If you would have told me just a year ago that at this point I'd be a yoyo fanatic, I may have brushed off the comment and chuckled. I may have, on the other hand, gotten started a month or two before I did.
I yoyo as a past time and way of life. It's something I did as a child and I picked it back up as an adult. Like a lot of others, it's a form of expression, release. I yoyo as I walk my dog, on my cigarette break at work and always get a few throws in before I hop in bed. I've got a yoyo in my pocket right now, and one in the glove compartment of my car in case I leave the house unequipped. I've got a collection, like a painter has a set of brushes. I couldn't imagine asking more of my yoyos than the simple joy they bring me on a daily basis.
I reentered the world of yoyoing with a YYF Velocity, and after a short while I had a small collection of tug- and un-responsive throws. My avid hobby translated into a slight obsession. Everything was getting so complicated...then my joy plateaued. To an extent, yoyoing became something I just did as compared to something I enjoyed. I then purchased a Clean Machine No Jive by Tom Kuhn Yoyos from a well known forum member, JRod.
The day I picked the package up from the post office, I didn't know that everything I knew was about to change. Not just in my hobby, but in my life itself. I strung it straight out of the box and was throwing within 5 minutes or so. That week I picked up a metal yoyo only 3 times, and only once in the following week. I had transitioned from a 1A player that dabbled in 4A to a Fixed Axle player. I was walking the dog while I walked the dog. I was rocking the baby when I met my new niece for the first time. No more combos, no gyro flops...simplistic yoyoing, and I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. Fast forward approximately a month and a half and here I am. With a collection of a different kind. The uniform density of aluminum and bearing assisted spin is a thing of my past.
Stalls, regens and loops are the go-to tricks in my arsenal. I can pick up a $3 Duncan at the corner drugstore and have an afternoon of fun, or I can play my $55 Eh that rides shotgun in my pocket throughout my daily routine. Through this experience I've come to understand the joys of the basic. I'm beginning to apply this philosophy to other matters in my life and find that I am a better man from the path that I've begun.
I owe a lot of thanks to several for displaying what was to initiate this change.
Thanks to JRod, who's commitment to playing a year of fixed axle spurred that first purchase. And who's "simple living" philosophy granted change to my ever-complicated life.
Thanks to Aaron, who gifted me a 1960's Duncan Butterfly that my father and I have bonded over.
Thanks to Ed Haponik, who made the first commitment to fixed axle play. His video Play Simply has been and will continue to be a great inspiration to me, I share it often with others.
As well as a thanks to Spencer Berry, Drew Tetz and everyone else who has contributed to the wealth of knowledge and videos surrounding 0A and fixed axle 1A play on the internet. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Berto for setting up this blog and joining the #fixedaxle15.
Buckle up ladies and gents, it's going to be a year to tell your grand kids about one day when you give them their first Tom Kuhn!
Thanks- Robert (SkinnyBNY on YYE)
- Check out Yoyoexpert.com for more great info and a great community. Any videos by Ed Haponik @kinopah on Instagram or simply message us here on this blog and we'll be more than glad to chat up about cool throws. #playsimple #throwdaily