I can't believe I would ever see the day, but here we are. Some newer players on Facebook have started to see the act of calling out "handing" as a form of gatekeepers and elitism in the community. Thoughts? I personally think there is nothing wrong with handing in the context of practice. Like in a boxing gym, your form is sloppy at first but you refine it with practice. I do not abide handing, however, in formal settings. Handing for me is a no go in competitions, exams, and other similar instances which require the highest degree of kentegrity.
Not sure I see pointing out sketchy or incorrect play as elitism or gatekeeping. One could get that impression depending on the delivery I suppose. However I'd posit that not letting players know that whatever they're doing isn't correct is doing a disservice to that player. If things like that aren't pointed out then those players might think that it's OK to do whatever they're doing. For example, some new player consistently uses their off-hand to move the string out of the way for the next step of a trick. If no one tells them that it's not a generally accepted practice in the sport then they will continue doing it until they run into a situation where they're caught by surprise. It could lead to them to being embarrassed (at the low end of the scale) or getting into an altercation, verbal or otherwise, (at the high end of the scale). In general people cannot easily learn how to grow into a community without explanations, corrections, and other helpful input. Rules are rules and though some players (even a few OGs) in the kendama community think "rules" restrict play some rules are still there. It's just that some folks find certain rules acceptable and others not; different strokes. Some in the newer generations seem to find any criticism unacceptable and in an attempt to avoid being criticized try to weaponize/shame/shout-down the efforts of others trying to point out errors. It doesn't only happen in kendama unfortunately and the new-gen people often win out because the regular folk just tire of the hassle. Newbies are welcome to participate in the community if they willing to adapt to the common structure and strictures. It isn't the responsibility of the group to change for every individual in it but rather the other way around. By way of comparison: A single Romulan wanting to participate in a Klingon poetry contest is going to have to learn the Klingon language rather than expecting all the Klingons to learn Romulan. Optionally the new-gen players can go start their own group as well; it's not exactly unheard of after all. To keep this particular kendama community as a viable sporting organization with rules and structure that participants generally accept, members can't simply give in to these folks who seem to prefer bedlam. As for handing in practice, that may work for some people but there's a variation of a common quote you might have heard before: Perfect practice makes perfect.