Here we go!

Starting on November 1 I’ll be playing only fixed axle for a year. If you’re interested in my experience with this, I’ll be writing occasionally about it here.

This is something I’ve been wanting to do since Ed Haponik (http://kinopah.blogspot.com/) began his yearlong adventure with the “eh” yoyo – I found his experiment with simplicity and self-discovery inspiring and have imagined that I’d grow a fair bit by imposing this limit on myself. Thanks for the inspiration, Ed! One of the most profound realizations I’ve had as an adult is that, despite the commonsense view that they’re a bad thing, limits are actually a crucial element of creativity and growth – in fact, I’d go so far as to say that they make creativity and effectiveness possible.

Whether anyone actually reads this or not, the main reason for my starting this blog is that I tend to do much better holding myself to commitments when I declare them publicly. I’ll also be getting a halfway decent camera so that I can share tidbits of my experience and any interesting tricks I happen upon, which I imagine will also help me stick with this.

A few caveats.

1. I’ll not be limiting myself to just one yoyo. I really dig the minimalism of sticking with just one yoyo, but I want to work on my very weak looping skills through the process, and settling on a single yoyo is part of what’s kept me from committing to do this – so, obstacle removed.

If anyone is interested, I’ll mostly be using stuff I already own – Tom Kuhn No Jives (in butterfly setup) and TMBR Sullivans and Lovejoys made by Colin Leland for the 1a stuff, and Tom Kuhn No Jives (in imperial setup) for the bit of looping I’ll do.

2. There are a few exceptions when I’ll use bearing yoyos. They include:

a. When someone sends me a yoyo to modify. I’d feel wrong about not testing a yoyo I’ve cut up for someone before sending it back to them. But I’ll play it just enough to make sure it’s good to go – probably just a couple of throws.

b. Sometimes at the clubs I’ve run I’ve been asked to help someone fix her or his yoyo. So, same as the first exception – I’ll throw their yoyo just long enough to make sure it’s fixed.

c. When someone asks me to try out a yoyo they’ve designed or modified or somesuch. Again, just enough to check it out. Honestly, this is mostly so that I don’t have to deal with the awkwardness of telling someone that I’m not able to try their yoyo. Which relates to the next issue:

3. I’ll update this as other caveats/exceptions occur to me. A big part of what I dig about yo-yoing is that it’s fun and social, and I’d prefer not to be rigid about this in a way that impedes the joy I get out of this delightful toy.

That’s all for now. I’m excited to finally get started on this!