Apparently, yo-yoing (is that even a real word?) is the newest trend.
All the cool kids do it.
If you’re in 4th grade.
Or have an older brother in 4th grade.
And you live in Tucson.
Michael bought a yo-yo 2 weeks ago during a school assembly about character development.
Character development = yo-yoing?
Ok then.
Anyway, the lead character in the assembly is a yo-yo master.
Enter Michael and Jack. The newest yo-yo masters.
(Yes, you can be jealous that my kids are in bare feet and t-shirts. But you can’t yell at me about it.)
Michael’s yo-yo broke last weekend. We heard that a game store in the mall had some yo-yo supplies, so we made a trip out there.
At the mall, we met Fred. Fred is another yo-yo master.
Fred showed the boys tricks that made my jaw drop.
Fred obviously has way too much free time on his hands.
But Fred was kind, and very patient with the non yo-yoing Mom that was asking him a lot of yo-yoing questions.
This is where the post gets informative. Are you interested in yo-yos? Because I honestly feel that if I spent 40 minutes talking to a yo-yo master in the game store (where they sold “energy bites for gamers.” Seriously.), I should share the knowledge. If for no other reason than maybe it’ll save you a trip to the yo-yo store.
You see, this is a butterfly shaped yo-yo:
And this is an imperial shaped yo-yo:
There’s no big difference between the two – Fred says it’s all based on preference.
You can yo-yo with cotton string or polyester string. Polyester string is better because it doesn’t shred, and it’s thinner.
Yo-yos need friction in order to spin correctly. If your yo-yo is out of control and not yo-yoing correctly, you should buy some of these:
They’ll help your yo-yo yo-yo better :)
So, that’s my 40 minutes worth of knowledge from Fred, the yo-yo guy.
Please comment and let me know that in some area of your life, this was helpful.
Anyone?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi there! I am popping by from Michelle’s blog cuz’ she bragged about you so much. I know nothing of yo-yo’s and it’s currently not a fad here but who knows? Yes, your post was informative if, ya know, I ever have would be yo-yo masters in my household.
Jealous of the bare feet? Yeah, maybe. But we’ve had lots of sunshine lately so, no jealousy there (I wouldn’ta yelled at ya anyways:)
So mah grandchildz iz learnin da art o’ yo yoin’. The oldest iz 9 da youngest iz 5. I never had da cooridination on da yo yo peep this s***. Hope dey git ta be yo yo champs while ah be stills on dis here earf – “Wat ‘chew trippin foo….they lernt from da best..Fred da yo yo masta gitten down on his turf.
(Sorry Bec…couldn’t resist)
You are killing me. Just killing me.
And I love you. :)
First, Gramma Teetsie. I think you should imbed that whole comment in a video. I simply can’t imagine a Gramma talking that way.
I had no idea there was such a thing as a yoyo master. That is just scary. Or sad. I don’t know.
.-= kristen@nst´s last blog ..Miscellaneous =-.
I was never good at yo-yoing, can’t wait to have the boys show me all their tricks in Hawaii!
Yo you ma!! That is pretty good. My kids buy those silly yo-yo’s that don’t really require any effort – it returns back to them but they’re junk b/c the string always gets tangled. I bet there are some really cool yo-yo tricks on you tube (just screen them first…you never know what you’ll find).
.-= jen@ourdailybigtop´s last blog ..S.O.S. =-.
Annie will be thrilled – she’s trying to master the art herself. So far, not so much.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..A perfect day =-.
Energy bites for gamers! Seriously? That’s awesome…just found my hubbie’s v-day gift. :D
.-= Eileen´s last blog ..Queen of Clean (for a couple hours) =-.
My husband loves yo-yo’s. His uncle has a basket full of them, so the minute my kids walk into the door of their house I have to watch my head.
Oh, and I can SO yell at you as I put my 5 layers, snowboots and down jacket on to go shovel the 12 inches that fell.
Just saying…
.-= Kellyn´s last blog ..Turning 8 =-.
I am filing away that knowledge in the event that I need it – thanks!
.-= Christina´s last blog ..Snow =-.
How fun! I never thought about the different kinds of yo-yo’s before, but I guess when your stuck in a store with a yo-yo expert you’re bound to learn something? I probably would have yo-yo’d him in the head just to get him to shut up tho. But that’s just me! :)
Gary’s been on again off again with the yo-yo. John once carried around a stringless yo-yo for days. Wouldn’t let it out of his site. He was about 2 at the time!
By the way, Grandpa says when they do “Around The World” you usually end up with a broken window. So, don’t let the master YoYoer teach them that one.
Becca,
I LOVE GRANDMA TEETSIE!!! She’s hilarious.
I miss you. I hope you are well.
:)
~Amy
.-= Amy´s last blog ..H.S. Besties =-.
I just found your blog. Adorable boys, BTW! We have yet to get into yo-yos. I am just impressed that they didn’t turn them into weapons! THAT is impressive!
Thank you for the post, I’ve never before thought there is so much to yo-yo!:) I have to share that knowledge with my daughter, she’s fascinated with yo-yo! :)
.-= Eva´s last blog ..Finally moved in, and my surprising discovery about myself =-.
We’re not much into Yo-Yos around these parts but Fred the YoYo guy seems like a hoot! Cute post by the way. Isn’t it funny where our blog material comes from at times. =)
.-= Julie From Inmates´s last blog ..Ohno! Not Another List! =-.
When my 10 year old downloaded the last picture to view, i.e. the boy with yo yo by his feet, he scrolled down to view the yo yo and looked at me and said, “Check out his feet!” I said, “OK, I am looking at his feet”, then he looked at me with a big smile and said, “See his toes? He has long toes just like me!” He pointed out the boys second and third toe and explained how they appear to be as long or slightly longer than his big toe. Then he pulled off his shoes and socks and showed me how his second toe is longer than his big toe! My 10 year old finally looked at me and said, “That boy has some cook looking toes!”