Hey guys, New member here but I thought I would come on and see how you guys like to break in your damas. Especially nattys. I bought a Krom quad split a month or two ago and I've been playing it for a while and very frequently and it just seems like the tama isn't getting better, and it still very slippery from when I got it. Is this how that specific Krom line is, or did I not break it in enough, and if that's the case what are some ways to break them in?
Thank you, I saw that before and of course (and I would try it to see if it works) I don't sweat that much...
Back in Japan, i got hold of a yaki oz and paired it with a dead on fresh translucent oz tama. Wanted to use it for KWC and had less than a week to break it in, so i went out to the pavement and started knocking the tama hole against the pavement.. Also scratched it against the pavement too. Worked out fine, hehehe
Some woods break in differently than others do. You just gotta keep playing em. I'd recommend the sweat tip to add some grip, but otherwise you just gotta keep jamming. The nattys last a while
i have like 4 kendamas (mostly krom) which are quite sticky and my kusa maple craft 2.0 which kinda enjoy playing more. lighthouses are so ridicoulously hard for me on the natty tho where i can do them easily on my sticky slaydawg. i should add that ive only started a few months ago aswell but still.
Stick to the natty! (See what i did there?) If you can balance on a natty, the LOL clear suddenly seems like a joke to you. Lunar and LH tricks will be a breeeeze!
I just started playing with a maple craft and it is pretty icy right out of the box. but like all natties, I've noticed it getting better once it had a bit of texture from missed spikes and hand oil.
Definitely persevere with the craft it will pay off in the end. I've got a maple ozora and it's a slippery little beast, but I love it for the fact it makes me work for those balance tricks!
Playing on slick natty damas increases focus, balance, and intentionality. It's tougher for learning basic tricks, but rewarding in the long run.
I find that the KROM deluxe red oaks have the best grip once they break in. Some natty kens will always be a little slick no matter how much you break them in. I have a hand tuened natty pardouk that will not get grip no matter how much I play it. I'm guessing though that your maple ken will start to break in nicely with more play. If you can, rub sweat into the tama and this will help open up the wood grain a little bit. If you do this now it will help it break in faster. Your maple ken WILL break in and what's cool about that is since you are learning lighthouses on a slick ken by the time it breaks in nicely you will have been practicing on a slicker tama so then you will reach a point where they just start to stick like crazy. That my friend, is the joy of a natty kendama. I also wanted to say that I feel like that LOL paint on the slaydawgs is actually borderline training wheels. It makes tricks almost too easy and once you return to a normal natty or even a tacky paint tama tricks suddenly become way more difficult. I'm guessing almost everyone will be playing one at the next KWC and a lot of players will be busting out level 10 tricks like nothing. Is the Slaydawg a good kendama? Undoubtedly. Is the Slaydawg too good? Possibly.
Really? I very much doubt this. Unless I'm mistaken, all the recent kendama competition open divisions have been won with no slaydawgs in sight. Freestyle has seen slaydawgs, but I think we can all agree people like Fischer and Bonz would have still won without them. I don't think you need to worry too much.
I'm not saying they wouldn't have won. I'm just saying that I think a lot of people will be playing them at the next KWC. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that Slaydawgs came out after the last KWC. I think people are still getting use to their size so we haven't seen a lot out there yet but I would make a guess that a lot of pros will be rocking them at KWC 2017.
@lategreat808 I hear you. I still don't think it will happen. All the pros will use their respective company's damas. Slaydawgs are great, very playable, I like them. But they are not the be-all, end-all kendama. TONS of amazing kendamas out there right now. I DO think the Slaydawg "powers" and advantage can be a lot more noticeable at intermediate and lower level play. It's been discussed before, but especially at the highest level of play, the player is the most important component. Ben Herald's last edit was nuts! Give some of the best pros a slaydawg and they're still not going to be able to replicate a lot of that, in my opinion, without just as much effort and practice (if not more + talent) than Ben Herald.
Sesh it and break it in! All of my nattys have needed at the very least a few months of seshing before I started to throw down consistent loons (unfortunately I live in dry ass Canada so my kens dry out quick). If you live somewhere with decent humidity or you sweat like a mofo, it will break in and will gradually build up a "natural tack". I feel like with all of the new paint tech like Cushion Clear and LOL clear, nattys are slowly being forgotten. At least the idea of breaking them in before they become prime. Just keep seshing it and all that hard work will pay off.
@Ben Lowe , yeah you are probably right. All the super advanced players use Tamas that are a little slicker anyways
I've heard of some using wax, which nullifies some of the aforementioned arguments. However, I've also heard that the wax only lasts a limited time. Unsure, as personally untested. I'd say, slay it. I'm working my ash dwi right now, and will be for quite some time. Got my next few nattys already picked out.