My journey to yo-yo mastery

Remember the days you struggled just to make a yo-yo spin, and if you were really fancy, to “walk the dog”? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Japanese yo-yo world champion BLACK tells the inspiring story of finding his life's passion, and gives an awesome performance that will make you want to pull your yo-yo back out of the closet.

When I was 14 years old,

I had low self-esteem.

I felt I was not talented at anything.

One day, I bought a yo-yo.

When I tried my first trick, it looked like this.

I couldn't even do the simplest trick,

but it was very natural for me,

because I was not dextrous, and hated all sports.

But after one week of practicing,

my throws became more like this.

A bit better.

I thought, the yo-yo is something for me to be good at,

for the first time in my life.

I found my passion.

I was spending all my time practicing.

It took me hours and hours a day

to build my skills up to the next level.

And then, four years later, when I was 18 years old,

I was standing onstage at the World Yo-Yo Contest.

And I won.

I was so excited. "Yes, I did it! I became a hero.

I may get many sponsors, a lot of money,

tons of interviews, and be on TV!" I thought. (Laughter)

But after coming back to Japan,

totally nothing changed in my life.

I realized society didn't value my passion.

So I went back to my college

and became a typical Japanese worker

as a systems engineer.

I felt my passion, heart and soul, had left my body.

I felt I was not alive anymore.

So I started to consider what I should do,

and I thought, I wanted to make my performance better,

and to show onstage how spectacular the yo-yo could be

to change the public's image of the yo-yo.

So I quit my company

and started a career as a professional performer.

I started to learn classic ballet, jazz dance,

acrobatics and other things

to make my performance better.

As a result of these efforts, and the help of many others,

it happened.

I won the World Yo-Yo Contest again

in the artistic performance division.

I passed an audition for Cirque du Soleil.

Today, I am standing on the TED stage

with the yo-yo in front of you.

(Applause)

What I learned from the yo-yo is,

if I make enough effort with huge passion,

there is no impossible.

Could you let me share my passion with you

through my performance?

(Applause)

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