I’ve been throwing for almost two years and have recently developed an interest in kendama.
I’ve never played one, what are some things to know? Where do I start?
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You cannot not go wrong with which ever path you choose to start from. The more beat up it the ken is the easier it is to do harder tricks like tight rope walking. I dream about everything I venture on to also.
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Thanks man! Do you have some links for tutorials for easy beginner tricks?
I’d recommend something with a stickier paint for learning. It will help you get the hang of balance tricks.
My favorite that we have in stock right now:
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The beat up part is generally true, but that’ll have no bearing on tight rope unless you’re talking specifically about the tip. A flatter, worn down tip is needed for that trick, which, by the way, is one of the most absolutely difficult kendama tricks I can think of. To call it hard is a massive understatement.
Really though, with all the silk and tacky paints available like @YoYoExpertGarrett mentioned , having a beat dama isn’t really necessary. It used to be more helpful back in the day when all the paints were super slick and glassy out of the box. The damage from playing would help create friction for balance tricks.
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So now that we’ve established probably one of the last tricks that I would want to learn first, where should I start? Can you share any links or anything?
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Kendama USA has some great tutorials, Here’s their beginner youtube trick list:
The trick I always encourage beginners to focus on is Around The World. That’s Big cup > Small cup > Base cup > Spike. It gives you a good feel for kendama overall, positioning the tama, and you get to practice transitioning from cup to cup and cup to spike:
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Dude, this looks freaking fun. I don’t know why but Kendama has never appealed to me until the last couple of days. Thank you!
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Yeah, kendama is a lot of fun. I always have one on my desk and take one with me (along with a yo-yo of course) when traveling. I think all the balance and body movement from kendama can give you a different perspective on yoyo as well. At the very least it’s helpful to take a break and focus on a different set of skills once in a while. If you’re getting bogged down trying to learn a yo-yo trick step away and play kendama for a bit.
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One of the things I like about it is that doing the same trick three times in a row could require three different movements. For example, the hole in the tama might be in different locations while resting in a cup, so you have to pay attention to that kind of thing and compensate/adjust when moving from one element to another.
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The biggest thing I stress when teaching people kendama is to over exaggerate your body movements when your learning. Especially the knees! Eventually you get the flow and become more consistent. Also when getting a ken, MAKE SURE IT HAS STIPES. Or a horizontal split/ fade of some kind. Having horizontal lines will help you find where the hole on the Tama is making tracking and landing spikes so much easier. Also the best tutorials out there rn are forsure the sweets ones. They really did a good job remaking them.
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And @Colemann13 you see, these are excellent pieces of advice. What a surprisingly unique new set of skills this requires! I’m stoked to give it a go 
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Yeah, If I get a kendama without a stripe or color fade I immediately draw a line around the middle lol.
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Yoyotricks.con then select on the top ( is it still right ) corner kendama.
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