Anyone else ever feel this way.

[yoyofool]

I have not thrown in about six months again. I did lightly for awhile. The thing is I tend to get discouraged because I feel like I will never be good enough. Like be pro level. I guess that is kinda stupid. But right now I want to thrown again and have no yoyos so I am surfing around thinking about getting a throw. And then at the same time thinking. You will never be that good why bother? Dumb question but you all always have good answers.

[YoYoGuy66]

Takes persistence and dedication to get to a "pro level".

But frankly, if you don't have fun with it and enjoy playing with it all the time, then you probably wont get that good. The pros got where they are now because they love playing with yoyos, not because they're only goal ever was to be a champ. Most things like that just sorta work their own way out, if your meant to get to that level then you'll get there one day. But if you don't have fun on the journey, theres really no point in going for it in the first place.

[BoostedF22c]

^Agreed, what kind of yoyo were you looking for? I have a few at home that are pretty decent for some intermediate play. they may not be teals but they are still good solid yoyos, I'll send you a pm later with the yoyos I'm willing to give away if your interested although the yoyo will probly not be stock...

[yoyofool]

^Agreed, what kind of yoyo were you looking for? I have a few at home that are pretty decent for some intermediate play. they may not be teals but they are still good solid yoyos, I'll send you a pm later with the yoyos I'm willing to give away if your interested although the yoyo will probly not be stock...

I appreciate the offer brother. I want asking for a handout  . I had gotten to a respectable level but sometimes hit dead ends and would get frustrated. I am going to try and find something and just throw again.

[BoostedF22c]

I know you wernt, but I want something more for the yoyos that I dont play with anymore, I want people to enjoy them because I'm only taking 4 or 5 yoys with me to Okinawa and the rest would just gather dust, dont really want to sell em so I just figured I would give some of em away to someone that would enjoy it 

[Marhai]

They're just phases, when you get through them, you get better!   I've been through these phases at least 3 times.

[kuyaChristian]

Get ready for beggers to ask for your yoyos, F22c :] "CAN I HAVE ONE TOO HURR DURRR?!?!"


Anyway, don't get discouraged. I've only been throwing for 15 months and there are soo many people that are better than me who also started around that time. It does make me feel like a noob especially that I can't make my own tricks, create awesome yoyo videos, or blow people away with my yoyo freestyles. But at the end of the day, I like playing with expensive and overpriced pieces of spinning metal and/or plastic on a string and it's all for the fun and love of yoyoing.

[yoyofool]

I know you wernt, but I want something more for the yoyos that I dont play with anymore, I want people to enjoy them because I'm only taking 4 or 5 yoys with me to Okinawa and the rest would just gather dust, dont really want to sell em so I just figured I would give some of em away to someone that would enjoy it 

Well I really appreciate it. And I wont look a gift horse in the mouth. So if you have something you would like to send my way I will glady accept. Thanks guys for the replies.

[fzzyrn]

I've accepted and believe that the vast majority of yoyoers simply will never be "good" in the sense of competitive or technical prowess, and that I belong to this majority. Yoyoing is a smaller part of my life now, but it's also more fulfilling because its not nearly as frustrating as it used to be.

[CaliBuddha]

Why do you "have" to be good to throw a toy around? If you like yoing, then do it, if you don't like it then don't blame your lack of greatness for not throwing. Do what you think is fun, it's only for yourself anyway, nobody else cares how good/bad you are. Being a "professional" yoyoer is not all it's cracked up to be. More often than not, taking a break from something seems not fun anymore is all you need in order to regain confidence and do it again. Do what makes you happy man. No one on here can make yoyoing fun for you. That is all up to you.

I haven't thrown in about the same amount of time because it was beginning to get monotonous and boring. I, once, thought it would be cool to be "pro" but at the end of the day what would that accomplish? Instead of trying to decide if you want to throw, think about something that can better your, or someone else's, life.

[yomorrow]

Getting "good," is highly subjective. I am not a great yoyoer in general, but some of my frontstyle combos I improvise are blazing fast now. I practice them frequently, so I build up speed all the time. I think that pro's get that way by practicing a wide variety of tricks at a high frequency. That's how they score points in competitions--doing good tricks, at breakneck speed, without messing any up. Think of Guy Wright--his tricks are undoubtedly mind-bending and artistic, yet he does not do well in competition. Probably because his style isn't focused on speed. I would guess he spends too much time trying to come up with new and novel tricks, rather than repeatedly practicing the same tricks over and over. That's the only way to become a fast player--repetition. The only way to win competitions is to be a fast player. So, basically, you have to be willing to do endless repetitions of some moderately difficult tricks, and get to the point where you don't mess them up very often. That's all there really is to it, but most people won't put that sort of practice time in. Or else, some (like me) just practice a routine of tricks that are actually easy and thus wouldn't score highly in competition, but they can still do their tricks super fast.

[YoAaronD]

I would say if you've been doing something for a while- not just yoyoing, anything- and you haven't found something other than the fun of the actual activity itself to sustain you, move on. For example, the only times I play to 'get better' is when I'm preparing for a contest. Most days when I'm yoyoing, I'm not even thinking about yoyoing; I'm thinking deeply about various other things. It's like Tai Chi. Moving meditation.

It's gotta have something to make you want to keep doing it. That's what I'm trying to say. If you don't enjoy it, or think it's pointless, why not try to find something else?

Of course, I don't want any player to quit. Play, don't practice. Yoyoing is like anything else; if you do it a lot, you'll get good at it. Don't get discouraged. Just try to have fun and you'll be all set.

[Graiskye]

Getting "good," is highly subjective. I am not a great yoyoer in general, but some of my frontstyle combos I improvise are blazing fast now. I practice them frequently, so I build up speed all the time. I think that pro's get that way by practicing a wide variety of tricks at a high frequency. That's how they score points in competitions--doing good tricks, at breakneck speed, without messing any up. Think of Guy Wright--his tricks are undoubtedly mind-bending and artistic, yet he does not do well in competition. Probably because his style isn't focused on speed. I would guess he spends too much time trying to come up with new and novel tricks, rather than repeatedly practicing the same tricks over and over. That's the only way to become a fast player--repetition. The only way to win competitions is to be a fast player. So, basically, you have to be willing to do endless repetitions of some moderately difficult tricks, and get to the point where you don't mess them up very often. That's all there really is to it, but most people won't put that sort of practice time in. Or else, some (like me) just practice a routine of tricks that are actually easy and thus wouldn't score highly in competition, but they can still do their tricks super fast.

Are you serious ? Why are most of the routines I see pros doing made up of so much new material, these guys aren't doing tricks by rote, they are finding new and different creative ways to play yoyo.
 You boil all competitive yoyo down to a handful of guys who cant come up with anything new so they sit and practice what people have done for the past few years until they can win a comp ?
I watched a lot of the feed this year from worlds, I saw a huge variety of tricks and styles of yoyo, if all competitive yoyo was is doing by rote, it wouldn't have near the small bit of popularity it has.
Competitions would be incredibly boring races.
But they aren't.

[hadoq]

I have not thrown in about six months again. I did lightly for awhile. The thing is I tend to get discouraged because I feel like I will never be good enough. Like be pro level. I guess that is kinda stupid. But right now I want to thrown again and have no yoyos so I am surfing around thinking about getting a throw. And then at the same time thinking. You will never be that good why bother? Dumb question but you all always have good answers.

if you're doing it to "get to pro level", I think you're doing it wrong.

"pro" players do it because they love doing it, and this is why they do it so much, which is why they are so good at it.

of course there is some amount of talent behind it, but not as much as you may think.

one thing is sure, it's not with 6 months layoffs that you'll become even close to "pro level". I know I've been playing for about one year and a half, the smallest amount of time I put into it daily is roughly two hours, either grinding and finding new tricks, or just throwing for fun, depending on my mood. I very rarely work on tutorials and I prefer finding out stuff on my own or getting ideas from "regular" yoyo videos of my favorite players. Before competitions, that time increases to 4 to 8 hours a day/night (I sleep less to throw more).

but I don't do it because I want to be "pro level", I do it because I like it, I enjoy it, it's fun to throw, simply throw, and I also like the challenge of perfecting a specific sequence of tricks for a freestyle. it'll give me the opportunity to express myself and get better by setting goals.

To be honest, I want to be competitive, I'm not, yet, but I have as a goal to become as good as I can as a 5A player in the european scene over the next 2 to 3 years.

it is not possible for someone "normal" to become that good over a few month or even a couple of years. Some dedicated, talented players may be able to achieve it, but people like you and I won't.

I'd be happy if I reach my goal and achieve a top 3 spot in european championship within the next 3 years, if not, I know that this drive will help me get better not only as a player, but also as a person, by teaching me dedication and hard work. Stimulating my creativity and allowing me to move around and meet awesome people.

so it's a win-win situation.

[stringburns]

Just play for fun and nothing else. Life is stressful enough without obsessing on yo-yo ability.

[rizki_yoist]

if you're doing it to "get to pro level", I think you're doing it wrong.

"pro" players do it because they love doing it, and this is why they do it so much, which is why they are so good at it.

of course there is some amount of talent behind it, but not as much as you may think.

one thing is sure, it's not with 6 months layoffs that you'll become even close to "pro level". I know I've been playing for about one year and a half, the smallest amount of time I put into it daily is roughly two hours, either grinding and finding new tricks, or just throwing for fun, depending on my mood. I very rarely work on tutorials and I prefer finding out stuff on my own or getting ideas from "regular" yoyo videos of my favorite players. Before competitions, that time increases to 4 to 8 hours a day/night (I sleep less to throw more).

but I don't do it because I want to be "pro level", I do it because I like it, I enjoy it, it's fun to throw, simply throw, and I also like the challenge of perfecting a specific sequence of tricks for a freestyle. it'll give me the opportunity to express myself and get better by setting goals.

To be honest, I want to be competitive, I'm not, yet, but I have as a goal to become as good as I can as a 5A player in the european scene over the next 2 to 3 years.

it is not possible for someone "normal" to become that good over a few month or even a couple of years. Some dedicated, talented players may be able to achieve it, but people like you and I won't.

I'd be happy if I reach my goal and achieve a top 3 spot in european championship within the next 3 years, if not, I know that this drive will help me get better not only as a player, but also as a person, by teaching me dedication and hard work. Stimulating my creativity and allowing me to move around and meet awesome people.

so it's a win-win situation.

Couldn't said better by myself Hadoq, very well said... 

[Graiskye]

 Very well said 'Dog, nice job.
 I wanted to add a little something.
 It is OK to get discouraged, it seems by most of these posts getting discouraged might be a sign you dont really enjoy yoyo the right way.
There is nothing wrong with having a competitive drive, some might even say it was healthy.
 So the process of getting discouraged is actually part of the process of reaching new levels, THE PROBLEM arises when one lets the discouragement take over .
 I think its pretty normal to watch Augies EYYC performance(YEAH AUGIE) and to feel a little discouraged that you dont throw at that level, but Augie has put the time in man, the dude has practiced for literally YEARS.
You dont think he ever gets discouraged ?
Well hes human, so Id be willing to be my yoyo collection that he has.
Basically feeling discouraged is a natural thing, but its how one uses this discouragement to create positive energy that will separate the Augies from the rest of us.
 Have a good week all.

[hadoq]

Very well said 'Dog, nice job.
 I wanted to add a little something.
 It is OK to get discouraged, it seems by most of these posts getting discouraged might be a sign you dont really enjoy yoyo the right way.
There is nothing wrong with having a competitive drive, some might even say it was healthy.
 So the process of getting discouraged is actually part of the process of reaching new levels, THE PROBLEM arises when one lets the discouragement take over .
 I think its pretty normal to watch Augies EYYC performance(YEAH AUGIE) and to feel a little discouraged that you dont throw at that level, but Augie has put the time in man, the dude has practiced for literally YEARS.
You dont think he ever gets discouraged ?
Well hes human, so Id be willing to be my yoyo collection that he has.
Basically feeling discouraged is a natural thing, but its how one uses this discouragement to create positive energy that will separate the Augies from the rest of us.
 Have a good week all.

you make a very good point here. I remember during my "grind" for EYYC, I had some moments when I didn't feel like throwing at all, I knew I had to get the grind down no matter what so I stuck to it, trying to ease it up a little and get back to enjoying myself (these were the times when I did the "grind" videos). So even tho the end result wasn't really relevant (finished second to last), I think the fact that I've been able to go through the grind was very important in the fact that now I know the work needed to get there and actually perform and I know that it wasn't all that terrible to go through. And doing these videos did allow me to see the amount of progress I did and motivated me back to get back in there and keep working.


This is what, I believe, makes yoyoing so interesting. It's that you have all these aspects. From competition and personal challenge, to being creative and expressing yourself, to just having fun throwing some tricks or combos, making them better, smoother, swaggier as you keep going. When one aspect gets a little boring, you can jump to another one and keep enjoying yourself practicing or playing another part of the game. Up to the point when you're actually able to put them all together and it becomes a natural way of expressing yourself.


it's -to me at least- more a matter of enjoying the ride rather than the destination. And that's also what's great about the community, which also makes it so important as an aspect, to go to as many meetings and contests as possible. it's that no matter how good or bad you are as a thrower, no one will ever talk down to you and you will always be treated as an equal and encouraged by the community (the vast majority of it). Whereas on forums, this is not as obvious or even real, to be honest.

I mean it's easy to get bummed if the only side you see of the community is the forums and facebook. These are merely an ersatz of what's really going on between people. Going to meetings will definitely put all the forum thing in perspective as well as help you make progress insanely fast compared to the daily tutorials/videos grind and I believe that going to contests and meeting is a very important thing to do for someone who wants to get to that "pro" level.

if you can afford it, try to go to a big/major meet or contest at least once a year, more if you can. it's really not that expensive if you count it into yoyos, like 4 or 5 yoyos would pay for that week end, depending on where you are or where you go (I really have no idea on how expensive or cheap it is to get around in the US but in europe, where I am right now in eastern France, I could get basically anywhere for the cost of 3 to 5/6 high end throws, but I have no idea how things go down in the US and how big your state meets actually are, some look fairly big tho)