How big is your hand and what size kendama do you prefer? I am just getting started with kendama and have been playing a TK-16 and I've noticed that for something tricks I wished the ken was just a bit bigger.
Should try an lbb from terra. Or craft plus. Or slaydawg. All are larger than jka kens but smaller than jumbos.
All the above are awesome options ^ GT-KA and GT Tallboy are bigger, as well as Sol Flows. All are good sizes if you got big hands and wish you just had something slightly bigger to jam
My hand from start of palm to the tip of my middle finger is exactly 7.75 inches (I know this because I skated for years and that's the most common deck width), and I find the Slaydawg to be a really good size. I really like the Viking too but that is a little too big sometimes. A good middle ground would be the Sol Flow like @Nick Lectura said above.
I tend to prefer kendamas that are a little bit bigger for a few reasons. 1: they tend to have more area to land tricks on 2: feel less cramped on my hand, whereas some japanese made kendamas make my hands hurt after a few hours 3: having mild tendonitis in my hands tends to limit my ability to play kendama, however I've found with larger sized kendamas i can usually play for much longer because it feels more natural to my hand and how it usually rests, whereas smaller ones tend to make me close my hand beyond its resting point. i have a few Terra LBBs, a few Slawdawgs, a Craft Plus and id say they're all on equal level as far as comfort for me to play all in all having different sized kendamas is worth it and is also fun to learn now tricks on, since you'll have to adapt your play style accordingly. if you get the chance try a XXXL kendama and see what you can do!
well it's not a big issue for me whether it's a jka standard size or modern day comp size dama, for me weight is still a vital thing that everyone should pay attention. even if you feel good with a upsize dama, if it's lighter than usual damas the same size as it is, it will be a bit weird experience & might get you guessing what's what.
I think we can all agree that the person who competes and wins KWC using a XXXL size kendama deserves that win. Can you imagine hitting those level 10+ tricks on that size??!!
Say the average kendama is a size 5/10 and the average hand is a size 7/10.. I think for most people, most tricks will be easier with a kendama matched up to their hand size. I know for sure that most tricks feel easier to me on a slay dawg than a traditional size dama. Main point: Matched to their hand size. As the "kendama size" gets bigger than your "hand size" some tricks may be easier but some will be much harder. What do yall think?
debatable on some grounds... like haruichi is just like 7-9 years old & he's hitting stalls & stuff, or likes of rolf who is handfull on a dama yet still can play well...
I find that i fit better with Tallboys / LBBs, compared to JKA regulation sized damas. It simply feels more roomy for me!
Yeah i thought about the kid slayers, but im sure rolf plays better with a dog than a traditional size. Of course there will be acceptions, im just estimating for the majority.
I just started jamming my first "larger than traditional-sized" kendama: Olive LBB and my first thought was this thing is a beast is weight, length, and width. After my first full day with it, I adjusted to it with a giant smile!! It's definitely the right shape for me.
@Sir Spike Taditional shapes: Low to mid 70's, I think. I've got some 60g setups that are fun to toss around too though (less impact when practicing tossing and catching). My heavies 80+ just take a bit longer to get used to on the pull up and landing balance points. My LBB is 100g but the size:weight ratio makes sense. I have not put it down since I received it, even though I have received other damas to play with.
The basis of this thread was the inspiration for the LBB: JKA damas were largely designed to fit the hands of Japanese school-kids; most kendama players these days have larger hands than that. In fact if you look at the GLOKEN history page it mentions that pre-JKA damas were closer to 17cm tall, then the JKA set their standard at 16cm (and the JKA standard become the standard for a long time). So yea, I think this all makes sense, and the replies of other players in here echo the same sentiment. -------------------- Interesting idea from another thread: varying the size of kendama you're allowed to play based on hand size. I think for this to make sense, the change in difficulty using a kendama that doesn't fit your hand would have to mirror the change in difficulty using a smaller/larger kendama. I think that changing the size of a kendama changes the difficulty more than a mis-matched ken/hand ratio does. Its like... yea, using a kendama that is fit to my hand will yield best results based on fit alone... but a kendama that is slightly too large for my hand might actually play even better, because the increase in playability as you scale up outpaces the loss of playability due to mismatch hand/ken size. So... I think this means players with larger hands would have an inherent advantage in this system.
To actually answer the OP's question: My hand measures ~19.4cm from base of palm to tip of middle finger, and ~9.1cm across my palm, at the knuckles. Preferred ken size: 5-10% larger than JKA (craft +, LBB, etc)
What works best for someone likely has to do with the ratio of palm to finger length; finger thickness too. Long spider-like fingers probably work better with a certain type of kendama and shorter fingers with a bigger palm something else.
No hard preference, minimum for me is going to be around 66 grams per side. For JKA size I guess I'd prefer 74-78 gram range, but for mid-size damas 80-100 works for me. Each weight range is good for their own tricks, I've been jamming one of the skateply a lot, and its 100/103. Sturdy and solid feeling af, I love it! I have some super heavy set ups too, a couple of ebony kens I have are over 100 grams, and they're JKA spec (one of them is actually an Ozora). You're not gonna be triple lunar flipping them, but for cups/spikes kinda tricks they're epic.