When's the best time to switch to an unresponsive

[Damb]

I do unresponsive yoyo dojo @ home - looping for when I’m walking down the street or waiting for the train

[andy569]

Different strokes for different folks. I stuck with responsive until I learned almost all of the advanced part 1 tricks on this site and I’m very happy that I did so. Even when I started getting into the advanced part 2 tricks I was still switching back and forth for a little while, using unresponsive to learn new tricks and to do tricks not easily done with responsive like grinds and whips/slacks while using responsive for tricks I already knew.

Yeah responsive can swing back and hurt a little but that was far FAR less annoying than getting knots and snags every other time I bind. Frankly I was never once the least bit concerned or even had any reason to be concerned with long term damage or anything more than short term pain to the knuckles.

Even now I kind of regret stopping and neglecting responsive play once I got comfortable with unresponsive. I notice a dramatic improvement in my control and slight improvement in flow whenever I play responsive or undersized for even a few hours then switch back to my bimetals. As expected it goes both ways. If I use bimetals too long my technique and form definitely becomes more sloppy and lazy because I don’t have to think or focus as much

[zslane (ClockMonsterLA)]

@andy569

Different strokes for different folks.

Indeed. We’re the opposite in that I kind of regret sticking with responsive for as long as I did (and it was only a couple of months!). Maybe someday I’ll acquire an appreciation for responsive play, but it is hard to imagine from where I stand right now.

[gregoryfromearth (Gregory Braun)]

@zslane

I mean, if you know ahead of time that you ultimately want to throw unresponsive, …

As hinted at, I don’t know that one ever has to transition. If you are enjoying responsive, stick to it. My thought is that I hate to see someone stop enjoying something because they feel like they need to be doing something else.

[zslane (ClockMonsterLA)]

Yeah, agreed.

Let’s be clear though: need and want are two different words/things. You speak of needing to; I only speak of wanting to.

[yyfben2.deactivated]

I’m on the ‘learn both at once’ side. Learn to loop too.

Variety is good and skill learnt on one element will translate well to your development

[gregoryfromearth (Gregory Braun)]

Yes. And it sounds like the OP is in the wants to category anyway.

[dam720 (Dirk)]

I have found that the best time to switch is Tuesdays 8:15 am to 9:45 am and Thursdays 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm.

In all seriousness I grew up and started with the first boom in the early 90’s. My mom bought me a no name wooden yoyo and a Duncan midnight special and told me that until I could “get good” I didn’t need a Duncan butterfly. So busted my ■■■. it was discouraging I will be honest but I persisted and learned the trapeze all the picture tricks, double or nothing and a few string tricks with a Duncan Imperial.

When I got my first unresponsive it was wild. Landing string tricks was like throwing a hot dog down a hallway and made things much easier since I had to perfect my form to land this stuff on an imperial. My daughter started on a semi-responsive (old maverick- sometimes its responsive sometimes not at all) She still plays with an imperial when she is having trouble or noticing her throw is getting sloppy.

In the end do what you feel is best for you. Yoyo is a journey and a life long hobby.

Besides grabbing any basic yoyo and bust a double or nothing is a neat party trick.

[pep65]

eeek Never switch on a Tuesday.

[DrRockso (Jason)]

I’m still fairly new to yoyos but I prefer to practice on an unresponsive (longer sleep times) but I always keep a responsive on hand for when I start to get frustrated.

[SpyseaRice (Jon)]

@zslane

And don’t practice the breakaway by itself; only practice it as part of landing the trapeze. This last bit of advice is meant to help you avoid potential nerve damage to you inner thumb, which while maybe rare, can still happen (it happened to me; the yoyo will come back to your hand at very high speed from a breakaway and when you catch it, the yoyo can slam into the inner notch of your thumb and sever nerves, especially after repeated impacts from lots of practice throws).

I usually do high powered flips off the breakaway when I’m playing on responsive. If I’m feeling extra snazzle, I’ll turn my body and start doing stm’s

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@dam720

In all seriousness I grew up and started with the first boom in the early 90’s. My mom bought me a no name wooden yoyo and a Duncan midnight special and told me that until I could “get good” I didn’t need a Duncan butterfly. So busted my ■■■. it was discouraging I will be honest but I persisted and learned the trapeze all the picture tricks, double or nothing and a few string tricks with a Duncan Imperial.

Holy crap that’s really impressive. I got a duncan butterfly as my first yoyo like 2 years ago and it wasn’t easy starting out My next yoyo was a responsive One Star (Yotricks Sage) and that’s what I used to master a bunch of basic mounts and tricks.

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@dam720

When I got my first unresponsive it was wild. Landing string tricks was like throwing a hot dog down a hallway

I love this saying, going to share this one as well

[SpyseaRice (Jon)]

@andy569

If I use bimetals too long my technique and form definitely becomes more sloppy and lazy because I don’t have to think or focus as much

Is this a valid reason to push people to play responsive? The people in my yoyo club are insistent on playing unresponsive, though their flow & technique aren’t really good.

[DrRockso (Jason)]

I got started because I was at Walmart walking around and spotted the duncan pro z and bought it on impulse

[andy569]

@SpyseaRice

though their flow & technique aren’t really good.

Just proved my point there bud

[SpyseaRice (Jon)]

fair enough