What does it mean....

[DrSteve]

To be good at yoyoing. I mean deep down. This all tends to point towards what yoyoing is.
Is it art, is it sport, it is expression. It seems to me that if yoyoing was a sport that speed
and complexity would be desirable traits. I see this in Augie and Mickey. Augie is less one sided
but still is extremely fast. Is yoyoing art? If so then innovation could be compared to modern art
vs. impressionism (one handed looping). New tricks and styles pushing the limits of convention.
Old and new art can work together as well. I see innovaton from Jake Bullock, Jon Rob, and Pekka.
Yoyoing could also be expression. Expression most would say is art. I think that truly expressing feelings
through yoyoing is crazy awesome. It seems like Adam Brewster, David Ung, Paul Escolar, and Spencer Berry all
express feelings through their smoothness and tricks. they don't do complicated or even imppresive tricks, they simply make true feelings show through the way they perform tricks. Just watch Debt In Knowledge. The first trick in that video
plays back in my head all day and just makes me smile. Adams tricks do the exact same thing.
Which side are you on? Can you even make categories like this? Can we even use the adjective good to describe
yoyoing? I intend to provoke thought with this thread. Lately I have smoothened out a ton and my tricks seem to
make me feel good. Am I as good as Yuuki, no. Would I be any happier if I had put in as much work as he has, I doubt it.

[ed]

this is a neat question. everyone will answer it differently, as they view it through the prism of their own lives and motivations.

i see it from the same perspective as nearly all of what my wife would call my "many adolescent pursuits". aikido, music, skating, surfing, chess, yo-yo. they aren't my "hobbies" so much as they're my zen arts.

essentially everything i do is based around the principle of doing a simple thing COMPLETELY. transcending technique in effort to return to a natural human condition. being utterly sincere with myself. i'm... not there yet.

anyway, this is why i always come back to fixed axle. why i'm not motivated to "get good" (inasmuch as good will be defined by many yo-yoers). why the tricks people can do are less interesting to me than the manner by which they can do them.

to me, being a good yo-yoer (being good at ANYTHING) means being a real human being. i count myself extremely fortunate to have known a handful.

so yeah... yo-yoing is art. and for me, it's also a kind of prayer.

[Bergy]

I've asked the same question to myself multiple times. I feel that if you look at yoyoing from certain perspectives it can seem pointless. but then in others point-full.

I prefer the smoother side, but not slow. Just keep moving and keep at a good pace. But most importantly remember its suosed to be fun. and that is all that matters.

Andrew

[YomasterJon]

Its kind of a mystery.. you can look at the competetive aspect of yoyoing or the non competetive . To me yoyoing is an expresssion yet its a challenge i want to be the best i can be and push the limits even further challenging myself with even harder stuff than before. It's an art, sport, passion to me and i want to throw til the day i die thats how commited i am.
As in what i think is good yoyoing.
Its really all a personal preference people judge styles of yoyoing by what they like.. i personally love takayasu tanaka's style of graceful flowing tricks with a lil bit of speed on the side. Speed is cool and all but i think it can be a bit over rated. I want to be able to actually see what the person is doing. I actually really like yuuki's bac freestyle cause it shows some of his stuff a lil slower and i can relate to it a bit more than the blinding speed. But i still enjoy watching the fast stuff like yuuki and mickey's speed tricks. but on the other hand i don't really
like it when people focus on one aspect of yoyoing such as smoothness... or speed.. i like to see a balance.

[NiteRider]

I believe that if you are a good yoyoer, you are definately passionate about yoyoing.

I believe this with everything. If you are not truely passionate about anything, there is no real way you will exceed, or have ANY fun with anything that you are doing. You'll just be going throug the illusion of having fun.

But dont get passion confused with love. Love is something completely different.

I mean, sometimes i feel like taking the yoyo, and throwing it across the FRICKEN ROOM.

But i dont of course. But thats what passion is. If you practicly hate something, and love something at the same time.

So yea.

Corbin

[David_Ung]

I think it means to inspire others.

[yblocyo]

I think your good, if you enjoy it.

[stringburns]

Frank Zappa said "shut up and play your guitar"

That was Frank Zappa not me

If you like something and give it attention, you get better. To say by how much is difficult, some rubber bands just stretch farther than others. But from years of playing music I know this: it is always better to play something simple well than something which is over your head poorly. That's the time to play that piece slowly and deliberately at home before a performance.

[drewtetz]

as long as you still want to do it you're doing it right.

[stringburns]

I actually really like yuuki's bac freestyle cause it shows some of his stuff a lil slower and i can relate to it a bit more than the blinding speed. But i still enjoy watching the fast stuff like yuuki and mickey's speed tricks. but on the other hand i don't really like it when people focus on one aspect of yoyoing such as smoothness... or speed.. i like to see a balance.

It should always be smooth shouldn't it? You could be really good and not be fast, but if it isn't very smooth, well wouldn't most people tell you to smooth it out? If it isn't too fast, that is fine,  slower can  look relaxed, and the speed looks frenetic and like so much showing off sometimes. My favorite players play slower because they want to I guess.. also my favorite players are probably not  even considered the best players by most peoples standards, but they look relaxed and deliberate.

edit: speed is also probably a byproduct of smoothness and good technique anyway. I know I make a mistake if I sacrifice accuracy for speed because I am not smooth and very accurate in all my tricks at this time.

[K-Schmidt]

I think it means to inspire others.

i think being good is based on innovation. when you get "good" at a certain style, you naturally try to find new and different ways to make the style more interseting. this can even go as far down as for certain tricks. when you can do a trick with utter and complete skill, you may try a different dismount or maneuver that is "better" or invoves more "skill"

look at Jake Bullocks recent "aqueous" video. He took chopsticks, a branch of 1a that we (most of us) know and love, and made an amazing show of innovation in the style.

in short:

i agree with david

[DrSteve]

I think it means to inspire others.

Being able to inspire someone with something as simple as yoyoing is amazing

[YomasterJon]

I actually really like yuuki's bac freestyle cause it shows some of his stuff a lil slower and i can relate to it a bit more than the blinding speed. But i still enjoy watching the fast stuff like yuuki and mickey's speed tricks. but on the other hand i don't really like it when people focus on one aspect of yoyoing such as smoothness... or speed.. i like to see a balance.

It should always be smooth shouldn't it? You could be really good and not be fast, but if it isn't very smooth, well wouldn't most people tell you to smooth it out? If it isn't too fast, that is fine,  slower can  look relaxed, and the speed looks frenetic and like so much showing off sometimes. My favorite players play slower because they want to I guess.. also my favoim saying that rite players are probably not  even considered the best players by most peoples standards, but they look relaxed and deliberate.

edit: speed is also probably a byproduct of smoothness and good technique anyway. I know I make a mistake if I sacrifice accuracy for speed because I am not smooth and very accurate in all my tricks at this time.

eh i think you kinda misunderstood what i said  what i meant was i like to see a balance.. some people are just really fast.. some people are just really smooth and some just slow.. if you look at takayasu tanaka he is really smooth.. he can go fast when he wants to but he also goes slow at times.. and i tihnk thats an awesome package to have all three in one.