In some ways, sticky paint and big bevels help improve and evolve the game by a fair amount. I always love saying this - the yoyo industry frowned upon the use of ball bearings, when they were introduced way back. But this small piece, has been really crucial to trick innovation, like as though ball bearings are the intended evolution of yoyos! Of course, like everything else, moderation is essential. Too much of something may not be good, and the vice versa may be true as well. Pick a style that suits you, be content, and enjoy the game for what it is.
You know, I've always played nattys with large bevels. I recently started playing painted damas again, I'm the guy who thought paint was straight up cheating when I bought my roots blue dream ozora. But damn, this Norx mod has broke in hella good. My dwi teal with it is raaaad. And my premium fade ozora, man! When it comes down to it, I think it's not a huge deal, but at the same time if you can't land your tricks on a TK16 time to start! On a side note: my TK16 is broke in, hella broke in, I cannot for the life of me lighthouse consistently on it. Anything else including nattys are fine.
I think there is an idea size for tama bevel, so making a dama that matches that size isn't cheating, just optimization. Too small and it's hard to spike. Too large, and tricks like lighthouse will fall into the hole.
On my Slaydawg if I hit an edge of lighthouse in the hole as the first point of connection its a no go. The bigger hole and bevel of the slaydawg seem to make this happen much more often on it than my other damas.
That's interesting though, i hardly have the same issue with mine. I guess, if you can hold it there long enough, it's a leanhouse, otherwise try to make some adjustments back to lighthouse!
Yea, exactly what Ben said. Most bevels are fine, but if they get pushed out much larger than the sort of 'standard' size, this starts to be more and more of a problem
I guess the title of this thread should be amended to include the larger cups on the Slaydawg, Prime etc. It seems to follow a progression that happens in some sports trying to get an edge in competition by going bigger. It happened in tennis and golf that I know of and others I'm sure. Personally I don't really compete and I'm not looking to hit super spectacular tricks, blasphemy I know but it's true, so the advantages for me are more for training myself or teaching others. In some ways they are like the Kendama Bumpers we use as kind of like training wheels for some kendama tricks. I use a jumbo for the same reasons, some tricks are just easier for me to learn on it then I translate them down to a "normal" sized kendama. An observation on how different cultures see making kendama easier: in the West larger cups etc. are seen as an aid to competition but recently in Japan one of the companies released a "super sized" cup kendama that is geared toward helping much older (or very young) players achieve positive results while competition is still the "normal" size. Taisei from the makers of the Ozora
-I do have more sticky damas than I do glossy or natty, but that's because I could either never find the natty I needed in stores or I was really hyped on just kendamas with sticky paint. My first ever sticky kendama, a black and yellow half-split from Kendama Syndicate-Great Mall, helped me out with lighthouse and tracking, and that's what kept me going because I knew that if I kept playing with it, it would help me progress further than if I were to use my Yomega. -A bigger bevel and tama hole isn't necessarily cheating, but in some ways, it does feel like you do have a slight disadvantage against your opponent if you have the smaller bevel on your tama for stall or whatnot. -Sticky paint and slightly bigger tama holes+bevels aren't as bad as they might seem because they do help one progress just a slight bit further in their kendama journey, but aTack is WAAY to tacky and grippy, and the LunaTac trainer tamas went overload with widening the size of the bevel+tama hole. So, I do sort of look down on these two, but only on specific damas and for specific, personal reasons.
i personally like them to learn really hard new tricks on but once i learn them i go back to an "average" dama
I personally think it's good to have a variety. I use my painted damas whether it's rubber or sticky paint to practice balance and stall tricks and then when I feel comfortable with the tricks I tend to go back to my natty damas.
I think this is a really good point. If anyone can use it, it's not cheating. This is a rule that holds up in competitive cycling too. A lot of the time gear is only legal if it's available for Consumer purchase within a hundred days of its use in competition.
"I love TKS for that reason. I love sweets too, it depends on my mood. If I'm just jamming with friends or going out for the day maybe I'll something sticky and big cupped or wormholed or wherever, but when I'm honing in real hard or seshing for improvement I'll often grab a jka dama. Smaller bevels and glossy paint make me work harder for it and then when I'm out with friends or jamming throughout the day I can hit those same tricks with more confidence on my sweets/gt/whatever" Someone on FKC asked a similar question, here was my answer!
Brace yourself, long post! I know this has been posted about before but I didn't want to bump an old thread. What is everyone's thoughts on sticky/tacky paint vs. glossy paint/natty tamas (also, where would beeswaxed natties fall in this discussion?), oversized cups vs. jka/bka size cups etc.? Personally, I don't care for "sticky" paints but love a nice tacky silk paint. I usually use damas that are close to standard jka/bka measurements but I prefer the brands that have wider/more defined cup edges; companies like Analog, Sol or Active. Having said that, I totally love the more exaggerated damas like Sweets primes and Krom pops. It's just a lot of fun. If I'm going out to play with some friends, I'm absolutely gonna bring my big-cupped behemoth (prime, pop, whatever I'm feeling at the moment) with me. They help me learn new tricks that I might be discouraged by, like lunars (got my first lunar on a cushion clear), stilts and flip tricks. Plus, I always make sure that I can do all of my tricks on all my damas to make sure it wasn't just the sticky/tacky paint or the big cups that allowed me to do it. TL;DR My opinion on the paint and cup size debate/discussion is that all the paint types and cup sizes have a place in kendama and that sticky/tacky paint and oversized cups are a good tool to learn tricks that you might be struggling with and they're also just a whole lot of fun/a different experience.
(I don't mind bumping an old thread but sometimes people are jerks about it haha) Yeah, I guess I took a pretty broad stance on it. I'd like to hear a different perspective on it though, like someone who hates grippy paints with a passion lol; it'd be interesting to hear why. That would be kind of hilarious
One thing I hate about my Pop is that I can land so many new tricks on it and get SO stoked but then I get super emo when those same tricks feel out of reach on a different dama. I’ve never played actual sticky paint but I’m ordering a DWI sticky AF mod so I guess I’ll get the feeling soon enough. Edit: I’m curious about beeswax natty tamas. Does it make them grippier?