What makes a yo-yo "built for competition"?

Actually; more likely that you were slightly confused by my using the two descriptions in the same explanation.

Possibly if you knew more about recent(last 20 years or less) you would know I would/could be the/a person to be least confused by the similarities or differences between the two words: Competition and signature.

I fully understand that the are far more Competition yoyos than Signature yoyos. But that being realized; there ‘are’ a good number of Competition yoyos that ‘are’ Signature yoyos.

My ‘lack of confusion’ is simple to explain.

During the years I spent with Yoyojam; I had several ‘Signature’ yoyos: Mini-Motrix, Mini-Motu, Micro-Mo.
Basically experiments in helping develop a view that higher performance could be realized in various sizes and shapes of yoyos.

…Yet, I have not only never competed in a Yoyo Contest; I have never even been in any kinda talent show or throwdown or anything of any nature yoyo skills related, lolol.

Yet I have several signature yoyos.:nerd_face: Go figure…

Sorry about your misunderstanding, Myk Myk

PS… towards the bottom of the details to the right; notice the date used to timeline the yoyo. (2003)

The Mini-Motrix was considered to tear up tricks pretty handily at the time, hahaha.

And at least a few Japanese players competed on stage with the Mini-Motrix.

Even my next Signature yoyo; the Mini-Motu; was used by Takayuki Tanaka to win a Japanese Yoyo Contest I 2005. Here is a link to an old listing and a link to an Amazing example of a very good yoyo in the right hands>>

Yoyo(please read description) > YoYoJam Mini Motu!!! New in Box!!! Lime Green!!! | #39832380

Takayusa wins 2005 Japanese Nationals with little yoyo > https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FLPEU2QeDBY

My Signature yoyo used by a Pro to Compete and Win… and I was on the other side of the planet Earth at the time🤓

Zero confusion here.

My long winded post must have just clouded your understanding, lol

1 Like

Well, you just answered something I was typing while you posted this Mo.  I was wondering how many signature yoyos weren’t designed as that persons competition yoyo?

I can’t think of many (but now my count is up to 5) yoyos that were designed as signature models that were not also designed as a competition yoyo as well.

OK yoydoc. I can clearly see that you are not confused on that issue, and perhaps that wasn’t the right use of that word. After reading the post again, I still believe your post confuses the two.

I think I found where ‘your confusion’ began> I stated, “Most Signature yoyos are identified as Competition Ready”. Which is very accurate.

But… I never stated that All Competition ready yoyos were/are Signature yoyos.

There are dozens of Competition ready yoyos that are not the Signature yoyos of anybody.

Once you can process that; I think your contention will vanish like vape exhaust.

You gave your personal definition of what a competition was just below that.

If you didn’t intend for people to read that as “all competition ready yoyos were/are Signature yoyos” then you worded your response poorly. The fault for you poorly expressing yourself does not fall on Myk_Myk, I’d say his take away and response to your original post was perfectly reasonable and there was no need for your condescension.

In regards to the OP, when I see a yoyo described as “built for competition” it usually tells me a few general things to expect. The yoyo is most likely a V, H or W-shap (or some hybrid of them), will have low walls and an at least slightly larger gap width. The yoyo will likely be full sized (~55-57mm diameter 42-44mm width) and likely won’t have any crazy design features (e.g. the X Steamroller and Stampede or the YYF Turntable), usually opting for a sleek design. The term usually applies to yoyos designed for 1a use (which is often transferable to 3a and 5a). It will also use a C Bearing (though most yoyos do now), be rather rim-weighted and it is unlikely to have an IGR.

None of those are rock hard rules or anything, a yoyo can be “built for competition” and meet barely any of those criteria. Those are just general characteristics that I associate with modern competition oriented yoyos. In the end, it is just a marketing tool, meant to attract buyers looking for a certain type of yoyo (or just an insight into the original goal of the designer). I wouldn’t put a huge amount of stock into it, it is more useful to examine the yoyo itself and what people say about it if you want an idea of how it plays.

3 Likes

… Your inability or refusal to comprehend what I say does not constitute any sound basis to conclude I poorly expressed myself.

Since you went to the trouble of quoting me; I would point out that I specifically stated, ‘A yoyo built for competition…’. I never said that ‘every yoyo’ designed for competition ended up being someones’ Signature.

So you concluded that when I stated ‘A yoyo built for competition …’ ;could be read as 'all yoyos or every yoyo built for competition?

I was making an observation and didn’t mention I was giving my personal definition extracted from a Yoyo Bible.

yoyodoc, it is possible to have a discussion without making a snide comment anytime anyone disagrees with you. Instead of insulting anyone who read your original comment and came away with a different impression than you meant, you can just say “No, that isn’t what I meant, sorry for the confusion”.

1 Like

yoyodoc, pretty much your entire post related to how specific competition yoyo designs are. Because they are signature models, and are therefore tweaked to the point of near exclusivity. Personally, I find even that argument as applied to signature competition yoyos to be a bit hyperbolic.

Regardless, either I’m not very bright, or you didn’t express yourself very clearly. My apologies if it’s the former.

No. It’s not possible.

Look who is talking.

You come in talking smack and instructing me how to speak?

Wha do you offer other than criticism?

Nothing. Nuff said…

I’m sorry, you’re right; I truly have not contributed at all to the actual topic of this post. (This shall be my last post on this, sorry everyone for having contributed to derailing the thread).

1 Like

For my part, I realize that I could have been more tactful in my first response to yoyodoc’s post. For that, I apologize. :slight_smile:

Well, I reread my original post a few times. I have decided that I could have made a few word changes that may have avoided brains colliding😳

The quote Lex noted. I could have said ‘Some Competition yoyos…’. Instead I used, ‘A Competition yoyo…’.

I can see how ‘A’ might be misinterpreted as ‘All or Every Competition yoyo…’.

I feel I may have blended too many thoughts on the subject and obviously made it easier to find a few statements that didn’t align as well as they could have.

Thinking and speaking/typing is much more spontaneous and open range than scripted dialogue.

I don’t rehearse what I say/post.

From now on; I will read my posts a few times before I press enter🤓 To avoid being misunderstood for the most part.

So I also apologize for unintentionally creating any confusion.

Realize that in the past several years on this Forum; I have accumulated over 1000 Thank You’s.

And I am pretty sure folks didn’t thank me for intentionally confusing them. Lolol

But then Again… ?

5 Likes

Maybe the question is: what makes a yo-yo a “non-competition” yo-yo?

While we all may argue the fine points of what makes a “competition” yo-yo; what do we make of a yo-yo that is described as generally “not being a competition yo-yo”?

I think that description says way more than one that calls it a “competition” level yo-yo.

When a company say ‘this yoyo is not a competition yoyo’, that can be inferred as a yoyo that is difficult to use, meant for people who already have several yoyos and is looking for something different. Something like narrow with high wall. I doubt it will be someone’s first yoyo.
I believe Onedrop released one but I forgot what it’s called.

Any yoyo can actually be used as ‘fun yoyo’ or ‘competition yoyo’ though. Calling it either one to me is just another marketing strategy. Maybe someone doesn’t know which yoyo to get, and seeing the cool phrase ‘competition yoyo’ might convince him to buy one.

Anything over $45 and personal preference. :wink:

I think it’s more of a manufacture thing, or what the designer of the yoyo want to archive.

1 Like

There was a guy who won Worlds with a Northstar, which is pretty cheap and made of a primitaive yoyo material called “plastic.” I had a Northstar once, but I couldn’t get the darn thing to win at anything.

Player matters, yoyo does not. “Competition” is a marketing term.

This “plastic”, which I assume is pronounced “placed-ice”, what is this you speak of? Lol

I guess that was my initial thought. My three main players, right now, are a Musashi, a Skyva, and a qv 5000. I can feel the different response from each of these throws, but I’m just as confident attacking a trick with the 20 dollar Skyva as I am with the 170 dollar Musashi.

I see a lot of the same throws being used in competition, but I’m curious why I don’t see an inexpensive plastic in there. It might not be as precise as a high end metal/bimetal, but you can still pull if the same maneuvers.

Quality materials designed with proper assembly.

Duncan tournament. “Duncan tournaments are tested and approved for all tricks.”
If it isn’t a duncan, it isn’t a yoyo😉

2 Likes