Hey people! I have a few questions all over the board, so I thought I'd throw them all together for the picking 1) How do you call kendama players? (In begleri will call ourselves "slingers") 2) is it me, or having a solid wood tama paired to a spectra/laminated type ken is a bad idea? I've been drooling over GTs and homegrowns for weeks, but when I play with the one I have, I'm not sure I like the sound the ball makes when it slammed onto my spectra ken's tip. It feels like that ken will die way faster because of that pairing, and yet I see most spectra kens paired with at least partially solid wood. As a comparison, the homegrown I have with a spectra tama sounds much "safer". 3) for you guys owning GT's, how would you briefly describe the difference between GT-1's, Stodds and the 1.5 released a couple weeks ago? In technical terms, I mean. 4) how do I fix my loose ozora cups? 5) is it a bad idea to touch a not-yet-loose second/hand ken to change the cord (that has seen much better days) 6) anyone owning one of the new GT-E series... is it me or the tama hole is much less forgiving than other damas? It took me days to get it to slide in without resistance. 7) what is your guys' opinion on "kind" noob oriented kendama brands like Yumu? While it sounds very attractive to get new tricks down sooner, I kinda feel it's not a good thing mid-long term since I'll have to get it down again "better" later on with regular designs. 8) do any of you sometimes practice in the dark, without relying on your eyesight, or is it just a dumb idea? With the begleri it helped tremendously, as well as with tool based martial arts I've dabbled in. thanks have all a great weekend!
1) We’re just Kendama players, sometimes you use lingo like “slayer.” Like “yo that dude is a total slayer!” Meaning, he’s really good. 2) Spectras come with a warning haha, they are more fragile and can chip easier and are recommended to be used my more experienced players who are less likely to drop it on hard surfaces. However, the sound can relate to play and wood type in general. Like a beach Ken will sound super soft and dull, but a maple will sound more stiff. 3) I own a GT stodd, but I haven’t played the others. GT has food over views of each model on their YouTube channel. 4) Loose cups can be fixed in a few ways. You can jam them down as far as possible, put a drop of super glue above and below the cups (not recommended but still works), you can slip a sticket note or a piece of paper around the ken and then slide the cups on as well. 5) Nah, go for it..but we call it a string not a chord! 6) GT doesn’t have HUGE bevels (tama hole) but it shouldn’t provide resistance, practice makes perfect! 7) I would stray away from aids when learning, things such as slay bands and lunatac. However I do recommend getting a sticky painted tama, something like a sweets prime for a starter! 8) While Kendama is about feel..it’s also about hand eye coordination! Things such as begleri or ballisong can be done in the dark because you don’t necessarily need to see it to control it..but it’s imperative that one sees the bevel to spike it. Sure we close our eyes for fun, or as a party trick, but in the end I don’t think it’s going to help. Hope this answered some questions! There’s a very good beginners forum somewhere around here where many other questions can be asked and answered, check it out!
Are Spectra Kendama Resistant? Other mentions in non-dedicated threads too. Fixing Loose Cups Loose Cups & Blunt Spike Detective Ken & the Case of the Sliding Sarado The thing about string I'm all tied up. It's the string thread. - poll Sticky paint and bigger holes? Is it cheating? Are you looking down on it? Also try here for a ton of beginner info: Beginner Resources Not sure I follow what you mean on the Yumu "kind" kendama. As for learning aids, I wouldn't have a problem with them as long as they are used as aids and not just a crutch. Most people learn to ride a bicycle with training wheels so kendama aids are the same in my estimation. For example I learn some tricks on a jumbo first then translate it down to the normal kendama later. On the other hand if I want to get better I hone on a JKA TK16 or similar. It's like sharpening a knife; start coarse, end fine. In the dark. . . with a LED kendama. Not much on begleri but it seems many if not most moves you are always attached to the device, not always the case with kendama.
Click “reply” when responding to someone! It’ll alert them and thread the reply together for easier reading! Enjoy the sport man!
Thanks for the links! Yeah you're right, most begleri moves are very similar to a revolver/slinger move, except throws that are timing based, but it's more tactile than visual in general. By the yumu comment I meant that all the yumu I see online over here are putting emphasis on how their cups are wider, their bevel larger, and designed with grippy woodwork all over to be the best "beginner kendama" to " learn on".
Bigger cups, sticky paint, and other "aids" are kind of seen as a panacea lately; good for everyone beginners to advanced. You'll find more discussion of that in one of the links above.
i just felt like answering 1. i think we just call ourselves kendama players. or ball n cuppers for fun ("professional ball n cupper"). i;ve also heard kendamaer but those are by people that don't play 2. no, if anything, a solid wood tama and a spectra ken is the best combo. i should preface this by saying that i treat all kendamas the same. i like to jam spec as hard as i do my other ones because when spec gets broken in, it plays really nicely. yes its fragile, but if you work in some moisture (like sweat) on the ken before you start thrashing it, it holds up just fine. spec kens and a raw ash tama (favorite solid wood of choice) is an awesome combination and one that i highly recommend. maple and birch aren't bad to put on a spec ken either, but raw ash is definitely the way to go if you can get your hands on one. 3. GT-1 is the standard shape for GT. good feel all around, usually good for both lunars and slings, i like the swoop but don't really play other kendamas besides GT as much. cups aren't as big as pops or primes, but its enough without being overbearing. GT-NS is a little bit thinner than the GT-1, handlestall area is different as well as slightly bigger cups with a different sarado so it is better for slingers without ditching lunars altogether. GT-1.5 is the exact same as a GT-1 with the exception of a hollow basecup to help with lunars. if you look at a Mugen Musou, there is a hole in the bottom of the cup. the 1.5 has this feature but their hole is just more of a deeper basecup. 4. post it note between the ken and sarado, then just jam the cups down over it. 5. yeah change the string if you need to! taking off the cups of a ken shouldn't loosen it when you put it back on. if it does, it might be a cheap ken 6. i think it might just be you, i haven't noticed a huge difference between bevels of other GT products. i know other companies have big bevels (like sweets). 7. yumu makes some good stuff! i hear the super paint is good, and i played a new one a couple months ago that i liked. i think all of the brands make noob oriented kendamas: sweets, krom, and kusa all made pops, primes, and kaizens because it is aimed at the people who want a good kendama for a cheap price. it can be bad for long term, but i don't think that really matters anymore. if players really cared about that, we wouldn't have made any new kendamas and would still be playing with TK-16s and ozoras. and honestly, more of these "regular design" kendamas are just becoming higher end versions of the "noob" ones (ex: the krom beams kendama is the same thing as a pop except it is maple and has sticky paint, instead of rubber and beech) 8. haven't ever tried, but that's interesting to hear that it helped with begleri! i think that it would be harder with kendama because begleri (and correct me if im wrong) can be played without having to look at it. while there are some people who can play without looking at it, i think it would ultimately be harder since there's so many factors that can mess you up (don't know where the hole is, string, etc.)
@Nick Lectura Hey man thanks for taking the time yeah, the begleri to some extend is mostly kinestetic. I feel like I only need to look at it when I want to get a new technique down, but most leaps in skill come in the form of muscle memory first, and later on the eyes catch up (hopefully) I did enjoy watching Jake from GT having a convo while doing moshikame effortlessly
that ken was traveling with someone from the terra team, he had a bunch of tama less kens and no spares. And his kens are kinda smallish so i couldn't snatch a terra tama either
So I have been thinking about getting a natty but I’m trying to decide which since this will be my first. I was wondering- once broken in, how do they play compared to silk/rubber paint and tacky paint? In my limited experience, tacky starts off really... tacky. After a while it seems to settle into a less tacky state that allows for more slip but still not like totally slick. Silk paint seems to be mostly consistent, not quite as grippy as tacky paint out of the box, but it keeps its character. What can I expect from a broken in Tama with regards to control?
Natty tamas gain or lose grippiness depending on the weather, and what wood tama it is. Maple take forever to break in, but once broken in play very well Ash tamas break in quicker, and gain some grippiness RAW Ash tamas start off quite grippy, and gain/lose that depending on how it is played Beech breaks in fast, and gets quite good for stall tricks (bird, stilt etc.) when broken in Natty tamas get the most grip when in a hot, humid environment, or when absorbing moisture/sweat Honestly the grimier the better. Natties that have faced the elements have a unique grip to them. My favorite natural tamas are RAW ash tamas, and are usually only found on higher end kendamas (KUSA Crafts, Grain Theorys, Terra Prefects). You usually have to be willing to spend between $70 to $130 to get one of these higher end kendamas with a raw ash tama Natural tamas will usually not get as grippy as a modern sticky paint, but can really do the job when broken in especially if you have a good wood and break it in properly. Kind of funny video explaining how to properly break in a natty:
i have a hard time with my string control, im learning juggles and i always tend to catch the string with the ken.