YoYoNews

YoYo Related News From Around The World

44FESTA Vol. 22 Report

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Time for yet another 44FESTA event report from Mananobu Iwata and the good folks in Yamato city!

Head to the official event report for all the goods, including this edition’s extra-hard mini contest involving YoyoFactory’s wooden Legend yo-yos.

Those OG are evil!

They’d tell you it’s a trapeze contest, and it would be pretty tough already, as those OG Legends are THIN! But it doesn’t stop there. A trapeze contest at 44FESTA means there’s behind the back trapeze, trapeze regeneration, and much more. Nuts!

And the regional contest season may be over in Japan, but at 44FESTA, there are always fresh freestyles for our delight, including this edition’s winner, Yamato Murata!

Be sure to head to the official event report to watch all of the freestyles!

Japan Nationals is approaching fast, but before that, we’ll still have two more 44FESTA editions, on April 16th, and May 7th! Be sure to attend and say hi if you have the chance!

44FESTA vol. 21 Event Report

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We are a bit late on this, but our good friend Masanobu Iwata sends word about this year’s first 44FESTA, held on January 14th!

Go check out the event report for all the goods, and be sure to check this edition’s freestyle contest! The 2017 Japanese League is currently being held all around the country, and several contestants are using every opportunity they can to hone their freestyles!

Watch all the freestyles right here!

The next edition of 44FESTA will be held on March 26th, but be sure to go meet the crew at the JYYL events!

44FESTA vol. 20 Report and Trick Compilation Video

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We’re slightly late on this, but I promise you won’t be disappointed!

44FESTA has reached its 20th edition (!) and in addition to the usual games and freestyle competition, Fist Salud brings us this trick compilation video with some jaw-dropping moves! Check out Yamato Fujiwara’s insane 1A+2A trick! Also a special guest appearance by the living legend and coolest guy ever Shingo Terada!

Be sure to check out the official event report for freestyle results and videos, and a tasty peek at the afterparty snacks!

Rafael Yuri – Yoyoing Around the World

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We got a couple of sweet clips from upcoming player Rafael Yuri. While he’s not a competitive player, he made sure to pack a few yo-yos for his incredibly vast trip around the globe.

Enjoy a little yoyoing in some of the most famous landmarks in China, India, Russia, and beyond!

44FESTA Vol. 19 Report and Players’ Video

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The report for 44FESTA vol. 19 is up!

The 19th installment of 44FESTA was held on September 24th, and despite the unpleasant weather, attendees were unfazed.

Get all the details on the official report, and don’ t forget to check this sweet clip video featuring music from the one and only Ky Zizan!

Having legends like Master Nakamura having a great time with the new school kids is one the things that make us want to attend 44FESTA!

Also, if you’ re in Japan in the coming weeks, 44FESTA will be busy with booths in two separate events: CHIMERA GAMES vol. 2, in Odaiba, and Yamato Industrial Fair in Yamato. Be sure to get all the details from 44FESTA!

44FESTA AP AAA Throwdown

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The 44FESTA crew was in Singapore last month for the 2016 Asia Pacific Yo-yo Championships and they bring us a fresh report from the contest and the AAA Throwdown held at the contest after-party.

Check the link above and find out who won the combo contest and whether it’s possible or not to hit double trapezes on wooden imperial yo-yos!

PROJECT2015 – 44FESTA and 44CLASH at the 2015 World Yo-yo Contest

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Hassy from 44FESTA sends word about the PROJECT2015 wrap-up report.

PROJECT2015 was 44FESTA’s contribution to the 2015 World Yo-yo Contest, held last year in Tokyo.

In addition to helping promote the contest, the crew was also present on the contest floor running side events like the 44CLASH Battle Tournament, and the 44FESTA game booth.

44FESTA leader Masanobu Iwata

44FESTA leader Masanobu Iwata

FESTALAND, the game booth, was super popular among attendees, and featured traditional Eastern and Western carnival games like ring-toss, goldfish (or in this case bouncy-ball) fishing, and shooting range.

last_booth05 last_booth02 last_booth03 last_booth01

Another hugely successful side event was of course the 44CLASH Battle Tournament, featuring some of the most creative and acrobatic yo-yo players from around the globe.

The event was led by Fist Salud’s leader and 44CLASH organizer Dee:

MC Dee

MC Dee

The Battle Tournament was of course hugely popular, and featured names like János Karancz, Tsubasa Onishi, Rei Iwakura, and the eventual winner, Paul Kerbel.

last_battle06 last_battle01 last_battle05 last_battle04

Be sure to check out PROJECT2015’s event report with lots more pictures. The crew worked hard for month to help make Tokyo 2015 the greatest yo-yo contest ever held and it shows!

AP 2016 Clip by Brian Low

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We have another clip video from AP, this time from Brian Low, focusing less on tricks and more on the always fun and energetic atmosphere at AP!

AP 2016 Clip Video by Ewin Ee

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Our good friend Ewin Ee from Malaysia put together a clip video from this year’s Asia Pacific Yo-yo Contest, with lots of great highlights from the contest and all the action off-stage as well!

Enjoy!

AP16 Results: Shion Araya wins 1A, Liu Man Ki beats Shinji Saito in 2A!

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The 2016 Asia Pacific Yo-yo Championships was held last week in Singapore, and with yet another huge player turnout, we got a couple of nice surprises among the results!

1A

While we had the usual group of players among the top finishers in 1A, this year we have a brand new face topping the chart! Shion Araya, who finished second at last year’s World Yo-yo Contest, was the winner, with a solid and fast-paced routine, beating AP veterans Marcus Koh, who finished second and took home the Singapore Champion title, and Ahmad Kharisma, arguably the most consistent of the AP contestants.

Last year’s winner, Iori Yamaki, was absent, while veteran contenders Hiroyuki Suzuki and Christopher Chia finished in 6th and 15th place, respectively.

Check out Shion’s winning freestyle and full results from finals below:

  1. Shion Araya
  2. Marcus Koh
  3. Ahmad Kharisma
  4. Dong Ruida
  5. Toya Kobayashi
  6. Hiroyuki Suzuki
  7. Nuttanan Runagpanich
  8. Amirrul Rahman
  9. Kazuya Murata
  10. Shinya Kido
  11. Garbkamol Limangkul
  12. Arif Ramadhan
  13. Sun Jiahao
  14. Chiang Shan Cheng
  15. Christopher Chia
  16. Hua Phu Nguyen
  17. Ian Loh
  18. Ikumi Kato
  19. Panyapat Ananutamapap
  20. Brandon Vu
  21. Thawhir Iqbal
  22. Hu Ruiheng
  23. Mohd Omarail Hafizzudin
  24. Kuo Tzu Wei

2A

The biggest surprise of the contest was in the 2A division, where veteran Liu Man Ki, from Hong Kong, beat 13-time World Champion Shinji Saito, thanks to a major deduction from the latter that was just enough to switch their final rankings. An impressive feat nonetheless!

  1. Liu Man Ki
  2. Shinji Saito
  3. Arata Imai
  4. Tomoyuki Kaneko
  5. Shuhei Kanai
  6. Yuki Takami
  7. Chan Chun Hay
  8. Wasakorn Lattilertwit
  9. Shunsuke Kawakami
  10. Yoon Jong Ki
  11. Jun Taniguchi
  12. Tran Minh Hieu
  13. Kyle Capiral

3A

3A had fewer big names compared to the other divisions, and Taiichiro Higashi had no trouble securing his second title in a row.

  1. Taiichiro Higashi
  2. Yuuki Kurumisawa
  3. Thawhir Iqbal
  4. Chen Junhao
  5. John Eric Galicha
  6. Teruo Kameya
  7. Kuo Yung Chih
  8. Yu Huiwon
  9. Li Tiancheng
  10. Winalda Aryudha
  11. Shuji Kinoshita
  12. David Lau

4A

Offstring at this year’s AP was nothing short of fantastic! Local legend Lim Aik Hwee took home his fourth AP title 10 years after his first, and after no less than 4 years of competition hiatus!

He was closely followed by Tsubasa Onishi and his usual and always entertaining acrobatics, and Tomohiko Zanka, who got his career’s best result yet!

  1. Lim Aik Hwee
  2. Tsubasa Onishi
  3. Tomohiko Zanka
  4. Kuo Po Han
  5. Jeon Ji Hwan
  6. Sean Hung
  7. Pornpinit Sanprasert
  8. Chan Chun Hin
  9. Dong Ruida
  10. Jeong Yong Chan
  11. Osshe Louis
  12. Nguyen Hoang Tri Hai
  13. Lee Min Woo
  14. Wesley Lim
  15. Mohd Khairsyah
  16. Brandon Vu

5A

Hideo Ishida had no trouble winning the counterweight division and his first AP title. His “modern old-school” 5A is always a pleasure to watch.

  1. Hideo Ishida
  2. Tran Quoc Huy
  3. Ian Loh
  4. Naoya Takeuchi
  5. Kuo Chun Yu
  6. Wayne Xiu
  7. Zhu Sheng Yong
  8. Yuttana Sukhumalchatsombat
  9. Azim Jameel
  10. Teruo Kameya
  11. Chong Yichen
  12. Marcus Koh

Many thanks to organizers of the Asia Pacific Yo-yo Contest for the official videos, and of course for bringing us yet another fantastic event! Check out their YouTube channel for more videos from the contest!

44FESTA Triple A Throwdown at AP and vol. 18 report!

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Great news for all of you attending the Asia Pacific Yo-yo Championships this week in Singapore! The 44FESTA crew will be holding a Triple A Throwdown during the after-party on July 3rd!

The Triple A Throwdown is an almost mythical post-contest tradition, part of the division’s unique culture, with its roots going back over 10 years ago. As a master of both 3A and ducks, we feel that Masanobu Iwata is uniquely suited to host the event for the Asian community!

The crew at 44FESTA was also busy a couple of weeks ago, holding yet another edition of their own event.

44FESTA vol. 18 was held on June 19th, and this time the offstring relay mini-contest had a sweet twist: 403YOYOCLUB in Sendai competed against the 44FESTA teams over Facetime!

Say hello to 403YOYOCLUB!

Say hello to 403YOYOCLUB!

Pictured above is Team Seki, winners of the mini-contest, with the Sendai crew sending their regards.

Master Nakamura does offstring

The freestyle contest also had something new: judges provided commentary and advice for the contestants on how to improve their freestyles. We expect to see some substantial improvement among the 44FESTA freestylers in the coming contests!

And speaking of improvement, the big winner of this edition was surprisingly not one of the several sponsored players competing; instead, Tomoki Toyama took home the trophy finishing ahead of the pack!

Freestyle winner Tomoki Toyama

Freestyle winner Tomoki Toyama

Check out all freestyle videos here.

Remember to attend the Triple A Throwdown this weekend in Singapore, and the upcoming 44FESTA 3rd Anniversary to be held on August 6th!

Rubber Duck turns 3!

Rubber Duck turns 3!

See you next time!

44FESTA vol.17 report

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Great news from Masanobu Iwata and the 44FESTA crew! There’s now an official event report in English for all you duck-lovers by Shintaro Noda!

Check the report right here!

The official reports brings a ton of great photos from the event, as well as first-hand experience from the crew itself.

Read all about the “yo-yo wrestling” mini-contest from the latest event, where the legendary Master Nakamura emerged victorious, as well as the freestyle contest, where Hajime Miura got 3rd… by doing 2A!

Freestyle winner Tomoyuki Kaneno and sOMEThING boss Mickey!

Freestyle winner Tomoyuki Kaneno and sOMEThING boss Mickey!

Many thanks to the 44FESTA crew for another great event and for bringing the rest of us a taste of this fantastic edition!

Our favorite event returns on June 19th, followed by the 3rd anniversary edition on August 6th!

YoyoRecreation presents 44FESTIVAL

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44FESTIVAL, the freestyle contest brought to you by the good folks at 44FESTA, with support from yo-yo clubs from all over Japan, was held on March 20th and 21st, presented by YoyoRecreation.

The contest is not part of the official Japanese contest calendar, and the objective is bringing all those yo-yo clubs and putting together an event organized by players for the players.

Regional contests (44FESTIVAL East and 44FESTIVAL West) were held in October and December last year, respectively, with winners guaranteeing a seed to this event.

Day 1

Prelims were held on the first day, along with performances from DJs Roan (Hiro Irifune) and Koichiro Ueta.

final_dj_all

Judging was in good hands, with very experienced judges taking care of both technical and performance scores.

Tech. judges: Ryosuke Kawamura, Takao Morioka, Naoya Takeuchi, Hiro Irifune

Tech. judges: Ryosuke Kawamura, Takao Morioka, Naoya Takeuchi, Hiro Irifune

Performance judges: Master Kenichi Nakamura, Ryusei Saito, Jun Mikami, Jun Aramaki

Performance judges: Master Kenichi Nakamura, Ryusei Saito, Jun Mikami, Jun Aramaki

In addition to the preliminary round, a trick showcase and the now obligatory after party were held after the freestyles.

Day 2

Finals day was packed, and all eyes were on the competitors, who did not disappoint! The contest is not divided into the usual 1A-5A divisions, and all players compete together instead, which makes for a very interesting and slightly unpredictable event!

A few years ago, such a contest would be heavily biased towards 1A and 2A players, but with all divisions reaching such a high level and maturity, it’s no surprise that the top places were not from either of those! Check the full results below:

  1. Hajime Miura
  2. Hideo Ishida
  3. Yamato Murata
  4. Toru Miyazaki
  5. Takumi Hakamata
  6. Yuuki Nishisako
  7. Yamato Fujiwara
  8. Akira Kato
  9. Daiki Tanaka
  10. Tsubasa Onishi

You can check all of the freestyles on this playlist.

The winner and his sweet prize bag!

The winner and his sweet prize bag!

44FESTIVAL comes to and end, but Masanobu Iwata and the fantastic folks at 44FESTA and the yo-yo clubs from around Japan are already hard at work putting together their next meetings and events. If you’re in Japan, be sure to attend any of those great events and thank the organizers for all the effort and love they put into their local events!

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