Watched the 2012 Philippine National Yoyo Contest yesterday. Chanced upon this and was mesmerized. First time for me to see something like this and thought the tricks were amazing. And boy, is that an understatement. The contestants put on a brilliant show that had everyone roaring myself included. Anyone know where I can do more interviews with these guys?
Was looking for more stuff on YouTube as a result and picked out this video from two years ago so that you'll get what I am trying to say. Takes me back to my grade school days and we used to do simply yoyo tricks like walking the dog. That obviously has gone the way of the dinosaur.
Bleachersbrew
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I know the contest just took place, but I haven't seen any coverage from any of the usual yoyo news outlets, which is sad, as most of the other Asian contests were given attention.
As for interviews, there in PI, you could look up Hiro Koba (https://www.facebook.com/hirokittykoba), owner of Kitty Strings, one of the most popular yoyo string brands in the world.
While it should come as no surprise, I keep meeting Yoyoers of Filipino descent. Look up guys like Noel Kunz, Odon Alberto, Jr., and Ernest Kahn (featured in the video you linked). There's also Evan Evans, owner of Toxic Strings.
Myself, I am quite new to the yoyo world. I'm in my 40s, and I also remember playing with yoyos as a kid, doing tricks like walk the dog, around the world, and the best I could manage--rock the cradle. Back in April, I saw a yoyo at the store, and was intrigued by it as it was made of aluminum. I bought it on a whim, and was able to do all the same old tricks, but I there was one trick that always eluded me--man on the flying trapeze. Back in the day, as you may recall, all we had were the simple instructions printed on the back of the yoyo package, or maybe a Duncan trick book. Those never worked for me, but I thought now, with the Internet and YouTube, I'm sure I could find video tutorials that would help. When I searched for yoyo trick videos, I was blown away by what I found.
Six months later, I can now hit the "trapeze" with my eyes closed, and can do a few more tricks than I ever thought possible. (My humble videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLppnAtDzHfKxYSu_UTuQuQLwN1sji8jlV) I'm nowhere near as skilled as today's competitors, but I'm hooked, and have built up a nice little collection of high quality yoyos.
I hope seeing the contest in person has inspired you to explore the yoyo world in more depth!