A lot of us have been playing kendama for a number of years now. Some off and on, others just recently getting into it or hitting their one year mark. What exactly are you looking to gain from playing kendama, if anything at all? Some play just for fun. Others play to hone in and see how far they can progress. Some play to meditate and gain a stronger mental and spiritual self. Some play for notoriety, to get sponsored and be the next pro and take the big win at KWC. What are you looking for?
I may as well start. At first, and as it always will be, kendama is just plain fun. After picking up wood burning, one thing I’m looking forward to is making some (not all) of my setups more personalized and to sort of inspire others to do the same (whether it’s wood burning or painting, etc). Another thing I’d like to take away from kendama is the traveling. As a marching band member back in college I got to travel a lot for bowl games and NCAA tournaments and didnt think I’d ever get that chance to travel again once I left before I found kendama. I’ve only really seen the West Coast and PNW, so going to MKO in Minnesota was definitely a treat since I’ve never been that far out East before, and it’s great meeting new dama friends and catching up with the old ones (talking about my Kendama OC fam!)
Kendama for me is simply for fun. I don't want to compete on a pro level. Rather jam with friends and play the occasional game of ken. Also there's not much out there as rewarding as the *klack* when you lace the spike of a new trick/combo
I've never heard MN referred to as "out east" before, that made me chuckle. I play to get better/ feel accomplishment. About a year ago I was going through some mental health stuff and I didn't really feel like doing much at all. Getting out of bed was a challenge in the morning. But when I started setting little goals for myself, accomplishing them made me feel a lot less weighed down by my other problems. Also seeing people comment on my tricks made my days much brighter. I felt like I had an appreciation for something new, and through that, I had found people who could appreciate me. Dama friends are the real homies.
All about the fun of it and the passion for me. It makes me feel alive when slaying and getting in that flow state. Progressing and getting other people into it is awesome too. Continuous self improvement, meeting homies through dama, collecting dank set ups, etc.. there is so much good stuff that dama brings to life
Focus, relaxation, clearing my mind, and a bit of exercise to break up an often static day in front of a computer. It's also a big kick for me to get people into playing, particularly ones who didn't think they could do it at all or didn't think it would be interesting to them.
I play for fun, and to see what else I can end up being able to do with some practice and dedication. I've been doing it for about 3.5 years so why stop now? I also play to make friends in different places. Before kendama, I knew absolutely no one outside of the Bay Area. Now I have homies in Seattle, Oregon, Florida, and even just different parts of California. That's one of the coolest things about kendama to me
I live in Idaho, and again have only really traveled around that area (Cali, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, etc). So yeah, MN is the furthest East I've traveled in the USA haha
for myself i play simply because it helps me relax after work or when something stressful happens. its great for just wasting time as well. an example i like to give is a few years back when i bought my first TK i played it for a month or so then shelved it. i then went travelling for about 10 months down to central america, i decided to throw it in my bag because it could be a good way to kill time and didn't take up a lot of space. that trip was really what made me want to get into kendama i realized its potential and felt i had discovered something that would be with me for a long long time.
Pro is definitely something I can think about later on, but for now, I play to get better and to show others how it's done. I really just want to go to places where kendama is unknown and just teach everyone there how to play and hook them up. I guess I could try to get better just in case I try to perform for my school Talent Show, but getting better is really the only thing I can say for now.
To have friends.... Jk it used to be a bandwagon type thing, because when I was in sixth grade in Hawaii, everyone played it, but since I moved and no one else played, I ended up doing just because it was some memorable part of my life in Hawaii. Now I just enjoy playing
Kendama has really filled a void for me. I heard Max Norx and Cooper Eddy on the No Jumper podcast and ordered my first kendama, knowing nothing but simply because it sounded fun. I had a feeling I would get hooked and become obsessed. I dove head first and haven't looked back. As far a the void, skateboarding and the outdoors have been my passion for almost 20 years. That said for myself and many whether you start a career, family, bills, or whatever responsibility it may be, time can become limited. Not to mention with skateboarding comes those aches and pains you laughed at during your youth. That's where kendama comes in like a bat out of hell. I get a lot of the same fun, gratification, and accomplishment that many other time/physically consuming hobbies give. Plus it's always there and easy to bring. Its a new passion, challenge, collectible, fascination and an awesome thing to share with those around you. Within these six months of playing there are so many things I thought would take forever to learn but in a week it's second nature. I love kendama and the community around it but I just wish I had discovered it much earlier. I could go on and on but this is the one place where I think everyone knows everything I wanna say! Kendama for life!
I started playing just because I wanted to know how difficult it was. Then I started progressing and just wanted to keep progressing and keep learning. I’m continuing to progress but my favorite part about Kendama is it’s ability to inspire me to go outdoors and find new places. It’s ability to take you to places you’ve never been is amazing. This is something I’ve grown to love about BMX as well. I love going out and pedaling to places I’ve never been before, seeing new things, and playing kendama at every stop.
The satisfy feeling after lacing a new trick or the first time to lace a trick that you are learning.
Because it's very very fun crazy and trippy and very good social item to meet new people and spread to everyone especially at parties and festivals so many people unaware of the kendama then you blow there minds kendama is rad I hope to play kendama with everyone one day