When people post a trick on insta and say, "wasn't the trick I wanted" or "not as clean as I'd like it to be". If it is not a trick that you are proud of and happy about, why post it?
1) Because of the grind. 2) Because my IG is for my personal archiving purposes. It's open for everyone to watch & comment on but in it's essence its purely for me to go back over and say "Hey that wasn't as clean as I wanted it to be - lets le that again but clean" (speaking purely out of my view - other people might have other reasons) Another explanation i i could come up with (not personally my reason) is that with saying not as clean as I wanted you take the wind out of the sails of the haters who say "That wasn't a clean fasthand" etc.
I'm sorry to bring this up, especially for some people new to the game, but... An "around" trick is Small Cup, Big Cup, Base Cup (as defined by the JKA); either that, or the American version which is Big Cup, Small Cup, Base Cup. I don't know why or how, but some people are doing Big Cup, Base Cup, Small Cup and calling it an "Around" trick. When did this become a thing? Of course, kendama is meant to be played how you like, but I believe that there are certain standards that have to be followed as regards benchmark kendama tricks and concepts. P.S. Especially with a concept as trick as quintessential as "Around the World."
Seems like maybe "around" is being seen as just having to hit all the cups and a spike + whatever you want to put in between. As in going completely "around" the kendama. Case in point: and another:
I think around Tunbridge follows either the JKA, or 'American' sequence, usually. (I didn't watch the vid tbh, but most people I know would use the 'standard' order when trying the combo). For Around Canada it is purposefully in a different order: bottom, big, little, top, super top cups (omitting spikes). If you hold a kendama in ken grip and go through this order, you'll notice that you continuously rotate your hand in the same direction, from start to finish. That, combined with the 'super top' finish, is part of the idea behind it (Canada is up North / super top). I believe the same reasoning (the continuous hand rotation) is the origin of the JKA ordering. For Speedtrick B, it is the fastest combo. Starting with big cup would mean more rotational distance needs to be travelled, which takes time. I haven't confirmed that this is the origin, but it makes a lot of sense to me -- and the JKA also has a minimum string length defined, because of speedtrick B. Shorter length = shorter time to pull up a trick = faster. So it seems reasonable to assume that the ordering is another artifact of the speedtrick B race. @goenKendama maybe you can ask some of the older JKA members about this? I'm curious if my assumption is true.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/315359218558778?view=permalink&id=2945150965579577 ^This is one of a few that I've seen on FKC and Insta.
Interesting. Most around tricks are developed from Around The World which is why many people (me included) can get nitpicky about it. But then like @goenKendama and @htimSxelA mentioned that isn't always the case. When I did my Around Fasthand trick for this month's challenge it was basically just around the world with Fasthand Lighthouses/Spikes in-between
@KeeganS I personally think of "around" tricks the same as you, i.e. some variant of Around the World but it seems there are a lot of players that might not be so traditional or knowledgeable of that tradition who just figure if there's at least one of everything it's an "around" trick. When our guys came up with "Around the Philippines" we were working off of JKA "Around the World" with an eye to "Around the USA" as well. Also FWIW the simplest version of an "around" trick that I know is the Around the Prefecture which is base cup spike. @htimSxelA I'll see what I can find out from the JKA regarding the thought process for the "around" tricks. One other thing of note the JKA switched from a regulated string length to a recommended string length a while back; before I became a member. It was mainly for players who wanted longer strings. I'll have to ask if there is some restriction regarding shorter string setups. Also FWIW there are apparently a bunch of "Speed Trick" variations. Speed Trick B (Time Kyogi B) is just the one that is most known outside of Japan since it's part of the Dan testing.
That’s fair. The example @Emil Apostol gave up above the guy did an Around Fasthand Downspike UFO in sara grip so I guess he realized, similar to @htimSxelA and Around Canada, that he could hit all the cups in rotation as the new sequence as opposed to the traditional way which would include some ‘unnecessary’ movement going to the next cup.
Not so much a ‘worst trend’ but i always find it hilarious when people post screenshots from anime and it shows a kendama in it. Like they forgot it’s a japanese toy and would probably be included in japanese media.
These are the people who are aware that they’re playing a japanese toy though. But I have definitely gotten the, “That’s an old spanish toy” when people mistake it for a balero
I've gotten Korean and Chinese (I think they confuse it with diablo maybe), second or third hand info of people who just thought it was American and a number of older Filipinos who correctly noted its ancestry to the toy they played as a kid. (one of those was actually pretty good at it when I let him try it; he was probably in his late 60s)
People pronouncing anything Japanese related to kendama* That American twang they have to put on everything, as if it's not a foreign word. "SURRAHDOUGH"
@onewordtest @jimgrude @KeeganS I'd wager that a large part of that is when "Pros" say/write any of the Japanese words incorrectly and the rest of us normies figure they're the "pro" and should know how to say it and just follow their lead. While it does entertain me, especially when I'm back in Texas and someone asks if I like "kerry oki" (karaoke), I don't really worry to much about it. There have been instances where I'd like to help "adjust" somebody's pronunciation but it's hard to do, particularly with some people, without sounding like a know-it-all; some folks take suggestions/corrections better than others. Honestly though I've lived in Japan a while I still mess up some words now and again. In some cases it's just hard to wrap my tongue around them in others there are very subtle intonations that give me fits; then there are the regional words and variations. FWIW the Porsche guys probably hate me since I intentionally mispronounce that one but hey I'm just an old Chevy racer with a bad attitude.
Same experience. Was playing kendama and an older Filipino gentleman correctly noted that it was a japanese toy. Must be knowledge from those who were alive during the 3 years that the Philippines was occupied by Japan (1942-1945).