Any brand from cheap to expensive get the basic job done.I tell my friends not to waste their money but instead just grab a dunken ken at target for ten bucks. If they get into it enough so they want to hit juggles or lighthouses then it's time to invest in something that's 20-30 dollars
Great post. I've actually never thought about it this way until now. If I hand someone an icy TK-16 or an Ozora, 3/4 times I'll actually get frustrated before them and then I'll let them try to get a spike on a plus-sized kendama, which they get much faster. But then again, we learned on a TK-16 before any rubberized paints or stripes even existed, and we never once thought to compain about icy-ness. It never even occured to Colin and I. It just was what it was. MAYBE the best beginner kendama is whatever they think looks cool? Whatever is more likely to catch their eye when they're bored at home waiting for an uber or whatever.
Hey! I love all this input, and would love to see this keep growing. The positivity in DS is awesome. One thing to consider in this debate though, a lot of us started at 16, 18 or 20+ And the grind is there for learning on traditional. The love is there. And for a hommie my age (27) maybe I would suggest a classic dama. But what about the 7 to 10 year olds just starting? Again, I know Japan has kids who could kick my butt on a fresh TK at 10. But we look back at when we learned, and we were all much older than that. So many of the points I made originally had the younger to early teens in mind (but really applies to everyone) Just another point to add to this lovely thread!
The real question is "what is beginner?" For me beginner is all the classic arounds, airplane, and the basic fundamentals of kendama. Almost any kendama can accomplish these tricks. From what it sounds like, we are judging the quality of a "beginner" kendama based upon its ability to light house. Now lets bend it for a bit. What is the best Pro / Advanced kendama? Some will say GT, slaydog, Craft plus, or the jake wiens pro mod. =) (like that. how i worked that in there? HA!) These are all damas the easiest damas to house, lune, shred, and slay. So does that make these "beginner" damas? Think about it though. We say the best beginner dama is the easiest to lighthouse, lunar, stilt, juggle, and so on. So would that make the most advanced kendama the hardest to stilt, house, lune, jug, and bird? When some one asks me what the best beginner kendama is I say TK 16 because that is what I started playing with. Thats it. Thats the only beginner experience I personally have. Speak from experience and have confidence that the first kendama you had made you the player your are today. Either way just buy a F'n kendama. =) <3
Interesting take on things, I like it. I guess this just goes to show that the game itself has changed: tricks that were once considered advanced are now what kids learn in the first month. Is this good? Should we adjust recommendations accordingly?
The reason they are learning so fast are because of all the amazing tutorials and videos put out that teach these advanced tricks. But I still think that the hardest part of learning kendama is the very beginning fundamentals, and the hard work and annoyance that it took to get those down with an icy tk or a slick natty. Another huge factor of course is how durable the kendama will be. I know that I dropped my first one too many times, and the tk16 seems to be the cheapest and most durable.
I started with a solid white pro clear F3. I recently got a Kaizen 2.0 and a HG with cusion tama. I have definitely advanced a ton since playing with these new setups. I owe any bit of "flow" to my time on the f3 for its glassy feel, leading me to love cup flow and moshikame. I believe, as a beginner, the best kendama is the one you hold onto and play unforgivingly. I always come back to The F3 and try all the new tricks. I put the newer ones away for a week and grind away. I know now that I'm in it for the long haul, so patience will take me there. Maybe one can say that patience is the best kendama.
@Jake Wiens got a good point on this. No matter what, getting a kendama, any kendama is a good start. From there, you can tailor your equipment to match your playstyle, and get something that suits you. Our opinions on the best first kendama are very subjective, and i think it is in the best interest of the player to pick out a kendama that is: - Affordable - Easy to acquire - Lasts a good while - Not too bad, where quality is concerned.
I really don't like the "just buy two!" Mentality, personally. That seems like a big investment for someone who for all they know could lose interest in a week. I know a few players who saved, debated, and thought for a long time before buying their second or third kendamas, and take really good care of them. Not everybody has the income that some people in the community have. Just something worth remembering. The other thing to consider is how important teaching is in kendama. Grooming and supporting less experienced players is really important. I agree that everybody should play how they want like @Jenny Cho said. However, a good teacher/senpai will point out things that will stunt growth (if the player is interested in improving). I still remember @maxdesu pushing me to get a non-rubber kendama for my next purchase at one point, when I had become too reliant. Again on the way home from KWC, I mentioned how I couldn't relate to anyone who plays solid colors. I thought the stripes on my DWI and PJ polshnick mod were the only way to go. Max responded that "it's not about tracking the tama, it's about learning to place the tama". Both of those comments kept me from creating problems for myself later on. Does this mean you need a slick tama as your first? Not necessarily, but it's worth thinking about. Maybe if they start on a sticky or rubber tama, you can suggest an oozora or tk for their next purchase, when they're ready. -edited for just, like, so many spelling errors
This post has me thinking that an f3 with pro clear might really be a solid answer to this debate. This is because the pro clear paint starts off very glossy feeling (almost as slick as a fresh TK16) and it does take a decent amount of work to make it sticky. This would line up well with progression for a beginner, starting with cup basics and airplanes, then by the time they are ready for lighthouse (or given what the kids are up to these days lunar *gasp*) the paint will just start turning to that prime sticky feel.
First, I would like to say that this thread is amazing and I love how passionate we all are about kendama. @CodyGriz, my snarky comments in my first post were said in jest, and I hope that is how you took them. However, I do consider myself a general "purist" in kendama terms. I recently had an experience that has made me re-examine my initial answer to this thread. I am a teacher, and am currently transitioning from full-time teaching into my next career venture. With that, I'm currently subbing, and have the opportunity to be in front of a different group of kids every day. Every day I have a kendama with me, and I always show it to the kids I meet. Yesterday I was in a middle school, for a teacher I had previously subbed for a few weeks ago. This is how the situation played out... One of the kids came in and immediately said: Student: "Hey! Do you have your kendama? I got one!" Me: "No way!! Thats amazing! What brand did you get?" Student: "Kendama" Me: "No, I mean what is the brand? Where did you get it!?" Student: "I don't know...kendama? My mom got it for me when she was on a trip. I told her I wanted one and she surprised me with one!" Me: "...well thats great!" The student proceeded to show me his cup skills, which were impressive for a beginner. He was so pumped, and so was I. The lesson I gained from this experience is that the brand/type of kendama does not matter. The kendama has a power all of its own, we just need to help get them in as many hands as possible and let the dama do the rest!
This story reminds me of the (now) old question of: are the cheapo toy damas (toysmith, etc) good for dama? or bad for dama? As in... does the easy accessibility open up the game to more people, some of whom will fall in love and seek out a 'legit' dama? Or does the fact they're cheap and crappy tarnish the first look players get at the game?
I liked starting on a cheap $6 kendama from my local toy store and moving my way up. Cheap stuff with no tracking, grip, and more helps you really get the muscle memory down, and then moving up to a sticky or tracking tama on a new gen ken will feel a lot better and your og muscle memory will kick in and you will lace your tricks even faster.
yeah. when teaching other people I always get frustrated before them because I don't think its hard lol... Then 10 mins later they still don't have it, I either show off, let them try a jumbo, or give them a free kendamafor them to try because I can't stand watching people miss big cup 100x in a row. #notthemostpatient
Is that the reason people are advancing so fast or is kendama like a really great example of hundredth monkey theory? When I first started playing kendama I didn't even know there were kendama tutorials but I still landed a lighthouse within a couple days....not watching any edits?!?! My friend, who has his doctorate in computer science actually writes programming languages only to find out after the fact that the EXACT language he "wrote" already exists half way across the globe. Is the rapid evolution of kendama also influenced by the mental progression of kendama as reflected upon some sort of global consciousness? Just my tripped out thought of the day