Too many people are quick to fault USPS (or any other delivery service) when their orders are late (granted, some may be understandable) but are just as quick to praise the sender (company or previous owner) as opposed to the delivery service for their fast shipping like it was them personally who put brought their package straight to their mailbox/front door. Personally, I’ve had more shipments arrive a day early as opposed to a day or more late than the expected delivery date (kudos to USPS for that). Edit: the only big problem I had with receiving a package was because the sender’s handwriting was slightly elegible which causes the post office to read my zipcode wrong (he sent me a picture of the package and I noticed that one digit could possibly be read entirely wrong and it was).
I think the worst trend in this situation is people who aren't willing to give the other style of play a try. Just because one isn't good at juggles or at OG play doesn't mean they should demean it and/or not give it a try. Look at Dave Mateo and Kenyatta Williams. They are known for their flow style, and are masters of their particular style of play, but recently they've incorporated juggles beautifully into their play styles. In summary, stagnation, not specialization, is the worst trend here.
To be fair, I think thats why 'OGs complain about too many taps and juggles', its probably just seen as flashy spammers that don't develop the core skills. Anecdotally, I've played games of DAMA with kids who can 5 tap juggle spike no problem, but then can't even come close to matching around bird 0.0 Balance is good, but really you should just play dama in whatever way makes you happiest
Yeah I think the reason all those newer players are drawn to taps and juggles is that the ultimate goal for many young players is getting sponsored so when they see the best sponsored players like liad stodd and nick doing 8 taps they think learning that is the shortcut to getting sponsored. Seeing the same trick over and over again can get boring but we still should have respect for the over 3 tap tricks and crazy juggles because those are some of the hardest tricks in the game
What I’ve been seeing lately is pros doing the same tricks they’ve been doing before going pro. I see no progression in half the “pros” out there. Step your game up before some rookies take your spot.
Being a pro isn't solely about kendama skill, there are a lot of other factors. Assuming that a pro's slot is vulnerable just because that pro isn't into chasing X-number of taps/juggles seriously underestimates the value of the other requirements.
In their defense, a lot of them are too busy organizing dama events/ travelling/ being employees of the companies they're sponsored by to get better. Some of them simply don't have the time to sit down and grind out a banger like they used to.
you guys are somewhat right. But you gotta realize half these pros doing the same lines over and over again. It’s nothing new it’s the same thing just like thorkild from krom. Slay liad with the taps and jugs like i expect that type of tricks from you. So idk why pros be getting hyped over weak lines I can do if I tried.
“It’s easier for a level 1 to level up faster than it is for a level 50.” Paraphrased from My Hero Academia
It’s not hard to level up. If you’re a pro you have most tricks on lock it’s all about putting them together and doing a line. Bonz a pro but can’t do a better border line then Alex from sol (non pro)
You’re missing the point of the quote/phrase. Putting things you can do into a line and learning new things/leveling up are a bit different, at least in my opinion. You’re talking about consitency (having tricks on lock and putting them in a line) which isn’t necessarily ‘leveling up’ but keeping those skills honed and making sure they don’t deteriorate. Leveling up would equate to moving from quad taps to quints, or finally learning how to incorporate a new trick into a line you can already do 10/10 times (late kenflip or a double juggle). And going back to the phrase, it actually is definitely harder to level up (between person to person) once you hit a certain plateau which is different for everyone. Especially in a game like kendama where not everyone is going to mess with and be at a similar level of consistency of every trick out there. Never implied leveling up was impossible for those of ‘pro status’ just that it’s more difficult to since most pros/advanced level players have so many tricks under their belt already, which is why so many players like Bonz, Herald, etc push the game the way they do.
Bro... no it’s not. If you learn a new trick you level up. Because then you can put that trick into a line with another and create a new line you’ve never done even for pros it’s the same concept to level up. Ben did goons for a whole month nothing but leveling up off one type of trick incorporating it into all the other tricks he learned from some years of experience.
It is indeed harder to level up the better you get. For example, a track runner can train to get their 10.5 second 100m dash to 10 seconds, but shaving another .5 seconds to make it 9.5 seconds is going to be way harder to do. Similarly, Liad laced his first 9 tap and 12 tap in the same week but hasn’t since landed 13 tap. Also—adding to the already established argument that a lot of different things go into being pro—the term “pro” isn’t a direct measurement of skill level. Bryson Lee and So Kanada have proven to be arguably the most skilled Kendama players in the world, but neither of them are pro. Yet, if one of them wasn’t sponsored by Sweets, I’m sure a number of other companies (big or small) would offer an automatic “pro” spot. Being a pro has more to do with one’s impact on the community, and different players impact the community in different ways. P.S. Being pro also has to do with connections, which are super important in this word.
And like I said half these pros do the same line they been doing before going pro. If they are busy doing dama events and etc please explain josh flowgrove because he’s s are you stupid? Bryson is a pro. And so kanada is on the Japan team. And you’re comparing kendama to running which is limited. You can’t run a mile in one sec but someone can walk a mile holding a border. Almost anything is possibly on a kendama compare to running where your body is physically limited. A human body can’t surpass a certain speed.
And why would other companies off them a pro spot?? Because they are skilled. Not because of their impact on the community. Bryson is a sore loser ain’t no body wanna be like him lmao
Bryson is on homegrown and So is on the Japan team, both of which are technically not pro. My entire point was that the term “pro” is subjective from company to company and the fact that they aren’t pro for Sweets shows that being a “pro” isn’t and shouldn’t only be a measurement of skill.