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So, without further ado, here is the first question:

"If you had each kendama company owner in a room together, what would you say to them?"

•I’d say that there’s too many kendama owners and too many companies. I think a lot of people create their own company because it seems fun and cool the prospect of making money from it is exciting. The reality is that there’s no real money or innovations for new kendama companies to make. You really need to do something different if you want to succeed. A good example of someone doing something different is kendamanomics creating a kendama app, kanade’s aristic 1 of 1 Ken’s by soma, or Miguel’s squirrel tamas after creating a strong tiktok presence through years of community interaction. I think companies that pop up without creating someone “new” are doomed to fail and hurt growth in the community. The Kendama’s are usually more expensive than major companies, and smaller companies are much less likely to host big events, meetups, or competitions that involve the community. What I think players who have that itch to create their own space in kendama should do is create and support their own local weekly/monthly jam in their area. Some good examples of this is 303 kendama, mass Kendama, UW Kendama, Leiden Kendama community. Cultivating an online community of friends like Miguel, Kendama gent, Nomz and friends, or Skool (rip) is also a great way to meet friends and create connections through Kendama, as well as personally rewarding. If your goal is more artistic, then work with other companies to create designs like WDSMM customs or Kevin Wong designs etc.

•Stop beefing and work together more often

•If all the kendama owners were in the same room together, I would say to them what’s the next big collaboration? Any plans for companies to work together to push the design and shape of Kendama? Also keeping the classics alive, shapes, different sizes to play, various skill toys that we all love, not just pushing for making tricks easier. Also any big event plans or ways to highlight Kendama for new players?

•I would probably thank them, because they helped produce products that have ultimately given me a lot of joy and made a ton of friends by proxy. More importantly, I would say to keep being adventurous. If you got an idea, or you want to collaborate, or if you really don’t want to do something just because it’s popular, then follow your heart.

•What can we all do to spark the next generation of future players? Or How can we maximize longevity?

•More of you need to be offering starter setups. I cannot get someone new to kendama to purchase one for 60+ when I could send them to sweets for a $20 setup out the door. And stop trying to market to kids so often. Market to teenagers and young adults. Use tiktok. You could be capitalizing on the kendanomics trend, we've had people in our local group get stopped in public because people had seen it from the kendanomics races. Offer cheap setups for people wanting to get into the kendanomics craze on tiktok. Also please treat your sponsored players better, I'm begging you. 2 years as a sponsored player and no care package is crazy work.

•Thank you guys first of all. You all have brought something to kendama that has put it into the hands of many of people who need it and needed a sense of community; also start working together more to branch out and push this community into larger fields like sweets and many of your smaller businesses owners have.

•Is kendama in your heart the same way as you first started? So why not go back to that feeling and thinking of basics to spread kendama? If we look back it is the presence we need from companies for jams or even just a toy show again. I know times are tough but the community supports yall!

•Nothing.

•Start focusing on the mid level player if you want to make money. Don’t steal ideas from people who support you. The new player needs to see you supporting those who are relatable, not those who can only impress by doing the unattainable.

•Plan events together.

•Thank you for doing what you do, first and foremost. Without people like them, there wouldn’t be a person like me who was impacted by Kendama so heavily. Please keep innovating shapes, keep encouraging players to film edits and short form content, keep engaging the user base to be inspired to try it themselves. Keep sponsoring events, keep asking questions to players, keep throwing giveaways, and keep listening. Do not forget the roots of how Kendama came to be. Dont forget the energy that it had when it first exploded into America in 2008ish. It was a tidal wave. Let’s get that back somehow.

•Holy fuck, there’s way too many of you.

•I would ask why each about why they started the company and problems they faced over the time.

•There needs to be more unity on what we are doing to get more people into kendama. If we formed a central plan for reaching new and consistent audiences we would all be more successful.

•Become more unique. By now most companies are producing in the same factory with the same woods using the same paints. This means except for the ken shape everything's the same. As a player I want diversity, I want to try out different stuff, not just collect tamas with different designs.

I love you guys, but let’s brainstorm a ton of ways we can welcome more engagement from outside the industry. I don’t have all the answers myself, but these people understand the trajectory things can take on the internet and a lot of them/us have marketing experience on a very real level.

What aspect for each companies business model isn’t working and how can we eliminate it and find common ground and work together to find a “universal” aspect that benefits all companies

We gotta with together more! Team kendama.

Being more engaged in the community event less in the sell part. It’s hard for owner but in a long terme pushing the community it’s stronger than selling a lot for 1 month

How can we work together to grow the community even more?

•There’s wayyyyy too many of you

•You are doing great keep doing what you’re doing.

What are you doing to stay tapped in to the broader kendama community while also pushing for the growth of Kendama? What stops you from building collaboration proposals for larger companies (that offer things that are useful to preexisting kendama players) to showcase kendama on a larger scale?

I think there is a better way to promote kendama (ex; youtube video titles, content on social media, etc)

There’s enough money for everyone so let’s collab rather than compete.

Bigger is not always better

Do more stuff yourself and stop being dependent on china

I would say hi, I personally don’t have any beef with them so I’ll probably say what’s up and hand out beer.

Dont go crazy

Nothing much tbh. We all have room in the game for everybody to do their own thing.

Why aren’t more true nattys available anymore?

Alex Smith sorry about Kristin.

Thanks for organizing all the big events and donating prizes to every small event!

If I had to each Kendama company owner sitting in room together, I would suggest to organize more events around the United States. It’s really hard for a lot of player to compete in competition when they are far away. Expenses add up really fast and it’s unaffordable for most players. Online competition would be a small solution to that.

Some companies should sell just kens and others just tamas

Where the 15$ kens at? Other companies can do it why not you?

Stop producing in China

Focus more on beginners and overall flow of player coming in and leaving the industry. Don’t just over produce kendama for the small niche community we have. Focus on more content for all levels, including tutorials on stringflow, new style tricks and old school tricks.

The world is bigger than the US, EU and Japan. Invest in growing kendama worldwide as you never know where the next hotspot is going to be

Thanks for all the work, keep it up folks but maybe don't sell 7$ factory made kens for 35$ or more.

Why can’t we figure out global shipping? I’d love to buy more Dama’s from small companies but, paying 160% of the Dama cost for shipping is just not gonna happen.

I would first ask them to explain how they perceive the kendama industry and the main goals of their companies. I would want to make sure that they understand how valuable our culture is and its actors. Make sure they appreciate who came before them. But most importantly what these people's situation is. How precarious it is to be a company owner. How even the perceived "big" companies are struggling. If the new companies didn't mention growing the pool of players as one of their main goals that is instantly a red flag for me. I can't endorse the creation of a new company if they're taking valuable resources away from the industry leaders who are pouring their efforts into growing the pie. That's counter productive to the movement ultimately, and unfortunately that's something happening right now. The industry is over saturated with companies, and missing enough customers to support its most valuable actors. I would also explain that in such a small industry, no one is your competitor. We are all allies. This game needs a more concentrated push. In other small subcultures, companies united under one banner to push together (Thrasher for example). It's vital we show a unified front and pool our resources.

How can event organizers make competitions more enjoyable for spectators and non-competitors?44 responses

I think the goal should be to build an atmosphere that creates the most hype and exciting environment for each particular competition. In particular, there is one thing I notice. During freestyle competitions in the USA, often the very best spectator locations (right in front of the stage) are taken by kids and families. While it’s great for them to experience that, I think the valuable real estate is better with the most excitable Kendama fans. EKC does a great job of this. Non Kendama players only need to see the excitement and enthusiasm of passionate Kendama fans for them to be hooked and excited, nothing else. (Of course it’s also important they have a good view of the competition.) One other point: why is it that there are 30+ people filming the finals of an open or freestyle competition, yet only 1-2 people IF THAT, upload their videos to social media or YouTube? Kendama fans need to put down the phones and enjoy it in the moment, and Kendama videographers need to upload their footage online and share it, or else what’s the point.

Have more pre comp jams, teaching circles for all ages

I think the live streaming or televising the events is a great way to gain more viewers and players/spectators who can’t attend that event. At the event I think there are ways for players to “compete” without having the pressure of being in the spotlight.Creating new activities like scavenger hunts or mini games where people can have fun and play kendama. Also some “yoga style” type education classes could be cool. Getting new players together and actively learning new tricks all together.

I think commentary and live feeds are always a good start. I do think though that stat-tracking, and replays similar to more professional sports, if possible, would be crucial to help folks follow along more.

Market/Advertise Games/activities that are kendama adjacent (various other skill toys). Showcase its influences in mainstream media

I feel like comps are all the same now; the same mini-games, the same formats, nothing new is being introduced to the competition settings that draws crowds. Side events, more focus on the lower divisions with some actual stake (beg-adv I feel should have some sort of decent prize instead of it being restricted only to AM+), non-kendama workshops/mini jams? We have so many flow toys that we should have a space near the stage or near the main area where any flow people can play without being in the way and allows folks waiting in-between rounds to watch/participate/whatever. I also think shotgun interviews would be a fun little thing to do with players or spectators. Honestly anything that lower divisions can participate in, even not necessarily needing to play kendama (think the interviews or some kind of interactive event/game) , would make comps more fun for people who have already competed and can have more things to look forward to.

More raffles, more performance based shows between competitors/competition based matches. BATB is doing it right with the goodie bags at the door! More like that! With the community growing you have more ability to do these type of things at the big events. (Not sure if other events do that as well)

Truthfully this is hard to answer, I know event organizers have so much on their plate and doing an amazing job already. But I would say have pro’s do more workshops for the younger or lower division players. This one introduces the pros that normally would not fully interact with lower level players besides a head nod, or signature. Also, it would spark a fuel in the community where they go home and say hey I met a certain pro, look at there edit.

I would like to see a system similar to the one found in Yoyo competitions for judging freestyle competitions. Each judge could have two clickers, one for positive points and one for negative points, that the spectators could see, possibly with a close-up camera. Rather than quantifying the quality of a freestyle run depending on the total amount of clicks, it could simply be a way to understand the calls that are being made in real time.

Hype up the lower level comps as well, that’s where the people who actually buy kendamas play. Too often the earlier levels of comp are rushed or brushed off as unimportant.

Create an enjoyable atmosphere, give people stuff to do or try out, besides just watching the comp. Most of the open bracket is boring if its not your best homie in stage. Booths, mini Games, challenges, space to hang out and chill. Also good DJs and MCs for Freestyle.

I’ve only ever been to one event and it was small, so I’m not really the person to ask about the culture, the spectating and the logistics.

I touch on this in the next point mainly but I think having an actually decent food option locked down at every event would be nice. Some events/organizers get this taken care of, others completely disregard it. I think that having more seating available at some events would be nice? I’ve noticed a lot more family members showing up to recent events like NAKO, and they maybe aren’t as likely to enjoy standing, walking around and ‘seshing’ all day like the players.

I think giving people more mini games and other stuff like food, and drinks that is shaped like kendamas or something would be really interesting!

Have activities that aren’t just Kendama. Have spaces for games, conversation, etc. For non competitors you can hold spaces for people to learn and grow in Kendama without having years of experience.

Test 2.

encourage people to try by having a stand where there are kendamas and people can try. Try to mix players and spectators, this way interesting talks will happen :)

More monitors/angles for people to view the contest when there’s a lot going on. The 360 degree stage at NAKO with extra screens/monitors set a pretty great example, IMO

have each company have people dedicated to simply walking around and locating who’s a spectator and or non-competitor and just show them what kendama is all about in a fun and enjoyable way. Sweets does the best job at this and every other company should take notes.

Various levels and style of competition

Having more video slowmotion in live, like every sport and having something to show the bracket at the event not just on the phone, having pictures of top 16 players to understand more without knowing everyone on stage

More variety in competitive formats, less down time in between. More activities that include all skill levels

More of an emphasis on freestyle, no one outside of kendama will really care about open division. Freestyle is much more of a spectator event for kendama players and non kendama players alike and that’s what will draw kendama players in. If we want kendama to hit escape velocity it will be something like EKC freestyle that all the outside eyeballs will be on way more than it will be for open sweats (Something like KWC is the best middle ground but too complicated for outsiders)

Sportsbetting

I can think of three changes that could help these non-competitive groups. Family members Right now parents and loved ones have to strap in for the ride to support. A lot of that has to do with the seating at events. I know we all want to have everyone at the stage for the hype but as a viewing audience we aren’t going to be 100% locked in for the entire open bracket. Realistically there could be a floor swap creating a better setup for freestyle once open is done for the day. Then depending on if you are preparing for the next day you can do a floor swap for the finals to bring that interest back to the stage! Shopper Everyone recognizes that in person shopping is super important to certain players. I think a layout similar to the NAKO main room is perfect. Subtracting the cluster of vendors and creating an easier shopping experience for the players. Also it could help booths feel more comfortable instead of having people on top of one another. Non-Competitive Players With the middle of the main floor cleared out it makes a lot more room for seating, stream setup, and hanging out with people that you might only see 1/2 times a year.

needs kendama vocab to be translated to people who don’t really know kendama.

Getting more high profile sponsors

Maybe more side events that are fun and less competitive

Explanation on stage of what’s going on or what is gonna happen on stage.

I think the best way to make competitions better for non players would be to be more interactive with them. Separating players and non players for mini games, while it is fun to watch the spectators just watch which is cool but not every spectator is going to have as much love for KENDAMA as some.

Help with prizes for spectators

Lower enterance fees for spectators. $40 to stand in a room for 1 day is too much. $10-25/day is enough.

Some non kendama related activities, mechanical bull, inflatable jousting and so on

More accessible kendama-related events like chalk drawing for children or kendama hopscotch.

More food options at the venue.

Get the spectators in non-competitors to be more involved through non-Kendama related mini games. Something that they can enjoy as well.

More storylines, possible commentary

More side competitions, NAKO does it well but it doesn't seem too organized sometimes.

Better MCs

Like Red Bull dance does, let the spectators decide who wins!

Access to food and good sesh spots at the competition!

enable the spectators to play at the same spot where they can watch they turney. Like get some good light and enough space.

Commentary would do a lot. Especially in getting non Dama people aware of the difficulty.

They could make the events more palatable. By this I mean making the competition reflect values of more conventionally entertaining happenings out in the real world. Take EKC for example. The event has managed to take kendama and transform it into something objectively entertaining. Regardless of your understanding of kendama. The elements are there for any random person to see. The setting, lights, music, level of involvement from the staff/participants, energy, hype, pace,.. All of this is curated so anyone who's watching will feel the value and be excited to watch more. The whole thing is built to facilitate a symbiotic relationship. Everyone is motivated on by how its set up, and the result reflects that. Another way to make ot better is more insight. So more communication about who's on stage, their accomplishments, the historical significance.. Or even more in-depth analysis of the tricks.

What would you add to a competition to make it “better” and what would you remove?44 responses

During open, which is values concentration, focus, and precision, I think the music should reflect that. In my experience, the most excited I’ve been for an open match usually has non-“exciting” music. DJ’s spinning hype dubstep and techno draws away from my attention. When there are synth heavy focus music, I am fully in the movement.

It seems weird that there are men and womens divisions, like why can’t anyone just compete with anyone??

I think that depends on what you're trying to get out of the competition. If you want strict rules and ways to compare players based on stats or a point system then the KWC format seems to be working well. However my favorite event to compete in is VanJam because it's a “skate” style trick selection. I think this freedom is nice for players who might not have time to learn and practice a trick list.

I think that legitimacy in rankings or officially adding something to help make freestyles and players that are of pro caliber official would be better. I do think that maybe removing open for anyone below amateur would be best and instead we have speed ladders or more so mini games would be better. Open at lower rankings is too long. Plus, it would reduce smurfing or make it less frustrating.

Bring back Kentei testing, approving kendamas before competing & evaluating judges. Lets remove ambiguity from the trick names.

Removal of speedladder permanently from comps. Add KEN style, where you pick one of the comp tricks on your turn instead of random. Winning a point on a trick locks it

Top 10 games where the best of th best compete in different ability style Kendama matches. An area designed to teach new tricks at different levels maybe?

Finding freestyle formats that take away preference of style of play. But the issue is finding judges that are qualified. I would remove how we get the brackets, have a point system similar to tennis and you win through year you get higher rank that puts you in a high seed in a bracket.

I would like to see more alternative formats of competition! LVKO is a good example of this, introducing random speed ladders. While Open and Freestyle are both staples and absolutely deserve to stay, it would be a nice change of pace to have other kinds of competitions whether it be through games of ken or pop or even a new untapped format.

I would tell organizers that when making tricklists to keep in mind you are allowing people At that level to show who is the best At that level. Competition is to test who will be the best, not to try to level up the game to the point that beginners stop competing because the beginner list is actually intermediate, and so on. Yes the game evolves, but tricklists at competitions should reflect the current level of play for that level, not be a source of making a level harder. This would help eliminate sandbagging and actually spread the fields effectively and more accurately.

Add instant replay on the big screen, at least for the biggest events. Remove people that are not findable if its their turn to be in stage :D

I would remove music completely. Music playing during a competition takes away from the moment and distracts the audience from the click and clack of the persons trick, which would feel 10x more intense and personal. I would add a much higher culture of respect and attentiveness to a competition setting. Not only are you competing to be the best player, but also the best spectator possible.

I’d add catering, lol. Having no good food at events is probably the biggest struggle. The homies and I always end up spending way too much money ordering food or trying to find something decent nearby. If there was catering or just some solid food options at events, that would be a total game-changer. Other than that, events are already pretty amazing and unique in their own way. And for what I’d remove, plain and simple, Girls comp. I don’t think an explanation is even needed for that one. It’s a joke at this point.

I would add a free time to talk with friends and meet new people and I would remove open for American events because where I live in Japan most of our competitions have their own unique rules which is very cool!

I would always add double elimination opens. I would remove open format from every division besides amateur, and return to speed ladders. I would add seeding and make the seeding public so people strive to enter a competition as high as possible. I would want to add way more local sponsors, and try to get each event a title sponsor from their local area, that way money is more available. Last but certainly not least, u would pay out top 8 in an event, that way more people are incentivized in actually competing because it’s not just top 3 who win.

Test 3.

add: mormalize price money. Kendama needs money in the scene to grow, this will also further motivate players to win (however, price money has increased a lot during the past few years, I feel like we're moving to a good direction). Try to get more sponsors outside of kendama: (at least in europe) it's maily kendama brans sponsoring ab event. But often local brands (skate/drinks/food/clothing) would be interested in sponsoring but generally won't get asked. By connecting non-kendama brands to kendama it can grow to become a great synergy with companies increasing their support in the scene (maybe like aroundsquare) remove: speedladders: Beginner and intermediate comps are very often still in a speedladder format. I know that is very time saving, however no one actually enjoys it. People playing are under insane pressure and won't perform that well, people watching won't get the same hype as in a good open match, and everyone playing open I've talked to so far tells me they did not enjoy doing speedladders when they were beginner/intermediate. So why do we keep doing this concept??

I think it would be cool for every event to have an additional prize pool of whatever the attendees can donate, and this would be an optional “donate what you can” feature available with online registration and at the door for players/spectators alike. At the end of the day that’s one of the more difficult things to afford once an event organizer pays for the venue and all other costs. Getting a huge amount of product and prizes from sponsors is awesome but asking them for money instead (or on top of that) just feels weird. Plus, the industry cannot thrive is we are only giving money to each other…

Add a Yo-Yo style comp SINGLE ELIM HAS NO PLACE IN KENDAMA!!! If you are paying money to compete in a bracket that is single elimination and you get knocked out first round, that competitor is more than likely not happy. Which in turn makes them question if they even want to come back to the event the following year.

Add more time for workshops and connecting with individuals. Less premieres of the next pro.

More time on stage for everyone, it’s to hard to progress with just 3min on stage at each event

Add more freestyle events Remove excessive kendama prizes ( other prizes )

Basically the same answer as my previous response , focus on freestyle, shorten open drastically it’s too much of a time sink for an event

Add camera judge on big events to slomo a trick. Points system for freestyle

Again this is another question that brings multiple things to my mind. Music- it isn’t an issue to have edm for the event, but having loud in your face music from 10 AM to 7/8 PM takes a lot out of people who don’t intake that music very often. Not to mention the less advanced players who are not used to have the stage shaking from the music playing during their attempts. Music can be used as a tool to hold people’s attention. Keeping the music calm during the first rounds and building to it being louder towards the end. Venues- we don’t need multiple venues or a hotel. Kendama has grown a lot but we are still small enough to run one venue for multiple days if needed. While we are still this size we need to take advantage of cost of the smaller venues and not try to spread everything so thin that it doesn’t live up to the original idea of Kendama players player Kendama competitively live in front of Kendama players. The biggest thing with a hotel venues is the post competition atmosphere. The work MJR & Depot have done with D-Block has been such a great addition to BATB. Not every player is there to party/engage with the night life, but those who do don’t want to do it with children walking around.

better: revamp the divisions and make levels match the division. (pro, and am needs to change as pro seems to have a power creep) remove: the friendliness, as in comps should feel pretty intense in my opinion.

I think competition is fine where it’s at

Homie of the weekend or something, recognizing an individual that was always down or around during the event, could be by popular vote or something Remove? Ladder brackets are probably the worst thing in comp imo

Speedladders for Pro and more Variety in Comp for high skilled players.

I’d add in more competition formats, having a Ken tournament with limitations is super fun!!! As well as speed ladders for a competition is really fun as well, the main benefit of speed ladders is that it’s very high level and it goes quick so if there’s a one day tournament it can actually finish before 11-12

Add speed ladders, are fun for entry players. I would remove girl categories, it should always be open

I have a cool idea for a vid booth. You sign up for 5 min in front of a backdrop with a pro level camera. Super cheap fee to own 5 mins of footage in front of an event backdrop.

Audience judges, allow the audience to have a vote in freestyle.

More trick exhibition and less competitions.

Freestyle finals and Open finals are the most entertaining to watch. However possible, more of that! High level 1 on 1 play, where the entire focus is on 1 or 2 highly skilled players at a time.

“Prove it”, to game point in 1v1 like in games of Ken.

Add proper seeding, remove excessive video premiers

I would add new formats like some of the smaller competitions do, and a kwc style format should be added to one of the american competitions like the ones in france and australia and china do.

It‘s fine

More animations (intro player, name displayed on stage like on Red Bull dance battles). Freestyle is insane cool for non-players, open is a bit more boring for non kendama players and takes a bit too long.

Having time during the comp to do something like the Birlies or TOTY or other yearly awards which bring the community together (best edit of the year, best trick etc.) I can't say there is anything I'd remove, except to ensure that large events could be attended by kids with their parents and it would paint a welcoming picture of the community.

Add double elim if possible timewise. Add new concepts of competition to make it interesting. Remove predetermined breakets.

I’d like to see every comp run three, kwc style truck list 3min sesh, 1v1 with tricklist & freestyle.

I would add a more curated mise en scene. Something more thought out and worthy of a show.

What company, group, or individual is doing the most to spread kendama? Who do you think could do more?43 responses

I think players like Franta Mars are the best at spreading Kendama. Through his job, he travels to different schools in his city and shows kids Kendama in very cool yet instructional way. He then hosts jams at his city’s store that carries Kendama’s and then makes many mini competitions and games for the kids who come. What this boils down to is three things. 1. Spread kendama through in-person interactions. 2. Host a weekly jam to develop personal relationships to create an environment where new players can interact and create friendships between each other. (Bonus points if the jam location has Kendama available for sale) 3. Create mini competitions (think of a very broad definition of “competition” in this context) or even just some sort of challenge to guide players to become better at kendama. I think regular kendama players can do more. The most valuable thing to grow Kendama, in my opinion, is to host a weekly jam, and continue to invite new players to attend.

Krom’s marketing and advertising is off the charts, same with SWEETS, the goat . I think Sol Kendamas and Lotus could definitely do more, the prices are out of control and the batches are really small so nobody can ever get anything. Also every company needs to stop making their apparel so expensive.

I think the man right there is Matt “Sweets” Jorganson. Sweets Kendama is leading the charge pushing events, kendama design, team branding and outreach more than any other company. I also really love Krom Kendama, they have been such a solid brand with quality, design, and consistency. I think they can do more right now because it sounds like the ownership changed hands. This has set them back a lot and they will need to build up their team, content, and competition representation. But it seems like they are already on their way back to one of the top companies

I think Rod is a very positive soul when it comes to spreading kendama, at least in a positive manner. Plus, his knowledge from traveling the world, language skills, experience in the game, and general acceptance makes him a perfect candidate for spreading the sport. Other than that Miguel seems to be the king imo of giving kendama a more known presence. Him and the entire country of Romania too I guess 😂. I just think that kendama, besides the community itself, isn’t all about making damas but doing more community stuff, edits, promotions, events, etc.

I think we could obviously all do more. But I think the romanians are doing the best job of it right now. The advancement of social media has directly impacted this.

I think Miguel has done a lot in the current state of kendama, his reach on ig and tiktok to non-kendama players has been huge. I think Occult could do more to spread kendama.

Question kendamas, easy Tennessee Ken club, kendamacares, and Miguel himself. The dudes personality is very bright and he really loves the game.

To spread is Kendama Depot for sure, they send raffle prizes, or give aways to nearly every comp in the U.S and comps over seas. It’s the presence in the community that makes them that guy. Also, the kendama map!!!! OG companies any company that was around since the start of the Boom in US. Yes, most host comps but it’s a deeper level to it than that.

Sweets Kendamas and Krom Kendamas are both great ambassadors for Kendama-- part of that has to do with the amount of non-kendama events and beginner-friendly content that they provide to newcomers. In terms of individuals, many people who post speaking content on social media (Miguel, Casey, Erin). Many other companies seem to be overly concerned with creating competitive products within the community, slightly neglecting the importance of beginner kendama. Another group that does amazingly is East Tennessee Ken Club! They place a lot of emphasis on the positivity and community of kendama rather than simply the competitive aspect.

I feel like everyone is desperately trying to spread Kendama both out of love for the game and to make sure the sport doesn’t die facing difficult financial times for so many companies.

Teo with the EKC Project and Kenfest adds alot of value as a less competitive counterpart, more like a gathering. Honrui could be involved more i guess. We need non-kendama sponsors (drink companies, action-sport, clothing, etc.)

I really like what KendamaUSA has been doing recently, but I’m never going to forget Chad Covington. Both parties are experts at collaboration, not only for the purist but for the newcomer. Welcoming those old and new to the scene. KendamaUSA is grassroots where I first learned about Kendama, so I’m gonna be partial to their story, the player history, and how they set the standard for what it meant to be a “sponsored Kendama player” by very strict criteria. KendamaCo around the same time held the same standard of play, and for me it’s always been about the standard of play. I feel like a lot of smaller companies are killing it too, but I’ve noticed some dwindle off due to means they can’t necessarily control so it’s not always on them. It’s hard to grow something like that from small to big.

In today’s age I think a big spread of kendama is happening online through viral videos. Krom and, in particular, pros Bonz and Davide have been consistent over the years with creating captivating, intriguing, more unconventional type content. I’d say Sol had quite a moment as well with Alex being a powerhouse for engaging and quick Youtube shorts. Individuals like Miguel (aka erraticsquirrel) and Casey Henson have also created a lot of attention towards events and new gen tricks, that I think appeals to the younger audience naturally. As far as who can do more— I think a lot of people are already doing a great job spreading Kendama. It’s such a naturally eye-catching and community-driven toy that it kind of promotes itself when people are having fun with it. I don’t think it’s everyone’s responsibility to go above and beyond to spread it — not everyone has to make content or host events. Even just enjoying your own play, sharing it with friends, engaging online… As long as people aren’t discouraging others or giving it a bad name, I think that’s enough to keep the community healthy and growing.

I think Miguel is spreading Kendama a lot and when I went to his jam every time a person passed through he would ask if they wanted to play which was really cool. I think lotus can do more giveaways because that can spread a lot of attention to the company and make companies have more control between other companies.

Da originz and erratic squirrel are doing the most to spread Kendama, and all of the old top guys like sweets, kusa, and sol seem to be slowing down.

Test 4.

Here in europe I feel like Krom is spreading kendama the most, being at countless sporting/cultural events and being found also in skate shops (like blue tomato). Sweets used to be bigger in europe but I think they are focussing more on the us now. I think most companies do the best in their abilities (and budget) to spread kendama, and companies that aren't spreading kendama that much are focussing more on improving the game (like hand turning companies such as AKA, Shardama, etc. and high quality kendama & paint brands such as originz or KISR)

I wholeheartedly believe that Chad Covington and the Sol team are the best in the business, and Battle and the Border becoming the biggest event kind of proves that. Kendama USA holds a special place in my heart but in recent years they have seemingly slowed down their marketing/drive to remain on top, albeit I’m not sure that was ever the main goal of the company regardless.

Anyone who does “Tik Tok” style vids are doing the most. That type of content spreads fast and reaches a very wide audience. Companies need to change how they try and spread kendama. It’s a toy that has every reason to spread into a world wide trend and I don’t think companies are able to figure out how to climb over the hump and ignite the spark that’s just waiting to be lit

I think everyone is going at their own approach and pace. Which is fine, however, I believe it sounds be spread more organically. Send a team out to a regular non Dama event with a bunch to teach with and give away.

All the owner of the big competition like EKC, NAKO, BATB and KWC CFKC

Sweets. Probably myself

Mindfulness through play org is probably doing the best grassroots work to spread kendama, getting into the hands of local school children who have unlimited time to play and unlimited potential, this is where we’re most likely to find America’s Ryoga or the like. However it remains far too localized and obviously can’t operate at scale yet but it’s the best grassroots org that we have. Teo is doing the best job of making kendama “cool”, EKC is by far the most hype event out there and American events while they’re catching up still remain two steps behind in this regard. Part of this is due to europes older playerbase and willingness to let people smoke/drink/party at events with more ease, but most of it is the environment he’s curated for the event. They play by far the best music for freestyle and have by far the best venue (outside of Japanese events I admittedly have not been to) I forget his name but that Romanian tik tok dude makes the best slop content that gets the gen z and younger audience and Romanian events are blowing up, however due to the language and cultural barriers it hasn’t hit the same in America and most of Europe. Miguel makes by far the most engaging tik tok content in the west and gets tons of views but I don’t necessarily see it engaging new players to come to events and stuff just yet, maybe with time . Ditto for ET but with instagram content. Daniel (kendama squirel) and Nonoka do the best job of opening up the playing space to women and other gendered kendama players, hosting an events in their hometowns for these players and that gets new individuals into a male dominated space which is awesome to see. Sweets/krom/sol/kusa seem to not do as much outreach as these individuals and instead rely on being the old guard of existing kendama companies that reached a level of scale and are happy to rest on their laurels of being the SOE and Ad maxxers and are only hurting themselves insulating themselves from the scene and keeping to themselves too much at events currently. Their market share is there to be eaten by other younger more engaging companies that integrate into the scene more smoothly like locked and lotus. Kendama depot does the opposite of this the best, the team and owner/employees are integral parts of the community and friends with nearly everyone at events which is awesome to see, those are the type of people you go to an event to see. Ditto for locked and lotus. Depot also has some of the best recourses for new players, a map of local players in your area, event lists, local community lists, active in community organization group chats, entry level prices, widest range of products, hosts their own jams in CT. I could go on. Local communities that are large and consistently host jams and events are also huge factors in this, mainly CO, Boston/the east coast, southern CA, and the Carolina’s all have thriving scenes For kendama to hit escape velocity we need publicity and conversion on that publicity.

Teodore fiorina

Question one It’s difficult to narrow down the community that much but here are some pretty helpful people for the community! Miguel @erraticsquirrel & Casey Henson @caseyhenson have done a lot to use TikTok as a platform to grow kendama. So much so that it has started a boom period in Romania again. Isaac (Lotus & Kendamanomics), Bret (BIRL), MJR (Kendama Depot) each of these people look at kendama in a completely different way and have encouraged growth/more in depth projects that aren’t new but lost through time. Covid changed a lot about kendama, and I think we can grow it to a new level now that we are marketing to a larger group than just kids. There are also a lot of players pushing Kendama and on most platforms. There are less but still a lot of people spreading it at events, shops, or festivals. Question 2 There is a simple answer for this one. All of us. Companies with larger followings should try to develop relationships with brands outside of Kendama

don’t know, don’t know alot of companies.

Romania hit the most recent Kendama influence via social media as well as Miguel and Casey. POST YOUR TRICKS!

The most is probably sweets everytime I see something from them its an event or a fair theyre at to spread kendama its dope I could do more lol

The main few handful of people I can think of are the social media/influencer players. In our day and age people are looking towards influencers rather than actual companies. People like Casey, Miguel and Xremus are people who have so much influence on the scene that it’s insane. Miguel has shown that his influence is literally helping him sell damas. With him always going out of stock it just shows the handle he has on his audience as well as new people who just simply watch his videos. Our current society is being run by short form content. While long videos are always going to be sick, short form is king. Everyone can do more, simply posting on more platforms other than instagram would increase more opportunities for growth across all boards.

KROM is the one pushing the most to spread kendama.

Chad does a huge ammount of events and outreach, so does amanda and her crew out east.

Sol/Chad. Wild running to companies and bringing a lot of people behind them. DWI has been pretty silent recently I wonder if they making a switch towards roller blading

I'm not sure I've been out of the loop.

GLOKEN, Sol, Sweets, Josh Grove, Teo, Davide do a lot of events and teaching! Anyone hosting events and making an effort to get people together, or teach to new people are crushing it! Smaller brands, new brands could be doing more just by participating in local festivals, events, japanese culture festivals, schools, etc.

Jake Weins and Cody Griz do an awesome job with Spreading Kendama within other sports and subculture. Casey Henson, Mateusz Rudny, Miguel De La Torre and Dave Cherwak also do a Good job with how they spread Kendama within their social media platforms. Companies can only do so much to spread kendama due to the lack of fund and popularity. Kendama is more effectively spread through its players.

Sweets is doing the most, GT could do more

Question kendamas is at so many festivals and events giving out damas and spreading the word, I think more stuff like the foundation sweets has should be done by the larger companies like Sol and Krom

Teo a legend fr

Miguel de la torre, Krom, Kendama Gent, Lotus Kendamas and sweets.

KROM appears to be doing a lot of markets, they are consistently posting content that is friendly to beginners, and they support smaller events. I think Sweets new shipping initiative is great too and their livestreaming of events really helps bring the community together around competition. I do think that if they want to continue to be the face of kendama (and spreading kendama is still one of their main priorities) they need to drop the double big cup as their flagship model. New players are the ones who lose out the most with double big cup as you've removed a key element that allows for levelling up and progression. I think KUSA does a great job with the current community in terms of the content they put out, and the damas of course, but they could be doing more to actually spread kendama. It doesn't appear to be a high priority for the company as a whole.

Krom (esp. Davide) is doing a lot, Teo, sweetskendamas

I think Kendamanomics/lotus is doing heaps. Birl also up there. It’s hard to say do more, it’s obviously a hard economic situation and even the big companies struggling (nako/sweets). Just want everyone to survive!

Krom and Sweets are doing loads! Their main goals has always been to reach new players. Other than that, I think every single other company should do more. It's vital to make content and direct advertising that speaks to kendama players. But on the flip side, you HAVE to make the pool of players larger. It'll be the death of the industry if things stay as they are.

What is your opinion on the state of kendama as a whole?44 responses

My opinion on Kendama as a whole right now is that it’s a niche hobby and will probably never become a mainstream sport. I think some company owners and people in the community are too focused on spreading Kendama to “everyone” when it’s really much more effective and rewarding to cultivate a close knit community of dedicated players. That being said, Kendama definitely benefits from being in the mainstream just like any niche hobby does. There’s always a chance a player sees a celebrity or a tiktok of kendama and then goes on to become a dedicated player. But I think the problem is that some people think a Kendama player is created from seeing someone famous do it. But those players are often the ones who buy a Kendama, mess around with it for a few days, and shelf it. What makes a kendama player grow and become an involved is when they are apart of a small community of friends. By doing that, you are growing Kendama.

I love kendama and I’ve been playing most of my life, and since I started it’s always been a battle between everyone who plays, people make it political and it’s so annoying, it’s supposed to bring people together but everyone beefs all the time and that’s so stupid to me, I think the community could be doing so much better.

I think Kendama has found a decent following and has leveled out, not s