I’m fairly new on the kendama scene, and I’m having a lot of trouble with getting the ball into the correct angle for a spike. I am able to get the ball into the cups fairly easily and do some basic orbits, spiking from any cup in any grip feels like a gamble. I’m not quite sure if its my spike angle or my ball angle that is the problem either.
Any and all tips are appreciated.
The ideal ball angle for getting the tama (ball) from the cup to the spike is when the hole on the tama is facing you. Once there you want to lift it up with your knees while at the same time moving your arm slightly forward. This should get the hole to move downward, now remember to follow the tama down and keep the spike under the hole and allow the tama to just fall unto the spike. Do not try to stab the tama because it will become a bad habit later and it will leave both your tama and spike damaged more than it should be. Here is a video, the part I am talking about is at 1:59 to 2:14
Still most of it will come through practicing and learning the basics, soon enough you’ll be able to spike from any cup you want. By then you’ll probably be more worried about lunars and stilts. Good luck, and keep dama’ing. 