I have a question for y’all, sort of in two parts:
Why did you start playing yo-yo? What did you get out of it at first?
What kept you playing yo-yo? What do you get out of it now?
I have a weird reason for asking. Backstory: I have an odd job. I’m a philosophy professor, and I specialize in the philosophy of games and play. (I actually teach a yearly philosophy of games and play class to at the U of Utah’s professional video game design program.) Last year, I was doing background research for my new book, which is about how scoring systems can sometimes make everything fun, but sometimes they can suck the life out of everything. I was looking for examples where competition scenes changed a community, and stumbled across that YouTube documentary on Hajime Miura’s offspring performance. I was totally blown away, and started trying to learn to yo-yo and hanging out here. I now actually have a little bit in my book on yo-yoing, and I have a personal theory about some different reasons people play, but I want to find out from you all why you play.
I started playing because I tend to like arcane physical skills (like fly-fishing and rock climbing and origami) and the videos I was seeing blew my mind. I think especially seeing the Tessa Piccolo Kodiak video made me say: god this stuff is beautiful. The dopamine hit from learning the early tricks, esp. Double or Nothing, completely satisfying.
I kept playing because I got addicted to the feel of the whole thing - especially learning how much you could manipulate the yo-yo in flight, and how much feedback you got through the string. And how deep you could go on a simple combo - going from barely being able to do it, to sorta-smooth, to flow-y, to actually being able to make it expressive of my mood - slow and gentle, or sharp and snappy and fast - is so lovely.
I played in middle school and was really into it. About a hundred years later my daughters brought home yo-yos from school and I was like oh yea this was fun.
Looked up where it was at now. And was blown away. Internet really allowed this hobby to blow up and grow. Picked it back up a few years ago.
the community is pretty cool. It’s fun and challenging and gives me something to do/collect. Probably will try competing in a year or so. Just a lot of fun
Throughout my life I’ve always played with yo-yos, but usually in the most casual of manner. Duncan yo-yo. Up and down.
Two years ago I stopped playing video games, after a lifetime addiction. I needed something fill the void a bit. One of my kids had just gotten a yo-yo as a party favor and I thought, “Maybe I’ll learn some real tricks!”
A quick trip to Amazon, and stumbling onto yotricks, and here I am today.
I had a major change in my life when I shifted from video games that I found addictive and unpleasant, to rock climbing. To which I’ve added fly fishing and yo-yo. I still think there are plenty of great video games out there - mostly indie weird ones - but a lot of the mainstream ones lock me into this addiction cycle, which I resent.
Very interesting subject matter. I have a bs in psych so this is right up my alley.
i saw a butterfly xt when i was in barnes and noble with my daughter and went “huh, they put bearings in 'em”. got one a couple days later and looked up yoyo tricks. needless to say mind was blown and i was sucked in by how incredibly kool it looked.
im still brand new but so far I’ve stuck with it because i like how it feels wide open. there’s multiple styles, plenty of opportunity for creative expression, and i love the tinkering aspect of it. i love little things i can take apart and “mess with”. I’m also super interested in physics so the related properties interest me. i also like how its not just pass/fail. as you pointed out, there’s lots of stages of development even within each trick that affords reward feedback pretty constantly. brain like yoyo
funny yall talk about video games…i was still an avid gamer right up until 2 months ago when i found yoyos. I’ve since canceled subs and have only maybe played a few hours when i used to play a couple hours a night. now i just throw instead🤷♂️ not a purposeful break, i still LOVE games but i dont have time for both rn and i like yoyos more
Pure Curiousity. I had a Duncan Butterfly as a kid and played till that string broke. About 18 years later at a Mall (2008) I saw a gentleman playing with a Yoyo like I had never seen done before. Of course I bought one and that started my first 3ish year journey into Yo. Initially it was the challenge of a “New Skill” that brought me in.
Life happened; Got Married, Wife, Kids… Fast forward to fall 2022 - the story continues here Beginners Journey
There are so many things that keep me playing yoyo;
My kids
The Community - Here on YYE I helped to found a Online Yoyo Club. The people here and in the club keep me coming back. Supporting Community Events (Just this past year alone.).
Simplicity - In a time where technology is paramount, everything needs a charging cord or internet access. It is humbling to be able to pull a round spinning object from my pocket and check out for a minute. It is something that is easily with me at all times. A fidget toy if you will. I find myself talking on the phone with customers and casually throwing.
I get so much out of it now. There is peace and surrender of the mind. It is a system that can never be mastered, only played. Journey not Destination if you will.
Learning, not just a particular trick or element, but different styles and ways to play. Right now I am on a 0A journey. Again, being apart of a Active Club and Community is rewarding in and of itself. Completing the facilitation of a event with a team of like minded individuals is a example.
Landing that element after what seems like months of work. Some form of a sense of accomplishment in the moment. But this then leads to the next “Thing”.
The first philosophy book I wrote was basically: “Games are the pure crystallization of ‘journey not destination’.” The second one I’m writing is like, “Everybody knows that, but also we seem to have mostly forgotten that, and denigrate play?”
Apologies in advance for the wall of text but this is an important question to me and I appreciate you asking it!
I first started because some neighbors of mine brought yomega mavericks to scout camp a long time ago and I thought it was the coolest thing! My buddy and I went to Walmart when we got back from camp and got some $5 Duncan Mosquitos and got hooked! At first it was novel and a fun way to be active with my friend, but as I got into it, I really enjoyed the challenge of learning new tricks and abilities, and the creativity that came with it. My mom loved that it got me to play video games less but I was just enthralled by learning and perfecting tricks.
I kept playing because of the people (shoutout to the Utah Yo-Yo Club, they’re awesome and were a big support as I was newer to the hobby!), the creativity, and the fun aspect. It gave me something that made me “unique”, and it just became a part of me. I stopped throwing regularly after graduating high school for nearly a decade and during that time things got harder and harder. I had more mental health issues than ever before, I either couldn’t focus or I would work myself into the ground, and I felt less and less like me.
It got to the point that I started going to therapy regularly, but shortly before that I saw that the world yo-yo contest was going on and I decided to watch it because I was at a low point, I missed the hobby and I remember I used to love watching worlds. It was an amazing experience and I decided then that I wanted to get back into yo-yoing again. I felt so unlike me up to that point, but the thought of me growing up yo-yoing helped me remember how important that was to me, and that I felt most like myself when I was yo-yoing, doing music, and doing things I cared about. My therapist even challenged me to spend 15 minutes a day doing something emotionally regulating, and when I asked if yo-yoing counted she was very supportive of that. I jumped headfirst back in, and y’all have been so welcoming so huge thank you for that btw, and while the journey in my personal life has been really rocky lately, this toy, this hobby, this community has been something that has helped me feel more grounded again. I may not be fixed, and there are plenty of other things in life that helped too, but I am so grateful to have picked it back up again and I hope to not be putting it back down anytime soon.
Side note: I mashed multiple different events of my yoyo journey into one paragraph to make it not too long
I started playing yoyo because I enjoy learning and watching some niche skill hobbies. I tried speedcubing, pen spinning, butterfly flipping, and other more. Of course, I played with not so good responsive yoyo at different points of life, it was not that fun. I sort of have some interest in yoyo because of Brandon Vu around the 2010s watching has reviews and different yoyo information, and I was in awe seeing him move this spinning plastic or metal yoyo around, I thought it was cool to see. It was years later where I brought pairs of yoyo from a retail store where I learned some basic tricks either in 1a, 2a, and 3a, it was fun but, I decided to drop yoyoing for a while because I had loss of interest, it was hard, but that was the moment where I learned that I shouldn’t push myself to do what I don’t enjoy.
I would pick a yoyo then drop it on repeat for couple years, but I would watch Brandon Vu and world yoyo contest sometimes, and I learned about each yoyo divisions. Around the 2020s, I decided during some moment of my life to pick a yoyo again, but this time I wonder what happen if I take this thing seriously. I got interested in yoyo contest around the same time, and I saw that in the x-division, there weren’t that many people performing in the division, especially in 2a and 3a. I want to be the person to fill in the small playing styles, I care about representing the small group of people. Now I mainly do 2a and 3a to the point where I know more about those two styles than 1a. Am I good enough for competition? No, because I want the routine done well, not sloppy, but it is the feeling that one day I can showcase the amazing tricks in 2a and 3a to a crowd, either with the scoring system of competition or without it. To me, yoyoing can act as a medium to express oneself, I remember watching Chen Yang 2023 1a world final on a livestream, and that kind of stuff I want to do with my main style of play. I enjoy expressing myself. I enjoy the success and failure of yoyoing. I want to keep going.
I started mainly as something to get me up and moving and off my phone (and yet here I am). My first kid was around 1 year old at the time and I needed an activity to do during naps and downtime other than staring at a screen.
Being exposed to modern yoyo for the first time, I really connected with the creativity and flow aspect of it. At first, the learning process was very satisfying when I would spend hours just trying to do something that was initially impossible and finally land it. I think that feeling is what really hooked me at the start.
I keep playing for basically the same reasons. It gets me off my butt and I enjoy getting into a flow state and jamming with a good yoyo. What I get out of it is a moment of peace and a creative outlet.
I started originally because of my dad. Decades later I started again because my dad had passed and it was a way to get back in touch with him. I was also stuck at the time and didn’t have any hobbies or anything outside of work. Yoyo sort of revitalized what was a life of going to work eating dinner and sleeping by reminding me to pick up something I like once in a while and the bar for throwing a YoYo is very low vs other hobbies. There really isn’t a bunch of prep or anything.
I keep doing YoYo today because I enjoy it. I’m not particularly good. Heck I’m ultimately pretty sub par but that’s fine I’m just happy to do something that’s active and I enjoy a bit daily.
I’ve known yoyos since i was a kid, there was a chinese yoyo drama titled blazing teens, and it was localized in my country, so it kinda started a yoyo boom, and as a kid in the 2010s i get to buy toys and play with them, i got my first yoyo back then. Time jump to when i was 7th grade there was another yoyo boom from the same series but in anime form, i even thought to join a competition back then, however i never got the chance.
now i’m practicing for next year’s national comp, also i find it fun, not to mention i got nothing else to do other than throw, some chores, and just play games
Fun topic, and a great way to mine some research for your lectures! Sounds like a cool class you teach.
I hadn’t played since the 80s, but my son randomly got a butterfly a year or two ago. I picked it up and threw it a couple times and it sparked such joy in me.
And that’s why I kept playing; simple joy. It clears my mind when I need, and also gives me something to chase. I’ve always been into solo progressive skill activities, where you constantly learn new tricks and/or gradually refine your technique; skateboarding, disc golf, guitar, etc.
Just over six years ago I was abducted by extraterrestrial beings dressed as old hippies while I was riding my mountain bike down a deserted country road somewhere around two o’clock in the morning. They told me that the more advanced civilizations located throughout the Milky Way, and a couple of adjacent galaxies, had been discussing the human invention of the yoyo, and that it looked like it would be the only meaningful contribution humans would make to the collective good of our universe. They asked me if I knew how to yoyo, and if I had one on me that I could use to show them some tricks. The disappointment on what I suspected to be their faces after I admitted that I did not yoyo left me with deep feelings of shame that are still with me today. After they dropped me off outside my house three days later (don’t ask) I resolved to learn how use a yoyo, and to build up a yoyo collection worthy of interstellar travel just to see. All this time later, I’m still learning tricks, buying new yoyos, and waiting for another visit from our distant admirers.
