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Archives for February 2014

Dragons United

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Just got this new video from Ben Gates, showcasing the first wave of today’s players experimenting with Double Dragon, Ky Zizan’s 1A variation that’s been picking up some traction. Starting next week we’ll have some exclusive new tutorials here on YoYoNews, so you can learn Double Dragon too!

It’s 2014. This is the future. Presenting exclusive new Dragon style yo-yo tricks, using two strings on a single yo-yo. Innovative original concepts from Ky Zizan, Anthony Rojas, Bryan Figueroa, Eric Koloski, Michael Kurti, Nate Sutter, Tylor McCallumore, Ryan Gee, Harold Owens III, and many, many more!

Featuring Ky’s Double Dragon (two strings tied to both hands), Tethered Dragon (both strings tied to the throwhand), and also Nate Sutter’s Monodragon (a giant loop of string, not tied to the hand).

YoYoFactory – 80-70-80 Tour

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YoYoFactory 80 70 80 Tour

YoYoFactory is back on tour! The gang has loaded up into the van for another run at traveling across the United States and teaching new players about the art and sport of yoyoing. Here is a list of tour stops…keep an eye on their Facebook page for more details.

  • Feb. 24th – 28th – Nevada City, CA
  • March 1st – California State YoYo Contest – Sacramento, CA
  • March 3rd – 8th – Salt Lake City, UT
  • March 10th – 21st – Denver, CO
  • March 24th – 28th – Kansas City, MO
  • March 31st – April 5th – Chicago, IL

The van rolled out of our base in Phoenix Arizona Feb 19. It wouldn’t be a road trip without some unexpected delays and a new water pump (to replace the one we just replaced!) saw us get to our staging point in SF a little later than expected. The crew onboard, Clint, Joe and Tyler would be de-touring to Seattle for PNWR to collect Ann and get to our first official tour stop, Nevada City California. Where you say? Nevada City Its a small Gold Rush town located 60 miles NE of Sacramento. Why? Why not! The store owners at Mountain Pastimes were super enthusiastic about having us out so here we are!

Interview – Paul Kerbel

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Paul Kerbel - EYYC 2014

Paul Kerbel performing in the 1A Open division at EYYC 2014. Photo by Harald Klemm.

Paul Kerbel is a great player from Mexico who is sponsored by YoYoFactory and was recently crowned the EYYC 2014 1A Open champion. A well-known name in the community, Paul agreed to do an interview and I knew we had to talk his EYYC 2014 win, his beginnings in yoyoing, his upcoming signature yoyo, and more!

Paul, as the recent champion of the 1A Open division at EYYC 2014 and a name that a lot of yoyoers will instantly recognize, how did you start yoyoing in the first place?

When I saw a close friend named Ariel Cohen in school doing the beginner’s tricks I really liked it, so we went to free yoyo classes in Mexico with Isaac Kanarek. Then, I saw modern yoyoing and I liked it very much so I went every weekend for years to take the classes. Now, I still go to the meetings/classes and I teach or I just hang out with my friends of the Mexican Yoyo Association.

That’s so awesome, I think it’s really cool that yoyo clubs and classes are available in so many different places.

Who were some of your favorite players early on?

Hmm, its a huge list of players:

Fash, Paul Han, Yuuki Spencer, Simon Welch, Ando, Hank Freeman, Drew Tetz, Steve Brown, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Shinya Kido, and many many more

What were some of your favorite tricks to learn when you first started?

I don’t really have any favorite tricks, I just like variety in yoyoing.

I totally agree.  When did you decide to compete, and what was your first contest?

Since the beginning, since we had small contests I wanted all of the prizes! But, I started to compete at Mexican Nationals in 2007 where I got 2nd place in Mexico.

How long did it take for you to get good at yoyoing in your opinion?

I became good after the WYYC 2010, with Horizontal Circular Eli Hops.

Those do take a lot of skill, I wish I could do those without looking like I was trying to break something in my house on purpose. Was it through winning contests that you got recognized by YoYoFactory?

I got into YYF very early in my yoyo life, I was 13 in 2008 and I entered on the junior team.  But, I think after that freestyle in 2010 at WYYC in winning 10th place and taking it more serious they recognized me more and entered me in the contest team

Is there anyone you like competing against?

I love competing against everybody!  I wish I could see more freestyles at contests, but I practice too much so I can’t see many of them.

That’s good though, the hard work definitely pays off. Did you expect to take the 1A Open title at EYYC this year?

I knew I could get in the top 3, but after knowing that Tatsuya Fujisaka, Iori Yamaki and Marcus Koh were going I knew it was going to be harder than expected.

Definitely, I would be intimidated to compete in the same contest as any of them. What’s your process like when it comes to making up tricks for your freestyles?

I just chill with some music and yoyo to make up tricks, I try not to be forced to invent new stuff. Then, I choose some good tricks and try to fit them with my freestyle music. I might change songs that I find nice fitting with the tricks, and I even edit the songs and practice until I find ugly parts and start working on them. I edited the song 3 or 4 times before getting on stage at EYYC 2014.

Wow, I think all of that editing and hard work really makes for a great freestyle in the end. Aside from competing, what are some of your other favorite parts about yoyoing?

The yoyo community is great, and competing its amazing. The creativity and coordination I’ve gained is great too.

What are some of your favorite elements to put into tricks?

My favorite elements are those that make the crowd/people just go crazy, so bangers in general!

As a watcher of freestyles, I definitely have to say that those are some if my favorites too.

Steve Brown told me that you have a new signature yoyo coming soon from YoYoFactory, is there anything you can share about that?

Hmmm, I can say I made the first design with a friend in Mexico. It will have a different shape than normal yoyos, but we made that shape that way so it would make horizontal tricks easier. It will be oversized.

That sounds good, I’m personally a big fan of oversized yoyos too. Do you have any advice for any aspiring yoyoers out there?

Perseverance.

And what can we expect to see from you in the future?

From me, I don’t know. I’m aiming for the World Title and I also want to make the first Israeli yoyo contest happen. I’m actually living in Israel right now, so I want the yoyo community here to grow.

Wow, that’s interesting. I hope you can achieve both. Seeing yoyoing being spread to new places is great. Thanks for doing this Paul!

Thank you!

Paul Kerbel

Photo courtesy of YoYoFactory.

Terra Tutorials – Rücksangle by Carlos Braun

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Terra YoYo Tutorials has a new one for us, featuring EYYC 1A Champion, Carlos Braun! This is a great combo, and should keep you busy for a while.

Yoyo used is the Werrd TRE 2K13.

Ryan Gee – Underscore

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Check out the latest nugget of off-kilter yoyoing from Ryan Gee! Lots of yanking going on in this video.

Make your own jokes.

Alec Campbell – CLYW Bonfire

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Alec Campbell once again does his part to make CLYW look damn good in this quick new video.

Yoyo used is the CLYW Bonfire, string is CLYW Chubby Lemon Slackline.

Vashek Kroutil – CZM8

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From Prague, the City of Red Roofs, Czech champion Vashek Kroutil shows off the latest production version of his signature YoYoFactory model, the CZM8.

National YoYo League & Regional Contest Changes

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US National YoYo Contest

The US National YoYo League is getting a bit of an overhaul, and with it are coming some interesting changes!

Full disclosure: I am one of those changes. 

André Boulay and I have joined the National YoYo League as “National Coordinators” and will be working with NYYL Director Thad Winzenz (as well as all NYYL Regional Contest coordinators) to begin making some long-needed improvements to the US contest system.

The first major change is the addition of a new requirement that all players competing in championship divisions at a Regional YoYo Contest MUST be a paid member of the National YoYo League for that year. Membership is $25/year, and that money goes towards helping the NYYL to provide event insurance and organizational support all NYYL events. Members will be eligible for seeding to the US National YoYo Contest, and also have their yearly contest scores tallied towards a national ranking system, with the goal of end-of-year prizes and awards for the top ranking players in the country.

NYYL membership will not be required for any non-seeding divisions, including Amateur Freestyle and Sport Ladder divisions.

NYYL membership is open now, at http://league.nationalyoyo.org/registration, and since the National YoYo League is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, your membership may be considered tax deductible. This membership fee is in addition to any registration fees for individual contests, and is ONLY required for players competing in the 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, and 5A divisions of NYYL Sanctioned Regional events.

More changes are coming, including:

  • Unified registration and music upload for all contests on ONE website
  • More resources for organizers (venue proposals, sponsorship proposals, league-wide sponsors)
  • Better venues for Regional events
  • Consistent rules and judging criteria across all events
  • Better reporting of results

André and I are working with League Director Thad Winzenz on a ton of ideas to make the NYYL a more efficiently run organization that is of far more benefit to both contest organizers and players, and we’re looking forward to working with all sides to find and implement the best way forward.

Thoughts? Sound off in the comments section below!

Colin Beckford – 2014

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A big “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to Colin Beckford, one of the stars of the Cleveland yoyo scene, and a talented up-and-coming player!

Yoyo used is the Barracuda by Duncan Toys.

IM x TAB Presents: U.S. Nationals 2013

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U.S Nationals was a great time, but unfortunately we couldn’t film everything we wanted. Our friend Ben Gates, better known as TAB, threw together the best shots.

Although our releases have been slim to none for the past few months, there’s been a good amount of work put in behind the scenes. From now on, our content will be completely original, sonically and visually.

Hopefully, now you see what we’re getting at.

Daahoud – Tsukasa Takatsu

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One Drop Japan team member and tech 1A revivalist Tsukasa Takatsu recently released this video showcasing the Benchmark O and rounding up his tricks for 2014 thus far. If you’ve caught his tricks on his Instagram and wanted a closer look, this is a great jazz-fueled bucket full of inspiration. We’re huge fans of Tsukasa’s trick construction, especially the maturity of his compositions given his relatively recent arrival on the scene, but more than anything we’re totally astounded at the amount of stuff he puts out. Where does it all come from?

YoYoApartment & Yomega Boys

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Ahmad Kharisma just shared this great video with us, featuring some of his friends from YoYoApartment and Team Yomega. There’s some really nice play in here…enjoy!

Featuring Rifki Syahwidhie, Afif Dhimas, and Rizki Hadiaturrasyid. Yoyos used are the YoYoApartment 9king Super, General Sword, and Yomega Glide.

Monkeyfinger & G-Squared Announce Collaboration

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Monkeyfinger G-Squared Co-Lab YoYo

Monkeyfinger & G-Squared have announced a new collaborative design, named the “Co-Lab”. Based on Monkeyfinger’s Ape-X and G-Squared’s Triton, the Co-Lab will be released first at the 2014 California State YoYo Contest at an early release price of $100. Full production will be in stores shortly after, and will run $110 – $130.

***UPDATE***

Production has been delayed, and these will NOT be available for sale at California States. Here’s the word from Monkeyfinger:

Fans and Friends: While we were boxing up the new Co-Lab project, a manufacturing flaw was found that would shorten product play life. As yo-yoers ourselves, MFD and G2’s would never release a product with a known defect. Our Integrity and commitment to our fans prevents us from passing a flaw’ed yoyo to you, the community. While Chris Allen will have a few prototypes you can try at Cal States, the Co-Lab will not be for sale and the retail run will be delayed as we re-work the production phase.

Monkeyfinger x G-Squared Co-Lab Specs:

Diameter: 56.5mm
Width: 44mm
Gap: 4.25mm
Weight: 67.8 grams
Bearing: Size C (.250 x .500 x .187)
Response: G-Grip Pads

Interview- Ky Zizan

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Ky Zizan

Ky Zizan is an extremely innovative 1A player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who is also the inventor of a fairly new and innovative sub-style of 1A called Double Dragon (one yoyo, two strings). Sponsored by Werrd, Ky is known for his unique slack tricks that certainly inspire me as well as many others to push yoyoing to it’s creative limits. Ky and I talked his beginnings in yoyoing, tricks, Double Dragon and more!

Ky, thanks for doing this! As an extremely underrated player (in my opinion), you’ve been killing it in the 1A scene for a while now. How did you start yoyoing?

I started yoyoing by random chance, funny enough. My first actual yoyo that I started to practice on was a green ProYo. I got it in the summer of 2004 on the day after my cousin’s wedding in New Mexico. My family and I went to this tiny science museuem and in the gift shop were yoyos. I just knew it was what I wanted to do. Also, thank you for the kind words!

How did you start learning tricks back then, and when would you say you started to get good?

Well, first I learned from this book that had all of the classic tricks. From there, I moved to Sector Y and Ken’s World on a String. I would say I started to get the hang of it and make my own stuff about a year and a half/two years in. I made up my first trick around when I was 13.

There are still a goldmine of old elements/tricks on websites like Sector Y! Who were some of your early inspirations in making up tricks?

My biggest inspirations early on were Yuuki Spencer, Johnnie Delvalle, Boyd Seth, Jason Lee, Mark Montgomery, etc. I could list more, but it would be a lot more!

How long would you say it took for you to get good at yoyoing?

I would say I started to get good maybe around ’07, then took a break. Really, I have just started to hit my stride about two years ago.

Nice! A lot of people give you credit for really innovating in 2013. With such a good style, what’s your process like with making up tricks/combos?

I would say that I try to incorporate as many ideas from other things that I enjoy as much as possible. I feel everything is related, its just a matter of figuring out how they connect, and they will connect after a bit of fiddling and tinkering. For instance, a lot of the Double Dragon tricks are based off of scratches due to both having a nature of equilateral movement. Sometimes, I just have an idea out of nowhere and implement that too as well. I think a happy medium of the two is the best method to figuring out a completely new idea, whether it be a trick, song, device etc.

I have to agree with you there, your creativity definitely shows in all of the things you’ve done. Speaking of Double Dragon, how did you come up with that style and what made you decide to bring it onto stage at contests? It’s definitely been well recieved.

It just sorta came to me. One day I just thought, “Man, I could totally make this work!” and this was before I had seen Rei’s AP.  This was probably about 2 and half, three years ago and the only person that I told about it at the time was Boyd (Boyd Seth). He came up with the name. After I started to have some tricks figured out, I knew it was something more than a sub style of tricks or anything like that. It was a completely untouched field that has so much potential for tricks and ideas only possible through dragons. I competed with it because I wanted to show people that the dragons could not be contained by modern competitive standards and I hope that maybe that will change one day.

That’s so awesome, I think different, innovative styles of yoyoing were more common back in the day so it’s really nice to see something new and interesting today.

Ky Zizan

I know you mess around a little with beat production, what are some other things you’re interested in other than yoyoing?

Yeah, this year I’m trying to take my production game to a new level but aside from that I am a DJ.  Recently, I’ve been gearing up to start entering DMCs, which are the competition for turntablists.  I have also been teaching myself piano, and I draw.  That pretty much encompasses all I do these days.

Also, my soundcloud is: soundcloud.com/argiemor

That’s awesome! Any last advice for any aspiring yoyoer out there?

My advice for aspiring yoyoers is to have faith in yourself and to keep pushing yourself.  Always try to go for what seems unattainable.  It will be in your reach sooner than you think.

Thanks Ky!

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