Best way to learn is by teaching. 
I have no idea when I’ll feel “good”. It’s not right now. I recognize that I’m aces compared to pretty much anybody I know except a friend at work. But I’m still working on getting to a point where I consider myself “good”, which might be when I’m not always amazed that I pulled something off (when I can take certain kinds of string hits for granted).
I mean, I’m still pleased to get into a 1.5 and be straight and strong-spinning. When a 1.5 and a few other core elements are effortless, I suppose I might start considering myself good.
Definitely NOT based on tricks. I can hit non-hyper-speed Eli Hops with confidence and ease (one of the first tricks I learned) and boing-e-boing ain’t no thang. But then supposedly intermediate tricks like Iron Whip are a mystery to me. Suffice it to say, not based on tricks.