Stealing in the Community

Getting hyped for MKO in 2 months, I looked up last year's event page on Facebook and saw a number of posts from players who lost their damas. Some of the comments hinted at someone/people stealing from a lot of people there.

That same problem was present at NKR 2016 last year and it was so bad that it got the point where Dave Mateo had to announce to the entire camp TWICE to stop stealing from everyone and please return the missing items if they didn't belong to you.

This is definitely a really bad trend no matter what kind of community you are in; skate, bmx, cardistry, cosplay, makers/engineers, etc.
I mean, I get it. It's understandable that you see something really cool or really expensive and wish that you could have one just like it.
But those items, whether they were damas, laptops, cameras, external drives, apparel/accessories, they all were worth more to the original owners than the perceived 'wow factor' that these people who took them experienced.
Memories are stored within them, physically or metaphorically. The first dama you competed with and won with, the dama(s) you worked so hard to find and make your own, the photos and videos with new friends and favorite players that can never be replaced, the shirts, damas, hats, bags, and other gifts that were all custom/handmade especially for you.
Or even money. For a number of people attending out of town events, that's all the money that they have to survive the event whether it's for buying food or getting a plane/bus ticket back home.

Like everyone here says, were are a community. And like Dave said at NKR, you steal from one of us, you're stealing from the community. We go to events to have fun and enjoy ourselves. We don't go expecting to be paranoid about the person next to us wondering if they're going to take something from us we hold precious.

To everyone attending MKO 2017 this year, let's make it one that everyone can enjoy. Be in the moment, experience and embrace it. Don't ruin someone else's experience just to satisfy your selfish wants.
And (hopefully this won't be the case) if you see anyone acting suspicious, point them out to the event staff or calmly confront them yourselves. Don't allow anyone to take what rightfully isn't theirs and more importantly try to use that moment teach them that their actions are not what kendama needs nor what it is about.

 

Well said, I was on only one kendama event so never thought about it. Good point. I hope MKO will be without accidents like these. Always remember the "DAMA LOVE"

 

Hopefully it will be, and I'd also like to add that this extends to beyond and below kendama events. Weekly club/jams or seshes with friends and other people you may/may not know. Respect other players and their damas and other possessions. You definitely do not want to be found out in this community as the person who stole from other players.

 

Seriously though, I am not someone who is really into possessions as something that makes you happy but kendamas are kind of different because they do become a part of you, they almost mark your progression through life in a way. If someone took one of my more precious kens I would surely be heartbroken and blue for a while.

This thread reminds me of this situation that happened to me. I had my house broken into when I was in my early 20's and had A LOT of valuables taken from me. Although the possessions were a pain to lose, the worst part was they stole my backpack and it had a notebook in it with poems I had been working on for years, only one of which was edited and published. That poem actually won a major poetry contest and the notebook was full of editing notes, first drafts, and literally dozens of my best works written during my battle with a rare disease that almost took my life. Needless to say, I was devastated. Well years later, a friend of mine was waiting for me outside of work with tears in his eyes, I hadn't seen him in years but we were once close very close friends. It took him almost six years to build the courage to return it. He found out where I worked and waiting three hours for me to come out. He had kept my notebook through two cross country moves, homelessness, six months in jail (it was the only thing in his personal possessions other than clothes), and a three week stay in the hospital. He was so ashamed of himself that it took him that long to get it back to me. When I saw it we both cried and cried and cried, and I didn't even care about the thousands of dollars he swept from my house, in my eyes he had redeemed his actions. He knew it meant a lot to me and even though throughout his journey he had lost everything he owned more than once he knew he had to hold onto the one thing he would never live down if he lost. Moral of the story, you never know how much something you are stealing means to another person.

 

@htimSxelA , that is super lame.

 

And events like MKO, Battle at the Border, Battle in Seattle are great opportunities to show off and share damas that you're proud of and cherish. Whether they're the dream setup you've been wanting to make, one of a kind customs you made yourself or got as a gift, or super rare pieces like Mugens, OG Sweets and Tributes, etc. It's definitely a stronger punch to the gut when the person who takes whatever they took from you knows the importance of it to you and you trusted them, but they take it from you anyways.

 

Working in retail for longer than I'd care to admit, we're trained not to confront them but to ninja wordplay them into either giving it up or actually buying it. In all honesty, if I see someone (kids or adults) stealing from someone when their back is turned I am going to bring as much attention to that person as possible to get them caught red handed.

 

With the emphasis of social media in this community, it's definitely a good idea to post of pic of the damas you want to take with you before you leave (I did that with NKR last year, already see a couple for MKO this year) so you have current pics of any damas you might lose track of. Especially useful with damas that have distinct characteristics; unique birthmarks/grain, custom paint/woodburn/stickers/etc, chips in the wood or paint that are distinct, even string color and (if you're that knowledgeable of your own damas) what bead is used.

 

Yeah man, it was pretty intense. At that point I had almost completely forgotten about it and when he handed it to me I got this almost otherworldly rush of memories, like a part of my soul came flooding back to me. I felt weird for several days after that, as if my mind was trying to grasp other memories that had become relics to the wayside of my life.

 

I am quite frankly very surprised to read all of this. I never would have thought this to be an issue in the community, but granted I've never been to an actual event in my years of playing.

Alex's story of someone taking a unique handturned piece, out of his hotel room, straight up baffles me. Shame on that person and anyone else who behaves similarly in the community.

 

Sometimes it'll happen right under your nose, others you may leave something somewhere just absent minded while you go someplace else and someone sees that as an opportunity.

For sure didn't start this to scare people away from events, but so they remember that no matter how much fun or how great a community like ours is that there is still the possibility of this happening (even from passersby who aren't participating in the event at all). And to also dissuade anyone from doing this themselves. Like @htimSxelA said, no one wants to be found out as the person who steals in this community. Best way is to just not steal.

 

Last year was a bummer. A computer was stolen from a man who dedicates himself to growing the kendama community and was helping with the MKO.

Also I had something stolen from me, a unique/expensive dama that was meant to be a prize/raffle item was stolen from the front desk at the hotel while I left it for safe keeping.

People better chill out this year.

 

I feel if you have the ability to go to MKO (especially traveling out of state or out of country) you shouldn't need to steal, but hey maybe you used all your money on the competition, but even in that case you still shouldn't steal. I have a friend who got the sweets homegrown keyaki and he let some kid use it and he faked running away with it, I was ready to chase him, especially knowing how much that Kendama costs, needless to say don't steal.

 

This is basically why I'm packing pretty light. all the essentials, 3 or 4 damas, my phone, and a whole lot of excitement.

 

when kendama used to be the thing here in sg , at almost every event there would be someone who lost their kendama but now it has died down abit so not much stealing now?