Week 92: Yo-yos
I can sit and watch a good typist type on a manual typewriter and get a soothing physical sensation, not unlike the one I get from watching a good pianist or a good guitarist. I can say the same from a good knitter or any number of activities that involve a precise and rhythmic use of the fingers. I get a feeling that is not just a mental appreciation of a skill, but it’s an actual physical sensation of well-being, almost like a good massage or a soft tickle. It makes me smile from the inside.
When I sleep I tap my fingers. My wife has told me so, as have previous girlfriends for as long as I remember. I’ve never figured out why or how, but I believe I do it during some of the lighter cycles of sleep as some sort of calming device. I also do it when I’m awake almost all the time, also I believe as a calming device. It gets the music going inside my head. And it feels good, my fingers tapping on a table or my leg, or a keyboard. When I type at my best, I do it to a certain rhythm of a certain music going on in my head. And it feels good.
From these it's only a quick jump to the pleasure I get from playing or watching someone play piano or guitar. But if someone had asked me, what about yo-yoing? I would’ve most likely said, no way. What does yo-yoing have to do with any of this? That is until last night when I watched the World Yo-Yo Championships on some TV station.
The experience was as if someone who had seen a skateboarding competition in 1971 and hadn’t seen anyone ride a skateboard since then until they turn the TV and see Tony Hawk on some X games doing a 900 several feet above the rim of a half pipe. Last time I saw anyone compete in any kind of yo-yo contest going around the world or doing a trapeze got applause. So watching how they've developed these tricks in some 30+ years was quite eye-opening. Yo-yoists (yo-yoers?) apparently have been as hard at work as skateboarders, bmxers, etc, developing tricks and techniques that simply put just blew my mind.
Here’s the current champion, Yuuki Spencer doing his winning routine at last year’s world contest.
The whole time I was watching him I was giddy with laughter and cheering like a little kid at his first rock concert. I had that same feeling I get when watching a good pianist or a good typist.
All the contestants were pretty mind blowing to me, even the ones that the commentators claimed were making tons of mistakes or not doing difficult enough tricks, or out of rhythm or any of a number of criticisms. However, Yuuki's routine was obviously a notch above the rest. Still, I am a sucker for flash, so my favorite was not Yuuki, but Hiroyuki Suzuki, the kid with the moosed up hair, the glittering tennis shoes, and the white gloves. Because ultimately I’m a disco kid at heart and this new yo-yoing seemed like just the best disco dancing I've seen in a good while, and they do most of the dancing with their fingers!
Hiroyuki Suzuki came in second place. Here’s his routine.
Both of the kids above were in the 1A competition which means they use one yo-yo with a string attached to it and the other end of the string looped around a finger on one hand. Looking into other categories I found out that there is a two yo-yo category, a category where the yo-yo is not tied to the string (so its almost more like a top), a category where the string is not looped around your finger, and other categories where you use one yo-yo and two strings or two yo-yos and three strings. It’s insane I tell you.
Apparently there are big yo-yo scenes in Japan (of course), Brazil, the Bay Area and Florida. Go figure. The technology has also developed quite a bit, yo-yos now come with ball bearing axles, are made of shaped aluminum and can cost of up to $200. Here’s the Samurai by SuperYo for only $159.99 (a $40.00 discount).
There's even a Yo-Yo Wiki page where you can find info on contests, yo-yoists, tricks, equipment and anything you may want to know about yo-yos. Aren’t you just dying to learn everything there it to learn about it?
Me, I feel like a kid who just saw Pete Townsend doing windmills on his guitar and now wants an electric guitar, too. So I’ve asked for a yo-yo for my upcoming birthday, and who knows maybe I’ll drop the guitar for the disco dancing music of yo-yoing.
When I sleep I tap my fingers. My wife has told me so, as have previous girlfriends for as long as I remember. I’ve never figured out why or how, but I believe I do it during some of the lighter cycles of sleep as some sort of calming device. I also do it when I’m awake almost all the time, also I believe as a calming device. It gets the music going inside my head. And it feels good, my fingers tapping on a table or my leg, or a keyboard. When I type at my best, I do it to a certain rhythm of a certain music going on in my head. And it feels good.
From these it's only a quick jump to the pleasure I get from playing or watching someone play piano or guitar. But if someone had asked me, what about yo-yoing? I would’ve most likely said, no way. What does yo-yoing have to do with any of this? That is until last night when I watched the World Yo-Yo Championships on some TV station.
The experience was as if someone who had seen a skateboarding competition in 1971 and hadn’t seen anyone ride a skateboard since then until they turn the TV and see Tony Hawk on some X games doing a 900 several feet above the rim of a half pipe. Last time I saw anyone compete in any kind of yo-yo contest going around the world or doing a trapeze got applause. So watching how they've developed these tricks in some 30+ years was quite eye-opening. Yo-yoists (yo-yoers?) apparently have been as hard at work as skateboarders, bmxers, etc, developing tricks and techniques that simply put just blew my mind.
Here’s the current champion, Yuuki Spencer doing his winning routine at last year’s world contest.
The whole time I was watching him I was giddy with laughter and cheering like a little kid at his first rock concert. I had that same feeling I get when watching a good pianist or a good typist.
All the contestants were pretty mind blowing to me, even the ones that the commentators claimed were making tons of mistakes or not doing difficult enough tricks, or out of rhythm or any of a number of criticisms. However, Yuuki's routine was obviously a notch above the rest. Still, I am a sucker for flash, so my favorite was not Yuuki, but Hiroyuki Suzuki, the kid with the moosed up hair, the glittering tennis shoes, and the white gloves. Because ultimately I’m a disco kid at heart and this new yo-yoing seemed like just the best disco dancing I've seen in a good while, and they do most of the dancing with their fingers!
Hiroyuki Suzuki came in second place. Here’s his routine.
Both of the kids above were in the 1A competition which means they use one yo-yo with a string attached to it and the other end of the string looped around a finger on one hand. Looking into other categories I found out that there is a two yo-yo category, a category where the yo-yo is not tied to the string (so its almost more like a top), a category where the string is not looped around your finger, and other categories where you use one yo-yo and two strings or two yo-yos and three strings. It’s insane I tell you.
Apparently there are big yo-yo scenes in Japan (of course), Brazil, the Bay Area and Florida. Go figure. The technology has also developed quite a bit, yo-yos now come with ball bearing axles, are made of shaped aluminum and can cost of up to $200. Here’s the Samurai by SuperYo for only $159.99 (a $40.00 discount).
There's even a Yo-Yo Wiki page where you can find info on contests, yo-yoists, tricks, equipment and anything you may want to know about yo-yos. Aren’t you just dying to learn everything there it to learn about it?
Me, I feel like a kid who just saw Pete Townsend doing windmills on his guitar and now wants an electric guitar, too. So I’ve asked for a yo-yo for my upcoming birthday, and who knows maybe I’ll drop the guitar for the disco dancing music of yo-yoing.
8 Comments:
I think you should get into diabolo.
Diabolos are to yo-yos, like rollerblades are to skateboards: gay.
You are already lost.
diabolo is to Diablo as yo-yo is to Yahweh.
you know diablo is spanish for gay, right?
I did not know that. So "El Diablo" is THE Gay, like your king or something?
you know diablo is spanish for gay, right?
This is the funniest thing that will ever be on this blog. We should just stop posting now.
whoa, maybe justin's serious.
Was there music playing during Yuuki's routine? If so it was drowned out so I gave it my own grindcore soundtrack in my head.
Let me tell you - one of my favorite work assignments is having to retype a document word for word. There is a typists 'high' that you achieve when your fingers finally detach from your brain and do all the work and your eyeballs just watch.
I just inherited a Smith Corona two days ago. Man, you just can't beat the sensation of hitting the keys of an electric typewriter - the keys seem to strike your fingers back, and that clack-clack sound, and the smell of engine burning. Mmmm....
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