DamaVibes 2.0 Warshaw
In mid October I went to the event hosted by Kuba Mikolay Frydrychewicz In Warshaw, Poland. I was amazed at the way he hosted the event and his overall perception on life as well as Kendama. I was very inspired to have a sit down interview to understand him and get to know him a little bit.
Kuba! How did you get introduced to Kendama? When and where did it happen?
Kuba: I saw Kendama for the first time at some dance camp in Poland. One of the choreographers from the US had one. I never saw him playing it. After about 6 months I saw a dance video with the same item in it. Description said that it’s called Kendama so I’ve checked youtube and found Kendama USA profile. I got hooked. It was march 2014.
When did you come up with idea to start hosting kendama events?
Kuba: When I started playing I wanted to hook up everybody I know, but found it really difficult to do so. I started to organize little meetings where I was giving some damas away. At some point it got so big that I had to reach out to Kendama companies for help.
Do you have people that inspire you in Kendama?
Kuba: I have tons of people who inspire me to keep on playing Kendama. At first it was KenUSA players like Jake Wiens. I am a visual type of person so all of the videos
helped me to see the magic of this wooden item. All of the international slayers pushing the game so hard inspire me and make me see how amazing it is.
Also seeing crazy skills in real life make you feel like you can reach the level.
What is Kendama in Poland like right now?
Kuba: It’s not popular yet, but we have a lot of good skilled young players and a few who have exceptional skill.
I hope that they are going to connect with international scene bit more ( like travels etc.)
Mental Drawings is your upcoming Company, What role does it have right now in Poland?
Kuba: Mental Drawings is a little online kendama store. Main Goal of the project is to give Polish players opportunity to share dama love by hooking them up with events. I remember times when I had nobody to play with. Now I have “dama friends” all over Europe. We want to give the opportunity for Kendama players all around to meet other Kendama players “dama kids”.
Can you let us know some things about you being a dancer for a living?
Kuba: I dance for a living. Mostly as a dance teacher but also a background dancer in some commercial events in Poland. I couldn’t imagine my life without dancing so
I’ve chosen this path. I believe that when you do what you love the money will follow. I’ve been dancing for 21 years now.
Have you ever thought about combining Kendama with dancing?
Kuba: For me Kendama and dance are on different paths. I needed something in my life to start as a beginner. Kendama helped me realize a lot of things that I can apply to dance and life in general. It’s a little tool which helps you realize how progression works. As a dama player trying a trick 1000 times, being close 2 times and still knowing that is going to happen is something normal. At some point I could try to combine both but not yet.
How do you see the Kendama scene in Europe for the next 5 years?
Kuba: It looks like Kendama has a bright future in Europe. I think that we are going to have a big worldwide event like the KWC or MKO. I hope that it will be normal to meet Kendama players while hanging out anywhere. More and more people that I meet have seen it already so it’s a really good sign.
