Tuesday 17 June 2014

Asia Pacific Yo-Yo Championships 2014 Lead-Up


So the annual Asia Pacific Yo-Yo Championships is slowly creeping up on us yet again. (Well considering now it is less than 3 weeks away, it is not exactly 'slow') So here is just a quick lead up to AP14.


  • There will be over 150 competitor freestyles on AP14 Day 1.
  • Currently, there are 24 seeded players attending AP14.
  • There will be over 15 countries represented at AP14.
  • AP14 will have 13 judges from countries around the Asia Pacific region.
The Division Sponsors for AP14 are as followings.

1A Division Sponsor: sOMEThING by YoYoAddict
2A Division Sponsor: Go Pro / Outdoor Sports Travel
3A Division Sponsor: MagicYoYo
4A Division Sponsor: Spingear
5A Division Sponsor: Duncan

Sponsors:
C3yoyodesign
Fingersp.in
Japan Technology
Lakerol
Turning Point
Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice
YoYoFactory
YoYoJoker
yoyorecreation
YoYoStoreRewind

Co-Sponsors:
blksens
Dif-e-yo
Diamont Noir
Yo-Station
yoyothailand.com

And to round up our AP14 Lead-up, do remember to use the AP14 hashtag - #apyoyo2014
There WILL be an amazing prize to be won for people who use that hashtag.

See y'all at AP14!

Friday 13 June 2014

Old but still Fresh - Part #7

There are yo-yos that are old, and then there are yo-yos that are old but still FRESH! Back in the day, Duncan Freehands (now known as Freehand 1s) were the throw to have. When the mould for the Freehands broke, players all over the world desperately seeked for any yo-yo that could replace the forever-gone Freehand 1s. One of the yo-yos that stepped up to the plate was the Buzz-on Element X. It had the same wide butterfly shape like the Freehand 1, but with an additional metal weight ring on the inside of the yo-yo halve.


The Element X was great back in 2003/2004, and it is still one of our favorite yo-yos today. Be it the SPR, or non-SPR version, if you can get your hands on an Element X today, do it with no regrets.

Buzz-on Element X

Buzz-on was a company that was setup by Dave Bazan (Bazan / Buzz-on, get it?) in late 2002 / early 2003 to cater to a growing Spinning scene the world over. With years of yo-yo experience under his belt, Dave decided it was time to take his expertise into the world of yo-yo development, and he released the Element X to a group of yo-yo players who were craving more from yo-yos.

Spinners wanted wider butterfly shaped yo-yos that were in the same vein as the Freehand 1. Renegades, Tigersharks, etc were starting to be more 'slimline' throws and were not cutting it for contest performance back then. The Element X came at a perfect time, filling the need for wide butterfly shaped yo-yos. The Element X is/was a great yo-yo back then and now, but it was not without it's flaws.

Technological Makeup


The Element X features a wide, rounded butterfly shape that made it comfortable to play and hold. Unlike the Freehand 1, the Element X did not have solid plastic moulded sidecaps, but featured thin plastic / paper side caps under thick metal weight rims.


The inside of the Element X features a small, thin bearing that was commonly found in older YoYoJam yo-yos, metal spacers (SPR kits came later on) and Duncan Friction Stickers. Friction stickers was the response of choice back in those days for it's reliable, grippy response, ensuring that with or without binds, the yo-yo would have a tight wind allowing for stronger throws.


The body of the Element X is like a combination between a Spintastics Eclipse and a Duncan Freehand 1. It has the smooth rounded body of a Duncan Freehand with the small bearing and spacer set up of a Spintastics yo-yo. Though the Friction Stickers needed to be replaced relatively often, it always ensured you got tight, reliable string wind-ups whenever you return the yo-yo to your hand.

Sizing Up

The Element X is a solid throw that is nicely weighted due to the metal weight rings. Using the regular thin bearing, thin spacers set-up, the Element X will play more to the responsive side as compared to a Duncan Freehand. Though the Element X is a great yo-yo, it is very hard to come by these days and competitors would definitely choose modern metal yo-yos over these for competition freestyles. But being solid, yet rather responsive is one of the charms of the Element X, and it is a throw that we keep coming back to every now and then.


As we have mentioned before, the Element X shares many characteristics with the Duncan Freehand. Here pictured together with the Element X is a Freehand Zero. Similar in looks, but slightly different in feel and performance.

The Bad

The Element X is good, but that does not mean it is flawless. When the Element X first came out, there was one big main complaint from various players. "Why does my Element X wobble/vibrate so much?" As the Element X features a thick metal weight ring that is pressed into the yo-yo halve, some yo-yos will have a very obvious vibration or wobble due to having 2 separate big pieces on each side. These 2 separate parts, combined with another 2 parts (on the other halve) makes some yo-yos less balanced and more prone to wobbles.

But, there is a way to try and lessen the wobble. It involves tuning the axle / nut on each halve and rotating them to see which position will have the least wobble, or sometimes, no wobble at all! Despite the fact that you may get a wobbly throw, if you knew how to go about fixing it, or if you got a perfectly balanced one out of the package, the Element X was as smooth as butter, and just plainly awesome to throw. Just thinking about it makes us feel like picking one up and playing with it. SO GOOD!

Conclusion

Just like previous throws that were featured on the 'Blast from the Past' column, the Element X is definitely one from an era that has come and gone. Today, the Element X is roughly 10 years old, yet it still remains as one of our favorite plastic throws. It could be due to nostalgia and not so much to do with performance, but if you ever have the chance and come across an Element X, you have to give it a go.

Today, the Element X is both a collectors piece, and an amazing yo-yo that signifies the start of an era where Spinners craved / demanded wider shaped butterfly yo-yos. Those were the days!


Wednesday 4 June 2014

Spinworkx First Mount #28 - Slack Trapeze


Back in the day before contests had the 1 minute preliminary freestyles, contests used to have Compulsories instead of 1 minute freestyles. This Compulsory trick list comprised of 10 difficult tricks that players had to perform to accumulate points, and the players with the highest points then moved on to 3 minute final freestyles. In one of the last few Compulsory trick lists, Slack Trapeze was one of the trick components on the list and players had to hit it two times in a row.

The Slack Trapeze is one trick that was created back when Slack tricks were still new and an unexplored area of Spinning. Now, the Slack Trapeze is one of the tricks that practically every advanced Spinner can hit. Slacks opened doors to get into new and intricate mounts for Spinners and it is still one of the main components of trick combos seen today.

Without further ado, let us get into the Slack Trapeze proper.

First, throw a straight Breakaway and instead of swinging the yo-yo over and onto the string into a Trapeze, use your Thumb and Index Finger of your non-throwing hand to pinch the string about 2-3 inches away from the yo-yo.

Next, wrap the string segment that is hanging down from your throwing hand onto your throwing hand Index Finger as seen in the picture below.


The purpose of wrapping the string segment around your throwing hand Index Finger is so that it makes throwing the slacked string from your throwing hand easier.

After wrapping the string segment around your Index Finger, throw this string over your non-throwing wrist and have your throwing Index Finger go to (or even touch) your non-throwing wrist as the string slack goes over the wrist.

Next, maneuver the string so that the front string goes into, and hits, the yo-yo gap.

Once the string goes into the yo-yo gap, let go of the pinch on your non-throwing hand and let the string just fall onto your non-throwing Index Finger.

Following this, swing the yo-yo clockwise with your hands positioned close together to get back into a regular Trapeze.

You have just successfully hit the Slack Trapeze, so give yourself a pat on the back!

Some pointers to take note of when learning this trick:
1) Ensure that the yo-yo is spinning straight and keep everything in one straight plane, especially the yo-yo string slack.
2) Remember to aim the slack into the yo-yo gap.
3) Perform the trick slowly and steadily, don't rush through it, giving it a little more 'flow'.

That's all for #28 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 Slack Trapeze by tagging us on our Instagram Page, with @spinworkxsg #firstmount. 

Till next time,
Keep the Slack (on the yo-yo string) coming!~

 
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