The Yo-Yo

The yo-yo, for most people, is just a piece of plastic or wood connected to a length of string. But that is not everything. Nowadays a yo yo is more than that; it has a bearing and is often made of aluminium.

the five basic styles

1.  String tricks (1A)- The most played style. For this style you generally need a butterfly shaped yo-yo that has a long spinning ball bearing so the yo-yo can spin for a long time at the end of the string. This is called “a sleeper”(the world record is 22 minutes.) While the yo-yo is sleeping you can hop it multiple times on the string, and do many different tricks.
2. Looping tricks (2A)- The most difficult style of yo-yoing. For this style you need two looping yo-yos that are imperial shaped and a ball bearing or a transaxle. In this style you loop the yo-yos in circles.
3. Triple A (3A)- a slow play style. For this style you need 2 long spinning butterfly shaped yo-yos with ball bearings. In this style you do string tricks  (like in 1A) but with 2 yo-yos. You can combine tricks.
4. Offstring (4A)- This style is like the Chinese yo-yo or Diabolo but without the wooden sticks. The string is not attached to the yo-yo so you can do many whips and can use your body whilst performing. If done fluently this style looks amazing.
5. Counterweight- In this style the string is not attached to your finger, so you can switch your hand. On the end of the string is a counterweight (for example a plastic dice or small rubber bal). This style is very popular at the moment. It was invented by Steve Brown.