(Posting reply again because I accidentally deleted the last one)
One thing I enjoyed from the finals is seeing how Mir Kim has changed and elevated the game.
This year, more than ever, around the body and over the head big “banger” tricks are packed in with musical cues.
There was a time (not long ago!) when only a couple of these would be put in a routine due to risk, but Kim raised the standard by having bangers synced up to the music make up a large portion of his routine.
Seeing people including more of these tricks this year gives me an appreciation for both Mir Kim, and how much he’s shaken things up, but also for the other competitors, and how fast they’ve adapted and are catching up.
I have always wished that competitors would use music more, use the stage, and use big tricks. (In short, yo-yo more like Gentry and Mir).
This is because the top competitors represent the world of yoyo to the public. And doing crowd pleasing stuff like this, and taking the time to look cool as a person and put on a good show represents the community well.
As I said in an older post, when the public hears the words “yo-yo contest”,
But having stage presence, using music cues, and doing less slow/spiderweb tech makes the yo-yo scene harder to dismiss like this.
It makes us look cooler, and helps recruit the next generation. Just as I was originally inspired by Gentry and Paul Kerbel.
And Mir Kim’s use of well timed bangers, and the stage as a whole, has demonstrated just how well yoyoing like this can score.
And now everyone’s doing it. Standing in one place with your head down while doing complex rejections and largely ignoring the music will no longer cut it.
This is why I like Mir Kim so much.
I hope he wins next year.