For this Hong Kong yo-yo champion, it’s not a toy, it’s art
Leo Chan Matsumoto, a Hong Kong yo-yo pro blending technical skill with performance, wants to redefine yo-yoing as an art form
In April, 24-year-old Leo Chan Matsumoto clinched his third Hong Kong Yoyo Championship (HKYYC) title, cementing his status as one of the city’s most accomplished competitive yo-yo players.
But it is not so simple as playing “a toy that goes up and down”, he says. “There’s this stigma that a yo-yo is just something that is child’s play, but that’s not true, and I want to change that.”
Chan Matsumoto competes in the 1A division, using a single unresponsive yo-yo – which does not return to the hand with a tug – tethered to his finger. With strict rules and scoring systems, the competition is divided into five distinct styles, from intricate string tricks with one yo-yo to routines involving two yo-yos or even offstring play, where the yo-yo is not attached to the string at all.
Chan Matsumoto describes his own discipline in terms that may surprise outsiders, explaining how it is a combination of performance art and competitive sport based on choreography, musical interpretation and emotional expression with technical accuracy.