Yo-yo

Stephen Robinson of 52 Skillz met up with experts to help learn two new abilities – slacklining and yo-yo tricks. The resulting video is a great bit of storytelling, and will immediately be relatable to anyone who has ever been frustrated by learning a new skill.

Check out each of the division winners in the 2017 World Yo-Yo Championships, which recently wrapped up in Reykjavík, Iceland. They’re all amazing, but Shu Takada and Takuma Inoue really blew our minds with their quick tricks and flawless performances.

Beyond Slow Motion follows up on their previous video of yo-yo fanatic Ben Conde as he continues to turn a simple piece of string and a butterfly wheel into a living work of art. We love the water shot at 2:46.

We’ve seen lots of awesome yo-yo tricks over the years, but videographer Darren Dyk gives us a newfound appreciation for the artistry and talent that goes into these tricks by capturing master yo-yo throwers JT Nickel and Paul Dang with his Phantom slow motion camera.

Young yo-yo master Hajime Miura shows off his amazing looping and spinning and skills during the 2015 World Yo-Yo Contest. And if you have nothing better to do with your day, head over to the YoyoVideoArchive for an endless library of yo-yo vids.

Kuma Films presents footage of Takeshi Kamisato aka Yo-Yo Hero demonstrating his impressive talent for balancing and spinning tops, resulting in a very different sort of ballet than we’re used to seeing.

Yo-Yo expert Janos Karancz pulls a series of incredible tricks during the 2013 World Yo-Yo Championship to take top prize. His hands move so fast, you might want to check the slow-mo version – just BYO soundtrack. (Thanks Kyle)

YouTube channel Distort slows down the hands of pro yo-yo player Brian Roberts aka Doctor Popular. They also share yo-yo trivia, at least one of which is wrong: “yo-yo” is not the Filipino term for “come back.” 

Astronaut Don Pettit shows off his “microgravity yo-yo tricks” while in space. He’s not as good as his Earthbound counterparts, but he makes up for it by coming up with cool names for his tricks.

We’ve got enough trouble trying to do the old tablecloth trick without hurting ourselves, but the fact that Tomonari “Black” Ishiguro can pull it off with a Yo-Yo scores him extreme bonus points.

You’ll see lots of slick freestyle moves in this video from Singapore’s Marcus Koh, a dude who just happens to be the 2011 winner of the 1A division World Yo-Yo Contest. (Thanks, Joshua!)

World Champion Johnnie DelValle has redesigned the original Hitman YoYo by adding carbon fiber caps and a Solid Spin axle system; watch him grind out some intimate tricks in this vid (NSFW music).