With major(one might say national level) comps such as MKO, I find it odd that it's mainly hosted by one company. I think major comps like these should be hosted by a collaboration of passionate individuals. With this in mind I think it would be a good idea if we have an American Kendama Association or North American Kendama Association. It would be cool to have a group of individuals that represent different companies and or communities to host major comps and events rather than one company hosting it. I believe this would make competitions much bigger and more successful(Yes I know MKO and NKR are already very successful but why not improve them even more?). Some people in mind I think should be in charge of this would be Colin Sander, Jeremy Stephenson, Jake Wiens, Matt Sweets, Matt Rice, Norx, Daniel Robinson, and Alex smith Hopefully this will follow up with KWC and make it hosted by a collaboration of JKA, BKA, TKA, and AKA(or NAKA) rather than just Gloken hosting it. P.S. I'm in no way dissing how MKO, NKR, KWC, etc. are run/hosted. This just an idea that I think will help our community flourish even more.
I've long thought the holy grail for kendama companies would be to get a JKA approved Dama with a red white and blue JKA seal. I also thought about the possibility of AKA. Initial instinct was that it wouldn't hold a candle to the JKA. But American play is so different and the competitions are so different that it might be a good idea. It could link up all the competitions as part of a whole season of events, which would give it some weight, because there are too many ways to be champ right now.
I think that not only will it happen but I think ultimately it will be more influential than the JKA. At least that is what I really hope.
This has been talked about a few times over the years... industry heads in N America met in person as long ago as 2012 to discuss the idea. You're definitely on the right track, this topic has been on people's minds! The thing is, kendama has blown up in popularity not because an organization has pushed it, but because kendama just is cool. Or at least, it looks cool in youtube videos. Same thing. So, while an organization certainly can be a big influence, there has been no shortage of success growing kendama in other ways. And so, why stop doing something that has been successful to concentrate on something else? The reality of it is: putting together a legit organization of this size (or even, one big yearly contest) is legitimately a LOT of work. For a legitimately functioning organization you're probably going to need 1-2 people to be working on it pretty much full-time, which means they're going to have to be paid somehow, and you're going to have to mitigate for conflicts of interest, in case those players also work for or are affiliated with a company in the industry. On top of that, the more people you add to the mix, the more ideas and opinions you're going to have on the table, which, with something like this, can often lead to deadlock, or at least a slowdown of getting things done. People in the industry are mostly on the same page, but even so, its just MUCH more efficient for the guys at Sweets to sit down and plan out the MKO, than to call up other industry leaders to discuss the merits of one venue over another, how the contest should be formatted, who should judge, who should be allowed to sponsor it, who should be a vendor, etc... So... if there were a fully-functioning organization up and running, it would be awesome I'm sure! But as is, getting one going is a big task. And honestly, I don't think that the paradigm of 'smaller organizations that feed into a big championship' is necessarily the best one to make kendama the best it can be. Consider something like skateboarding: it isn't big because the 'world skateboard association' crowned a champion at the big yearly contest between all the national champions. Skateboarding is big because skateboarders went out and filmed their friends doing gnarly tricks, and it looked awesome! Add some mainstream exposure, and boom! Next thing you know Nike is making skateshoes. lol I want to be clear though: I'm not here to shut this idea down, I just hope to provide you with some insight into the sort of conversations that we've had about this already, and the challenges that stand between us and a NAKA. Probably worth mentioning too: GLOKEN was basically formed to be what you're talking about, but on a global level rather than just for the N American zone. I honestly don't think there is much the N American companies could do to help them make the event better, outside of GLOKEN asking for help in specific ways (ie @Jake Wiens being asked to be the English-language MC at KWC). The GLOKEN crew is very talented at event-hosting and promotion! Sidenote: trust me, the JKA will never collaborate on KWC. Or at least, not without a huge departure from their current way of doing things. haha
Fortunately the JKA did originally push it back in Japan or the TK16 Master "competition" style kendama would likely never have existed which means it would have never made it Stateside where it had such a big impact. Just sayin'.
But if a bigger company hosts something then do they get the money from it? So like MKO, does sweets get most the profit? Yes they do so I think it's a good way to help out a company and they put that much work toward it they deserve it. But yeah I see what you mean interesting idea
I don't really see the merit in propping up an Association in most places of the world. American (or, Western) play evolves and moves forward so fast, that having an association that is, by nature, structured and organized and thus, might hinder the rapid evolution on the game. But, having a kendama registry that incentivizes people for joining it (event newsletters, giveaways, retailer discounts) is a plus. (If you bothered reading this far, i'm referring to Dowspike)
Not a typo, I literally did mean a JKA seal with US colors though. Like if RWB made the "jka rwb" (red white and blue) kendama and it was approved for Japanese play.
Old thread and old link to follow but apparently there was/is? a USA Kendama Association. They haven't posted anything since 2014 on that link so it's possible they're gone now but figured I'd put the info here for reference.