Hey y'all, anyone here ever get thumb pain? I'll have to take a rest for a few days I think... Been noticing some discomfort in my thumb recently and now it's reached the point where I think I need to give it a rest for a few days... to avoid bigger problems. It's exactly the part that looks up to the sky during tama grip (see my awesome graph below), along the whole digit and into the hand, feels like tendon and / or joint pain. Ideas for how to avoid that? For me, I would say what causes the problem is the upward support that my thumb has to give for the tama. The force exerted by the thumb is almost perpendicular to the axes of its 2 joints, so I guess it's not that surprising that it can upset the thumb.. .
You can add more support from your ring finger under the tama, but you really shouldn't be using a death grip during tama grip.
I've had this, the problem is that you are using too much pressure. This also made swap tricks stupid hard. Still unlearning that habit
Switch up your tricks i.e. use different holds. In my case I also switch hands and practice with my weak hand. I also advocate avoiding the "death grip" as mentioned by others. If you've got a white-knuckle grip on a kendama, in any grip, your asking for RSS (repetative stress syndrome). Also I'm going to mention that if you've whacked your thumb joints it's going to hurt for days . . . so don't whack your knuckles. I tend to have that happen on over rotating j-sticks using jumbo sized or larger kendama; really hurts.
I recommend switching grips, taking breaks in between for at least five minutes or so. Other times I practice different tricks using the ken or practice the non dominant hand like everyone else mentioned
I have some thumb pain to, not necessarily when playing 'dama but probably caused by it (or old age?). Trying not to grip the tama too hard is my main advice. This will also pay off in the long run when learning stilts for instance. You can cushion a lot with your knees but a softer grip is also helpful when cushioning a landing. I think @Grandpa Sandz mentions a buttery like grip somewhere in 'dama history?!
Yeah you wanna have a light grip on the tama. I think as you start to play more, it develops over time (having a light grip as opposed to a firm one). I would recommend switching to a different grip style while you can. I usually have all 5 fingers on the tama, with my pinky down near the string hole and the rest of the fingers evenly placed on the bottom half. This helps support some of the weight. I agree with what Stuart said: having a softer grip along with your knees is super helpful when cushioning a landing. I've been playing for a little over 3 years and have noticed that the more stressed out you get/the harder you go, the harder tricks get. Its not like other sports where using more strength helps. You have to be relaxed when playing kendama and that means having a light grip as well.