Doc Pop sits down with fixed axle evangelist Edward Van Haponik and talks about modern fixed axle play, trick theory, his new Bandalores project with Drew Tetz, and why he and Drew totally bombed out on Fixed Axle Friday here at YoYoNews (we miss you, come back).
2016 SPYY x TMBR x YoYoExpert eh Release
It’s that time of year again!
We get a new edition of everyone’s favorite fixed axle yoyo, we get a new video of fixie impossibilities from Ed Haponik, and we get the smug satisfaction that comes with feeling vaguely superior to all the people who don’t play fixed axle.
Ok, that last bit only lasts for about 6 minutes and it’s not our most endearing trait, but hey, it’s the holidays, and we want a little validation for our hard work, ok? Our knuckles are a mess.
YoYoExpert.com will be releasing the 2016 edition of the SPYY x TMBR x YoYoExpert eh at 8 pm EST on Monday, Dec. 19. This edition comes in FOUR different exotic woods, making it the most diverse and beautiful edition yet! The eh will be available in Wenge, Bubinga, Zebrano, and just TWO pieces made in Ebony wood. These will retail for $85 each, and the Ebony version will retail for $200 each and only be available to purchase via raffle. More details up at YoYoExpert.com!
Ed Haponik – STNDRDized
Ed Haponik doing yoyo tricks. Seriously, there’s nothing else that needs to be said here, just know that Ed Haponik is doing yoyo tricks and you should stop what you are doing and watch them.
Yoyo used is the Core Co. Standard.
Ed Haponik – #trickdump: The Fixed
What, you thought Ed was gonna drop a video of unresponsive bearing tricks and then just walk away? Nope!
Here’s a little yeah yeah from your favorite guy, doing what he does best: throwing amazing tricks and then smirking awkwardly at them in a way that should be more off-putting than it is, but it’s not because we love him so dearly.
Ed Haponik #trickdump: THE BEARINGS
Ed Haponik never disappoints, and in this case he actively surprises with some a super fun bearing-based video! It’s not often we see unresponsive tricks from Ed, so soak it all in folks.
Ed Haponik – Hydrangeaz
Ed Haponik treats us to some more beautifully arranged fixed axle yoyoing in his latest video. No one builds a trick like Ed, do they? Beautiful stuff.
Yoyo used is the SPYY x TMBR Eh.
Ed Haponik – EH 2015 Release
It’s that time again…another year, another glorious special edition wooden yoyo from SPYY x TMBR x YoYoExpert to celebrate everyone’s favorite fixie sage, Ed Haponik! Check out the latest video from Ed and a full description of the yoyo below. YoYoExpert still has a few in stock, but once they’re gone…they’re gone.
In 2012, SPYY team member Ed Haponik took a one year oath to play only a single fixed axle, wooden yo-yo. It was a custom design from SPYY who sponsored him at the time. He completed this goal as of 12/31/12 and documented his efforts on 365yoyotricks.com and in several of his clip videos. Ever since Ed has truly helped to inspire a resurgence in fixed axle play!
In 2015 things have changed. SPYY is no longer around has just re-entered the game with a new Titanium Yo-Yo and Ed is still throwing the best fixed axle tricks around via his Instagram page!
In hopes of continuing this amazing story we decided to approach Ed, SPYY, & TMBR. And again this year, all agreed the story and message behind this great yo-yo needs to live on. The legendary yo-yo he used, The EH, is now re-envisioned once again and available in a limited run.
This year, the limited EH is crafted from WHITE oak. This wood offers a beautiful tight grain that isn’t too porous with an excellent density and smoother feel to the touch. This newest version also comes with one of the coolest axle systems out there – The TMBR Wood Thread Axles! Hand carved by Colin Leland, you will not find anything else like these on the market! After spending some time with the new 2015 EH, Ed thinks it’s the perfect fixed axle yo-yo for tricks like stalls, kickflips, varials, and lunar landings!
The 2015 ‘EH’ is limited to 96 pieces and will not be reproduced. Each EH comes packaged with a special signed note from Ed and one side of the yo-yo features the EH logo engraved with the other left untouched to give it a simple clean look. Play Simply Our Friends!
Start Your Fixed Axle Journey With Tutorials from Ed Haponik HERE!
This post sponsored by YoYoExpert.
Ed Haponik’s Fixed Axle Video Challenge
Ed Haponik just finished making some amazing fixed-axle tutorials for YoYoExpert.com and to celebrate they thought an epic fixed-axle contest was in order!
The Contest:
Every few days Ed will be posting a video on the YoYoExpert forum of a trick. You will have three days to film yourself successfully hitting that trick and post a link on the forums.
This will be a knockout style contest. You must compete in every round from the start of the contest and everyone who successfully completes the trick will move on. If you cannot complete a trick then you will be eliminated and cannot compete in the next round.
Once one round ends, the next will begin. The contest rounds will get increasingly difficult and will go on until we have one winner!
The Rules:
– Must use fixed axle yo-yo to compete.
– Must show yo-yo/axle to verify it is fixed axle in beginning of video.
– Must post video link (Youtube or Instagram) within 3 days of Ed’s posted trick.
– Must hit the trick correctly (Ed will judge) or you will be eliminated.
– Must compete in all rounds of contest from the beginning to qualify to move on.
– Once eliminated you cannot compete in any following rounds.
THE PRIZES:
Get to Round 2 and Win – 10% OFF YOYOEXPERT COUPON CODE!
Get to Round 4 and Win – 20% OFF YOYOEXPERT COUPON CODE!
RUNNER-UP PRIZE – An Ed Haponik Signed No Jive!
GRAND PRIZE – Last person standing wins a Broke Village Fidalgo & Ed Signed Play Simply No Jive!
Get Started!
Fixed Axle Yo-Yos:
http://shop.yoyoexpert.com/category/68/Fixed-Axle
Ed’s Videos:
http://yoyoexpert.com/learn/602-fixed-basics-undermount-stall.html
CONTEST BEGINS IN ONE WEEK ON APRIL 24!
This post sponsored by YoYoExpert.
Ed Haponik – Cobalt
Ed Haponik! ED HAPONIK!
There are few people in the yoyo community who are universally accepted by all as “good people”. The list is short, and Ed Haponik is easily at the top of it. Check out his latest love letter to yoyo play, and get inspired!
Yoyo used is the Tom Kuhn Silver Bullet 4.
SPYY x TMBR x Yoyoexpert “eh”
The “eh” has returned to Yoyoexpert.com as a surprise release! More of a story than a yoyo model, the “eh” started out as a handful of drill-pressed throws that Ed Haponik and SPYY’s Steve Buffel cranked out in Steve’s Calgary garage. Fixed axle aficionado that he is, Ed evidently liked playing it so much that he asked Steve to make him a special one to use for a year straight, which Ed documented in videos and on 365yoyotricks.com. At the end of 2012 (and again in 2013), Yoyoexpert celebrated Ed’s commitment and Steve’s classic design by releasing a production version made by Portland-based woodcraft-powerhouse TMBR. One of the coolest aspects of the “eh” is that it represents the collaboration of four people, each of whom is respected within yoyoing for his own distinct contribution.
With each release, the “eh” has seen subtle changes in material and engraving, but this is clearly the most significant change so far. Over the past year, TMBR’s “wood-thread” axle system has become increasingly popular among fixed axle players. This innovative and craft-intensive process allows for all-wood construction (no metal axle, no glue) AND take-apart design. Actually, it goes a step further as you can actually reconstruct the “eh” in butterfly, classic/imperial, or “pagoda” setups. The axle cap in the middle of the “eh” is a design necessity, but it changes the look substantially. The engraving is smaller and moved off the center, featuring the original “eh” logo on one side and the logos of the 3 companies responsible for it on the reverse. The body is also made from white oak (previous versions were red) which offers the smoothest surface and most uniform weight distribution of any “eh” so far.
In terms of play, it’s a pretty awesome fixed axle yoyo. Its smooth walnut axle sleeps well enough and it comes back easily, maybe a little more aggressively than previous versions. In recent years, fixed axle has become its own distinct species. Where just a few years back, playing fixed axle meant you did regular 1a tricks as kind of a dare, these days fixed tricks have become marked by shorter sleepers and integrated stalls, kickflips, weird balances, and constant regenerations. The new “eh” really caters to these adaptations. The oak body is easy to control in a stall, the gap holds loops open on kickflips very well, and the flat rims make Ed’s backhand catches quite a bit easier.
Bear in mind that it’s completely different from playing a modern unresponsive metal yo-yo. That may seem obvious, but it can’t be overstated. Playing wood is a different kind of challenge; one of the hardest and most rewarding in yo-yoing.
The “eh” also comes with a typed note from Ed and one of his signed Yoyoexpert trading cards. Limited to 120 pieces total. Available now exclusively from Yoyoexpert.
SPYY x TMBR x Yoyoexpert “eh” SPECS:
Diameter: 57.15mm
Width: 34.92mm
Gap Width: Two Pennies (seriously)
Weight: 58 grams
Axle: Take-Apart All Wood Axle
Buy the SPYY x TMBR x YoYoExpert eh
This post sponsored by YoYoExpert
Ed Haponik – Silver Is The New Black
Here’s a rare treat….modern fixed axle pioneer Ed Haponik dropped an entire video of him playing with a bearing yoyo! The new SB-4 from Tom Kuhn has just recently hit shelves, and it looks like Ed is really enjoying it. Designed as a collaborative effort between Tom Kuhn and the Chico YoYo Company, the SB-4 is the first unresponsive yoyo from everyone’s favorite dentist.
Yoyo used is the Tom Kuhn SB-4.
Ed Haponik Joins Tom Kuhn YoYos
Ed Haponik has officially joined Tom Kuhn YoYos! He resigned from Werrd just a week ago, and quite suddenly found himself courted by the brand he’s loved the most since he started throwing. Here are Ed’s thoughts on the matter:
Last week, before TK asked me to come onboard, I parted ways with Werrd. They are some of the highest quality people in yoyoing and make equally excellent products. But the stuff they do best isn’t what I tend to play most, so I started to feel disingenuous in representing them. Regardless I’ve got nothing but respect for the crew, and for Stu. I didn’t intend to jump on with another company, but the chance to work with one I feel so connected to was irresistible. Going to be handling community liaison stuff, social media, and giving input on new designs and brand identity. I can’t claim to be an expert on any of that stuff, but that’s not gonna stop me from getting paid to rep a company whose yoyo I have tattooed on my arm.
This is a HUGE leap forward for Tom Kuhn YoYos, who have slipped well behind the rest of the industry in recent years and have only recently started making some forward movement with the brand and new product. Congratulations to TK on picking up such a rare and respected talent as Ed Haponik.
77 Rules For YoYo Players – The ProFly Video
Ed Haponik and John Higby recently released their new collaborative book, “77 Rules For YoYo Players“, and Ed has released a new video to promote it. Sweet!
77 Rules For YoYo Players Comic & YoYo Set Releasing Tonight
Almost 5 years ago, John Higby and Ed Haponik collaborated to create the comic “66 Rules For Yo-Yo Players”. Originating from one of Ed’s blog posts, John illustrated each rule to create a sweet collectible comic book, accompanied by a decorative yo-yo.
For 2014, the idea has been rebooted with entirely new art by John and an additional 11 rules inserted by Ed. The comic comes with a striking Duncan ProFly yo-yo with hand-painted body and caps. The rules themselves, are fun and thought provoking, making for a great collectible for anyone who enjoys John’s distinctive style of art or Ed’s outlook on yo-yoing.
The combo drops tonight at 8pm EST on John’s yo-yo art website: http://bigyoyoart.bigcartel.com/
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