The first ‘Hawaii Adventures’ edit was an instant classic. Now you can enjoy footage & behind-the-scenes from our 2nd trip! the Kendama USA Hawaii Adventures Volume 2 edit is now live on our youtube page. Check it out! you might see yourself!
This past weekend Kendama USA team member Haley Bishoff attended the Partly Cloudy event in Portland, Oregon. Here are some words from Haley about the event plus some pics!
The Portland, Oregon Kendama scene has certainly grown. Partly Cloudy, held by Nick Yturralde, this past weekend was a great success. We were fortunate enough to have support from some awesome sponsors KendamaUSA, Sweets Kendamas, Grain Theory and KROM. The winners of the beginner, intermediate and advanced ladders were Ari Kaldahl, Jalen Rasta and Max Norcross, respectively. We were happy to see the winners and plenty of participants walk away with some fresh prizes all the way from sticker packs to jumbo Kendamas. Thanks to everyone who came out and made this event great! Stay tuned for future events in Oregon!!
Congratulations to Max Norcross for taking home the win!!
This is one of our favorite shirts here at Kendama USA, From the double lunar stomping eagle to the “in kendama we trust”.
This is a must have in your collection! Get your’s here: Kendama Apparel
This is Jake Wiens favorite choice while traveling!
Dave Mateo brings you his latest edit showcasing the 70/30 Kendama by Royal Rummel! Dave never fails to impress with his unique style, flow, and creativity!
Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
These kendama’s are available at
Pro team member Jake Wiens shows us his blading skills and jamming dama in the skatepark! You can follow Jake on instagram @thekengarden for constant updates!
What do you guys like to do other than kendama? let us know in the comments!
So Colin Sander is running a fun Instagram contest for you guys! If you don’t have an instagram we highly recommend it to keep up with KendamaUSA contests and all sorts of fun! This is what you need to do to compete!
1. go follow Colin Sander ”@secret_yinzer”
2. RePost this photo with the hashtags #colinsander #kendamausa
3. Comment on Colin’s facebook which kendama you would want to win, and who’s kendama the middle one used to be! Small hint on his post!
Good Luck Everyone!
Kendama USA, Gloken, and Razor Sports teamed up to put on Yo-Dama Fest 2 on Oahu with special guest Krom Kendama. This was a 3 day event of non-stop kendama action! There were competitions, mini games, classes with pros, and much more! We had a ton of fun putting this on and we cannot wait to come back! For more information on the event and our trip to Hawaii check out a write up Keith Matsumura did right HERE
Enjoy!
words by Keith Matsumura
Japan. It’s the birthplace of Kendama, and over one hundred years since the invention of this wooden skill toy that we all love so much, it’s still there and becoming more popular. For me this past summer, July of 2013 to be exact, I was able to travel to Japan to go to the World Kendama Open and the first ever Global Kendama Cup, which will make a return as the Kendama World Cup this coming July. I got to go in large part because of the prize money from my win at Dama Fest, and I can’t think of anything else I should have spent that money on instead. I got to go and meet some of the most legendary kendama players alive, as well as experience Japanese culture in a way I would never have imagined doing. Gloken (Global Kendamas Network) helped me out by letting me attach to their group of players and foreigners that were seeing Japan and going to the competitions. I can’t thank Mr. Imata and the Kubota family enough for housing me and feeding me while I was there!
A lot of players from outside of Japan made the trek as well. Matt Ballard, my good friend that I grew up with, came along with KROM and to shoot video (see above!). Rodney Ansell, Kristin Olinyk, and Alex Smith came from Canada, Thorkild May and Philip Eldridge came from Denmark, and Matt Decoteau and Trevor Starnes also came from the United States. These people plus our Japanese guides and friends composed a group of people that I had the time of my life with. It’s amazing what Kendama can do. It can bring people from all over the world to the same place to meet and do what they love together.
I even had the opportunity to meet Kazuma Iwata!
He met us on Miyajima Island and let us have the privilege of being the first people outside of the project to see the new Mugen Musous. Kazuma’s personal kendama that he was using was an emerald mugen. That day he told me that I could practice with and use his personal kendama for the World Kendama Open and Gloken Cup. He then went on to tell me that if I won Gloken Cup he would let me keep it. Well, I didn’t win. I tied Kenta Sakamoto for 3rd place with a loss to Satoru Akimoto (who better to lose to!), which I was ecstatic about except for the fact that I understood that this meant that I would need to give the emerald mugen back to Kazuma. Kazuma was not with us anymore and my instructions were to give it back to Tamotsu Kubota, who would get it back to Kazuma. We all went out to a park after Gloken Cup to set off fireworks, play kendama, and apparently to release all kinds of energy that we found somewhere. After it was all said and done, Tamotsu told me it was time to hand back the emerald mugen. I gave it back to him, only to be presented it as a gift from Kazuma right back. As far as epic moments in my life go, this was certainly near the top. Thank you Kazuma!
Some of us got together for a group photo during World Kendama Open.
I also had a really great time getting to know and hang out with Easy from Zoomadanke (Hiroki Iijima). My last day in Japan was spent with just Tamotsu and Iji. We ate good food, got too many mosquito bites trying to film around a small river, and sessioned in the train station for an hour or two before Easy’s train left.
I was there in Japan for less than a couple of weeks, maybe really just a bit over a week, but it was without a doubt some of the best times in my life. I had so much fun there it’s indescribable. More than that, though, was my joy in getting to be immersed in Japanese and Kendama culture entirely for a little while. I’m half Japanese myself, and because of that I have always been interested in that part of my heritage. I’ve wanted to see Japan since I was very little, and to get the chance to do it in such a fashion as I got to is amazing. I encourage all of you, if you ever have the chance to make it to Japan, do it, and enjoy the vending machines for me! (Everything comes in such small cans, I love it).
It was a big step for me in my kendama career to play kendama in Japan, even see the birthplace of Kendama, and hang out with legendary Japanese players. I can’t wait to go again someday. Huge thanks to KendamaUSA and Global Kendama Network for helping me and giving me the opportunity to live out dreams and do what I love. I’m working so that someday I can hopefully provide that same kind of dream-fulfilling opportunity to others.
Always have to get some food after playing Kendama all day long.
A personal thank you goes to Tamotsu for making this trip work for me. You’re the man! (This picture was in the airport right before I left)
I hope you all enjoy the video from the trip, and if you read what I had to say than I hope you enjoyed that too!
Dama on friends, here’s to community and good times with Kendama!
- Keith M.
Alex Smith brings you a whole new way to keep up with your favorite pros. Alex is going to be doing a series of Podcasts with different pros and other people in the community! The first installment of this is an interview with Keith Matsumura!
Enjoy!
Zack Yourd brings you his newest edit showcasing some creative ways to spin with a kendama and on a snowboard!
Enjoy!
Turner Thorne takes you through his favorite kendama setups! From old beat up kendamas to some brand new out of the box choices!
10. The Cook color shift Tribute
Not only do I love the way this dama looks, it is in fact the same one I did boarders balance flip with in japan.
9. Gold Kanji Tribute
The reason I chose this one is, well… just look at it!
8. Sky Blue Oozora
This was one of the first kendams I ever owned, I also filmed my KendamaUSA Entry video with this!
7. Kendama USA classic woodgrain
I chose this one because i love the way that woodgrain kendamas play! And if you haven’t tried a Classic yet, you’re missing out!
6. Beech Wood Grain Theory. (sourmash tama)
I chose this dama because it is made for the players by the players, it is made by Jake Wiens and Matt Rice, the craftsmanship is amazing and the balance is on point, not to mention the worm hole! pick one up at Graintheory.com
5. Keyaki oozora ken with Pro model tama.
This is one of my favorite choices to jam because the keyaki wood is much more sturdy, so it is my goto whenever I decide to play over concrete!
4. Yellow Mugen
This is one one of my most prized kendamas, it was given to me by a good friend and it plays amazing!
3. Wood Grain Oozora
This is the dama that I used most often when learning a new trick, I love the way these play after being broken in!
2. The Cherry Wood Pro Models
I know it sounds pretty biassed, but I truly do love playing these kendamas, from the weight of the wood to the tacky paint I just cant put it down!
1. Blue TK16 Master
This was my first kendama ever, and is signed by Tim Durtschi, the person who first introduced me to kendama! I still play it regularly too. Without this kendama I would have never started playing so it had to be my #1. Also Once a Tk16 gets broken in, it can be one of the best damas in your collection!
Thank you for reading everyone! Stay posted for more updates everyday!
-Turner
