Ed Haponik known as kinopah on the boards is an innovative all around yo-yoer. Previously associated with Throw Down, he was a member of Team SPYY from 2009 until the company closed, and later part of the Werrd Alliance and Tom Kuhn Custom Yo-Yo's. He joined the CoreCo team in 2016. Ed assisted in the design of three SPYY signature series yo-yo's: the Flying V, the Ronin, and a wooden, fixed axle yo-yo known as the "eH". Ed is known for his innovative and entertaining yo-yo videos as well as his unique style using responsive and fixed-axle yoyos. He also skateboards and is a teacher.
In 2009, he collaborated with artist John Higby in creating the "66 Rules For Yo-Yo Players" comic (re-released in 2014 as "77 Rules"). He was a contributor to Steve Brown's "Cones to Balls" project in 2010, and in 2012, he joined the roster of 365yoyotricks.com.
For the year of 2012, Ed swore to use no yo-yo other than the single piece, fixed axle wooden "eh" (which has since been released in several versions by SPYY, TMBR, and YoYoExpert.com). A personal journey to return modern yo-yoing to its roots, his year of strict fixed axle play has inspired many others to reconsider fixed axle. His weekly "Fixed Friday" video column with Drew Tetz on yoyonews.com has a modern fixed axle style.
Ed has also served as a yo-yo contest judge at the state, regional, and national, and world levels.
Awards and Titles[]
- 2007 World Yo-Yo Contest Sport Ladder - 1st Place
- 2009 NC State Champion
- 2009 WYYC Fixed Axle Championship Of All The World - 3rd Place
- 2010 NC State Fixed Axle - 1st Place
- 2012 WYYC Fixed Axle Championship Of All The World - 1st Place
- 2013 WYYC Fixed Axle Championship Of All The World - 3rd Place
- 2013 NC State Fixed Axle - 1st Place
- 2014 National Yo-Yo Contest - Sportsmanship Award
- 2016 WYYC Fixed Axle Championship Of All The World - 1st Place
- 2017 Trick Innovator of the Year
Signature Yo-Yo's[]
- SPYY Flying V
- SPYY Ronin
- SPYY eH (produced by TMBR & Yoyoexpert.com)
- Tom Kuhn Play Simply No Jive
- Signature String - YoYoStringLab Type X Ensō