We are approaching Rethinkyoyo's third birthday (boy, does time fly).  This time last year, to celebrate, Rethinkyoyo hosted a worldwide tutorial contest.  The contest was sponsored by 4 companies and received over 70 tutorial submissions from many different countries.  However, one of the things that amazed me most was that the four winners were from four different countries.  It was truly a global contest, and it benefited the community greatly, supplying a fresh influx of new tutorials.

This year, Rethinkyoyo is again holding a tutorial contest.  Once again, you, a player, creates a tutorial and uploads it for the whole community, and you will be in the running for some very fun prizes.  This year, though, with even more prize contributors than last year.  I selected companies that are either small companies or newer companies to ask to be a part of this contest, and I was delighted at the response to my invitations to contribute.  Nine companies have all agreed to contribute prizes to the contest.  More power to them, this contest would have been impossible without them.  And thanks to them, even more participants will be awarded with great prizes this year.

Create a video teaching a trick.  You can use text, voice, or simple breakdown method to teach the trick, and the trick can be anything from a simple whip to a complex full-length to a flowing repeater.  You then must:

1. Upload the video to YouTube (or Vimeo)
   
2. Name the video "Rethinkyoyo Contest 2012 - [Trick Name]"
   
3. Insert the Rethinkyoyo Tutorial Contest Image into the beginning of your video. (Download the image here)
   
4. Send your video to rethinkyoyo@gmail.com by  11:59pm EST on August 31st.
   

Rules for Participating

1. 1A tricks only, please.
   
2. All instructions must be in English (if you use words in your instructions).
   
3. No profanity.
4. You must insert the Rethinkyoyo Tutorial Contest Image into the beginning of your video. (Download the image here)
5. You can create and submit as many tutorials as you like.  Each one will be judged as a separate entity.

Judging Criteria

1. Trick - creativity, style, eye-catching
   
2. Video - quality, visibility, overall feel
   
3. Instruction - clarity, effectiveness, specificity
   

Grand Prize
-Winning video will be uploaded to the official Rethinkyoyo YouTube channel
and added to the Rethinkyoyo website in the list of tutorials
(with music swapped out for a Mr.Bear tune).
- Two yoyos of your choice from the pool of yoyos
- Packs of 5 Graou String's "Rethink Strings"
- Pack of 5 Toxic Strings
- Ten YoYo cap
- T-shirt
- MonkeyfingeR "Monkey SNOT" silicone
- MonkeyfingeR "Gorillus Lubricus" bearing conditioner
- Mr.Bear full-length album

Second Place
- One yoyo of your choice from the pool of yoyos
- Pack of 5 Graou String's "Rethink String"
- Pack of 5 Toxic Strings
- T-shirt
- MonkeyfingeR "Monkey Snot" silicone
- MonkeyfingeR "Gorillus Lubricus" bearing conditioner
- Mr.Bear full-length album

Third Place
- One yoyo of your choice from the pool of yoyos
- Pack of 5 Graou String's "Rethink String"
- T-shirt
- MonkeyfingeR "Monkey Snot" silicone
- MonkeyfingeR "Gorillus Lubricus" bearing conditioner
- Mr.Bear full-length album

Kyle's Pick ... Just at the heels of third place.
- One yoyo of your choice from the pool of yoyos
- Pack of 5 Graou String's "Rethink String"
- Mr.Bear full-length album

Standout Trick ... Maybe not the best teaching or video quality, but a trick that caught my eye as I watched all the entries.
- One yoyo of your choice from the pool of yoyos
- Pack of 5 Graou String's "Rethink String"
- Mr.Bear EP

Globble Award ... This prize goes to whomever I feel like awarding, honestly.
- One yoyo of your choice from the pool of yoyos
- Pack of 5 Graou String's "Rethink String"
- Mr.Bear EP

Good luck to all those who are going to get involved.  Get out there, polish up your best tricks, practice your editing skills, help the community and do your best to win the prize.

About this trick
For quite a while now, I've wanted to teach a trick created by Zammy.  He's been innovative in many ways with his style, and so many of his tricks just exude creativity.  For whatever reason, I just never have gotten around to making one, but I finally resolved to get to it this past week during my time in New York City.  Centrum was featured on Zammy's most recently uploaded video, Perseverance, and I was immediately drawn to it for its unique plane-breaking, 3D slack elements and also
its simplicity.

Tricks referenced in this tutorial
Bottom Mount        Boingy-Boing

About this trick
This trick originated as a bunch of random unrelated moves that I would sort of unconsciously do as I was bored standing around, in a line or something like that.  Finally as I started to actually realize there might be some substance and worth in the moves if put together, I strung them together in a flowing order and put the whole thing on repeat.  It just goes to show that tricks can really be created in many different ways, many times accidentally.

Some of the moves may feel awkward at first, but as you start to understand the rhythm and flow of the trick, it can be a useful avenue for stylistic expression.  Sometimes, too often, I feel, people learn just the necessary steps and individual parts of tricks and never take the effort or time required to truly refine the tricks and suit them to their styles.  Take the time, it is worth it.

Tricks referenced in this tutorial
Double or Nothing          Trapeze          Green Triangle

Happy National Yo-Yo Day.

This trick fits Jensen Kimmitt's style perfectly, with its technical, tight, yet somehow flowing feel with hop elements.  I feel that it does not fit my personal style as well as his, but I felt that those who have similar styles to his may benefit from learning this and understanding some of the intricacies of the elements.  I know that learning it stretched some of my understanding of creation of tricks, perhaps just because it is such a different style than I'm used to.