Help define terminology for yoyo dictionary

[gracieyoyogirl]

I've noticed lately that terminology is an issue for many people who are newer to the community.  So, I thought it might be good to ask the community to define a few basic terms and to add other terms they believe are basic to the yoing community.

Terms (so far)
smooth
style
flow
vibe
wobble
tuning
tension
throw-hand
non throw-hand
playing styles

[Roodog]

I've always defined them like this:

Wobble -  wobbles are transient, they come and go. When you throw the yoyo, it will wobble, then smooth out then wobble, then smooth out,etc...The best example I can give was a khan tu that I owned or the Shin woo phantoms, both these yoyos wobbled like drunken sailors. Wobbles are cause by poor balancing in the yoyos manufature, design or axle placement.

Vibe-vibes are constant. The yoyo has a vibration when spinning that will not go away at all no matter what. Vibes are usually caused by warping, bending or otherwise damaging the yoyos balance perminantly. Some vibes can be tuned out to become smoother (think Milk 2%) but they never go away 100%.

Tuning- any adjustments made on a yoyo in order to remedy vibe or wobble. Anyhting such as adding putting in a KK, removable rubber weight rings, taping and centering axles or screwing the axle all the way to one side. Stuff like lathing, adding weight rings from another yoyo (putting yyj rings on a plastic yoyo for example) falls outside the scope of tuning and is really modding. Basically tuning is any reversable changes that you make to the setup of your yoyo, mdding would be any perminent changed outside of painting or anoing a yoyo. Id say, yes any yoyo can be tuned to some degree, tuning can be as little as changing string length on a looper to make it loop better.

[crackout]

Wobble:
Throw a sleeper, calm the yoyo with your fingernail. If your nail now always touches the yoyo while spinning, it's totally wobblefree (Meaning the yoyo doesn't move to the sides, it rotates in a perfect way).
That being said: wobble CAN be a constant thing. Most of the yoyos out there wobble in a tiny tiny way.

Vibration:
Throw a sleeper and pinch the string close to the bearing. If you can feel vibration, then the yoyo vibes.


These are my definitions. And I think they are perfect because you can totally describe the spin of a yoyo through these.

[Andrew Robinson]

Also define these...

In yoyo tricks;

Smoothness
Flow
Style

Because they all seem to share the same definition at times.

[BosK]

great idea! I smell a sticky....

Time to let the dog out me thinks

[xfredericox]

Also define these...

In yoyo tricks;

Smoothness
Flow
Style

Because they all seem to share the same definition at times.

they do... at least in my opinion. Maybe there are very slight differences but i think these three terms pretty much mean the same.
But i'll try:
When a player performs a trick in such way that makes the trick not a combination of moves, but flow together into one good-looking combo, you could say it has a nice flow.
When a player does a trick in such manner that it looks like his fingers are guided only by instinct, not thinking about the trick ityself anymore, and fully comprehends and exploits the flow of the trick, then you could say it is a smooth player.
Style is more general, and can be a combination of the previous, but also the players choice of tricks in general. If some player likes e.g.slacks and laceration tricks, you could call that his style.

[krazykongo]

Wobble:
Throw a sleeper, calm the yoyo with your fingernail. If your nail now always touches the yoyo while spinning, it's totally wobblefree (Meaning the yoyo doesn't move to the sides, it rotates in a perfect way).
That being said: wobble CAN be a constant thing. Most of the yoyos out there wobble in a tiny tiny way.

Vibration:
Throw a sleeper and pinch the string close to the bearing. If you can feel vibration, then the yoyo vibes.


These are my definitions. And I think they are perfect because you can totally describe the spin of a yoyo through these.

I agree with crackout for the most part but, when you say wobble is constant and most yos out there wobble, then i disagree with that. Id say that the tiny wobble you are describing most yos to have is... vibration. My take is that all yos will vibrate at different strengths, because of the motion of a spinning bearing, but not all yos wobble.

[kizzyontay52]

flow style and smoothness arent hard to explain

FLOW each trick moves nicely into the next. no jerking forward or backwards, no pauses and a constant speed is maintained. the tricks FLOW (duh) in and out and each element goes nicely into one large combo.

SYLE Not with the flock. Tricks contain an element of YOU and you only. EG mikhail dropping loops and using the pink in semi tech moves..

SMOOTHNESS practically the same as flow, but this can be done at higher speeds and still be smooth, but not flowing.

[lilithbunny]

I would say that:

Wobble: an undesirable condition of a yoyo that, while spinning, has a natural tendency for the opposite sides to shift out of plane with each other, producing a noticeable "wiggle" in the way the yoyo as a whole spins. This condition is not caused by a poor throw and cannot be corrected by stabilizing the yoyo with a finger, etc.

Vibe: a condition of a yoyo that, while spinning, a noticeable vibration is conducted through the string, but the yoyo spins true to the eye (you can't see the yoyo "wobble" at all). This condition can be caused by a myriad of things, from a loose bearing to a bumpy response pad. All yoyos have some vibe to them, some more than others, and some with so little it can't be perceived. Yoyos with almost no vibe are said to be "smooth."

Tuning: Alterations made to the variable setup of a yoyo to reduce vibe. For example, tuning usually involved centering the axle or using loctite or teflon tape to keep it from moving off-center. Changing the bearing, the response pads or removing hubstacks could also be considered measures to "tune" a yoyo.

Smoothness: Tricks are performed with such a rhythm, grace and precision that all elements of the trick seamlessly merge into one. This term can be used to describe a single trick, or all the tricks performed by a player.

Flow: A series of tricks are executed such that each trick blends smoothly with the next and all tricks are executed with a united rhythm. This term describes "combos" and performances involving a long series of tricks.

Style: Those traits of a player's performance that distinguish that player's overall execution. Traits used to describe style may include adjectives like: fast, smooth, laid-back, technical, etc. Also, trick types may also be used to describe a player's style such as whippy, etc.

[Alex G]

I think smoothness and flow go pretty much hand in hand...a perfect example of this would be Spencer Berry, every move has purpose.

[drewtetz]

i would like to disagree with those who said flow is only tricks that blend into each other or are "constant". some songs sound good with a consistent tempo, but  if every song was just relentless music... well, that would be terribly boring. if there was a movie that was nothing but constant action and dialogue, you would feel exhausted by the end of it even if it had smooth transitions. by the same token, a consistently paced yo-yo trick isn't necessarily a "good" yo-yo trick, nor does it have the best flow. i'm glad that mikhail and spencer were pointed out as examples, because they are among the few yo-yoers with intentional pauses in their tricks.

this doesn't mean that every yo-yo trick needs lots of breaks, of course. a yo-yo trick doesn't really "need" anything. i just think that flow is more than being able to transition quickly. i guess it's like the difference between dragonforce and miles davis. and i was never able to get into dragonforce at all.

kind of a shame, but the current contest system mostly rewards fast playing, so a lot of people think that's the only way. for some unconventional flow, check out jon rob, hiroki miyamoto, adam brewster, justin weber and sid.

[Andrew Robinson]

In my own head


I had defined smoothness as "without hesitation"
Flow as "seamless smoothness"
And style as "uniqueness"

Good yoyoing requires all of these.


...In my own head.

[Samad]

This should really be a sticky

[lilithbunny]

i would like to disagree with those who said flow is only tricks that blend into each other or are "constant".

I don't think anyone said (at least in this thread) that "flow" involves performing at the same continuous rhythm or with a "consistent" pace for all elements of a trick. Instead, playing with flow involves playing with a "united" rhythm, such that all elements are performed like notes to the same piece of music (to use your metaphor). Some parts are played "staccato" (like short, choppy chopsticks tricks), some legato (like large, sweeping tricks like suicides), different elements have different lengths of note and sometimes there are rests. It all depends on the visual "song" created by the player. This is why I think players like Mark Montgomery and Yuuki have much better flow than players like Mickey, who do everything at the same fast tempo.

[Clifford_Ball]

I agree with Lilith, Wobble is visible to the eye, vibe cant be seen (at least with a casual look) but can be felt.

Style, flow and smoothness are all variable since its up to the judges to decide wether they think these conditions were met in a freestyle.

Smoothness as applied to a specific yoyo (not a trick or combo of tricks) could be described as the absence of vibe or wobble.

[popdada]

I agree with Lilith, Wobble is visible to the eye, vibe cant be seen (at least with a casual look) but can be felt.

Style, flow and smoothness are all variable since its up to the judges to decide wether they think these conditions were met in a freestyle.

Smoothness as applied to a specific yoyo (not a trick or combo of tricks) could be described as the absence of vibe or wobble.

I agree on the first point,  wobble is something I see...vibe is a feel
As far as smoothness to me it’s how the yoyo moves, is it fast and choppy, or does is float, will it land on the string and look clean even with a bad throw….

[xfredericox]

Smoothness as applied to a specific yoyo (not a trick or combo of tricks) could be described as the absence of vibe or wobble.

couldn't agree more
How many times have i read on the BST. "Its wobbly and has a tiny amount of vibe...but its sooooo smooth"

[Nathan]

For style, flow, and smoothness let me quote Justice Potter Stewart:

"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it"

[gracieyoyogirl]

Please add terms and definitions that are used by the yoing community to help us with our discussions.

[Samad]

For newer people:

Throwhand: The hand that the yoyo string is connected to.
Non-Throwhand: The hand that the string is not connected to.
String Tension: How tight, or loose the string is.