The Fixed Axle Megathread of Awesomeness

on april 19, i didn’t have any theme at all, and the resulting cavalcade of tricks came to be known as “huh? wha?” check this one out for a variety of intermediate fixie concepts, including some slacks, whips, and one of my favorite string-based stall concepts, the bounce house.

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speaking of whips, we got a whole column for that. a lot of these are pretty “new school”, but actually deceptively easy to learn, so i encourage everybody to try them at home! unresponsive and fixed axle don’t necessarily need to be opposing concepts

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next, we have the battle that nearly cleaved the fixed axle world in twain… that’s right… the ed vs. drew creep-off!! the creeper is often considered a goofy trick only for demonstrators, but that could not be more wrong!.. well, okay, i guess it is kind of goofy. but whatever, the creeper is essentially walk the dog’s big brother, and walk the dog is the most famous yo-yo trick ever, so you really owe it to yourself to have at least one or two creeper variations in the pocket.

seeing as ed won, i’m sure he won’t mind my re-posting his video here.


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moving away from the old school stuff, crisis has to be one of the most technical moves i’ve ever done ever. chopsticks stalls to dumptruck flips to weirdo holds—wha? jus’ check it out, and stay tuned 'til the end for some weird kendama-yoyo fusion.

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now, let’s step back and look at what i consider to be one of the most useful fixed axle mounts of all, the 1.5 stall. this move and its variations are some of my favorites ever, and i highly recommend learning both cross-armed 1.5 entrances… and the other stuff’s cool too i guess

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planet hop, shoot the moon’s gravity-friendly brother, is a classic trick. when you get really good at planet hop, perhaps it could be said that you are in fact performing planet rock. i am personally of the belief that you should end every trick with a loop out, and practicing planet hops is one of the best ways to get solid regenerations while learning about spin direction. so do it!

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if you learn a lot of fixed axle tricks, you might get labeled a weirdsmobile in the community. similarly, when your tricks in a video don’t have a theme, you might title it that. you should definitely learn makin’ da zines, though. that’s not even a question.

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here’s my warm-up for the fixed axle championship of all the world. mostly showoff type tricks, but hey, if you wanna learn straitjacket stalls then i’m stoked.

now that we’re all caught up, let’s rap! what have you been learning? what would you like to see next? who plays fixed axle, anyways?

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Hey Drew! Looking forward to seeing you around these parts. Thanks for cataloguing all of that.

I play some awful fixed axle. As I believe you’ve noticed over on Facebook, every time I pick up a fixed-axle throw I basically just practice kickflip suicides. :wink: Between that, the ubiquitous stall-peater, and old school tricks like standard UFOs and Sidewinders (not much for fancy modified ones yet!) I keep myself busy enough and enjoy it plenty. Working on some regens and am trying my darndest to Shoot the Moon. With no luck thus far; I can redirect the yoyo upwards but it’s so limp that the trick fizzles out there.

Got an Eh and a Butterfly along with a few other fixed axle throws, so I reckon I’ve got all the gear a guy could need. :wink:

I am also the grand champeen of YYE’s Fixed Axle February contest. HOWEVER-- it was not a skill contest; rather, a mini-documentary-making contest that could feature tricks. Here’s the entry:

Apparently this makes it mobile-friendly for those who like that sort of thing (disclaimer, I’ve never tried it):

http://www.mobileyt.com/65089431.php

I believe there will be another round of the contest in February again! Not sure if the rules of engagement will be the same, but certainly other fixed-axle enthusiasts will be taking part. :smiley:

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I try to do fixed axle. I’m not very good. For your double sidewinder trick, how do you move your hand to the other side of the yoyo without it coming back up?

double sidewinder is a trick that’s been vexing people since the THP days, mostly due to the fact that it doesn’t have a lot in common with other tricks.

my best advice would be to get as comfortable as possible with sidewinders on both sides individually. it’s difficult to describe, because a lot of it is feeling, but there’s a way to do a sidewinder where you “pop” the yo-yo up and it feels as though it’s hanging in the air while you’re fixing the tension—i think part of the secret is a gentle throw and a heavy tug, but really you just gotta feel it. also, outside>inside is way easier than inside>outside for me, but once again just try it a bunch and figure out what works for you.

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I’ve gotten it once, starting with tightening then loosening. It’s hard.

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I was already subscribed to your channel, Drew. Your tricks make my mind asplode and my fingers flail.

So glad this thread is just started and already chock full of information for me to devour! I have fallen in love with fixed axle. I dream about tricks sometimes and wake up and have to do it. I currently own a TMBR Baldwin and is my main throw, but use my loop 808 for giggles too. I am just getting into fixed axle play (3 weeks?) after 3 years of just about only unresponsive, so I’m mostly just focusing on translating all of my unresponsive tricks. Tricks in the new category for me would be kick flip suicides and stalls. I have not focused much on kickflip suicides yet, and have only landed a few on my 808. I will get intensive about it, but that will come shortly. I’m a bit particular about how I approach and practice techniques. Visio to the rescue?

I’m probably annoying everybody with my 3 fixed axle videos in the last week, but I have yet to meet another yoyoer in analog life so YYE will have to suffer in the meantime.

My favorite fixed axle trick that I caught on video was Inverted cross-arm brent stole on a TMBR Baldwin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxgFwW7JmbY

Anyway I’m rooting for you at worlds fixed contest, Drew!

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What yoyo do you use in your puppy dog love video? A butterfly? Can you do suicides with a butterfly?

awesome to hear some other people out in the world playing fixed! i think there is so much opportunity for crossover between responsive/unresponsive tricks, really excited about the future of fixed axle yo-yoing.

and yes, it was just a butterfly. the trick for suicides (or any slack-y tricks on a fixed axle) is definitely watching your string tension; remember, looser tension = less response.

you’d be surprised what you can do on a butterfly with some practice… isn’t that wright, guy?

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So, to get your yoyo unresponsive you need low string tension. But, whenever I try a suicide with tension that’s anything other than neutral, it twists together. How do you keep that from happening?

I’ve put this up before, but it still eats up a lot of my time.  It’s like…zen.

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Booyakasha! Amazing Spirit Bomb and wonderfully horrid pun all at once. :smiley:

@kangaroo, it’s a tricky question, and i may have oversimplified it by saying it’s all in the tension. neutral tension is where you want it, and the rest is really just practice. i know that’s such a frustrating answer! it definitely feels worth it when you stick that first suicide. i’d highly recommend re-reading/watching ed’s “back to basics” column for further advice & inspiration.

@yooldman yeah, it is so zenlike! something about the back & forth nature of stalls, the simplicity of the machine, and not having to worry as much about spintime makes it seem so meditative to me. i often find a three move sequence i like and then just do that over and over because it feels good, haha. long live the profly!

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