that's not actually a legitimate achievement, but it's the equinox which somehow FEELS like it should be a moment of reflection (or perhaps resetting intention). but yeah, 265 days and basically 3/4 seasons with the same all-wooden, fixed-axle yo-yo.
and it's been kinda great!
the other day i was looking at my yo-yo cabinet and i just feel so distanced from its contents lately. i KINDA had an urge to throw a no jive a few weeks back, but i just threw the deHcade, and recognized that it was an IDEA i was craving as opposed to any tactile experience, much less any specific tricks which have been unavailable.
one thing i do wonder is whether this experience makes me a "worse" player. i'll note before i even touch on this that the idea of "worse" (or "better") implies a level of objectivity that i don't possess, and which i don't even really believe applies within yo-yoing. but it is interesting to consider whether limiting myself to a single wooden fixie has prevented me from opening doors available to me with the rest of the yo-yo's available throughout the wide world.
i don't think so.
first off, everyone has constant access to any and all yo-yo's they wish to throw. the mere availability of that hardware is not the primary obstacle to achieving ultimate yo-yo mastery (if such a thing exists). more than anything else, whatever your yo-yo niche, you just have to play A LOT. i can pick up a different yo-yo every day of the week, but if all i'm doing is a few of the tricks i've known for years before putting it back down on the shelf, that diversity is doing little for me.
if anything, the limitation of a single yo-yo has caused me to become extremely adept... AT said yo-yo. the deHcade absolutely feels like an extension of my arm at this point. i know just how it will respond, including within different weather conditions and slightly tweaked gap widths. it spinning along on the string feels strangely analogous to my own breathing these days. just a feeling which i probably filter out as ambient background noise or the hum of my own brain. what will be striking will be the first time i throw an unresponsive yo-yo again, and the shriek of the bearing jolts me out of my wooden reverie.
i do wonder how much i've forgotten. lengthy picture tricks are especially hard to access on a fixed axle, and it will be fun to try to explore that territory again. i also don't really have a tactile memory for the unresponsive regenerations i like to do. i know HOW to do them... i've just totally forgot how they feel.
in general, however, i think that every experience which causes us to dive more deeply into our chosen art or field makes us "better", and this year has certainly qualified. i've been able to play a very basic, simple yo-yo and stay (or at least feel) creative with it, which makes me happy.
i did inadvertently WASH my deHcade the other day. i had it in my jeans pocket, and i just threw them in there without thinking. didn't realize it until i advanced the laundry and took a soaking yo-yo to school. the axle swelled incredibly, and when i got home it became clear that it would be inextricable from the halves. i was momentarily worried that i'd need to switch to my backup (a bit like starting over), but no. i was able to drill through the axle and break it apart with a thin screwdriver. so the deHcade i started with picked up a couple minor scars (and maybe a bit more vibe) but it's good to go.
and so am i! 100 more days. honestly it's more stressful to imagine going back to throwing whatever than it is to imagine continuing on for these next few months. :)
