I have attended various yo-yo events and its either here in Malaysia or in Singapore for Asia Pacific Yoyo Championship. It would be lucky if I can go for World Yoyo Contest someday. Anyways , that isn't the main point that I am trying to convey. What I am trying to say that there are certain rules that aren't written anywhere but it is a common courtesy for all us , as competitors and yo-yo players , to follow this rules.
No idea what is it ? Here are the 5 Do's and Don'ts in any yo-yo event :
A yoyo weight distribution is considered as one of the major factor to determine whether the yoyo is good or not. Just imagine that you're wielding a sword, if there isn't a proper calibration between the material used and the weight distribution during forging, the sword will be deemed inappropriate for combat as it might break due to the poor forging. This goes the same for a yoyo. If the weight distribution is not proper, the yoyo will wobble during play , otherwise known as vibe. A yoyo with a slight vibe is still playable , but if the vibe is too severe , therefore the yoyo will be deemed as a damage yoyo.
Yoyo players are constantly complaining and are unsatisfied with some yoyos due to it's weight. Don't get me wrong , they love the yoyo design but certain yoyos are too heavy and some of them are too light for their taste. The design is perfect, it fits nicely in the hand, the catch is good and it plays really well but due to it's weight, players have the tendency of loosing control of the yoyo.
So what are the steps taken to fine tune a yoyo's weight ?
Do you remember the time when you are so clingy to one particular yoyo that you refuse to change ? I have my moments. I remember that I was using an 888 yoyofactory and to me, that was the best yoyo and there is nothing else that could replace it. PFFFT , it has hubstacks yo ! (pun not intended) , What other yoyo that could beat that ?? Owh boy, I was wrong.
Yoyos are constantly improving each day with a slight modification to their body designs and other special features installed in a yoyo. It gives the yoyo a different feel and a different play style. You see, I didn't know this back then. So, I faithfully stick to my precious 888 for 2 years. One day , I saw this awesome looking purple acid YYF Genesis. After collecting some cash , I got it and for the first time.... I felt that I could do anything with this yoyo ! My tricks that I usually missed is all hits ! I even tried speeding up with that yoyo. It was amazing....
So ladies and gentleman , here are the 8 signs that you should be investing in a yoyo :
I recently came across a question on Facebook asking on how to pry open Duncan caps. I used to have a problem with this too but with the help of Duncan Crew Malaysia Dimi and Azrul , I manage to learn a few tips on how to pry open the caps.
One of the most common and the most traditional method to pry open the caps is to simply pop the caps out using the pre-installed Axle in the yoyo. It is a little risky but this is the simplest method to open the caps. What you need to do is to unscrew your yoyo , take the side whereby the axle is installed , placed it on a hard flat surface , cup your hand onto the top part of the yoyo and apply some pressure downwards till you can hear a small "POP" sound which indicates that the cap is out. (I would not recommend you to do it on a wooden table or a soft surface because you will create a small hole on the surface). In order to avoid any damage done to your axle or the surface of the floor , place a small cloth to reduce the damage that will be caused to the axle and the the surface of the floor.
There is a risk to this method, whereby the cap of the yoyo might crack if you apply too much pressure to it. My advice is , do not attempt to hit the axle onto the floor just to pry open the caps, gently place it on the surface and just push downwards at one pump. Imagine you are doing CPR on someone. Too much pressure , the heart will rupture , too little pressure , there is no effect. So , just push the yoyo down one time and that should do the trick. Once that is done , take out the axle, place it on the other side of the yoyo and repeat the same step.
Another method is the usage of a needle or a box cutter (but this is a little bit dangerous , so kids , please have your parents or your senior to help you out on this). Look at the above picture. Can you see the small thin gap line around the cap ? Stick the needle in that gap and try to pry open the caps. Usually it work but the procedure is time consuming because the needle might not be strong enough and it could bend , plus using a box cutter blade is rather dangerous.
The last method is an unconventional method. This idea came from other yoyo players from the regular Malaysia Yoyo Club meeting and other yoyo forums. As for me , this method was shown by a friend , Ryan Lim from Yoyofficer. What you need is a butter knife and a lot of heat. Yeap , you read that right , a butter knife. Preferably a butter knife that your mother will not stabbed you with if you ever touch her precious cutlery set and setting it to blaze just for your yoyo. That , ladies and gentleman , is a bad idea. So kids , please ASK your parents permission before taking a butter knife out of the cutlery drawer.
Anyways , what you need to do is to heat up the butter knife (or other squarish metal that you can heat up) , and apply a slight pressure at the side of the caps. This is to create a small square gap that is used to pry open the caps.
I have attached a video along with this article as a guide and hopefully this will give you some insight on the methods that I have mentioned. At the beginning of the video is the first method to open the caps that I mentioned above.
Note : I do not own any of the picture posted above and I have no intention of any infringement of copyright law. The picture was posted solely for education wise and it used as a reference for the readers of this blog. Please click on the link for the original content of the pictures. Some of the methods are dangerous and should not be perform alone if you are under the age of 16. Please have your parents or your senior to help you out.
