“This year’s trip to Japan was one for the books. Every time we trek on a new adventure, more and more memories are made. We made our way abroad with two new additions, Tribe Team members Wyatt Bray and Bryan Scagline. It was both their first time out of the country and a great time to experience Japan. I was in the same position exactly 1 year ago and for all the trips I’ve been on, this has been one of the most memorable and fun for me.
The 2015 Kendama World Cup started off with a bang. Zack Yourd, Bryan Scagline, Dave Mateo, Turner Thorne, Jason Morrison, and I all met up at the San Francisco International Airport to hop on a plane to Japan. It was 13 hours of pure fun, rowdiness on the plane, and teaching passengers and flight attendants how to play Kendama. We managed to film an entire edit that features the new Mugen Musou… #TEAMFUEGZ! Coming shortly.
Yes, finally touched down in Japan. Let the adventures begin.
10 long, sleepless, adventure filled days were about to go down. The best and most talented Kendama players all under one roof, competing against each other for the top prize. Luckily, the entire World Cup (2 days) was on a live stream so those who weren’t there were able to catch the live footage and see the craziness go down. For me, the last 10 days blurred together because there was so much going on all at once. So many exciting things happened every day and the level of skill in Kendama has risen to new heights. I’m happy and proud to congratulate my own teammate Wyatt Bray for taking it home for Kendama USA! GO WYATT! WE LOVE YOU!
Let’s just give a quick recap of events. Plane rides, no sleep, Japanese beer tasting, long nights, down pours, early mornings, scaling roof tops, amazing sushi, walking, LOTS OF WALKING, onsens, vending machines, 7/11, alpaca, Japanese style housing, hostels, dama village, polaroid sessions Osaka, Hiroshima, Kendama Street, okonomiyaki, subways, laughing, friends, family, team, Kendama. I hope everyone reading this gets to experience Japan and the Kendama World Cup at least once. For those who did go this year, I hope you read this and smile and think back to all the great memories.
A big thank you to Tamotsu Kubota, Yuka Hyuga, Hajime Ishibashi, Kota Kagoshima, the rest of the Gloken Crew, Kendama USA, and of course, Jeremy Stephenson. Cheers to the future of Kendama! See you all next year.” -Tj Kolesnik
Logan Tosta showed amazing potential to Dave Mateo when they had first met during the KG Roots tour of 2013. During the Tahoe stop, little Logan gave Dave and Tj a run for their skill during a few games of KEN. Logan, along with his family, has always been a supporter of Kendama USA and the many events that have been thrown in Sacramento, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Click here to check out Logan’s announcement edit.
From Dave:
“Logan is a great example of a young man that understood that Kendama was not about winning, but more about the experience shared with another. I have seen his authenticity first hand in Tahoe from the first time we met, in SF at a KG Tuesday event, and in Las Vegas when he and his father Seth had come to support the DXC kicksXkendama event. When picking a Tribe member, I knew I wanted to pick someone young and hungry to learn and progress. Someone that looked past only being the winner. For me I saw a Champ within Logan, not because of what he has won but how maturely he accepted his losses and moved on to the next challenge.”
Sit back and enjoy Logan’s Tribe Edit here and see him grow as the next generation of young players of Kendama USA. Dave and Kendama USA look forward to seeing where Logan’s skills and progression take him in the near future of life and Kendama.
*A few words from Logan:
“Kendama is the best piece of wood you can buy. If I was one of those people that quit Kendama 6 months after they started, I would be sitting around playing video games. If I hadn’t met Dave, Jake, and TJ, I wouldn’t be playing Kendama right now. These 3 inspire me to keep playing and progressing everyday. Kendama USA has always been my favorite company because of their crazy large list of Kendamas to choose from. My favorite Kendama has always been the Tributes because they are really easy to do cup tricks and jumping sticks and the clack on them is just unreal! As soon as they came up with the silks I was super excited. I love Kendama and Kendama USA and am excited and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Tribe team.”
Huge congratulations and respect go out to Wyatt Bray for winning the 2015 Kendama World Cup championship!
Props to Keith Matsumura as well who also made it into the finals and finished in 22nd place.
Big thanks to the entire Kendama USA crew and to GLOKEN for making this event possible. The turnout this year was unbelievable with players attending from all over the globe. We appreciate all the players and companies who made the journey and took part in such an amazing contest.
Enjoy an inside-look at the National Kendama Retreat weekend, held at camp Wasewagan in Angelus Oaks, CA. During the fun-filled weekend of contests, video-shoots, instruction, exploration, and team bonding… there was still time to get some extra trick footage with the Kendama USA crew as well as plenty of friends. See you all next year!
A word from Dave Mateo:
“National Kendama Retreat would have not been at all possible with out all of you who believed in it. Spike Hard Catch Low in Collaboration with Kids Ken would like to personally thank all of you who have attended, sponsored and spilled all of your time and energy into the retreat. This is only the beginning of something we hope to make bigger and better every year as NKR begins to grow.”
Special Thanks to all Sponsors:
KendamaUSA
Terra Kendama
Gloken
Sweets
Roots
BLK
Lion Head
KendamaCO
KROM
LYONKEN
AKO
SOL
44RPM
DealwithitSF
KendamaMastaz
KenLab
Kendama Syndicate
Salt Lake Sessions will be a monthly video showcasing how I incorporate Kendama into my everyday life. No matter where I go or what I do, I always have a kendama with me. This Month follow me as I do my morning routine of biking, climbing, and kendama at the park for our Tuesday meet ups! enjoy.
No matter what language you speak we all say KENDAMA. Kendama has the power to bring people together from around the world. In September of 2014 Kendama players from around the world traveled to Tokyo for the Catch & Flow freestyle tournament. We shared tricks, stories, and words. Each time we go to Japan we learn new words in Japanese and share new English words with the Japanese players. The one word that brings us together is KENDAMA.
The Kendama community is still strong and growing in the Sacramento area, Kids Ken did an amazing job putting together this event. We love to see the support of kendama events in every region, and sacramento has been one of the longest running kendama scenes. Dama on Sacramento! Keep up with the sac kendama scene by following the hashtag #spikeramento on instagram.
Oh the feel good vibes of playing Kendama, listening to good tunes, and enjoying life. It feels great to release some new footage after months of running multiple events, traveling around the entire world and promoting/pushing Kendama to the limits.
’Tj Kolesnik Kendama Adventures’ takes you inside a fun filled, uplifting ride through the eyes of Tj Kolesnik and his Kendama play. The new generation of Kendama play has been up’d by many levels with new and exciting tricks, combos and flavor. Seeing all of these aspects with the growing scene in San Diego and around the nation, I had to step up my game and adjust to how the tables are turning. The tricks in this edit feature consistency and trick originality with a combination of old school and new school Kendama play. I tried to push the limits with incorporating a little bit of both, showing you in POV format how I play.
Lifestyle, travel and having fun are the key essentials to enjoying the life I live. Risk taking and making new memories comes along the way. I incorporate Kendama in my everyday life to show you the fun and fulfillment I have to wake up everyday and continue to progress.
Sit back, relax and enjoy some fun Kendama play in San Diego, California and Kona, Hawaii. I encourage all Kendama players around the world to travel to new places, continue to inspire, create new memories and explore to greater heights.
