Hope it's not too late for this but I plan on gifting my buddy his choice of the red ken co zen or Mateo pro mod. He is the one who first introduced me to kendama and is responsible for starting my addiction. Recently while at college someone stole his go to Krom rubber stripe. Stealing damas is not cool so I'm stoked to gift him a freshie. I got a feeling he's going to pick the red zen since we are both from Colorado. He always talked about getting a ken co but could never come up with the cash before they shut down. Even if he takes the pro mod I'll still probably let him take the zen! Hope everyone had a great holiday and keeps spreading the dama love well into the new year. Peace, JP
This is my father flamboyant hairdresser of an uncle, Steve (He goes by Stella). We had him over for Christmas Eve dinner and he stuck around for Christmas morning. Christmas Eve, after the majority of my extended family had vacated the premesis, Stell here was incredibly intrigued by my Kendama playing. He asked how many I have and was incredulous when I responded with what was apparently a higher number than what he was expecting. So I showed him my collection, explaining what each one was, the company it came from where online or at what event I acquired it, etc. When I came across a particular Natty/Pink/Blue fade, Stella seemed particular enamored, so naturally I immediately offered to give it to him. He graciously accepted the Amazon Sunset Girr, and through a barrage of thanks and hugs I managed to coach him to his first big cup. While not as spry as perhaps he once was, Stella seemed to really enjoy trying his hand at Kendama, so when we parted company Chsirtmas morning, he ensured me that by the next time we saw each other, he would have it masterd ("And I STILL won't be as good as you" he assured me). And so it was, that I drew yet another family member into this wonderful cult
This is great and I hope in a year or two we hear of some kid going pro who got his first kendama from a toy drive.
Update on the story. My dads Kendama made it to the post office in our town by Christmas eve, but he didn't get to have it on xmas. I emailed KUSA and they happily refunded the shipping. He ended up getting his dama on the 27th. He loves it. Furthermore I'm gifting three more Kendama. Thanks to Downspike I'm gettin' hooked up with 3 slightly used Kendama for the low low. I have two friends that like to play with the Kendama that are usually lying around but don't have their own. I'll be gifting them each a kenco zen stripe. Lastly I visited my homie in Chicago and he, his sister and her fiance all were introduced to Kendama for the first time. They thought it was super cool and really enjoyed playing with mine for awhile. I'm headed back over there in the near future and I'll have a Kendama to gift their house. I'm super excited to give away these Dama because no one has any idea they're getting them yet.
A lot of great stories in here, and happy to see a lot of damas going out this Christmas. THE WINNER IS: @Ryan Howard, who gave a kendama in a toy drive to a less fortunate kid this christmas. Congratulations Ryan, please PM us your mailing address for the prizing. Shout out to @Jacob Roller @Raybulatao and @MicahDama who also had awesome stories.