It’s Yo Time
September 5, 2008
The yo-yo is a toy made up of two equally sized disks of plastic, wood or metal and connected by an axle with a string tied around the axle. A yo-yo player is referred to as a yo-yoer, a “thrower” or a “flinger.”
In the freestyle division, contestants perform a two to three minute routine to music, squeezing in as many difficult and high-scoring tricks as possible. Performance is judged alongside technicality.
During competitions, judges award points by pressing clickers when a trick is executed well — for example, a yo-yo landing on a string is one point, whereas knots and mistakes are deductions. Extra points are awarded for originality, difficulty and speed. There is a point range for performance, but no set range on a move’s difficulty.
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History
The yo-yo dates back to China and Greece, with the first historical mention from Greece in the year 500 B.C.E. From there the yo-yo traveled to the Philippines. Around 1916, the Filipinos named the toy “yo-yo,” which is the Filipino word for “come-come” or “to return.”
In the 1920s, a Filipino immigrant named Pedro Flores brought the first Filipino yo-yo to the U.S. He founded the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara in 1928. In San Francisco in 1928 or 1929, a businessman named Donald Duncan saw his first yo-yo. He was amazed at the crowd that Flores drew when performing a few tricks, and in 1932 Duncan purchased the company.
Tricks
Always make sure the string is on top of the toy when beginning, otherwise the axle will be immobile on the thread.
How to throw and retrieve a yo-yo
Hold the string on top of the yo-yo. Now bring it near the ear as if making a muscle. Then make a forward motion extending your arm and releasing the yo-yo. Then turn the hand over, so that your palm is faced down toward ground. Pull up with the wrist (not arm) to bring the toy up and catch it with your palm.
First Step
How to hold a yo-yo
Making a muscle
Throwing down the yo-yo
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