April 2015, SanFrancisco, California The First Ever Sakura Classic This was the biggest event I had ever been to in my 2 years of playing kendama. I hadn't the faintest idea of what to expect. This event had so many contestants in all shapes, sizes, colors, ages and skill levels. I went to SF to enter into the amateur/pro classic, which consisted of the first day, speed ladder day, and the second day, the open division but with a twist. The top 8 amateurs have to go head to head against 8 professional kendama players. (Honestly it did seem like poor event coordination but it works out trust me... Kinda) So the first day I go in battle my heart out. But I don't win I make it to the top 8 but get fourth in the speed ladders... (Non prize winning placement) but it's okay I made it to the next day event. I was sooooo stoked and not only did I make it the next day but my homie Calvin got first so that was cool. Okay second day. Open Division tournament going down. And my first match up is up against the one and only Haley Baeshoff. Luckily I wasn't too soft and I took the dub (W aka the win). After that I go on to face Casey Cristobal and Dave Mateo ( I was sooo scared to face Dave he's too honed but I somehow pulled out another win against him on a UFO trick of all tricks ) So that's it I'm in the finals I won all of my matches so far. And I'm watching the other battle to await my next opponent. And guess who it is... The man, the myth, the legend, Nicolas Stodd. Yup great I'm sitting here stoked to get to the finals then that happens. But its all good I'm cool I'm cool. So the final round comes around but it's not like all the other battles. ITS ON STAGE IN FRONT OF LIKE 100 PEOPLE!!!! It's not like the pressure wasn't already 69x crazier with Stodd. But now it's on stage. You know I'm about to be shaking so much you'd think I'm having a seizure. But it's okay in the heat of the match I miraculously get 2 whole points!!! 2 of them!!! But then of course the final trick, game point, is a stall trick. Stilt > Flip in. Yay.... So I lose but it's okay I got far and it was Stodd cmon. Okay now, fast forward a year. Sakura Classic 2016. This time I'm pumped and ready returning second place champ? I'm invincible right? We'll see. But the pressure is crazy this time too. Yes they took out the pros, but they added a TRIP TO JAPAN!!?!?!??!!!! What the heck? That's brazy. So It's the same setup, 1st day speed ladders. But there was a huge scare at the start. I almost got bumped off the first round because my judge didn't see my land my trick. But luckily mi mum came in clutch with da video and I made it all the way, again to the second day. Now the competition was real this year too, we had slayers that are either crazy stupid good or are actually pros now... Ben Herald, Gavin Harvey, Ceejay Martinez, and Jordan Vargas were all in the top 16 with me. So not gonna lie it was scary. But it's okay my first two rounds I kill and take the Ws. But it's when the semis come around it starts to get hard. My opponent was the sleeping giant CJ a kid I had never heard of until today and he actually beat both Jordan and Ben... Wow. So I was a bit intimated so much that I was missing fundamental tricks like turntable spike, where I'd miss the spike . So finally it's like deja vu cuz what's the score... 3-2 I'm down and it's game point. And wait it's gets better. What trick gets pulled is the question???? You probably guessed so good for you and if you didn't it's okay, you're still cool. But it was stilt flip... But this time I actually managed to get the stilt this but for some reason life just wanted me to be extra cool and try to go for borders instead of in... So yeah... I lost and ended up taking 3rd and losing the trip to Japan.. But it's all good. Just you wait I can tell the future. Keilan Cancino 2017 Sakura Classic Champion... And if not it'll be funny cuz I wrote all this so yeah. Hope I win this contest as constellation. Just in case I don't win the Sakura classic. But I'm gonna get it (hopefully) http://www.downspike.com/members/36/ help it won't let me @ the daemon guy
A Box Full of Alcohol by Louke Hernandez Kendama World Cup. 2016. Hatsukaichi, Japan. I was there. There I was at the World Cup for Kendama. Who would have ever thought that I would be there? Every day felt like it flew by. Almost every Kendama Player in the world was there with me at that exact moment. Zoomadanke, Thorkild, Li Ho, the Sweets team, KUSA, the Canadians, and pretty much everyone you saw through social media, except @Dæmon. The first night after Day 1 of the competition was insane. All the kendama players slept under the same roof at Omotenashi Hostel, which meant all kendama players partied under the same roof. So first, let me just say that I don't drink alcohol or do any of that stuff. I don't mind being around but it's probably the closest I have ever gotten to a real party like the stereotypical "ragers" that you would see in the movies or what you would think when someone mentioned "Frat Party." I enjoyed observing everyone try to play kendama while under the influence of alcohol. Anyways, to say the least it was insane. I still had fun just being around so many familiar people. I got to play kendama with people from all over the world that I might not be able to play with for the rest of my life, unless I return to Japan in the future. But after all that, I was pretty tired so I decided to go back to my room. I got to my room that was conveniently located on the second floor. I shared the room with all the other kendama players that weren't really sponsored. Anyways, I was surprised to see that no one else was in the room. Finally, some piece and quiet I thought to myself. I climbed into my bed on the top bunk, one of the six bunk beds that filled the room. It was there I rested and caught up with social media, connected with family back home, and text sweet corny romance things to my girlfriend that was well over 1000 miles away across the Pacific Ocean. When all of a sudden, a giant burly Russian man kicks down the door and yells, "It's time to (explicit) party!" We made eye contact and looked at each other in confusion. "Yan I think you have the wrong room," I said as I looked at the box full of alcohol that he carried. "Oh, sorry. Do you know where everyone is," he questioned. "Probably somewhere upstairs," I told him. "Well sorry about that," Yan said in his thick Russian accent. "It was nice seeing you Yan, I'll see you around." It was that moment that I would remember for the rest of my life. Kendama World Cup 2016 was full of other interesting stories but there's nothing that'll beat the time a Russian Man barges into the room with a box full of alcohol. Hope to see you soon Yan. End.
@HelloLouke's encounter with Yan reminded me of my first encounter with Yan, also at KWC (but, 2015)! ____________________ KWC 2015. Actually, this was a day or two before the best bus ride in kendama history. Too bad @Dæmon wasn't there for it. Most of us arrived early to Osaka, so Gloken patched us up at the Osaka Youth Hostel. We were assigned rooms, and Yan stayed in the same room as ours, along with Matt Rice, Steve Plinkinton, and Rob Putaro. So Yan was bragging about two big bottles of Russia's finest vodka which he brought over, and everyone had a small taste. Yan wanted to give it to his best friends to try, so he left the room with a bottle and i had the craving for 7-Eleven, so i went out. Sometime later, i came back to the room, no one there and i was just chillin, eating my kombini food. There was a knock on the door, and Hajime opened it, asking me where Yan was, since they wanted some info from him. Told the man i didn't know, but i'd tell the man if i saw Yan, so he left. Some minutes later, Hajime came back to my room, told me "Azrin, i found him." "Where?", i asked. With somewhat a perturbed expression, he remarked "On MY bed. All drunk." After what was like a minute of laughing, Hajime said "Now i can't sleep!" So i guess, in Japan, you don't find Yan, Yan finds you?
GROM PUNISHMENT Many years ago-well back into my novice years- there was an event called BIS 2012. What is BIS, you may ask? Battle in Seattle. This is when kendama was popping around my area, so there was no way I was going to miss it. In fact, this was the first event I would be attending. I was about 6 months in, anxious to finally meet all the pros I looked up to, and ready to hopefully impress them. Seemed like not such a bad idea right? Wrong. I took that last part a little bit too far. So I'm strolling up to BIS right, you know, trying to keep it calm and collected in front of all of my idols. Yes, I was doing good at first, using the casual "can you sign this" technique to get them to even consider speaking a word to me. It was going quite well. I even told them my name and held a 30 second conversation with them (that was impressive for me back then). Although, as time went on and I started feeling a little bit TOO comfortable, I began to go really hard and tried excessively to get the pros to notice me. Either by continuously talking to them, trying to do a cool trick in their line of vision or challenging them to a game of KEN (over and over), it was all for the sake of trying to be "friends" with the pros. Enough of the backstory. This is where it gets good. So let me hammer off a list real quick. I did basically everything you could think of. I... -followed a specific pro around so I could keep on trying to talk, and talk, and talk.... -repeatedly kept saying how amazing their kendama was, even when I thought it wasn't even really that good at all -attempted to get in every shot a pro would be filming, in hopes of being in that upcoming edit -kept talking about an insane trick I've been working on (obviously a made up one that I had no chance of ever hitting) -saying the best trick I had ever done (also made up) You get it. We all know the struggle of these types of kids. Although, in this scenario, I was that kid. This all led up to the big finale. I had just gotten 2nd place in the intermediate ladder, so I was extra hyped. So hyped, in fact, that I decided to take matters into my own hands and really went all the way. The advanced ladders had started up, and me being me, of course, went up behind all of them and started to do the tricks in that ladder. Specifically, double UFO. I thought I was really good at UFO's at the time (more like sideways Jsticks) and I wanted to even further impress everyone by doing this trick faster than the advanced players. So for a whole ladder, I stood behind them all and performed this trick, as often as I possibly could. After this round was over, I felt really cool.... too cool. I instantly went over to the sweets booth, bought a really nice looking shredwards custom (S/O Chaz) and directly headed over to Colin Sander so he could sign it. Now this punishment that I'm about to explain wasn't really put on me by anyone else, but more so as karma to my previous GROM actions. I asked him to sign and he said "dude, this is a rad custom! Who did it, sourmash?" Low and behold, I obviously agreed with him, while knowing very well that it was a shredwards. I thought that by just holding the same answer with him we would be better acquaintances. I was wrong. After signing he shouted over to sourmash and asked "yo mash, this one of your customs?" Mash replied "nope, that's most definitely one of Chaz's. Why, who told you that?" At that point it felt like my soul got sucked out of my body because I had just been labeled as wrong in front of my favorite player. It was at this point that the only thing I remember doing was silently saying goodbye and wandering off for a long, long time. The shame that seeped into my body just put me out for the count. All of the GROM tactics that I had used finally came and bit me in the ass. I was humiliated. Moral of the story: never try hard or be someone you're not to get a favorite player of yours to notice you. It won't end in the way you think it will. ~Nick @Dæmon
The endless miss-spike Like evereyday, the night came. And like everyday, I went to walk with my dog. The cold wind moved my hair and the lights of the lampposts illuminated the ground. There weren’t many people in the streets, anyone really. Only the moon, my four legs friend and my kendama. It was a rough kendama of unknown brand, but it was my second kendama, and it was fresh, so I was so hyped. While my dog was pissing everything I was trying to spike a new trick to me, the mooncircle. I tried once. Nothing, I miss spike. Second attempt. The kendama hit the ground. “Ouch, Thats hurts” I tought. But I want to try again. I picked up the kendama and throw to the air. That was the perfect chance. My hand catched the ken and I followed the movement. All was perfect but, unexpectedly, I failed again. Surprised I looked my kendama and I could see it. The spike had disappeared. The toy was broken, without spike, only the sarado and the rest of the ken. Like a madman I started to search on the ground. I never found it. Most probably the wind took it with him. So, now, when you , @Dæmon, or another, fail a spike remember that maybe, a lonely and magic spike dragged by the wind is near to you, using his power to do you fail the trick, as revenge for never did the mooncircle. Please if someone see a grammar mistake, please tell me. Thanks.
I don't know if two entry's are allowed or not , so if the answer is no just use this reply . This is much more of a real life story . A few months back I had been in sort of a slump . I'm not talking a kendama slump I'm talking just a general not a good time in life. It happens to everyone . I had started to sort of let myself go , I gained about 60 pounds over the span of only a few month's. I went from 178lbs to around 234lbs. My Activity levels obviously were low .I wasn't going outside much . Going back to school I saw these kids playing with this weird wooden ball thing . I later found a friend who had one and explained kendama to me . (Kendamas have recently exploded in my area since even more btw , its really fantastic) He sold me a Kendama Co. natty beech shenzu. From the first time I picked it up I knew it would be an addiction. I wanted to get better and impress my friends , be better than them , to be good at something . That kenco kendama changed my life , right from the start . I had seen all these kendama edits on YouTube outside and thought it was the coolest thing ever . A nice jam spot and some lacing on a ken makes a perfect video . I started to have a reason to go outside . To play kendama . I made it a mission right from the start to play a few hours of kendama a day . After my first lighthouse the fire went ablaze. I wanted to learn more , be better . These quick little seshs outside started to change me gradually . Going outside to play ken started to turn into walking , jogging to new spots to jam. Those walks alone made me lose weight and and just overall feel better ya know . From there those walks grew longer , turned into running , exercising, lifting weights , eating healthier , wanting a better life . I lost around 30 pounds in 2 months after picking up my first kendama . 6 months after picking my first kendama I am now 183lbs and healthier than I've ever been , all thanks to Kendama . It jumpstarted my road to happiness and healthiness, fitness. I learned something along the way , always look at the light of the end of the tunnel , no matter what situation you're in . Always try to see the silver lining . All these great things that have happened to me , all started with a KenCo Natty shenzu . Everything told in this story is true , just thought I'd share that no matter what you do always stay positive . Have a nice day and thank you for taking time to read this . -Jarren . @Dæmon
Owhhhh i've just remembered this one from a couple of years back! --------------------------- - KWC 2015 - Shortly after arrival at our lodging, from the tiring bus ride and trip to Dama Village, we were all assigned rooms. Each team had at least one nice room to themselves, and then there's us - the non-assigned. It was the dankest room of all (dank enough to make even @Dæmon jealous) - The Manservant Room. Tatami mats for prime seshing, the dining area just outside our room for the best dibs, it was all just too good. And it had 10 inhibitants: Mikey Schelling @mikey schelling, Yan @Yan Kud, Owen Pelettier (Canada), Charlie Thompson @Churlthomp (Australia), Ben Langholz, my homie Seki, Jet Lem, Pratama Radityo (Indonesia), Philip Eldridge and yours truly. We were exhausted from the day, and we just wanted some zzz to kick in. After some shenanigans outside, we retired for the day and slept. The next day, i woke up with coins all over my bed and face - all 1 yen coins. I wondered who the culprit was, as i collected the coins, and among the 1 yen, i found a Danish Krone. I immediately looked for the only Dane in the room, who happened to have his futon beside me and asked him about it. Apparently i snored so loud, Phil got annoyed and started throwing his coins at me! He ran out of coins to throw, so he reached for his Krone and threw that one too! That day, i discovered two things: i snored too damn loud, and that Phil had sparked in me, a sudden interest in collecting coins native to dama players i meet around the globe!
I was scrolling through my feed and stopped on Mikey schellings post it was a flyer for a jam and @bonz atron and @Joshua Flow Grove are going to be there. I hurried up and got out of the bathroom (who doesn't play on their phone in the bathroom) and ran to my mom and showed her she told me if I can get a group of friends we can go I got soo hyped I called my cousin and asked him if he could go and he could so I told him I'll pick him up that day. After that phone call I ran to my cousins house they both play dama and asked them if they could go and they also could so I ran to my mom and told her I got some buddy's to come. The night before the jam all of them spent the night at my house and we watched Bonz and josh and Mikey edits to get us hyped and we went to sleep. In the morning we had smoothies and were off to the jam I typed the address into my dads phone and we left we all talked about how excited we were to go (we were noobsthis was like the second big jam we have ever been to) we showed up but it wasn't a warehouse this was a house my dad thought this was all a fake so he's like this was all just a waste of gas and time I looked at the phone and I had typed the address in wrong so I typed it in right and we went off AGAIN after 20min we showed up and saw a lion head car and the door that had the lion head logo on it it was one of the coolest things to see a whole warehouse just for kendamas. We walked in the door and saw a desk with all these cool Damas on it and a hall and at the end of the hall we could here people talking and the clack of Kendama so we walked down it and saw a TON of people just jammin there was people everywhere filming and buying stuff and everything we could see a bunch of people crowded around Bonz I looked around more and we got waved over to get a wrist band and pay for out raffles and stuff once we all did that we started to jame in the corner. I as always a shy guy so I just stayed there jammin. I looked up and saw Mikey walking toward me we fist bumped and stuff ( I had jammed with Mikey in the mall at the lion head kiosk every night from Wednesday to Saturday one week it was dope so Mikey already knew me) he told me to come jam and said every lion head dama was half off so we copped a lot of stuff lol and he told me that Bonz had a table with some kenco Damas and Bonzai Damas for sale so we walked over to check it out and Joshua was there and we started talking he is a way cool guy and he told us that he has a challenge for us, we asked him what it was and he pulled out handcuffs and told me and my cousin @Wallace to cuff each other's hand and try to do around the world and if we do it then we can get a free Bonzai dama one of our choice so we tried for a long time it's super hard you have to be way synchronized. Josh was filming is the whole time and Boom that last synchronized clack of the last spike we looked at each other and started yelling everyone was looking at us josh was yelling with us everyone was like "did they do it are you serious?!?!" We where the first people to make it besides Wyatt bray and Chris June. Ever since that day for a long time we were known by the kids who did the "handcuff thing" the bad thing was only one of us got a Bonzai so we did a Ken war to see who got it and the loser gets a choice of there own lion head so I was good with either one but I ended up winning and picked the keyaki Bonzai and later that day I won another one in the raffle. I also won Bonz's giveaway on Instagram so now I have three Bonzai. That was the best jam I had ever been to. @Dæmon
Haha, but it is a short story. A short story is a story that is written in under 7,500 words. If you use a Word Count tool, @Ryalkid20's short story is about 770 words. Also, I noticed that you were commenting on your own post. Haha. Anyway. Good story! Good luck everyone! @Dæmon
It'll be easier to read, if it's broken into paragraphs. Having a crazy long body of text, without breaks is strenuous to read!