Yeah but when you get to a certain level of play you should really be able to do juggle to spike because it is a fairly standard trick. I am guessing pretty much any sponsored player can do it. Styles change yes but juggle to spike is not crazy out of this world difficult.
Or when someone asks to try out your fresh setup or even a older one and the first thing they do is a yank spike like are you for serious
Man you are talking about sponsored players. They can do lots of crazy tricks in my opinion, if you are going to play in advanced players competition, you will probably need to know how to juggle. On the other side, i know people who can do crazy naughty birds, trades wariations, stalls and balance tricks, and they are really bad at juggles.
Not entirely a standard for me though. I’ve been trying to get to good terms with this trick, it has been a challenging road. There are some pros out the who don’t juggle, period. Alex Ruisch was one such example.
Alex Smith has admitted to not being strong in the juggling area, and I remember pretty recently (within the last month or 2) Jake Wiens landing his first double juggle to spike on his insta story. Juggling skills in kendama definitely isn't a tell-all standard trick to determine a players level as a pro.
I think that would be the first, last, and only time I ever handed a kendama to that guy. Sheesh, no respect. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've noticed a recent trend (not really a trend, just noticed with a few people) among new players. Not sure if it applies to everyone, but new players are getting more impatient nowadays. There's little to no more value for the grind from what I observed. For these new players, the hype makes them shoot straight for the advanced tricks (guy asks me how to lighthouse when he can't even land the most fundamental stuff), and, in extreme cases, think they're sponsorship worthy when they haven't even built the kind of consistency and rapport with the community that a sponsored player should have. Personally, I'm doing my best to mitigate it by helping teach people to start with their fundamentals, but I hope this doesn't become a thing in kendama now.
It could just be curiosity. When I skated, I would pop the tail and whip my board around to see what the trick looked like. A lot were out of my league, but I figured I would see what it is all about and just pop it.
Curiousity is one thing, having a bad attitude is another. The dude I was talking about in my previous message was new, but he had a cocky air about him. Even pestered his mom to buy him a kendama with sticky paint in a very childish way (this i a 16 year old, by the way). He didn't seem to get the memo when I told him that lighthouse comes with practice, not necessarily with sticky paint. Then again, this might just be an isolated case. I hope so, personally.
It doesnt help when (again, one of my picks for worst trend) people see a new dama on insta/snapchat/facebook/websites and the very first question from nearly half the people commenting on it is, "Is the dama/paint sticky/tacky/etc?" Sticky paint isnt bad, a lot of players both pro and beginner and everyone in between uses it. But it definitely starts to be too much when that is how people judge a kendama (or its lunar balance or how well it slings)
<soapbox mode> @Emil Apostol @KeeganS Sadly sticky paint and big cups are often used as a crutch/shortcut to tricks that haven't been "earned." Both are innovations that should contribute to an existing skill set and help a player reach beyond, not as a Band-aid to bridge the gap in ability that would normally be filled with practice, patience, and skill. Unfortunately it seems that digital life breeds this kind of thinking. There are always hacks, workarounds, walk-throughs, level-ups, etc. available easily so few are willing to walk the long road themselves for the achievement; they're already thinking of the next trick or game they'll try. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ </soapbox mode>
BUMP! Not really a bad "trend" but more of a personal pet peeve that others may have. Anyone else lowkey irked by how some people start "Around the World" and its variations with big cup (Big Cup, Small Cup, Base Cup, Spike)? The JKA has it starting with small cup (Small Cup, Big Cup, Base Cup, Spike), but many people are starting it with big cup. Might be my traditionalist kendama tendencies talking, but I'm ever so slightly annoyed by this.
Thats me... i can do all of these tech tricks, and beat sponsored players in a game of ken, but cant godamn get jug to frickin spike
OMG Thank You!! So on point!! Just to go on record, the past year I’ve blown most of my disposable income on damas after getting back on the Kendama Craze. Currently I’m trying my best to refrain myself to buy new ones as companies keep churning them out there. I’m able to purchase because I can; I don’t ask to be sponsored because it seems like the only motive that people do is to get “free” product; these people who get sponsored are there to test new product, at least that’s my basic understanding of what being sponsored is all about. That being said, as a sponsored player you’re also to be involved in the community and most of the kids out there can’t understand that.
Man you just solved my recent biggest confusion! As I learned my 'Around the..' according the JKA standard 'Basic 10 Tricks', and I just found most of the western players start it from the big cup(At least for those who I followed on instagram), so I was getting confused.
That’s how I understand the difference is. For the most part, most western players start big cup and eastern (especially and obviously Japanese players and anyone who follows JKA rulings) start with small. Personally I’ll switch it up but it doesnt really matter to me.
I wonder if they little -> big -> bottom order is a speed thing? It requires less hand movement than big -> little -> bottom, so maybe that is why it became the standard? I mix it up depending on the trick, but for a basic around the europe I'd usually start big cup first.