For me a used to be an avid gamer, hide out in my room, not be very sociable. I was hanging out at a friends house and saw a video on faceboom from one of my friends who was growing in the kendama community. At first sight i kind of laughed thinking "what even is this thing?" But as the day went on I kept finding myself watching that video over and over again of him doing a 1 turn light house to trade spike. It was the coolest thing id ever seen. Later that night i decided to buy my first ever kendama. Granted it was a kaleb kendama and I knew it wasnt of great quality, I didn't care. I started practicing and slowly grew to love kendama. I couldnt put it down after thr first day i had one. I started taking it with me to school and basically anywhere. Most people thought it was stupid or just a dumb toy. I never listened to them and continued progressing and having fun. Eventually people started asking more and more about kendama. Next thing i know a few people started private messaging me asking where to get a kendama. It felt great knowing people saw I was having fun with something so simple. Something so different from normal society, but not something necessarily new. It brought me out of my hole of a room playing games. It has made me more sociable and has been giving me a great outlet to meet new people, share kendama to those people and just be an inspiration as well as getting fun exercise. Kendama has made me life more of an adventure and has brought me great joy. I want to hear everyone elses story because I think of us all as a big family and I want to get closer to the people I call family.
Patience most of all. With everything really, I don't get frustrated as often as I once did. I am a MUCH better loser (I used to be the worst) and less competitive over all, which for me is a net positive. More relaxed, and most of all I think I am a happier person than before. Maybe it's just because I've been out of my teens for a couple of years now (and being a lot less angsty), or maybe it's because of kendama. Overall improvement of life quality I think.
Being able to travel to do what you love, and meet so many more people around the world makes me love this game so much.
Made many friends from all around the country thru kendama. Made me do stuff that many other cannot do, like juggling balls with one hand. Makes me feel accomplished about what i do with my life. By playing kendama on the way home, i don't stick my eyes to my phone, playing games like most people
I've gotten to travel a bit, including my first trip to Hawaii which was awesome. But I think the most transformative thing for me has been the ability to give kids such great joy from such a simple, absurd thing. I travel a lot anyway for my main job as a producer, and I often play kendama at a gate while waiting to board. If there are ever any kids on the flight, they inevitably come up and ask "What is that??" And I usually have one on hand to give them. On a recent trip from San Francisco, these two brothers were amazed, so I gave them a Colin Sander pro mod, and they were instantly hooked. I met their dad, who was a really talented commercial director. Anyway, the point is, you make unexpected connections. Beyond that, founding downspike has given me a crash course in digital businesses. And finally, I really do think it helps keep the mind and body sharp.
Definitely overall improvement of life quality for me as well. Helps me get off technology screens and gives me a reason to go to new places other than to just go. New friends, new places, new accomplishments as well
Well a year ago I was an addict and was depressed till a friend showed me kendama and started to take me to lil sesh with others who played. It totally changed the scenery for me as well as my life. A new outlook fresh me fresh start. I'm stuck and now I'm all about kendama and hope to spread it and make kendama popular again in Sacramento but just don't know how to quite achieve that yet.
Like everyone else here, kendama took me away from the screens and video games. However it did much more. Kendama has grown as a big passion for me, and its has pushed me to do things I hadn't done before. Never when I started kendama did I think I would be running a kendama club at my school, or promoting it constantly throughout my everyday life. I never thought that I would have gotten so many people introduced to kendama or that I would giveaway kendamas to people who were stoked on it. I also never thought that I would have my parents drive me 5hrs down to NYC just to play kendama for a couple hrs. Recently, my kendama club at my school has taken off and there are a ton of kids that are super stoked on it. I really struggled at first to spread kendama due to my school being small. However I realized it just takes time. But the fact that I started to make a difference in my school is a real eye opener. Also the fact that they look up to me, and always huddle around me, screeming everytime I land a trick is an amazing feeling and is really inspiring. Kendama pushed me to go lengths that I never knew I would go, and changed me as a person. And this little toy will continue to push me further.
I love how our stories are quite similar my friend. Keep on progressing with me and spread the dama love!
Thanks man! I think many people go through this same experience throughout their journey with kendama. It is a really cool thing
Very true! I think we all go through similar stories because of how modernized our world has become, and being that kendama looks so simple people are too quick to judge.
I agree. I hope more people have a similar experience, especially people who may just play kendama just because it is a trend. It helps people realize how great this toy is and the importance of sharing it.
It amazes me how such a simple toy, crafted of many woods, can make such a huge impact on someones life.