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5 Unbelievably Underrated Midschool Tricks

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Paul Escolar, Jason Lee, Chris Neff, Steve Brown, Jeffrey Longoria, and others at BAC 2000

Paul Escolar, Jason Lee, Chris Neff, Steve Brown, Jeffrey Longoria, and others at BAC 2000

Ah, the era of the “midschool” yoyoing. Videos were more grainy, hair was more spiky, and cargo pants had more than enough pockets to tote around Renegades, Freehand 1s, and Spinfaktors as opposed to the more slim denim options of today. “Midschool” can be defined exactly how it sounds, and in the yoyoing world it generally means the era just before, during, and after the “boom” of 1998. It was an era of innovation in absolutely all facets of yoyoing, including tricks, contests, yoyos, and the integration of the recently popularized internet into the yoyoing world.

The most popular tricks of the midschool era are some of the tricks that you may have seen or learned from André Boulay’s YoYoExpert tutorials. Some significant ones include White Buddha (Paul Escolar), Superman (Jason Lee), The Matrix (Doctor Popular), Spirit Bomb (Jeff Longoria), and Kwyjibo (Taylor Whitley). What some players may not not know is that these tricks were learned by André during the era in which yoyo videos had to be downloaded using the dial-up connections of the time. Similar to the recent explosion of the #trickcircle hashtag today, they were created by and shared with enthusiasts and those truly in the know dedicated many hours to staying current to the tricks and trends of the time.

Back then, there were no GoPro tutorials in which you could see the trick as well as the pair of socks that the yoyoer has chosen to wear for the day. Tricks had to be learned through text, and if you were lucky, text and illustrations along with a short video. If you do enough digging, it is still possible to find some of the old tutorials and learn some old tricks if you have the dedication to do so.

In the years after the boom, the numerous tricks of the era were still discussed and learned on message boards of the time and were still some of the hardest tricks to learn. These days, yoyoers have all they could possibly want as far as learning tricks goes, and the tricks from the midschool era that do not have current tutorials of their own are old memories or completely unheard of by most yoyoers. Therefore, there is a goldmine of old tricks that many yoyoers may have never heard of and would probably break their knuckles attempting on one of the tug-responsive yoyos of the time. Yoyos then had to sleep for a long time, not “catch” the string in the middle of a trick, and still be reliably tug responsive.

Think old midschool tricks can’t hang with the tricks of today? Think again.

5. Orange Tulips (Red Clover II)- Paul Escolar

If you get the chance, head over to the Sector Y Archive and watch some of their videos in chronological order. Not only can you see yoyoing itself advance, but you can also see the members of the Spindox Yoyo Club push great concepts further and further with each video. At the release of their “Wish We Were at Worlds” clip video in 2001, the Spindox members were at the top of their game.

The most widely-recognized trick from “Wish We Were at Worlds” is probably Breath, by Spencer Berry. Another elusive-but-amazing trick in the video is Paul Escolar’s sequel to his his slightly-less-elusive trick, Red Clover. Red Clover II, otherwise known as Orange Tulips, combines interesting and still widely unexplored Houdini Mount concepts with a a Wrist Mount ending that makes for a fairly fluid, and pretty hard, trick. Check the video above for the trick, starting at 1:58.

The first move of Orange Tulips is taken from Red Clover, but after that, Orange Tulips makes it’s own identity and features a pop through a triangle string segment that is pretty difficult when first attempting the trick. The pop is necessary to complete the trick properly, and you’ll only know it’s done right when the yoyo lands and creates a Wrist Mount-esque segment that is situated on the fingers as opposed to the wrist. The end of the trick basically does the same thing as the ending of Superman by Jason Lee but in a significantly different way. An extra kink through the Wrist Mount is undone, and as the yoyo lands in a regular Wrist Mount, a normal dismount followed by a return to the hand completes the trick.

The trick is still difficult, and when doing it you can see that Paul was clearly connecting trick segments to do-and-undo each other. Even when performing the trick on a modern, unresponsive yoyo it has a midschool feel and completing it successfully definitely feels great.

The video of Orange Tulips in “Wish We Were at Worlds” is literally the only video of Orange Tulips that is currently online. While obscure, it is definitely underrated in my opinion and is honestly a great trick. Learning and performing it on a modern, unresponsive yoyo proves this, and it’s a shame that it hasn’t received more recognition within the community (A Cabin Tutorial, maybe?).

4. 8 Diagram Pole- SAGE

Coming to prominence around 2001, Black Hops is a trick that is mainly based around “hop” concepts that still remains somewhat relevant with players. SAGE (Albert Gonzales, inventor of the Iron Whip.), a yoyoer from the East Coast who was also doing grinds and slacks early in their creation, created a similar but significantly more difficult trick with 8 Diagram Pole in 2001.

I have yet to learn 8 Diagram Pole, but those that have speak of it’s difficulty. It doesn’t appear that it would be any easier on an unresponsive yoyo, but anyone that has thrown responsive and has seen the trick can most likely see it’s difficulty during the time it was created.

The concept behind the hops are somewhat similar to Spencer Berry’s “Insta-Mounts” (which Adam Brewster has been creating and sharing via #trickcircle lately) and despite lacking the flashiness and fluidity of today’s popular tricks, 8 Diagram Pole definitely deserves a place on this list as well as a place in trick history. SAGE has not been involved in yoyoing since the early 2000’s but his contributions undoubtedly left a mark on yoyoing.

3. TimeTwister- Gabriel Lozano

TimeTwister is probably the least underrated trick on this list, but it is still fairly underrated in my opinion and not necessarily known as well as some other tricks from the era. While it does have some “modern” exposure, TimeTwister is still a trick that some players may have never heard of or may have forgotten about. I actually learned TimeTwister early in my yoyoing career, and it’s remained one of my favorite tricks since.

In watching a lot of of old Spindox videos, you can see Citadel (Gabriel Lozano) playing around with a lot of concepts that are very similar to the ones in TimeTwister and you can also eventually see him throw TimeTwister itself, too. Everybody had their own elements to mess with back then, and Gabe chose twisty 1.5 mount concepts, rolls, and a sort of flowy trick that’s different than a lot of other stuff from it’s time and stuff from now as well.

In a non-cynical way, my favorite part of TimeTwister is the end. The part at the end in which you manually untwist the strings that you twisted a step prior really blew my mind when I first started yoyoing. The sideways barrel roll/hug movements within the trapeze towards the end were especially tricky for me to hit when first learning the trick too.

Pulling off TimeTwister feels really good, even on a newer yoyo. It’s a pretty long trick, and remembering all of the moves and doing them just right is definitely impressive.

2. Water Bomb- Steve Brown

I’m pretty sure that innovative frontstyle stuff was just about as common, if not a little more common, in the midschool era as it is today. Steve Brown had this frontstyle mount called the H20 Mount which was basically a Split Bottom Mount with an extra segment that allowed a little more creativity within frontstyle yoyoing. Water Bomb is my personal favorite that utilizes the mount, but another trick of Steve’s that utilizes the mount and is equally badass is Chinese Water Torture. Another yoyoer, throwing under the alias “Spiky Haired Raver” had a trick called Spring Water that utilized the mount as well.

Water Bomb definitely makes use of the extra segment within the H20 Mount, along with some rolls and boings to complete the trick. I just really like the midschool-esque fluidity of it all. It may sound obsessive, but I really think it was a combination of the yoyos, concepts being explored, and general climate of the late 90’s/early 2000’s that made for some really, really great yoyoing despite being outdated today.

I first saw Steve throw Water Bomb in the How to be a Player video by Duncan, and was impressed because at the time I had just learned Split the Atom and Mach 5. It really impressed me at the time, and it would still probably be a great challenge to learn today if a proper tutorial existed for the trick.

1. Havoc- Spencer Berry

It was genuinely hard to think of the #1 trick for this list. I didn’t necessarily write it in any particular order, but in any case “#1” should typically be exciting in some way or another. Well, what’s more exciting than a trick called “Havoc”, right?

It’s hard to believe that Spencer Berry invented in this trick in 2001. In my interview with Spencer, he said that Havoc was all about pushing complexity and he definitely did it with this trick. I first saw Havoc quite some time ago, and couldn’t even begin to get a grip on how to do it. Even now that I can do it quite well, it does not feel like any other yoyo trick that I’ve done before.

In my opinion, Havoc is the perfect trick technically, visually, and difficulty wise. Not only is it hard to learn, but it also hard to actually smooth out because all of the moves are so obscure that even a seasoned yoyoer will have trouble figuring them out at first. It follows the great tradition with it’s string segments doing-and-undoing themselves and lots of subtle movements being necessary to do in order for the trick to be performed properly.

Havoc is 1/3 of Spencer Berry’s Destruction trilogy of tricks (alongside Enigma and Cataclysm) and the reason that I chose Havoc out of the 3 is because it’s simply the most different and most difficult in my opinion. Luckily, Chuck over at CLYW dropped a Cabin Tutorial for it last year and if you’re interested in learning it, doing so is only a click away!

Hopefully you enjoyed this look at some obscure yoyo tricks! I actually didn’t start yoyoing seriously until 2011, but in the amount of time that I have been yoyoing I’ve definitely enjoyed learning about the vast history of our great hobby. Shoutout to Gabe and Spencer for letting me use their old videos, and shoutout to Steve for hopefully not feeling really old after reading this! If you have any stories, tricks, or anything to share feel free to email me at: throwplaza@gmail.com!

 

A Primer on Technical YoYoing

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The deeper one gets into yo-yoing, the more one is exposed to all the wonderful jargon and nebulous concepts that its enthusiasts have come up with. One of the trickiest bits of vocabulary to define has always been “technical yo-yoing”: most players know it when they see it, other players can give you a vague definition, and non-players will look at it and walk away shaking their heads.

This particular style of tricks is known for its intense complexity, its focus on slight details & variations in tricks, and its heightened level of difficulty. Yo-yo tricks exploded in growth with the introduction of the bearing, and it could be argued that the roots of technical play were established with Steve Brown, Neff, and the SpinDox during the Renegade era. However, “tech” as we know it would really hit its stride in 2003 with Johnnie DelValle’s groundbreaking championship freestyle.

The focus on intricate string play and long, risky combos was a huge paradigm shift. Though the Eli Hop and other showy choreographic moves have found their way back into competitive play, technical play shows no signs of leaving. If anything, the championship title awarded to Hungarian tech wizard Janos Karancz a decade after JD’s victory seems to indicate a new golden age of tech.

I thought it would be best to turn to the pros to discuss some of the core tenets of technical trick construction, and am proud to feature well-respected trick theorists Mikhail, Rafael, Isaac, Spencer, Gabe, and Jacob. Let’s hear about it.

How would you define “technical yo-yoing”?

 

Mikhail Tulabut (Team YoYoJam): “The simplest way I can define it is a trick/combo whose string geometry is more complicated and dimensional than Double or Nothing. It’s like holding up a flat piece of paper compared to holding up a paper airplane.”

Rafael Matsunaga (Duncan Crew): “For me, if I call something ‘technical’, I’m mostly thinking about complexity of tricks. Even though some simpler concepts may require more technical expertise and are actually harder than what I call technical, I’m probably more inclined to use technical to describe trick with multiple string folds and hard-to-describe mounts and moves.”

Jacob “Elephark” Jensen (Werrd): “I think of modern yoyoing as the sort of yoyoing that focuses primarily on creation and sharing ideas, as opposed to classical yoyoing, which gives importance to mastering a set of tricks and/or performing for the sake of selling yoyos.

I think of technical yoyoing as the facet of modern yoyoing that focuses on concepts and elements for their own sake, or the sake of the trick. The science of yoyo tricks, if you will. … For me, I think the term ‘tech yoyoer’ is most accurately descriptive of a player who studies and preferably attempts to expand the library of trick concepts available to the community. Kind of like a scientist. Okay, exactly like a scientist. And there’s theoretical science and there’s practical science, and each scientist gets to choose how many scoops of each to put on his plate at lunchtime.“

Isaac Sams (Duncan Crew, Innovation Movement): “Technical yoyoing: sequencing that is too complex to fully follow without learning it.”

Spencer Berry: “I usually lump technical yo-yoing into most of the tricks that non-yoyoers may be amazed by, but probably can’t tell apart. Which is a huge lump! To a yoyoer, I could probably even get more specific: tech tricks are those that explore holds beyond the building blocks. Sometimes tech tricks explore new concepts or combine multiple simpler concepts into single motions, but more often than that they are the product of kids seeking originality while they bounce from string to string, knot to knot. If the trick is complicated, it is easier to be unique, right? I often hear tech and flow pitted against each other – but a trick can easily have both or neither and of course grades in between.”

What, in your opinion, makes a trick or combo “good”?

David Ung (Team Yoyofactory): “I think a good trick is one that requires every motion. Extraneous movements in tricks and combos really bother me (in most cases. Some people have really interesting “useless” moves that I think are fantastic). Good tricks generally have great pacing, too. I don’t know exactly how to explain/define good trick pacing… but just look at Yuuki or Charles to get a good idea. There is always enough original material/moves sprinkled throughout the trick to keep you entertained the entire time.”

Gabe Lozano (Duncan Crew, Sector-Y): “To me, a trick or combo should follow a general theme. This can be done in several ways, but my personal favorite is taking a move or hold, and then finding all the neat transitions in and out of that move/hold, and then tying it all together in a way that flows nicely. That way, all the pieces fit together and feel cohesive.”

Mikhail: “1. Dynamics. There should be a rhythm to it. Kind of like the 3 Act structure of story-telling. Setup (Mount), Confrontation (String hits and maneuvers), and Resolution (Banger/Reveal/dismount).

2. Flow. Things should always be moving and feel natural. When I’m working on a trick, I like to feel and “listen” to where the yo-yo and my hands want to go. It obvious when I try a movement and the yo-yo just won’t have it.

3. Surprise/Originality. Natural movement and flow is nice, but I also like to see movements/slack/mounts that come out of nowhere and haven’t been done to death.”

Rafael: “I believe good combos are like good music. Everybody likes a different style, but some characteristics are universal to good combos/music. First of all, a good combo must be well executed, otherwise, it’s the same as a fantastic sheet music being played by a mediocre musician. Then it comes to composition itself. If the elements follow a certain pattern or just go well together, that’s a nice combo. I know that’s a bit vague, but like music, once you listen to a good song or see a good combo, you know it. And just like music, some styles and elements end up becoming a fad and nobody cares any longer, even if people keep doing it (like dubstep, or I guess trap these days)”

Spencer: “I’d say most of MY favorite tricks that I CAN do have sensations to them. Either a motion that just fits right or a theme that carries the yoyo through some sort of story (not necessarily literal, but motions that build, climax, release, arc, etc).

As far as tricks I enjoy watching, my favorites are usually exemplary examples of someone’s personality made yoyo trick. I think Rojas and Haycock are perfect modern examples of this – watching them play they are unmistakeable – often imitated – but never faked. There is a sense of identity – suddenly holds, moves, even tricks you’ve maybe seen before become infused with a fresh personality.

The real challenge, I find, is making a trick sufficiently simple for me to both want to learn it and enjoy doing it. In the past i was drawn to long, complicated, proprietary tricks. Because I knew they were mine and I felt like it was new territory. But I’ve definitely shifted into a seek the simplicity phase where it is equally challenging to find something that is simple but fresh and fun to do.“

Isaac: “Since the ‘modern’ style of yoyoing is so young, we have to take inspiration from the non-yoyo world to make any sense of what we’re doing. Some of today’s best tricks are made like this, and the reason why they’re the best is because everyone can make the connection, not just yoyoers. A good combo has no borders.

Another thing to take note of is utilizing all your possible zones. A really long combo done in front of the player is boring, it usually doesn’t catch enough attention. A well-scoring combo will consist of tech placed inside-arm, outside-arm, overhead, over arm—basically, cover as much area as you can.”

What pitfalls should be avoided during combo construction?

Gabe: “I personally dislike combos that are disorganized. If you’re throwing in hops, boings, stalls, grinds, arms, etc. into one combo, it’s just a disorganized mess. Even if every element is cool, when you throw them all together, your elements don’t get the recognition they deserve because they’re surrounded by too many other moves that don’t complement it. The trick then becomes forgettable. Good tricks are memorable, and having a strong theme and focus is key.”

Isaac: “What kills a combo for me is when a player stays in a mount for a while without accelerating through the trick. What I love about the Russian style is that their combos only consist of ridiculous transitions, so you can barely tell when they are in a mount before they’re already out.”

Rafael: “A trick is boring/bad if no effort is put into it. If you’re just taking existing elements from two popular combos and putting them together, there’s no effort in creativity. If you come up with a new hold but can do nothing with it, there is no effort in construction.

Overusing the music metaphor again, if you’re just doing other people’s combos, you’re that dude with a guitar playing covers on the beach. People may enjoy it, even give you props for playing their favorite song, but when Tom Morello parks across the street you’ll be as good as dead. Good tricks and combos come from trick artists.”

Mikhail: “Never-ending combos. I attribute this to ‘contest yo-yoing.’ Yo-yos spin longer, and regens save time to get more points, but holy crap when a trick should obviously end at a trapeze, and they just regen out of it to regen out again it feels like a run-on sentence that should have clearly ended a while ago but it just didn’t and kept going because it could and it didn’t even use a comma to break up the thought and just started a whole new thought because it was easier to just keep going even though the statement was clearly over and came to a natural and fitting end but nah never mind let’s just keep going for a little bit because I can and then an abrupt. End.”

Spencer: “I don’t want to say that any tricks are bad, I think if someone came up with it and it brings them joy then it is a success.

If a trick or combo is boring it is probably having trouble distinguishing itself. With the abundance of tricks that exist now, it is very easy to create something that may be technically new, but has nothing fresh about it. Which is strange to say—because people make fresh tricks out of old holds, old moves, old tricks all the time—but there is also a lot of new tricks that don’t seem fresh because they don’t assert themselves to anything beyond a series of moves someone put together. Does that make any sense?”

Technical yo-yoing may rightly be regarded as one of the most unapproachable styles, but persistent practice and mindful trick design can also make it one of the most impressive. This is by no means a complete summary of the wide world of tech, but hopefully is enough to inspire you to try some kink mounts.

Interview- Spencer Berry

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Spencer Berry

Photo courtesy of Elias Berry

In modern yoyoing, few can say that they’ve created as many memorable tricks as Spencer Berry. His name is synonymous with the undeniable classics Rancid Milk and Breath, as well as others such as Enigma, Havoc, and Wonder Woman. Spencer was a member of the Duncan Crew until 2008. These days, he is currently standing behind his own yoyo, the Walter. Spencer can also be found on 365yoyotricks.com every Wednesday in 2013, showing off another one of his tricks for an entire year. Spencer was kind enough to agree to do an interview for my site, and immediately I knew I had to dive into his tricks, how he got his start in yoyoing, and more.

Spencer, first and foremost I’d like to say thanks for taking the time to do an interview! I’d like to touch base on some stuff that I’ve personally always been curious about. You’ve been involved in yoyoing for over a decade, but how did you get your start?

Matt, thanks for showing some interest.

My introduction to yoyoing was sort of slow and took place over a few years.  I was given a Proyo II one year for xmas when I was pretty young, but never really learned any tricks. A few years later, during the boom, I got excited about the prospect of a ball bearing yoyo and paid something ridiculous ($30?) for a Raider.  But I never learned more than Rock the Cradle and One Handed Star.  And quickly lost interest. In 8th grade (1998/99), as a sort of joke, I chose yoyos as the topic for a huge research paper/presentation. Mostly I presented on the history of the yoyo and I was not necessarily learning tricks at that point. It wasn’t until 2000 that the perfect storm hit and I actually became yoyo obsessed.  That year a few elements combined:

  • I lost my older brother in late ’99, so I was full of grief.  I craved a hobby to distract from the pain of loss and to ease me through the drastic transition my family had to go through.
  • My literature class had a twelfth night secret santa type gift give away and a girl bought me an X-Brain (because she remembered my presentation the year prior).
  • My mother worked for a gift store and was given a copy of Kickin’ Tricks by SuperYo on VHS as a product demo.  She gave me the tape and it inspired me.

Those elements combined in January of 2000 and by the time I learned Braintwister, there was no turning back.  I would sit in my room, practice yoyo tricks while watching Kickin’ Tricks and using AIM/ICQ/IRC to chat with yoyo folks.  I probably averaged 6-8 hrs/day of practice in 2000.

Wow, I kind of began in a similar way. I picked up a Duncan Imperial somewhere when I was young, but could never use it. I got a knot in the string, and my Grandma cut the string off. She tied the string back on after getting the knot out rather than looping it, which caused the yoyo to come back automatically. I had no idea of course, and thought I was progressing rather quickly.

I put the yoyo down too after a while though, but got a FHZ for Christmas a couple of years later. I also lost interest though, and it wasn’t until 8th grade when a friend brought a yoyo to school that I remembered the few tricks I had learned on my FHZ (Sleeper, Walk the Dog, Eiffel Tower). and from that day on it was a wrap, and I’ve been yoyoing since. It seems like everyone has their own unique story with how they became involved with a yoyo, and I feel that it’s not just something you do but something that draws you in and really does become an obsession.

I’ve watched all of the Spindox videos from the early 2000’s, granted they were way before my time. How did you initially get involved in Spindox, and what was your early approach to making up tricks? Some of the early tricks I’ve seen from you include Grotty and Raging Demon, which if I’m not mistaken were before Rancid Milk (correct me if I’m wrong)

You must be young if you had a FHZ in 8th grade!!  I remember testing the original Freehand in the “FH dark ages” before bandai bought the FHZ mold. (Editor’s Note: Bandai didn’t buy the mold, the original Freehand mold broke. Bandai requested the old shape, and Duncan Toys created a new mold to meet their demand.)

I started getting really into yoyoing at the beginning of 2000 and spent a lot of time on the internet reading about it.  The first Spindox video by Gabe (02-05-00) was mindblowing at the time.  It took me a few months to get the courage and to talk my parents into driving me out, but my first Spindox was April 8th 2000.  I was just a kid and showed up.  And I was welcomed with open arms.  David Capurro (Cappy) even tried to talk my little brother (he was 9 at the time) into staying.  He asked him what trick he’d have to show him to stay. And he told him Kamikaze.  So Cappy called Paul Escolar over to show him.  It actually only took him a few tries to hit it.  I was in complete awe. I lived about 90 minutes away from Spindox but I was very lucky to have supportive parents who would drive me to club most months.  So there I met Gary, Jeff, Gabe, Paul, Cappy, and everyone else.  I’d just soak in all their madness and awesomeness and then go home and practice every waking moment until the next meet.

I think my first full length trick was actually Liquidizer or Ragnarok (though I’m not sure I ever had an ending for Ragnarok).  Liquidizer is in the X Games video.  The only inspiration for that was the under the arm suicide – the rest of the trick was mostly setup. Ragnarok on the other hand was more original – it was me trying to come up with complex new holds.  So very very techy but not a lot of smoothness built in.  In the beginning I was definitely more of a tech head than I am today.  And by that I mean really obsessed with numbers games, complex/unique holds, and the idea of taking a super complex hold and throwing it all up in the air to have it land in a trapeze.  Which was a common ending for a lot of my tricks to come. Raging demon was all about using your thumbs – but wasn’t too lush beyond that. Grotty I actually made up the day I shot it – so technically Rancid Milk came before.  I just liked the mount, but again, not a trick that stuck with me or I take much pride in. Rancid Milk was really the first trick I got a reaction from.  It was completely designed as a triple or nothing version of Kamikaze with more tech.  It start in a triple, has a kamikaze hop, then adds around the arm stuff, and then layers more complexity around each piece of kamikaze (at least the first half – no magic drop to be seen). But to address your broader question regarding my early approach to making tricks: Pre-Rancid Milk, it was usually a singular move that I built the trick around.  Rancid Milk and beyond I started to get much more into having a concept to explore:

  • Rancid Milk was Kamikaze extreme
  • Engima was all upside down
  • Cataclysm was all about plucks
  • Havoc about motion and growing complexity
  • Wonder Woman was an inverse Superman

You get the idea.

Then of course you have the laceration, which was just a lucky discovery one late night while trying to land a suicide on my doorknob. So there was definitely a growing order to my tricks.  I think right around the time Rancid Milk came out I saw a lot more tech tricks in videos across the world.  The Spindox helped me realize the value of smoothness and flow.  They influenced my tricks slowly but surely and I think my tricks became more potent because of their advice and influence

Spencer Berry

Yes! I actually turn 17 in February. Wow, that’s interesting. It had to be cool to meet all of the guys from the Kickin’ Tricks video in person. I definitely know what you mean about being a “tech head”, and how there were more tech tricks in videos around the time Rancid Milk came out. That sort of slow, techy, style was getting popular around 2001 and I’ve seen guys like Kalani Bergdorf doing it in videos from the era. I feel that it would be hard NOT to evolve in someway while hanging around the guys who made up classics like Seasick, White Buddha, Kamikaze, and Timetwister. Personally, I’d have to say that my favorite Spindox video is definitely “Wish We Were At Worlds”. Of course, that’s where Breath first appeared which is in my opinion one of the greatest tricks ever invented. I’ve heard that Breath was invented as pieces of other tricks that you were working on put together, is that true? The other tricks in the Breath series are Breeze and Inhale, right? I recently saw the 365yoyotricks.com video for Inhale, and it blew me away (heh). I think Breath is an amazing trick for being invented in 2001.

Breath was definitely an AHA trick for me.  It wasn’t really pieces of other tricks – once I had the first “breath” move – the rest of the trick followed pretty quickly.  But getting it all together and smooth took quite a while. I was learning White Buddha 2 during BAC of 2001 (I believe this was when Paul had shown me it, but it wasn’t yet “released”). There is that flip to plane bend that is the main new component of white buddha 2.  Well, one time, the loop fell off my left hand, but I had a strong pinch on my right thumb and the loop just sort of hung there.  And I cocked my head to one side and whipped the loop around.  From that the rest of Breath was born.  I see a lot of people trying to make Breath work with a traditional, thumb+index pinch.  To me that makes it look very forced and amateurish.  It is the “thumb butt pinch” that makes breath what it is.  I always hated pinched because they killed the flow of most tricks and made them look much more awkward.  So when I found the thumb butt pinch, I was really excited to put it into a trick.

Breeze is the sequel to Breath.  It is like breath but with doubled variations.  I was a bit bummed about Breeze because Gabe filmed it for Project Sector Y.  But before that project came out, JD came out with his grind videos.  And I thought they were very campy and I know the “palm tap” in breeze would be categorized alongside them.  Breeze sort of quietly came out years later but I don’t think it was a very popular trick.

Inhale was more of a sister trick.  It isn’t really a full length trick – it doesn’t really have a strong theme like breath/breeze (or the third trick which could be done one day).  But it has that crazy loop knot thing at the end.  So I put it in the same family but not really part of the linear trilogy.

Spencer Berry Debt In Knowledge

I totally agree about the “pinch” thing with Breath. I’ve hit that trick before, but it was more or less luck and it wasn’t smooth. I learned it from an old text description which described using your thumb for the pinch, and I know exactly what you mean. Everybody that I’ve seen do it besides you uses their thumb and index finger, which leads to tilting the hand in a weird way and does look awkward. JD is definitely sick and one of my favorite yoyoers, but I totally agree with you as far as being categorized with him goes. Breeze was probably created around the same time as JD’s first video, if not slightly before. Inhale is literally insane and I’d probably have to put it up there on my list of favorites despite only discovering it lately. It also appeared in your “Debt in Knowledge” video, what’s the story behind that? I know that video got some harsh and undeserved criticism, but I think from a trick standpoint it’s top notch.

If you’ve hit Breath, it was practice, not luck.  So nice job.

I didn’t mean to say anything mean about being associated with JD.  I think he is an awesome player and his skill level in those days was leagues more technically advanced than mine.  I felt like the end to Breeze was more about the direction change than the skin contact, so it was more a feeling of it being associated with a concept that was very different.  Not unlike the way that Laceration are used as a label for an entire genre or tricks, but the original idea was very specific.

As far as Debt in Knowledge goes, I’ve heard before that it received a lot of negativity – but I don’t remember that affecting me much.  For some reason when I wasn’t making videos (2005-2007?  Maybe earlier) – people thought I had stopped throwing.  Debt was asked for by a lot of people (especially Adam Brewster), who had kept in touch and wanted to see what I was into.  So that is what sparked it.

I was also in film school.  So I was hearing a lot about music rights issues and and seeing videos pulled off of youtube, so I wanted to avoid using a copyrighted soundtrack.  I also was in a film sound class so I had a crazy collection of weird sound effects I had gathered with my group.  So that is where released soundtrack came from.  But I had originally edited the video to radiohead’s “15 Steps.” You can see that edit on Sector Y.

As far as the style of the film – I intentionally didn’t show any throws or catches.  This is a similar style to fidget.  The idea there was to avoid fluff.  There were a lot of yoyo videos at the time that had sloppy unresponsive catches, tons of mistakes left in the video, and all kinds of others time wasters that would inflate a video with two or three good tricks into a 5 minute production.

The choice to only bookend the video with full tricks came because I wasn’t making full tricks very often.  I was throwing long combos back then and so instead of having a few long throws I just decided to capture the components I liked most.  And then cutting them back to back.  I can see how that editing style would annoy viewers though.

I also wanted to make a point of minimalist lighting.  Lighting is often terrible in yoyo videos, especially when you can’t make out the string.  Debt was shot with my normal lights on, plus a single open bulb at my feet with some tin foil to cut it off my body.  That is why the string is sharp.  I wanted to show people they could make their videos look crisp with minimal equipment.  Plus the backdrop was an organized mess to sort of prove that lighting could make a yoyo video work even if you have white walls and clutter in frame.

There are also a couple weird easter egg-ish things I put into the video.  That image in the lower left behind my leg (and sometimes on my leg/crotch) is from a slide film projector I had laying around, intended to add some texture.  And in the final shot, during Shepherd, I tinkered with the green triangle sticker on the left side of the frame.  You can see it slowly go from de-saturated to glowing green.

And Shepherd was super sloppy, I know.

Overall, Debt was made very deliberately but not conventionally.  That was what made it worth doing to me: to try new things and to counter the yoyo climate with a video that I was proud of. Plus it is only 80 seconds!

Spencer Berry Walter

I honestly think that you and JD both have certain things you do that are very cool, but especially cool when you really understand what’s going on. That’s all honestly so cool. Going to film school had to give a huge advantage with yoyo videos. Yoyo videos are probably a small blip on the map as far as film goes, but it would be cool to know more. I always liked Debt in Knowledge because it looked like it could have been filmed in my house, but looks good.

All of the things you said make sense, but I wouldn’t have thought of them. I totally understand the “deliberately but not conventionally” thing. I personally think the yoyo world needs more of that, now even more than in 2007. On a side note, what yoyo were you using in that? Is it a FHZ?

Not long ago, you released The Walter, a tug-responsive yoyo that I’ve seen you pull off some really great stuff with on 365yoyotricks.com. Any more yoyos ever coming, and any other things we can expect to see from you soon? I personally think a sequel to Debt in Knowledge would be great.

I think the Debt yoyo is technically a Hyper Freehand.  Love that yoyo…

I’m glad you got the feeling that Debt was both attainable and looked good.

Walter has been a labor of love and took a very long time to complete.  Walter fit a very definite gap in modern yoyos for me:  responsive slimline that is ultra durable.  The ultimate pocket yoyo.  Now that I’ve finally completed the project, I do want to make more yoyos, but I am having to really think about what hole my next yoyo is going to fill.

Right now I have a full size responsive yoyo in the works named Theodore.  I hope to really take it to the next level in terms of finish and packaging.  The shape is somewhere between a Gnarwhal & the YWET (two of my favorite throws ever).  Theodore will probably be more expensive than Walter, partially because of the yoyo materials, but mostly because I am going to have a truly exquisite custom case made for each Theodore.  I hope I’ll have a product for sale before fall 2014, but I won’t rush him.

Oh yeah, I love Hyper Freehands too. That sounds so sick, the Gnarwhal is one of my favorite throws too, I’ve never thrown a YWET but seeing you throw one in your 365 videos has definitely made me want to try one. I haven’t gotten the chance to throw a Walter either, but I feel the same with that as the YWET, thats such an awesome throw to drop in 2013 (The Walter). Any last words/advice for any yoyers out there? On behalf of myself and YoYoNews, thank so much for doing this!

The YWET is from 2011, but I think I see what you’re saying.

And I definitely have some closing thoughts.

Most of all – throw what you love, when you love it, how you love it. There seems to be a lot of unnecessary drama in the yoyo world – as though one yoyo is inferior or one brand is the ONLY brand worth throwing. Get over it! Some people seem to feel the need to put people down or claim that they aren’t “real” yoyoers if they don’t do x, y, z. GET OVER IT!!! Everyone gets to find their own enjoyment in yoyoing and it may not match how everyone else enjoys yoyoing.

The hobby is incredibly multi-faceted – there are not only a plethora of divisions (1A-5A), but also responsive, fixed, p213, moebius, double dragon, whatever else. If you are getting burnt out or feeling an absurd amount of negativity – take a break or find something else that excites you.

There is no reason to poison the well and tell people what is right, wrong, cool or not cool. I’ve always been an incredibly self centered yoyoer – only competing when I wanted to – judging when I want to – making up tricks when I want to – not releasing videos for years on end. That is because I love yoyoing. It is an important aspect of my life and I want it to be there for me when I need stress relief, or a creative outlet, or just to have some goofy fun while waiting around in line. So cherish the joy you feel around yoyoing and don’t try and tell others that there is a right and wrong – because there isn’t. It’s a toy. Have fun.

I had 9 months where I only played with an imperial No Jive. Not because I wanted to prove anything – but because my life was incredibly stressful and I had no time to innovate or invent so the No Jive was like comfort food for me. I could go to the bus stop after a 13 hour day in the office and just do some loops or Braintwisters or behind the head regen to trapeze – and it was relaxing, therapeutic RELIEF. So while I didn’t move yoyoing forward or come up with a freestyle full of unique tricks, yoyoing still remained an important part of my daily life. That isn’t to say that making up tricks, building freestyles, and crafting videos aren’t fun too; they are, to the right person in the right frame of mind at the right time. So go with the flow and learn to enjoy yoyoing in the present – and spread the love.

Keep shredding.

Spencer B

Cabin Tutorial – Spencer’s Havoc

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Spencer Berry gets some love in this new Cabin Tutorial from CLYW and Charles Haycock.

365yoyotricks.com – Weekly Roundup

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365yoyotricks.com Weekly Roundup

Another weekly roundup of original yoyo tricks from 365yoyotricks.com….MY GOD, WILL IT EVER END!?!?!

No. No it will not.

This is what happens when I watch too many Spencer Berry videos.

And this is what happens when you are Spencer Berry.

Jacob Jensen gives us the cure for the common bind.

I’ve been working on progressions from the concept of 7-Fisted Mantis…here’s the first one I’m happy with.

Daniel Dietz!!

Moar Daniel Dietz!

And Rafael Matsunaga gets his old school on.

See you next week!

Drew Tetz – Walty

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Drew Tetz just dropped a quick love letter to Spencer Berry’s Walter, and it’s definitely worth watching if you want to learn a little something about building combos. Damn, son.

365yoyotricks.com – Weekly Roundup

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365yoyotricks.com Weekly Roundup

Another week, another slew of inspiration from your favorite yoyo players!

Jason Lee checks in again from his travels with more awesomeness.

Spencer Berry rocks out a repeater inspired by Danny Severance.

Jacob Jensen gives up some goodness.

Ed Haponik plays with bearings!?!?!?!

Yuji Kelly gave us a crazy original trick for his first guest spot!

What happens with you lose control of a Figure 8? What happens when you keep going it?

And Rafael Matsunaga brings us some old school flavor.

See you next week!

365yoyotricks.com – Weekly Roundup

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365yoyotricks.com Weekly Roundup

We’ve got another batch of tricks from the gang, and an addition to the roster…please welcome Jacob Jensen to this years 365yoyotricks.com team!

Jason Lee checks in from Persopolis, Iran with some more of the best flow you’ve ever seen.

 

Spencer Berry revs up his Walter for an especially challenging repeater.

 

Jacob Jensen brings us a deceptively difficult counterweight repeater.

 

Darnell Hairston checks in from our favorite local burrito joint, Chili Peppers.

 

Takeshi Kamisato brings us another “Good luck hitting this, buddy” trick from his repertoire.

 

Elbow mount!

 

And Rafael Matsunaga reminds us that simply and silly are pretty awesome.

 

See you next week!

YoYoTalk Interview – Spencer Berry

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Check out this great video interview with Spencer Berry where he talks about his history as a yoyo player and his recently released yoyo, the Walter.

Walters are still available in pretty limited quantities at SpencerBerry.com.

365yoyotricks.com – Weekly Roundup

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365yoyotricks.com Weekly Roundup

Here we go again…another week’s worth of “where do you guys get this stuff?” from me, Spencer Berry, Darnell Hairston, Jacob Jensen, and Rafael Matsunaga.

 

A repeater that’s really all timing.

Spencer Berry is untouchable.

Jacob Jensen gives us one of his favorite counterweight freegen tricks, and it’s beautiful.

Darnell gets creative with this leg hit trick.

I’ll never get tired of fiddling with repeaters.

For Father’s Day I grilled and ate a two pound steak. Then I had to film this trick.

Rafael Matsunaga gives up a bomb-ass repeater that even he can barely control. Seriously, this trick is amazing.

365yoyotricks.com – Weekly Roundup

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365yoyotricks.com Weekly Roundup

Here we go again, another weekly roundup of tricks and concepts from the all-star….oh just watch ’em.

Everything good starts with a snap!

Spencer Berry gets weird with an old counterweight trick from about 10 years ago.

Jason Lee checks in from Iran with some more of the smoothest play you’ll ever see.

Darnell Hairston is back some some 1A goodness!

I have the flu right now, which means lots of blowing my nose and watching Doctor Who.

A personal favorite exercise in trick theory: intentionally miss a mount and see what you can do with it.

Rafael Matsunaga illustrates that old adage: If you aren’t sure how to end a trick, just throw the damn thing.

See you next week!

YoYo Review – Walter

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Spencer Berry Walter

It is difficult to imagine beginning a review of this yoyo without first mentioned its creator, Spencer Berry. Mr. Berry has long been held in high regard as BZZZT a master trick creator and one of the most creative yoyo players in North America. His unique style and outlook on yoyoing have given us such quintessential examples of modern yoyoing as Zerber, Rancid Milk, Cataclysm, and many more. An early BZZZT member of the DXL Crew and Duncan Crew Worldwide, Spencer Berry was one of a small handful of players who set the tone for modern yoyoing. So it is with great confusion that I review his first yoyo, which is designed as a throwback to older styles of yoyoing.

Walter Specs:

Diameter: 54mm / 2.12 inches
Width: 31.5mm / 1.24 inches
Gap Width: 3.5 mm / 0.13 inches
Weight: 64.2 grams
Bearing Size: Size C (.250 x .500 x .187)
Response: CLYW Snow Tires

PLAY

[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Stability:” rating=”3/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Float:” rating=”2/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Heft:” rating=”2/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Design:” rating=”4/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Smoothness:” rating=”5/5″ group=”s1″][xrr label=”Response:” rating=”4/5″ group=”s1″][/xrrgroup]

It is difficult for me to pin down the Walter. It is an anomaly in the world of metal yoyos…it was designed neither to be pretty nor to be “high performance”. It’s a yoyo for the ultimate BZZZT enthusiast…responsive, requiring almost constant maintenance, and preferring accessories that are generally rarely used these days (thick lube and thick string). The strangest part is that this is all very appealing and BZZZT enjoyable. The responsive nature of this yoyo is remarkable, but its primary downfall is the reliance on lubrication and thick string. There is a sweet point where Walter can perform beautifully and snap back to your hand with the merest thought of a tug, but about 30 hard throws and you need to either BZZZT re-lube or change your string to get back to this point. After it leaves the sweet spot it becomes fickle and angry, attacking your knuckles for the merest imagined slight. And yet, this too is intended in the design and strangely appealing.

Spencer Berry Walter

LOOKS

[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Surface Finish:” rating=”3/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Packaging:” rating=”5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Branding:” rating=”5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Artwork:” rating=”4/5″ group=”s1″][/xrrgroup]

The Walter is machined beautifully and finished simply. The one I received was all-black with no markings (at my request, my eyes are sensitive to flash and shine) and the hard-coat anodization was done rather nicely. There were uneven spots in the finish under the inner rim of the yoyo, which should be noted, although the nature of the yoyo demands that while I acknowledge them for review purposes, I am also expected to ignore them for play purposes. BZZZT. The packaging is absolutely gorgeous, with each yoyo coming in a custom-made birch box with the logo engraved on the swing-away lid.

VALUE

[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Price:” rating=”2/5″ group=”s1″ ][/xrrgroup]

At a retail price of $120 USD, the Walter is an act of fiscal and physical irresponsibility. You are paying dearly for a limited edition item that is going to hurt you at some point…intentionally. Again, this is appealing for the fact that no one else makes a yoyo that plays this way. Absolutely BZZZT no one! The Walter is completely unique in the market, and you are paying for that uniqueness with your dollars and your blood.

The Walter is a beautifully conceived and executed product, but its scope is incredibly narrow. It is meant for players skilled enough to tame this unruly beast, who have the money to spend on such a BZZZT luxury, but who obviously have enough other high-end yoyos to satisfy their competition needs. Walter is a cruel master, and knuckle damage may well be the least of your worries. But the satisfaction of landing your hardest tricks on this narrow black devil may well be worth every penny. Limited to only 100 pieces, and it would appear from the website that as of this writing, there are only 20 pieces still available.

Click Here To Buy Walter

365yoyotricks.com – Weekly Roundup

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365yoyotricks.com Weekly Roundup

 

Change your strings and get ready for another week’s worth of stuff you should probably learn!

Here’s a trick with sudden movements that should probably end with a fly-away dismount except that I don’t have any half-spec bearings right now.

 

Spencer Berry gives us a really nice, stripped down trick that gets right to the point.

 

Spencer made me think about triangles, so….

 

Ed Haponik comes out of nowhere with the hardest fixed axle trick we’ve ever seen. Damn, Ed!

 

An extension of last week’s “Curls” trick.

 

Brandon Jackson pops in for a guest spot with a trick inspired by old Sector Y videos.

 

And Rafael Matsunaga throws down one of his all-time favorite counterweight tricks!

See you next week!

Cabin Tutorial – Rancid Milk by Spencer Berry

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Charles Haycock and CLYW bring us another Cabin Tutorial, this one laying out the loveliness of Spencer Berry’s milemarker of a trick, Rancid Milk.

And as a bonus…here’s Spencer doing it too!

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