I love throwing, I really do. I also want others to love it too so I actually have people to hang out with and throw with. Problem is: 1. I don’t know anyone who throws in my area and 2. everyone that watches me throw find it “cool to watch but don’t have the time or the desire to try it themselves.” Even though nearly half my college knows me as “the yo-yo guy” I’m still the only one I know…
I tried to open my own club to see if it could attract attention but alas not only does it cost money and tons of paper work but it also requires a minimum of 7 members to even start one, sigh. What can I do?
Consider looking for one person willing to learn a few tricks. Urge him/her to purchase a yo-yo and continue learning tricks. When the person’s good enough to teach someone else, both of you do so. Then repeat the process, doubling the number of yo-yo players with each “generation”.
Just a thought. I doubt it’ll work, especially if you’re hard-pressed for time/resources. The problem of lack of interest also puts a wrench in this plan. But it’s worth a try if all else fails.
I got a few friends to start by showing them a few tricks. Later, when their interest seemed to grow, I gave them an old yo-yo of mine. This jump started their motivation because they had a yo-yo to use and practice with. Eventually, they asked for me to teach them a few simple tricks and one thing led to another. Try it! It may work for you too.
this is precisely why i only have a few yoyos. i gave away my other throws to friends and family. giving someone a lyn fury or a FHZ can be enough to spark someone’s interest. enough to learn a few tricks anyway. give some free lessons if you have the time. ive been doing this for a couple years now, and ive only gotten maybe 5 people i know to start yoyoing. only 3 of them are serious about it. by serious i mean they go out of their way to learn new tricks and are really interested. thing is people dont understand how easy it can be to get good at this. they have misconceptions that it takes years and years to get anywhere near a level that me or my girlfriend are at.
truth of the matter is after learning how to bind, if they spend as little as 15 minutes a day they could learn a new trick every day for a month straight if theyre interested enough. thing is a lot of people ive tried to teach give up before learning how to bind. dont expect a whole lot of people to want to learn as eagerly as you might have, but if you can find one person to teach, and get somewhat good at it, it will spark others’ interest. keep on trying, and things will fall into place in due time. and in the meantime keep throwing and keep having fun with it!
it doesnt mean that people dont take interest. i yoyo in public a lot, and a lot of people ask me where to get a yoyo like mine, or a good place to start, and i give them advice where websites are and where they can learn stuff. i had a kid’s dad make me yoyo for him and tell him where to get a good yoyo earlier today. who knows, a lot of times it probably doesnt go further than that, but i like to think maybe one in every ten or so actually take the initiative to buy a decent yoyo, and learn how to play at least a little.
dont give up tho! it’s becoming more popular. the world yoyo contest has been getting coverage on espn and more people are checking it out. just a matter of time. theres a lot of us, we’re just kinda spread out. if you start a club of some sort, you might be able to get more members making it not just a “yoyo club” so to speak, but cover all skill toys. poi, diablo, juggling, spin tops, etc… you may generate a bit more interest if it’s a little more diversified but still having the same goal. a general skill toys club makes for some really neat meets anyway…
