Hey all, I have been yoyoing for almost a year now and have “hit a wall” so yo speak. I was wondering what ways you would suggest I get around this “wall”. I have heard some of you say that getting a new yoyo helps.
I went through something like this a while ago and started to make videos of myself yoyoing, i just started finding flaws with my style and fixed them
I would also try new styles, i tried 2a
This is what I find helps me. It depends on the situation, but this what I do.
1: I find practicing more sometimes can be frustrating. I just can’t get over that hurdle. Take a break. Step away for a day or two. Then come back. Sometimes you need more time. I find forcing creativity, imagination and other things of that nature doesn’t work too well. It should be natural. Then again sometimes you need to power through it. Another idea is to just move onto some other trick then come back.
2: Watch some videos. This doesn’t always work. Pick performances or individual tricks. Maybe a different tutorial video might get you through a hurdle. Performances can get things flowing again.
3: If possible, go to meets/clubs/teams and/or contests. Being around others doing the same general stuff helps.
4: Dig into the collection, use something you normally don’t use. Having a large collection, this helps keep me going while not needing to do the next step:
5: Sure, buy a new yoyo. There’s no rule. Cheap or expensive. Plastic or metal or metal/plastic. I find stuff on the lower side helps as it simply costs less. Do you buy something different than you prefer or something similar? Like full sized? Get an undersized. Like more V-type shapes? Get an H-shape. Or reverse that.
6: If feasible, perhaps simple modifications to something you have. Nothing major. For example, I siliconed my Lyn Fury. Oh man!! Totally different and better now! I was going to buy a second Lyn Fury to do this to but now I’m just going to buy that second one to keep it stock. Well, I’ll let you decide what modifications you want to do. But, then go play it.
7: Style change! Just pick a style you don’t do as much and focus on that.
8: Maybe take a break from yoyo completely. I’m finding my interest towards the yoyo isn’t waning in any way, but I’m finding I want to explore other skill toys. The Duncan Bearing King is a very affordable and great way to get into spin tops, but let me tell you I think the clear is far more durable than the colored ones as I think the chemical or plastic they use to color the polycarbonate weakens it. I’m planning to get a diabolo as well, which I think will help some of my 4A stuff. I want to learn to do a 3-ball cascade juggle. I might try some illusions/magic tricks. I’m considering getting Duncan Gyroscopes. I’m probably going to get a kendama at some point down the road. I may get back into metal disentanglement puzzles again. I might learn some card tricks. My wife wants to drag me to these boring parties, so perhaps having some “skills” to “amuse the peeps” might make me “more interesting”. Keep the brain active and engaged regardless.
Some of stuff mention in #8 I will try to get at BAC. I will for sure be getting a spin top. If I find a diabolo at a good price, I’ll get it. Juggling balls? Definite maybe in favor “yes”. Kendama? Maybe. Gyros? Yes because they are so inexpensive. Some new yoyos? Absolutely!
I also have periods of time where I must focus and can’t yoyo as I have to get other stuff done. This helps too.
Everything said so far is definitely true, but I’m especially a fan of taking a little bit of time off. Throwing to different kinds of music can be refreshing. Also, you might want to try out different “styles” within the usual 1A (I’m assuming this is about 1A, apologies if I’m wrong), like working more with hop combos, slacks, inverted tricks, or something else you haven’t experimented much with. That can open a lot of doors.
i agree with studio on #8 … take a break … and try something else… i was actually also thinking about picking up a spin top …
but earlier this year i stopped altogether … and came back and actually got better lol i picked up things a lot faster
but now kind of hitting the wall again … its on and off for me … everyone is different so you have to figure it out
i picked up long boarding too and i am not good at it but just like to ride … so maybe try some other hobbies but … trust me … you will always come back to yo-yoing … or at least i did …
its just something totally different and really lets you escape your thoughts … when your mind is stuck on everything else that is going around …
so when you stop you realize how much you want to yoyo and appreciate it a lot more!!! that one feeling when you do something and makes you feel like nothing else in the world matter except you and your yoyo lol ( i think i went a lil deep there ) but yea thats the feeling!!!
A new yoyo does help change the feel but don’t have to buy an expensive one. For me just switching to a YYF fast 201 for a while kinda inspired me. Went back to all basic tricks then built and saw what I could do with a responsive. Also I find just watching yoyo videos tends to help and just trying new stuff
This kinda thing happens every once in a while. And it will happen more than once. Best advice I can give is to just power through it. Usually after about a week or two I have a slight breakthrough that keeps things interesting for me.
Get a fixed axle yoyo. Preferably wood. Changes things yah know.
I would get my hands on one of those new velocities, or any cheap plastic you dont really care about.
This will do a few things. It will allow you to just have some fun while yoyoing ,try some fun things without worrying about the yoyo. It will feel less like you have to get better/faster/more precise, and will just be about pure fun.
I also find playing with plastics improves my throwing a tonne as well.
As many people have stated, taking a break can be good. Another thing I like to do is to explore new kinds of yoyoing, such as moebius or slippery eel. It opens up many new possibilities and might get you more excited to be throwing. Hope this helped!
What’s slippery eel?
Its like freehand without the CW.
Yeah, slippery eel is pretty fun. Not many people know about it though(sigh). And yes its 5a without a counterweight 
Ah, I know that style.
I didn’t know the name though. 
Yeah, I’ve done slippery eel but not known the name. Sometimes I like fooling around with yoyos, like trying new crazy stunts…Off string is always fun for me.
Speaking of getting around yoyo’ers block(duh), I saw an amazing juggling and diabolo performance at BAC. This was perfect, because I had been wanting to get one and I could ask questions AND the guy was selling! One has been added to the “skill toy assortment”. The problem is all my kids AND my wife want to play it, so I know this is gonna get expensive!
I want to learn juggling, but that is not that expensive to get into. I have gotten into spin tops, and even have a Bearing King and a Strummol8 Sophia. I’m going to Toys R Us today and get a kendama for myself and one of my kids later today, as well as get a Freakhand for my boy who wants a basic 5A throw. I may also buy a footbag, which is basically just soccer juggling(well, there’s a bit more.
I find by breaking things up, it helps keep me energized. A lot of yoyo, a little of this, a little of that… keep the brain moving and engaged. Worse case, if I get bored, I can play with my Slinky or my Rubik’s Snake. I also like metal disentanglement puzzles.
I just find myself needing idle time activities. Man, I’m so glad I chose the yoyo! It’s really helping keep some issues under control. I like the fact that I want to branch out into other skill toys and am buying into it a bit at a time. Now there’s no excuse to not get bored. When one item gets a block, another one can take that spot for a bit.
Yea, I’m stuck in a block as well. The one thing you’ll notice is that you start “forgetting” all the tricks you’ve made up in the past because your body has been doing the same trick over and over again. Look back and try to smoothen out all your old tricks.
Another thing I’ve done to get out of this block is to look up tutorials of original tricks. The concepts are sure to inspire something. I’ve also been watching some freestyles lately. You’ll eventually find a trick/concept that you’ll want to learn. You can’t copy people movement by movement but if you end up finding your own way to get into that idea, then bam! You just made up a new trick. Use what you see and build off from there, that’ll also build a style.
I’ve just decided to take a break and try some new things. I have taken the old card deck out and am getting back into cardistry and have just recently found gloving. I really hope this helps because I really enjoy yoyoing and would hate for it to be not be fun anymore.
Some amazing and excellent advice here!
I agree with all of it!
Try new things, different styles and don’t just focus on learning that one trick that eludes you. I also suggest using a plastic yoyo at times as someone else suggested. I found that in the past I didn’t realize I was worried about damaging my yoyo on that new trick but a plastic yoyo is so easy to replace and I ended up buying a few so that if one got to the point where I didn’t want to play it anymore I had another to fall back on.
Keep trying and don’t lose faith in yourself!
The rut…how I hate thee.
I was plagued with this so-called block probably for the past month or so. While I wanted to continue, I just felt lazy and unmotivated. I even went as far as picking up some Pro Z’s when I still felt lazy. I was also taking yoyos with me to my niece’s softball games but just felt like I was doing the same thing.
Fast forward to the week before BAC, I’m having this sudden urge to throw. BAC itself helped get me out of this rut and gave me a nice kick in the rear to start learning some new stuff. I’m currently now working on Skin the Gerbil, Asian Pops, Revolutions (I can’t get this!!!), and Jade Whip (Another slack trick I can’t seem to grasp…yet!)
Having set up both of my Pro Zs up for 2A, and having been able to loop both hands, this gives me something fresh to learn when all else goes stale.
So what motivated me? Probably seeing these other players doing intricate string tricks while my most ‘hard core’ trick was Matrix, Kwijibo, and Boingy Boing. Watching people try out the YYE trick contest, watching competitors, and the rest of the general public yoyoing and doing advanced stuff told me that I should get back to work on some stuff. Also the sound of electronic music pulsing over the museum plaza caused me to ‘feel a beat’ and just start messing around with some stuff…even though it was my everyday repertoire of tricks, it felt fresh, felt like I was actually doing something.
Since I don’t have any more contests to hit up until next year, I’m going to make it a goal to watch more player videos and find what styles I like/don’t like, and just emulate the feeling that I experienced at BAC.
And if I ever need to take a brake, I’ve got my diabolo that needs some attention, as well as some stuff to perfect on my unicycle…and when all else fails or I need a new challenge, I can just go for it and multitask like this:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/481300_2221207346702_2088648247_n.jpg
Trust me, it isn’t easy trying to idle and trying to loop or even throw a yoyo!
Yea, that was a long post.