Redux

It is summer. I am not doing much with my life. My Sunsets give me a sad look and demand to be played. They demand a reckoning of what I have been doing with 2a.

I have not looped since the last Kansas State Yo-Yo Contest where I gave a horrible showing of my abilities. This is what all my work has come to. I can do some 2a tricks, but I am nowhere near proficient at it. I have gotten over my fear of competing with 2a, but I always rank near the bottom because I haven't mastered the tricks that I do know. It is time to set new goals and look forward to some healthy practice.

Goals:

• Be able to loop with both hands smoothly for extended periods of time
• Get tangler consistent
• Learn hop the fence
• Learn basic wraps
• Learn to do vertical punches with each hand and then both hands

Today's practice session:

• 100 loops with each hand x 5
• 50 loops with both hands together x 6
• 50 reps of hop the fence with each hand x 5

It's been awhile

How long has it been since I posted here last? One month? Two months? I'm still around and I'm still working on 2a. One of the reasons I hadn't been posting was because nothing was really changing. I could do around five loops with both hands simultaneously.

The dull and boring practice routine has changed now. School has started again, but this year it isn't just a new year it's a new school with all the fun of meeting new friends. How does that play into yo-yoing? I yo-yo in my free time between classes; people see me; my reputation spreads; and people ask to see more. They have really been a great inspiration for me. I don't just have myself for encouragement, but I now have plenty of other people encouraging me and even telling me that I need to learn a new trick each week. (On a side note, I hit myself in the face with an IKYO Agape during school last week.)

People really respect 2a. Both hands doing loops at the same time is an awe inspiring thing to see. As such I have really been focusing on it.

Looping status: Ten loops with both hands and in dire need of more string.

Real 2a

I have officially started doing real 2a. Yes, two hands looping simultaneously. It is a really cool and unique feeling when you get both hands going. Every yo-yoer needs to try this. Unfortunately, the time commitment, I have two months in this, keeps most away from this great style.

I am getting a little bored with just doing inside and outside loops now. I was going to learn Tangler to help cure that boredom, but that brought its own problems. When I tried to do Tangler I was met with a yo-yo to the face. Now I am getting into the 2a pain.

Looping status:

I did around two-hundred loops with each hand by themselves not to long ago.

I can do about five loops with both hands simultaneously.

String

As yo-yoers we all use it. It plays a much larger part in yo-yoing than most of us might think. String has even made me want to quit yo-yoing more than once. In fact, I just took a week-long break, that ended yesterday, from looping. I just couldn't figure it out. No matter what I did I just couldn't loop as well as I used to be able to. I have been making my own string for over a year. When I started this project I made a new type to help with my looping. It turns out that my week-long break from practicing was caused by laziness to make string.

I finally got around to making more string yesterday. What do you know? I did my best looping of all time when I put those new strings on my Sunsets. It made me think of something I told my brother over a year ago when I was struggling with 1a. "I use a string much longer than most yo-yoers. With time that old string gets nasty and starts playing terribly. I don't want to change it, but I get to the point where I want to quit yo-yoing forever because I am so frustrated with my poor performance during practice. Then, I finally give in to changing the string. When I do, everything feels so perfect and I begin to love yo-yoing more than ever."

I have been using the same string on my yo-yos for too long. It has seriously hampered my practice and even made me want to give up. Never again will I let that happen. I have found that my strings start to lose their playability after an hour. This will be my time limit for playing with a single pair of string (instead of waiting for them to break).

Looping status:

-Inside loops are getting easy and more consistent. Fifty don't seem hard .

-I have started working more on outside loops with both hands separate.

-I just noticed that I have completed all my goals in my first post.

Reader poll:

What string do you use for yo-yoing (looping and other styles can be included) and how often do you change your string? Leave your answers in the comments section below.

Almost a Week

It has almost been one week since I started 2A with the 900's. My yoyoing experience has basically turned into consistency training; three basic loops with one hand and then immediately three with the other. Back and forth, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. It has been doing me well so far, my throw is very close to the perfect angle and I no longer feel hindered by my left hand.

2A is incredibly difficult, but I already knew what I was up against when I decided to go for another round this time. Its hard to compare it to anything in yoyos I have done before; when I first started learning 1A it was all about learning new tricks, then it was about making the tricks visually appealing, and then finally finding my own style. The first part of the learning curve was a few days to a week, and then leveling off around 3-4 years. With 2A, the only thing I am focused on is doing "loop the loop". Every time I pick up the yoyos its back to the 1-2-3 grind. I never thought one trick would require so much practice...but then again, I suppose its more than just a trick, its a concept as well. Just like learning trapeze for the first time.

All I know for certain at this point is medical tape is awesome and you should pick up a roll if you want to get into 2A...and that the Loop900 is the new staple for 2A play.

Train hard.

I'm 21

What's up guys, Andrew here. I turned 21 today and what is a better thing to receive in the mail other than a brand new pair of Loop 900's?! Very cool.

So now I have a pair of the finest 2A yoyos money can buy, all I need now is the skill to back it up. I may have a background in single A, but my double A is very weak. I decided just a few short weeks ago that I'll give 2A a serious try and I haven't come too terribly far just yet. I feel like a newbie starting yoyos all over again and I am constantly searching the internet for tutorials and tips.
The constant struggle for that 1 o' clock/11 o' clock position has been the majority of my practice so far; I'll usually nail 10-15 loops before they turn too far sideways and I lose control. I was feeling brave today and tried a tangler and decided seconds afterward that it was a terrible idea.

Can't give up. More updates soon.

A New Author

Yes, you read the title correctly. There is now going to be two authors on this blog. The newest one is none other than Andrew Robinson. He will be blogging along with me. Hopefully this will add some more fun to this blog and a little fraternal rivalry to help push each other along.

Everyone welcome Andrew Robinson. EDIT: Don't just welcome him, wish him a happy birthday. He's 21 today.

Looping status: Not much has changed. I have started doing some real 2a by doing around-the-worlds with one hand and loops with the other. It is quite fun to get both hands moving at the same time. I'm also out of string.