Spinworkx First Mount #14 - White Buddha Mount

White Buddha is one of the most popular tricks players will learn when they delve into the world of string tricks. Upon first looking at it, it may seem like a long, daunting and difficult trick. However, with time, practice and some determination, you will get the trick in no time.

The White Buddha, just like the Green Triangle from First Mount #13, was created by Paul Escolar from the Duncan Crew. Back in the early 2000s, Paul Escolar, together with the guys from Spindox, were the ones players looked to for fresh and cool new tricks. Here we are over 10 years later, and White Buddha still remains as one of the most popular string tricks around.

If you are able to perform the Double or Nothing, Green Triangle and 1.5 Mount, the White Buddha Mount should not be too hard to hit. Let us take a look at how its done.

Firstly, throw a long, straight Breakaway.

Let the yo-yo swing around your non-throwing hand index finger, just like a Double or Nothing, 1.5 mount, etc.

Do not land the yo-yo onto the string, but let it continue swinging around to your throwing hand index finger.

Up till this point, the trick should look like you are performing a Sidestyle 1.5 Mount.

Once the string lands onto your throwing hand index finger, let it swing around and hit the top of the string segment that just swung around your throwing hand index finger, making a triangle of sorts in the air.

Then, let the yo-yo drop from that top string, down onto the string segment below. Once the yo-yo lands onto the bottom string, bring your hands slightly closer together to allow the yo-yo to sit comfortably on the string without it dropping off.

That is the White Buddha Mount!

From this Mount, you can proceed to swing the yo-yo into a Sidestyle 1.5 Mount, and then move on to tricks like White Buddha, Buddha's Revenge, etc.

A few pointers to take note of when learning the White Buddha Mount:

1) While performing the White Buddha Mount, tuck in all your fingers, except the Index Fingers on both hands.

2) While the yo-yo is swinging into the top string before dropping onto the bottom string, always aim the yo-yo to hit the top string instead of just swinging it and hoping it does.

3) When the White Buddha Mount is being performed, try to keep the yo-yo and all the strings in one straight plane.

4) Let the momentum from the initial Breakaway carry the yo-yo around your fingers and into the Mount.

That is all for this edition of the Spinworkx First Mount Project.

If you have any questions or feedback, drop us a note here, or shout out to us at our Facebook page.

You can also show off your White Buddha Mount by tagging us on our Instagram Page, with @spinworkxsg #firstmount. 

Till the next Mount comes around,

Keep Spinning!~

Yo-Yo Setup of the Month: blksens Imarc

Over all these months of showcasing our Yo-Yo Setup of the Month, we realised we have yet to feature an Offstring yo-yo, and now is as good a time as any to!

With the blk-ops event in Singapore just over a couple of weeks ago, we got to try out and test the first Offstring yo-yo offering from blksens. The Imarc is a durable, solid, delrin Offstring throw that is more affordable than other delrin Offstring yo-yos on the market today, without compromising on quality. Here is how we set-up our very own Imarc.

Imarc

blksens is a relatively new company hailing from Hong Kong, and has already produced 4 yo-yos (Two 1A yo-yos, One 2A yo-yo and One 4A yo-yo). Run by 5A player Calvin Wong Siu Tung, blksens makes yo-yos from listening to what their team members prefer in their throws, and builds its all from the ground up.

The Imarc Offstring yo-yo is the preferred throw of blksens team member Lam Yan Ting, who is one of the top Offstring players in Hong Kong. The yo-yo is weighty to give each throw a powerful, long spin, allowing the player to pull-off various Offstring combos and regenerations to win titles.

The Imarc Offstring yo-yo is clean, simple and minimal. It does not feature dazzling graphics or designs on the yo-yo, but lets the player do all the 'wow-ing' when it is in play.

The gap of the Imarc, just like any other Offstring yo-yo, is an incredibly wide Butterfly shape that allows the yo-yo to land onto the string with ease whenever the player is performing whips, toss-and-catches, etc. Furthermore, another feature we love about the Imarc is that the gap of the Imarc is adjustable. So players will be able to set how narrow they prefer the gap to be, making it easier for regenerations, or wider, making it easier for longer spins and various whips.

The rounded Butterfly shape allows the yo-yo to sit comfortably in the players hand, and whenever the yo-yo falls off or misses the string, the round rims allow the yo-yo to bounce off the floor up to a safe height to catch it back onto the string.

The Imarc does not require any changes to it but in this instance, we chose to set it up with a few slight modifications. Instead of the stock bearing that comes with the Imarc, we chose to use a YoYoJam Speed Bearing instead for long and clean spin times. The response pads that are used are the stock silicone pads from blksens. They provided us with tight and reliable binds, so we didn't feel the need to change them.

For the string that we chose to use, we wanted something slightly thinner than regular 100% Polyester Strings, and settled on using Candy Wire 100% Poly Strings. These Candy Wire strings are made in the Philippines and are great for Offstring play.

As mentioned earlier, the Imarc features an adjustable gap, and the reason that this is is due to the red rubber o-ring as seen in the photo above. The good thing about having the rubber o-ring is that not only are you able to adjust the bearing gap to your ideal width as and when you like just by a simple twist, it also prevents you from over-tightening and cracking the yo-yo. The rubber o-ring gives the yo-yo a nice and snug feeling when it has been tightened.

On each halve of the blksens Imarc, you will be able to see the hubs have the blksens logo and blksens insignia on it. This gives the yo-yo its own identity, while keeping up with the minimal looks.

While in play, the Imarc spins long and true. Its big, wide size allows the yo-yo to spin slightly longer than smaller sized Offstring yo-yos. Coupled with the weight of the Imarc, the yo-yo is definitely a solid playing Offstring yo-yo that would be great for both practice and for competitions on stage. Due to it being made of Delrin, players can rest assured that if the Imarc repeatedly drops onto the floor, it will not break or crack easily, making it an ideal Offstring yo-yo for any player!

Just to recap on our yo-yo setup of the month for September.

Imarc

1) blksens Imarc

2) blksens Narrow Silicone Pads

3) Candy Wires 100% Polyester String (Yellow)

4) Large YoYoJam Speed Bearing

That brings us to the end of our Yo-Yo Setup of the Month for September. Do let us know YOUR Yo-Yo Setup of the Month. Drop us a comment below, leave us a message on our Facebook Page with the title - My Yo-Yo Setup of the Month, or tag your setup with a picture on our Instagram Page, with @spinworkxsg #yoyoofthemonth. 

Till next time, 

Spin hard, Spin true!

~

Eastern State Throwdown 2013 in Pictures

**All photos of the Eastern State Throwdown 2013 were taken by, and courtesy of, official event photographer Mr. Tony Wong-Jensen.**

Eastern State Throwdown 2013 Freestyle Videos

Spinner 1A Champion - Alexander Teo

Spinner 2A Champion - Wee Teng Ee

Spinner 4A Champion - Marcus Hoe

Spinner 5A Champion - Clarence Lim

Professional 1A Champion - Darrell Mitchell

Professional 2A Champion - Thawhir Iqbal

Professional 4A Champion - Lim Aik Hwee

Professional 5A Champion - Lee Wei Ting

Check out all the freestyles here: EST 2013 Playlist

Spinworkx Mirroring - Short Clip Video

Just after dinner, with nothing to do, the guys decided to tryout something fun. Can you spot what is going on?

Eastern State Throwdown 2013 Results

Spinworkx First Mount #13 - Green Triangle

Just ask any modern / new-skool Spinner about a yo-yo trick known as Green Triangle, and they will know it instantly. The Green Triangle trick has been well known to be one of the mounts in a combo that is the climax of the entire combo, and many Spinners have thought up many variations on how to get into a Green Triangle from Lacerations, Slacks, String-trick Combos and more.

Here, we will be demonstrating the simple method of getting into a Green Triangle. The Green Triangle trick was invented by Duncan Crew USA member, and trick innovator, Paul Escolar. It has been around for over 10 years now, and still remains one of the most popular string tricks / mounts in the Spinning world.

Let's go on to a step-by-step breakdown on how to perform the Green Triangle Mount.

Firstly, the Green Triangle is yet another Sidestyle trick, so throw a Breakaway. When the yo-yo is swinging from your throwing hand to your non-throwing hand, let the yo-yo swing over with the string resting on your non-throwing hand index finger just like performing a Trapeze Brother mount.

Once it is resting on your non-throwing index finger, let the yo-yo swing in the opposite direction from the initial throw and swing over towards your throwing hand.

When the yo-yo is moving towards your throwing hand, instead of letting it swing over your index finger and into a Trapeze Brother mount, swing the yo-yo over your throwing hand wrist and land the yo-yo onto that same string.

Once the yo-yo lands onto the string and is sitting comfortably on the string, let the string drop off your wrist and onto the connecting string segment and you should see the 'triangle' formation that your string makes.

There you have it, the Green Triangle mount.

**Do note, when dismounting the Green Triangle mount, hop the yo-yo off the string from the BACK, not the front, so that you do not get into a knot.**

A few pointers to take note of when learning the Green Triangle Mount:

1) Remember to aim the yo-yo to land onto the right string.

2) When swinging the yo-yo over your throwing hand wrist to land onto the string, remember to allow a slightly longer string segment before swinging the yo-yo over your wrist so that the yo-yo is able to have enough string length to land onto the string.

3) When dropping the string off your wrist to complete the Green Triangle, remember to do it slow and steady to prevent the yo-yo from dropping off the string entirely.

That is all for this edition of the Spinworkx First Mount Project.

If you have any questions or feedback, drop us a note here, or shout out to us at our Facebook page.

You can also show off your Green Triangle mount by tagging us on our Instagram Page, with @spinworkxsg #firstmount. 

Till the next Mount,

Keep Spinning!~

Spotlight Player - Wee Teng Ee

When we first met Teng Ee, we noticed something different about him. His hunger to learn all the tricks that we could teach him was unlike other new Spinners. He would want to learn tricks from various styles like 1A, 2A, 4A and more. Teng Ee constantly pushed and challenged himself to perform difficult tricks and slowly, those difficult tricks became easy and he moved on to tougher tricks. Bit by bit, he continues to build a big arsenal of tricks and combos that are exciting to watch.

For a Spinner that has only been throwing for slightly over a year, Teng Ee is improving each time we see him. At the recent Singapore Yo-Yo Championships 2013, Teng Ee managed to take home Top 3 placings in the 1A, 2A and 4A Spinner divisions. We can't wait to see how much more Teng Ee has in store for us in the spinning world!

Name: Wee Teng Ee

D.O.B.: 16 August 1999

Country: Singapore

Handed: Right

Style of play: 1A & 4A

Number of years Spinning: 1 year

Sponsor: N/A

Favorite yo-yos: C3 Berserker RX, C3 Capsule 2.0, YoYoJam Quest

Other Hobbies: Running

Favorite color: White

Favorite Spinners: Chua Wei Xuan, Luis Enrique & Hiroyuki Suzuki

Why yo-yos?

"Spinning is a good way to de-stress, and you can be as creative as you want to be!"

Here is Teng Ee performing his current favorite combo: