This style, in which a player holds two yo-yos and performs string tricks with both hands, is called “3A.” Here’s how to get started.
What Is 3A?
Just as 1A means string tricks and 2A means two-hand looping, doing 1A-style string tricks with both hands at once is called 3A — essentially, 1A + 2A = 3A. The style used to be known as “AAA” (Triple A), but today both the style itself and its contest division go by the name 3A.
>> 2026 World Yo-Yo Contest 3A Division Champion: Tomoya Kurita
There’s also a 2A (Two-Hand Looping) division for playing with two yo-yos at once, but since 3A is built around string tricks, it actually calls for a fair amount of 1A (One-Hand String Trick) skill first. It helps to have roughly Level 1 of this trick list down before starting.
3A is also more sensitive to yo-yo performance than any other division. Non-responsive, pull-start 1A yo-yos used to be common, but today almost everyone plays 3A with bind-response yo-yos. Look for one with long sleep times and a stable spin — a full-metal yo-yo is even better, if you can manage it.
Choosing the right string matters just as much as choosing the right yo-yo. In 3A, it’s common to run a shorter string than usual (this part is important!). A good guide: with the yo-yo resting on the floor, the string should come up to about crotch height. The catch is that a shorter string makes it harder to put a strong spin on your throw and harder to bind on the way back — so players often make up for that with a thicker string, a softer response pad, or both.
Recommended Yo-Yo, String & Pad
Yo-Yo
C3yoyodesign “Cyber Crash 2”
String
Bind String
Pad
REWIND Japan Pad (Soft)
Try a Two-Hand Sleeper!
The first step in 3A is simply throwing two yo-yos straight.
The first time you try it, this turns out to be surprisingly tricky — the yo-yo in your non-dominant hand especially tends to come out crooked, so start by practicing until you can throw it straight with that hand. Even once each yo-yo goes straight on its own, they also need to hang parallel to each other, or the tricks further down the road get much harder to learn — so the next step is practicing until both stay straight and parallel together.
Basic Trick
Once you can pull off 3A’s signature trick, the Velvet Roll, 3A really starts to get fun — but first, master the Velvet Mount, the position you settle into on the way there.
It looks complicated at a glance, but broken down hand by hand there’s nothing too difficult going on. If you know how the mount is built and have a solid two-hand sleeper down, you can probably pull it off — take it slow and give it a try!
>> Velvet Mount
