@htimSxelA From the left that is the TK16 we know and after leaving the JKA, the JKA found a replacement for them not sur if it is really replacement, so the new TK that JKA had was called Meijin Kendama and the seal is colored blue with a hologram on it. That's far I know about it that Meijin Kendama is the same as TK16 they both have Birch wood and the same glossiness of the tama.
The Meijin Takumis are covered in pages 9 and 12 of this thread. Also did an unboxing in an earlier Spiked! episode :
I asked Void (BKA) and he said no. Although he is a stickler for the rules. I was wondering because it seems the JKA via Ozora kendama seem to be loosening up a little with the newer models ie. the white with red fade stripe and the green/red/white fade. So a premium painted tama on a hardwood would seem the next step (fingers crossed)!
It's not allowed.. but unless you're in a really gnar comp no one will be able to tell, i think. Most JKA guys nowdays are old and don't really know the difference. I might let it slide if they're both JKA approved. But if your bevel is beat I'm not going to let you take Dan tests.
Credits to @Edric Owen Ladera for posting this in our Kendama Philippines Facebook group. A green-sealed Yumu JKA??? With 70/30 tracking??? Count me in!
Wish they were birch tho! I saw that they’re selling some In Philippine Pesos. Someone wanna hook me up with a Red & Blue (x2)
My understanding is no-go on wood treatments. IIRC you can't do anything to it except glue the tip and put a screw in to hold the sarado down. Even writing your name on it is restricted to a particular place and size.
Additional info from Yumu themselves: There will be three types of paint to be released. Pro Racing - 8 colors (as you see in pics above), Super Paint - 6 colors, and Sticky paint - 8 colors. Kens are of the standard 16-2 models No prices out yet Tracking had been made available in one of the new Ozora series i covered in the Novmber news.
So do you know if all the Yumu paint styles will have the fully comp approved JKA seal Azrin? If so their paints are a lot more sticky than Premium Ozora paints as far as I can remember.
Some older models have tracking stripes. There were a release of Shin Fuji rokurosens or two that had JKA approved seals
From what I hear a lot of people didnt like Shin Fuji but I think they play pretty well. The spike is a little fat which makes it harder to spike but I think for certain freestyle string tricks the fat spike keeps the tama from falling out. I also think it makes downspikes feel awesome and helps a little with birds. I have a fresh recommended Rokurosen red that I am saving for my son when he is old enough to really start playing.
I don't think there was a really a decent size representative sample outside of Japan. I've read that they were "too light" but I've seen a fairly typical sampling of weights go through our shop so that's kind of an over generalization. I have a few heavies clocking in around 160g so I think the few that escaped Japan were just coincidentally light. I've had a bunch of light Ozora too so that label is a bit hard to stick on most of those guys. I think people sometimes forget that kendama are made out of trees and the wood varies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ As for the fat spike they do tend to run 1-1.5mm thicker but I've never seen one break. It's pretty cool you're saving one for your son.