ABOUT THE SPEAKER
BLACK - Yo-yo champion
Twice the world yo-yo champion, BLACK mixes dance, sport and performance to create unforgettable yo-yo moments.

Why you should listen

At 14, BLACK picked up his first yo-yo. Initially he couldn't do even the easiest trick -- but after one week of practicing, he realized: I could be good at this. Very good. Four years later (and 10,000 hours of practicing), he took the title of 2001 world champion. And then ... he gave it up. Went to school, got a job. But he missed the passion of performing. He realized: "I want to do this: Entertain, and bring excitement and joy to people with the yo-yo."

Returning to competition after six years, he won the 2007 World Yo-Yo Contest in the artistic performance category. After that, he started dance and acrobatic training to create a new form of performing and art. Imagine a yo-yo performance graceful and thrilling enough to pass the audition for Cirque du Soleil ... while being fast and precise enough to pull a tablecloth out from under a stack of champagne glasses!

More profile about the speaker
BLACK | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

BLACK: My journey to yo-yo mastery

BLACK: Minha jornada para ser um mestre do ioiô

Filmed:
13,944,739 views

Lembra de quando você se matava só para fazer aquele seu ioiô girar e se você fosse mesmo o bonzão, fazer a "manobra do cachorrinho"? Pois é, aquilo era tudo bobagem. O japonês campeão mundial de ioiô BLACK conta a inspiradora história de como encontrou sua grande paixão, e ainda dá um show tão fantástico que vai te dar vontade de tirar o pó daquele seu ioiô.
- Yo-yo champion
Twice the world yo-yo champion, BLACK mixes dance, sport and performance to create unforgettable yo-yo moments. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:20
When I was 14 years old,
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Quando eu tinha 14 anos,
00:24
I had low self-esteem.
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eu tinha baixa auto-estima.
00:26
I felt I was not talented at anything.
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Eu achava que não era bom em nada.
00:31
One day, I bought a yo-yo.
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Um dia, eu comprei um ioiô.
00:34
When I tried my first trick, it looked like this.
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A primeira manobra que eu tentei fazer saiu assim.
00:45
I couldn't even do the simplest trick,
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Eu não conseguia fazer nem a manobra mais simples.
00:48
but it was very natural for me,
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Mas aquilo tudo era normal,
00:50
because I was not dextrous, and hated all sports.
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porque eu era desajeitado e detestava todos os esportes.
00:55
But after one week of practicing,
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Mas depois de praticar por uma semana
00:58
my throws became more like this.
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minhas manobras ficaram assim.
01:06
A bit better.
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Um pouco melhor.
01:08
I thought, the yo-yo is something for me to be good at,
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Então eu pensei, ioiô é uma coisa em que eu posso ser bom,
01:12
for the first time in my life.
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pela primeira vez na minha vida.
01:15
I found my passion.
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Eu encontrei minha paixão.
01:18
I was spending all my time practicing.
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Eu passava o tempo todo treinando.
01:21
It took me hours and hours a day
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Eu praticava horas e horas por dia
01:24
to build my skills up to the next level.
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para que minhas habilidades atingissem um outro nível.
01:26
And then, four years later, when I was 18 years old,
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E então, quatro anos depois, quando eu tinha 18 anos,
01:31
I was standing onstage at the World Yo-Yo Contest.
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Lá estava eu, no palco do Campeonato Mundial de Ioiô.
01:35
And I won.
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E eu venci.
01:36
I was so excited. "Yes, I did it! I became a hero.
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Eu eu estava todo feliz. "Viva! Eu venci! Agora eu sou um herói!
01:40
I may get many sponsors, a lot of money,
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Vou ter muitos patrocinadores, ganhar dinheiro pra caramba,
01:43
tons of interviews, and be on TV!" I thought. (Laughter)
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dar um monte de entrevistas e aparecer na TV!", foi o que pensei. (Risos)
01:47
But after coming back to Japan,
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Mas depois de voltar pro Japão,
01:50
totally nothing changed in my life.
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absolutamente nada mudou na minha vida.
01:54
I realized society didn't value my passion.
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Eu percebi que a sociedade não dava valor pra minha paixão.
01:59
So I went back to my college
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Então eu voltei para a faculdade
02:02
and became a typical Japanese worker
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e me tornei um típico trabalhador japonês,
02:04
as a systems engineer.
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um engenheiro de sistemas.
02:07
I felt my passion, heart and soul, had left my body.
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Eu me senti como se minha paixão, meu coração e minha alma tivessem abandonado meu corpo.
02:13
I felt I was not alive anymore.
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Eu não me sentia vivo.
02:16
So I started to consider what I should do,
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Então eu comecei a pensar em dar um jeito nisso
02:20
and I thought, I wanted to make my performance better,
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e eu decidi que iria melhorar minha performance,
02:24
and to show onstage how spectacular the yo-yo could be
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subir no palco e mostrar pra todo mundo como o ioiô é espetacular,
02:29
to change the public's image of the yo-yo.
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pra mudar a forma como o público vê o ioiô.
02:33
So I quit my company
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Então eu saí da empresa
02:35
and started a career as a professional performer.
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e comecei minha carreira de artista profissional.
02:39
I started to learn classic ballet, jazz dance,
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Comecei a aprender balé clássico, a dançar jazz,
02:43
acrobatics and other things
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acrobacias e coisas do tipo,
02:45
to make my performance better.
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para melhorar minha performance.
02:47
As a result of these efforts, and the help of many others,
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E como resultado de todos esse esforços, e a ajuda de vários outros,
02:50
it happened.
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deu certo.
02:52
I won the World Yo-Yo Contest again
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Eu ganhei o Campeonato Mundial de Ioiô outra vez
02:55
in the artistic performance division.
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na categoria performance artística.
02:57
I passed an audition for Cirque du Soleil.
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Eu passei no teste do Cirque du Soleil.
03:00
Today, I am standing on the TED stage
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E hoje, aqui estou eu, no palco do TED
03:04
with the yo-yo in front of you.
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com o ioiô, diante de vocês.
03:07
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:11
What I learned from the yo-yo is,
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O que eu aprendi com o ioiô foi que
03:14
if I make enough effort with huge passion,
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se eu me esforçar o bastante, apaixonadamente,
03:19
there is no impossible.
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não existe impossível.
03:21
Could you let me share my passion with you
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Será que eu poderia compartilhar minha paixão com vocês
03:24
through my performance?
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através da minha performance?
03:26
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:57
(Water Sounds)
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(Som de água corrente)
04:05
(Music)
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(Música)
07:49
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
07:56
(Music)
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(Música)
09:13
(Music) (Applause)
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(Música) (Aplausos)
09:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
09:29
(Music) (Applause)
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(Música) (Aplausos)
09:37
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
09:45
(Music)
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(Música)
10:17
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Ryan Martinez
Reviewed by Gustavo Rocha

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
BLACK - Yo-yo champion
Twice the world yo-yo champion, BLACK mixes dance, sport and performance to create unforgettable yo-yo moments.

Why you should listen

At 14, BLACK picked up his first yo-yo. Initially he couldn't do even the easiest trick -- but after one week of practicing, he realized: I could be good at this. Very good. Four years later (and 10,000 hours of practicing), he took the title of 2001 world champion. And then ... he gave it up. Went to school, got a job. But he missed the passion of performing. He realized: "I want to do this: Entertain, and bring excitement and joy to people with the yo-yo."

Returning to competition after six years, he won the 2007 World Yo-Yo Contest in the artistic performance category. After that, he started dance and acrobatic training to create a new form of performing and art. Imagine a yo-yo performance graceful and thrilling enough to pass the audition for Cirque du Soleil ... while being fast and precise enough to pull a tablecloth out from under a stack of champagne glasses!

More profile about the speaker
BLACK | Speaker | TED.com