I don’t think there are any Yoyoers Doctrines or Commandments that hold us together like say a faith group or religion. There’s nothing we have to do in order to stay a part of any group and we are all allowed to do as we please without a single worry about being ostrasized. When we throw, even alone, we become part of a community even if we are hundreds of miles away from anyone doing the same.
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Yeah I think it’s changed over the years and maybe now it’s too global & diverse to have a really clear underlying philosophy which every yo-yoer shares. In the 60’s it was clean-cut (ish) pros teaching kids on school yards and parking lots. In the 70’s and 80’s there was this kind of vibe of mysticism and enlightenment between TK and the Smothers Specials with the State of Yo and Yo-Master.
But since the 90’s there haven’t been a lot of unifying characteristics (besides maybe “way too male” lol). Like Jeff said, it’s not a sport (certainly in the traditional sense) so it doesn’t have any of that “jock vibe”. It’s not inherently rebellious or dangerous. It’s a little bit nerdy in that being obsessed with it will improve your learning curve, but not in the same way that chess or Magic are (not to disparage either - both are awesome). Even kendama has that weird bro-ey tank top vibe.
I will say that as a community, yo-yoers are still among the most kind and welcoming people I’ve seen. WAY nicer than skaters or surfers, but awesome as it is, that’s not really a rallying point lol.
It IS cool to feel you belong to something, but I kind of think the lack of an underlying philosophy speaks to the fact that yo-yoing speaks to a broad swath of people, which is one of its strengths.
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Or you could just like to yo-yo and attach no philosophy at all.
If I have one, it would be “yo-yo and relax.”
It is nice to meet other adult yo-yoers online, since some people don’t always see it from the same perspective as I do. “The adult who plays with toys” judgement.
I’ve liked yo-yos for many years now, I’m not even sure why sometimes. I feel the same about my music. Probably is satisfying to learn and perfect new stuff.
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Either way…this is how we are seen…
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