Hi DS community, Now that the black Friday sales are done and all purchased damas are in hand, we now have the power to chose what to play with. Now there lies a problem. If your a dama player like me you probably categorize your dama to: a. (old but gold slayers) b. (middle tier every day jammers) c. (Jammers that are high quality, or fit your preference, and I don't know if I want to hold off playing it in order to preserve its dexterity a bit longer) I just got back into playing kendamas. I'm okay at it. A part of me wants to just jam on one of my middle to low tier kendamas in hopes that I get hone before playing my better kendamas. What do you personally do? How do you chose what to play with on a given day? Since there's so much different shapes and sizes do you feel like sticking to one kendama is the best way to get honed? And jumping around different kendama's prevent you from truly getting better? Im really new, not sure if there was a post like this already.
I have a bunch of damas and they all range from still new to the ones that I wouldn't give away bc I put so much work in on them. I choose the ones I heavily jam by simply playing them. If it fits my style of play(stall and lunar heavy mostly) and has a good weight ratio/loon balance, I can usually kick it with that one. For example, I have a birch stodd mod with an ash tama that is still practically brand new I got for Christmas last year because I found better jammers. And i tend to leave my more expensive damas alone and jam them a little less. Either Way, my main jammer right now is the second gen. Give a dama. Insane lunar balance and killer stalls. Also great with insta lightys and ken flips. So I would just say feel them out and see what your most comfortable with. At the end of the day. It's just preference and I don't think price really has the most to do with it if you can get a dama that's set up how you like it. Sorry about the long post.
I have a ton of fresh damas that I won at MKO that range from super cheap budget ones, to a Mugen Musou. I feel like as my skill progresses and I get better, I'll be able to better utilize those expensive kendamas I have. So for the moment, I am jamming all of the cheaper ones. I also don't play with different damas on different days. My style is to pick out ONE kendama, and jam it non-stop until it is absolutely shredded, and then I'll take another one out and jam it. I feel like by sticking to one kendama, I get better faster.
HOW DO YOU CHOSE YOUR JAMMER?. . . Smell! Seriously, I'm currently jamming a Minna no Kendama all Keyaki that's been treated with Bee Kind wood finisher and I don't know why but it smells great. I like the smell of wood in general, grandfather had a woodshop, but a lot of times kendama just don't seem to have much going on in that department.
Hmm... for me, I usually have 4 Jammers of different types, with different criteria for each. 1. JKA kendama Self explanatory: slick painted tama, traditional ken, the works. Nothing like lacing on a traditional kendama with no training wheels. Right now, my jammer for this slot is a classic red TK-16 2. New school, but still fairly traditional This is my usual jammer for times when I want a really nice feeling kendama that still has a bit of challenge (but not slick TK-16 challenging). My jammer in this slot is a trip split tama on a beech Kaizen 2.0 ken. 3. Super new school For the times I need to grind out super hard tricks that involve lunars and lighthouses (which are far from my forte). Characterized by bigger cups and sticky paint. Jammer in this slot is my Thorkild May pro mod. 4. Natty This is my personal preference but I think everyone should jam a natty kendama hard every now and then. Classic natty feel makes it both a challenge, but gives a natty the best feel in the game. It's an added bonus if you have sweaty hands, cause your hand oils will make your natty honed. Current jammer in this slot is a Philken Beech tama on a Shin Fuji Keyaki ken. Sorry for the long post, but I hope I provided good insights!
All on feeling. Sometimes I'll jam the same exact set up for a couple days at a time and other times I will switch off every day. I think sticking to one kendama is the best way to get that specific kendama honed. Playing a lot will just get you honed in general. In general though, its destroy all damas for me.
it's durability, or compatability. i've found that the bevel on the DWI is super well fitted in my Norx prime ken, and my other DWI i have been constantly jamming since april, and is still is great condition! No chips, no rips on the tama at all!