Why kendama and not yoyo/juggling/etc?

Disclaimer: I'm not disparaging any of the other skilltoys. I myself am an Avid begleri and kururin player.

Why choose to pursue kendama instead of other skilltoys? Personally, I like to think that kendama has an end goal (the spike) that other skill toys don't have, and the lack of that end goal is a reason why I lose interest in most other skill toys I try out.

 

I agree about the end goal but for me it's more about the versatility and the endless possibilities kendama can offer. When I'm introducing people to kendama for the very first time (happens almost everyday and I just can't be happier about it) I'm doing a little demo of pretty much all the things you can do with a dama. Some cups, stalls, balances, flips, juggles, string tricks etc. And when I think about it I feel like there is just no way to get bored I mean there are countless tricks, styles, combos... It can help you in life. Coordination, balance, imagination, focus, patience. On a deeper level the philosophy, the community. I found something unique, not just a toy, a brilliant instrument for expression, a whole new science, an art. I've tried other skilltoys, but I feel that a lot of them have boundries. That's why I chose to pursue kendama almost a year ago and after all the things I've learned, the people I met and the emotions I've shared I don't think I'll ever stop.

 

Even the simplest tricks in kendama require concentration to actually get it, but when you've drilled a cubing algorithm, or a belgeri/ yoyo trick so many times, it becomes more muscle memory than anything else.

With kendama, the way you execute a trick will be different every time - the hole might be in a different place, meaning that the have to spike it differently; the ken might flip slower than you thought, meaning you have to use your knees to get lower; the string might be in your way, so you need to manoeuvre around it - what sets kendama apart is that you need to be adaptable and able to get the trick in a variety of different circumstances to be consistent.

Or maybe I just discovered kendama before all of the other skill toys, who knows?

 

for me it was just a random thing. never been into skilltoys, i wanted to when i was a kid, but didnt have the patience. then when i was in a period of my life, where i smoked weed, i got introduced to kendama while me and some friends where visiting some other friends. spend three days trying to land the tama on the different cups, after that i was addicted i and got myself a kendama. it wasnt meant to be anything serious, just a toy to play when i was bored, apparently i was bored most of the time and i quickly started watching edits and after a few months of playing thorkild may and mathias steen hosted a jam where i lived, and that was the it, after meeting thorkild (my kendama idol) i knew i wanted this to be part of my life.

 

Every time I try something else, it doesn't give me the same vibe that comes with a kendama. The overall feeling of using a kendama really draws me into it as it allows me to do many types of tricks and try to get creative with what I'm doing. Sure, other skill toys might be the same, but it just doesn't feel right to me.

 

How much does your ability to balance an object is involved in advanced yoyo tricks? Isn't it pretty much finger and hand manipulation? I can speak for fingerboarding and pen spinning. Tricks like shadow in Pen spinning involve your ability to balance, in fingerboarding not so much.

 

i think i agree with what most people have said here is that kendama has an end goal so to speak, that being the spike.

however i think what originally drew me to kendama was that it was something that was different. we've all seen juggling and yo-yoing and other skill toys so when i saw kendama i knew i had to try it. plus i think theres a lot of comedy in kendama and that perhaps isn't the case in other toys.

 

i dont want to bend over and pick up balls or wind up my string ... or get bad binds out of the axle