Monday 25 February 2013

Spotlight Player: Darren Tan


Darren is one of the new up-and-coming players here in Singapore. Having played for over a year, he is improving every day with regards to the tricks he creates and his style of play. Over time and with more practice, Darren is going to be one of the big 1A players here in Singapore. Friendly but a little shy, Darren is a cool guy!

Name: Darren Tan

D.O.B.: 17 March 1999

Country: Singapore

Handed: Right

Style of play: 1A

Number of years Spinning: 1.5 years

Sponsor: N/A

Favorite yo-yos: Turning Point Leviathan 1 & Turning Point Positron

Other Hobbies: Music & Anime

Favorite color: Red

Why yo-yos?
"It allows me to express my feelings through the tricks I perform."

Favorite Trick that Darren loves to perform:



COSMO TAI CHI


A short avant garde-esque clip video of Spinworkx Crew / Duncan Crew Singapore member Hans Wong-Jensen.

Produced, edited and directed by Eric Lee Fur-Fur.

Sunday 24 February 2013

Spinworkx Store Farewell Party at Suntec City

If you missed the farewell party that happened this past Saturday (23/2/2013), here are some of the pictures from the little get together we had!















Spinworkx will be officially moving out from Suntec City on the 28th of February 2013. However, our last operating day will be on the 25th of February.

It was announced at the Farewell Party that we will be moving to Orchard Central, sometime middle of March. Till we reopen again there, keep spinning, practice hard, and continue to follow updates on our facebook page and our blog!

It has been a great, exciting and fun 5 years Suntec City. Thanks for everything!


Photo credits to: Tony Wong-Jensen

Thursday 21 February 2013

Spinworkx First Mount #4 - Trapeze Brother

#4 - Trapeze Brother


The next installment of our First Mount series is a step further in sidestyle tricks. After learning the Trapeze, the next thing to know is the Trapeze Brother. If you are able to land the Trapeze consistently, the Trapeze Brother should not be tough to master.

The main difference between the Trapeze and the Trapeze Brother, is that you will have string segments on both of your fingers. Furthermore, instead on the yo-yo flipping over and landing on your left, the Trapeze Brother lands on your right (assuming you are right handed).

Here is the breakdown for the Trapeze Brother.

Firstly, throw a straight Breakaway. Ensure that the string and yo-yo is parallel to your body.

Once the Breakaway is thrown, stick out your left finger, but instead of the string hitting the bottom of your finger and flipping over like the Trapeze, let the string fall back onto the top of your finger, and the yo-yo will now swing towards your right. There will be a direction change here as the yo-yo lands on the top of your left finger before swinging to the right.

Now, as the yo-yo swings right, try to bring both your fingers slightly closer together to allow sufficient string for the yo-yo to swing up and over your right index finger before landing onto the string.

Once the yo-yo has landed onto the string, move both hands slightly closer together once again, to give it sufficient slack for the yo-yo to stay spinning on the string.

And once you get the yo-yo spinning on the string, you have successfully done the Trapeze Brother.

A few pointers to take note of when learning this trick:
1) Throughout the duration of the trick, try to keep all your fingers, except your index finger, tucked in so that they do not get in the way of the string as the yo-yo swings.
2) Try to keep the yo-yo and string parallel to your body at all times.
3) If your initial throw is completely un-parallel to your body, catch the yo-yo and try the trick again.

That is all we have for #4 of the Spinworkx First Mount Project.
If you have any questions or feedback, do leave us a comment or drop us a message on our Facebook Page.

Till the next installment of the First Mount Project,
Keep Spinning!~

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Spinworkx Best of 2012



2012 is gone and past, and as we look forward to 2013, here are the main yo-yos that were highly sought after / most popular and most wanted in 2012.

Most popular Beginner Plastic Yo-Yo

#1 - Yoyofactory FAST 201



#2 - Duncan Pulse


Most popular Advanced Plastic Yo-Yo

#1 - Yoyofactory Grind Machine



#2 - Adegle PSG



#3 (Tied) - Yoyofactory Protostar / Yoyojam Dark Magic 2


Most popular Affordable Metal Yo-Yo

#1 - Duncan Echo 


#2 - C3 Token


#3 - Yoyofactory DV888


Most popular High-end Metal Yo-Yo

#1 - Yoyorecreation Sleipnir


#2 - Yoyofactory Supernova


#3 - Yoyofactory Genesis


Most popular 2A Yo-Yo

#1 - Yoyofactory Loop 900


#2 - Yoyojam Unleashed


Most popular 4A Yo-Yo

#1 - Yoyojam Fiesta XX


#2 - Duncan Hayabusa


Most popular Yo-Yo Strings

#1 - 100% Yellow Polyester


#2 - 100% Green Polyester


Most popular Yo-Yo Accessories

#1 - Yoyojam Thin Lube


#2 - Yoyojam Takeshi Counterweight

Most popular Yo-Yo Bearings

#1 - Dif-e-yo Konkave Bearing (Large)

#2 - Central Bearing Co. Centre Trac Bearing (Large)


Looking back at the list of most popular yo-yos from 2012, they are definitely ones that should be in every players collection. Whether you are a 1A, 2A or 4A player, these are the ones to have!

We are really looking forward to the 2013 list. There are exciting new yo-yos to be released in 2013, and we would like to see whether the new releases will be able to over take those from 2012, or will the old guard continue to reign supreme.

Before we go, if you are missing any of these Best of 2012 yo-yos from your collection, you can always pick them up from Spinworkx. We guarantee that they won't leave you feeling disappointed!

Spinworkx Store at Suntec City Farewell Party



Spinworkx Store at Suntec City: ~2008 to 2013~

This weekend will be the last weekend that we will be in Suntec City (Yes we are moving out to a new location), and we would like to reminisce on the past 5 years of our store at Suntec City, Singapore.

The 4 different store locations within the Happy Kids Zone.

Our beloved friend, Abisaurus.

All the different store assistants whose contributions have been invaluable!

All the chill-out sessions, practice sessions, rehearsals, freestyle practice sessions, the contests and all.

The friends we made, the good times we shared, the challenges we face, and continue to face.

The smiles, the tears, the disagreements, the progression, and the future.

We would like to invite all our friends, that's YOU, to join us this Saturday (23/2/2013), 6pm, at the Spinworkx Store Suntec City, to join in the farewell party, to bid farewell to our premises at Suntec City, to find out where we are moving to, and to eat the free food that we will have!

What: Spinworkx at Suntec City Farewell Party
Where: Spinworkx Store at Suntec City
Who: Everyone!!
When: 23/2/2013 (Saturday)
Time: 6pm

See everyone this Saturday, and keep Spinning!~


Friday 15 February 2013

Yo-Yo Setup of the Month: Yoyofactory Onestar (Paul Han Champions Edition)

Wow, it's already been a month??

Nonetheless it has been a good month for yo-yos!

If you have been following the Spinning scene on YouTube and all your favorite social media sites, you would have seen all the great videos coming out from creative and awesome players the world over.

Now, for this month, we have chosen a relatively new throw that has just been launched a week or two ago.


Onestar (Paul Han Champions Edition)

The Yoyofactory Onestar made its pre-production debut at the Bay Area Classic contest in the US last year (2012), and has been one of the main plastic yo-yos players have been looking out for. From looking at the yo-yo, it will definitely bring to mind the Yoyofactory Protostar, as the shape looks similar, but the Onestar has a different feel from the Protostar or Northstar. 


The gap view of the Onestar looks just like a Protostar or Northstar, but the Onestar does not come with weight rings in the halves, and it has a more solid feeling core. Furthermore, the Onestar uses a completely new and improved plastic as compared to other 1A yo-yos from Yoyofactory. It also has a blasted surface that makes the yo-yo great for grind tricks.


The reason why the Onestar is named the One-Star is due to its combined elements from two of Yoyofactorys most popular models, the One and the Protostar. With its shape like the Protostar and the same plastic material of the One, the Onestar is a great yo-yo for new Spinners looking to delve into the realm of unresponsive play, or for advanced Spinners looking to pick up an affordable, durable and spectacular new throw to practice and create tricks with.

Now let us take a look at the insides of the Onestar, and how we chose to set it up.


For the Onestar, we chose to leave it stock, exactly how it came straight out of the box. We did not need to make any changes or modifications to the Onestar, and straight after unpacking it and throwing on a string, it could pull off any tricks we threw at it.

The string we chose to use on the Onestar is regular Yellow 100% Polyester string. 

The stock Onestar comes with a Centre Trac bearing and CBC white silicone pads for response. If you wish to make adjustments to your Onestar yo-yo, you may like to consider changing the pads in this yo-yo to something more suited to the purpose of your play. Try out the Red CBC silicone pads if you plan to use this yo-yo for competitions, or the Natural/Blue Pads you are like grippy and long lasting response.


Like we mentioned before, the Onestar is a great yo-yo straight out of the package. It spins long, the string is always centered, the colors are catchy and bright and it is truly an amazing throw.


The Onestar is nice and wide, and is very stable on the string. This could be attributed to its wide, H-shaped Butterfly profile that it sports. It is a perfect yo-yo for new Spinners who are looking for an affordable and unresponsive throw.


Just to recap on our Yo-Yo Setup of the Month.

Onestar (Paul Han Champions Edition)

1) Yoyofactory Onestar
2) CBC White Silicone pads (Any other CBC pads will work as well; Personal preference)
3) CBC Centre Trac bearing
4) 100% Polyester Yellow String

And that is our Yo-Yo Setup of the Month for February. Stay tuned for our next installment of Yo-Yo Setup of the Month!

In the meantime, do let us know YOUR setup of the month. Drop us a comment below, or shout out to us on our Facebook page with the title - My Yo-Yo Setup of the Month, and show us what you've got!

Till next time,
Super Squirrel signing off~

Monday 11 February 2013

Spotlight Player: Catherine Andrade


Most Singapore players will be familiar with Catherine as she recently competed at the Eastern State Throwdown 2012 for the first time in the 1A Spinner division and finished with a very respectable position. Furthermore, on her free weekends, she will be at the Spinworkx store helping out and teaching tricks to new and interested Spinners.

Catherine has a natural aptitude for learning yo-yo tricks and is always improving each time we watch her throw.

Name: Catherine Andrade

D.O.B.: 2 March 1995

Country: USA

Handed: Right

Style of play: 1A

Number of years Spinning: 2 years

Sponsor: N/A

Favorite yo-yos: Yoyofactory DV888 & Diamont Noir Celestial Ampoule

Other Hobbies: Theatre

Favorite color: Black

Why yo-yos?
"It's fun and helps me to meet cool people!"

Favorite Tricks that Catherine loves to perform:


Wednesday 6 February 2013

Spinworkx First Mount #3 - Frontstyle Under Mount

#3 - Frontstyle Under Mount





If you have been following our Spinworkx First Mount posts, you will realise that we are starting things off relatively simple. This 3rd installment of the First Mount series is a variation of the Braintwister Mount (a must know for each and every spinner), and it is called the Frontstyle Under Mount.

The Frontstyle Under Mount is slightly more difficult than the Braintwister Mount, but both of them essentially gets you the same thing, setting you up for a Braintwister.

Unlike the Braintwister Mount, learning the Frontstyle Under Mount takes lots of practice, patience and aim.

First, start off with a long sleeper, throwing the yo-yo down hard and straight.

Once the yo-yo is thrown and is spinning, stick out the index finger of your non-throwing hand.

What you will need to do is to flip the yo-yo up and over your index finger and onto the string. Initially, when you are practicing this trick, it may be difficult to just flip it onto the string. One suggestion that we have is to swing the yo-yo a little before attempting to flip it over your finger and onto the string. By swinging the yo-yo, it gives it the momentum needed to flip once the string hits your finger.

When the yo-yo flips over your finger and onto the string, bring your index finger up slightly and have it touch the string segment leading up to your finger, with the yo-yo sitting and spinning on the string. It should look very similar to how a Braintwister Mount looks like.

And there you have it, the Frontstyle Under Mount.

A few pointers to take note of when learning this trick:
1) Ensure that at all times, the yo-yo is spinning straight and not tilting. If the yo-yo is tilting, catch it and try again.
2) If it is hard to get the yo-yo to flip over, try swinging it a little back and forth to give it the momentum needed to flip over your finger and onto the string.
3) Don't just go through the action of flipping the yo-yo over your finger, make sure to aim it to land onto the string after flipping over.

That's all we have for #3 of the Spinworkx First Mount project.
If you have any questions or feedback, do drop us a comment or leave us a message on our Facebook Page!

Till next time,
Keep spinning!~

 
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