We are excited and honored to announce Kenyatta Williams as the newest 2022 Kendama USA Pro! Kenyatta’s passion and dedication to kendama, blading, and helping others progress has made him a pillar in the kendama community. The San Diego native had a vision for Kendama where much like blading, you incorporate every part of your body with variations, combos, flow etc… and he made it into a reality, blending blading, fashion, technical kendama tricks, and dance through play; changing the way we all see Kendama. Join us in welcoming the steeziest kat in the game to the pro team; Kenyatta Williams.
“Kendama was so stiff to me so I approached it with the mindset to use angles, go outside boundaries, even kicking my kens! Everyday I told myself to do something i hadn’t done the previous day.”
Kenyatta continues to challenge himself and has motivated countless players not only through play, but by engaging players, organizing events, attending jams, competing, filming tricks & tutorials, judging tournaments and much much more. Kenyatta is an embodiment of what it means to be a PRO and share Kendama. We’ve been truly blessed to have Kenyatta as a part of our family and are excited for the next chapter!
Meet April Player of the Month Nick Dodenhoff, from Marietta, Georgia. Nick started playing Kendama in 2011, “kendama was especially popular the high school I was attending; Cherokee. Everyone was playing it, and everyone got good enough that we were making edits. For most people, it was a fad, but for me, kendama stopped being fun.”
“Currently, one of my favorite setups is the nova shape craft ken with a saucy coral tama, that is the move. My favorite kinds of tricks right now are stalls and strings, the Sweets’ Special has a place in my heart as the first advanced trick I ever learned. My left index finger actually has a callus from ‘em, haha.”
So many shoutouts. Shoutout to Ryan Plourd for coming to my jams at KSU and introducing me to so many people. Shoutout to Christian Fraser for being the first kendama player I looked up to and helping me plan so many GA Kendama events. Shoutout to Jero for believing in me years ago and showing up out-of-the-blue to a jam just to hand me my first ever prizes for our jams (and not to mention the WHOLE GA DAMA COLLAB Ken we did years later). Shoutout to Corey Sipes for being the biggest Kendama homie ever and pushing me to get better in those early days. Shoutout to Chad Covington for giving me the roadmap to hosting great Kendama competitions. And probably most importantly shoutout to Nick Fisch, Aidan Smith, Aidan Hitz, Jay Garland, Jonah Holcomb, George Marshall, Austin Johnson, Juwan Shields, Katarina Dodenhoff, T Mac, Alissa DeCoteau, and all the Georgia homies that come out to the jams on the regular. You all are the reason I play and do what I do for GA Dama.
“Georgia has one of the best squads in the nation (the world!?). Any time you are in our state, hit us @gakendamaplayers and we will make things happen for you! Hope to see you all in September at ATLO 2022!, Much Love & Respect to Kendama USA, the community, & everyone pushing to help it grow.”
This year’s Catch & Flow Kendama Tournament was amazing, there were 58 players competing in 6 different groups battling it out for a 100,000 Yen grand prize, trophies, & more.
The final round consisted of 16 players (13 players and 3 seeded players) in a 90-Second solo freestyle run where players were judged on the following four catagories:
The last 2 players battled head to head to crown the champion and these were the results:
Results:
1st Place: Yasu – JP – Also Announced as KROM Pro
2nd Place: Nobu – JP – Kendama USA
3rd Place: Soma Fujita – JP – KROM
But just in case you missed the tournament live, you can watch it all in the video below.
Thank you to all the sponsors, judges, players who participated and folks at home who watched!
We’ve teamed up with our friends in the Georgia Kendama Community (null) to bring you this special Peach-themed Kendama. The GA Kendama Club has been actively growing and supporting the Kendama scene in our home state, and we couldn’t be more proud to collaborate with them!
Kendama in Georgia has a long history, and the GA Kendama Players have roots going back as early as Dama Fest in 2011. Community leaders like Nick Dodenhoff have made large efforts to get the word out and host local jams and events. As the scene has grown, they have created their own logo, T-shirts, stickers, and even their own podcast “Georgia Kendama Radio. The podcast itself has hosted everyone from Jeremy Stephenson (Kendama USA) to Chad Covington (of Sol Kendamas) and Matt Jorgenson (of Sweets Kendamas). In 2018 the Georgia Kendama Players Club hosted the Georgia Kendama Open (GKO), followed by the Atlanta Kendama Open (ATLKO) in 2019.
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Making this collab Kendama seemed like a great idea after so many years of mutual support. It features a unique GA Peach themed tama with KUSA Silk paint, a Maple SHIFT Shape Ken with a new base cup hole, custom engravings, and much more. This club hopes to spread the excitement and community of Kendama to even more people in the south. If you are ever in Georgia, make sure to attend one of the jams and meet all of the incredible people that make up the Georgia Kendama Players.
Georgia Kendama Players hopes to spread the excitement and community of Kendama to even more people in the south, and the support of companies like Kendama USA has been huge. If you are ever in Georgia, make sure to reach out to them to get a Jam going and meet all of the incredible people that make up the Georgia Kendama Players.
What’s good everyone! null here from Honed Media bringing you another kendama review. This time I want to especially thank Sharif from Kendama USA for allowing me to guest write for the KUSA blog. Without further ado, let’s talk about Zach Magnuson’s Pro Model #MAGSMOD.
I’d like to frame my article around “what makes a pro model” – because the first impression I get when opening the box and feeling the kendama is that THIS IS A PRO MODEL. From a tama design that no one can come close to imitating to the custom stickers and even the orange string – everything about the experience screams unique.
People who have followed Zach Magnuson aka null on social know that he is a talented photographer from Detroit and I personally enjoyed how elements of his passion for photography are designed into his other passion. Passion-ception.
Even the box feels high quality. The material is hard with textured prints and would stand out on any shelf. But enough about the aesthetics, we’re here to talk about how the kendama plays.
Let’s start with the shape – we have a modified Shift introducing the Kaizen Base Cup Hole and let’s just say it’s what the doctor ordered. I’ve been a fan of Kaizen for many years and have played a range from 1.0, 2.0, Slim, and Shift. I will admit that lunars were a challenge with the Shift because the wider base cup results in an increased weight shifted there. It made the kendama a ken-flip machine, but the trade-off was lunars.
With the balance hole available on Mag’s mod, the lunar balance has improved significantly without much compromise to the ken-flip capability. It feels like one of the most complete kendamas that I’ve played out of the box. Complete in part as well because the spike comes glued – something that I do for all my kendamas. When it comes to the paint, I personally prefer jamming sticky tamas, but something about KUSA’s silk paint slaps different. It seems to be rougher out of the box and allows for a nice adjustment when playing your balance tricks.
To each his own, however, I’d say that both paints will not let you down and it’s really a matter of personal preference which paint to use. I had an easier time with landing lunars on the sticky paint, while catching and adjusting lighthouses felt better on the silk paint.
What about durability?
Part of this review involved a 2-week test doing cup tricks, ken tricks, and tama tricks. Let me be upfront – I miss the spike a lot. Despite that, there were only minor chips after 2 weeks, mostly around the bevel making it a relatively durable kendama. This could be in part that the weight of the tama was heavier (80+) and therefore the wood would have been harder and denser.
What might be more important to note was that I did not feel the tackiness of the respective paints change much – something you do not see often.
In the playability section, I test the smoothness and ease of landing tricks in the 4 criteria, Lunar, Stalls, Slings, and Ken Flips.
A difficulty rating out of 10 (1 being easier than usual, 5 being no difference and 10 is much harder than usual) will be given to each category at discretion.
Lunar
Stall
Sling
Kenflip
Pull-up Bird
3
Pull-up Sling
4
Kenflip Spike
2
Lunar
3
Bird Over The V
3
Pull-up Double-Sling Spike
4
Double Whirlwind
3
Double Lunar Flip
4
Handlestall – Ring
4
Pull-up Sling, Late Sling
4
Kenflip-
ken flip Spike
4
What does this compare to?
You know when you’re headed out of home for a short bit and want to grab a kendama off the shelf you can just walk and jam without worry? This is it. Despite being a pro mod with an extensive and complex aesthetic design, it still plays like a daily jammer – and that is one of my favorite things about it.
I play a lot of kendamas and found it easy to rotate in and out of the #MAGSMOD which makes it and really worthy investment.
At $40, this is one of the most value-for-money kendamas out there. The level of design on the tama, sticker pack, and packaging indicates that it must have been relatively expensive to produce – yet Kendama USA prices it comparable to other kendamas in the market with a less complex design.
As a plus point, each #MAGSMOD purchased goes to supporting Zach’s kendama journey – a win-win situation if I ever saw one.
Bonus: To show that this dama is for the everyday average player like me – I shot a three trick fix with different balance and stall tricks to show how player-friendly it was out-of-box. Enjoy!
Meet July Player of the Month Colin Hislop, from Sandpoint, Idaho. Slaying since the 8th grade, the first kendama he put his hands on was a friend’s.
“I was instantly hooked! Soon after, (June, 2012) I visited the @sportscreel in Spokane, WA and picked up my first dama: a Purple Shenzhu! I love simple tricks with spicy tech thrown in. Late goons, grip trades, and fast hands all get me juiced. My favorite setup is whatever feels good! Currently,I am loving the null.”
He’s currently working on a year-long project, filming a trick every day. Over 200 tricks deep, Colin believes it will likely release on January 1st, 2021! We can’t wait to see it!
“I’m so incredibly grateful for this tool and everywhere it has brought me. It’s been an unforgettable 8 years, and I can’t see myself ever stopping.
The shout-out list is endless, but to start: the day one homie @_samcannon_, @asapcrvst, @mikey_schelling, and the sensei @benherald. From friendship, to motivation, to tutoring, these dudes have inspired me more than I can put into words.
Love to Kendama USA, the community, & everyone pushing to help it grow.”
Meet the racehorse named Kendama; a beautiful, three-year-old Colt from the prestigious Audley Farm. General Manager Turner Kobayashi, a Japanese-American, who’s been part of Audley Farm for over 20 years now, tells us that they named the horse’s pedigree; after his mother, a mare named Bilboquet. Kendama won his last race on Friday, July 10, 2020. It was a mile and one-sixteenth turn stretch at Laurel Park in Maryland. Check out our favorite racehorse in action below.
A little more about Audley Farm, a 3,000-acre historic farm in Berryville, Virginia founded in 1749. George Washington’s adopted daughter; (Martha’s granddaughter), Nellie Custis lived here. Once the very first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton was a stallion at Audley back in the 1920s. Currently, Audley Farm is a champion thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner as well as a registered Black Angus seed stock and beef producer. To learn more about the racehorse named Kendama and Audley Farms check out null.
This month’s player is Danny R in Florida! We took a minute to chop it up with the @kendamagoat and this is what he had to say:
Waddup it’s Danny / Kendama Goat! I was born n raised in San Jose, CA. I lived in Portland for 6 years, then in my van for a few years with scattered months in Philly, New York, Thailand, and Mexico. Now I reside in Florida but I’m always driving back and forth to Nashville, TN.
I found Kendama from my buddy Zach. (@kendama_odyssey ) He posted a video on Instagram that I thought looked really weird so I asked him about it. He sent me a dama and now I trip border balance first T every time switch. Outside of kendama I like to make weird rap videos, play piano, beat everyone at chess, sometimes skate, but kendama is better, shmob my scooter to the beach, thrift, go down weird conspiracy holes, read the taco bell subreddit, eat taco bell, ride by bike, Rubik’s cubes, stuff like dat. A few people I wanna shout out / thank – My buddy Cameron (@kendamalicious ) shreds super hard, is always posting clips, loves the game and just has a lit AF genuinely great personality so he’s one I look up to. Scags (@bryan_scagline) I’ve always looked up to that dude. He has a super fresh style and really comfortable flow, like not just clacking around, but actually hitting the cups and doing a lot of grip changes. Anyone that flows really..
Twelve-year-old Phoenix Valero has always wanted to organize a Kendama jam in his hometown to bring dama players together.
He’d been wanting to start one for a while but didn’t know where to start. So he decided to reach out and contact his buds at Kendama USA! With a little help, Mansfield saw its first Kendama Jam! A lot of folks showed up and the jam was a big hit!
Ozora Kendama of Japan has developed a new shape that features larger cups and a semi 70/30 fade for easy hole tracking. Formally named “Odori REshape” this is the newest shape from Ozora in ten years and is the brain child of Japanese Craftman, Ryoichi Suzuki. The REShape has three meanings;”3R”, RENEW · · · Newly born design RELIABLE · · · Reliable specs and quality REACH · · · reach new possibilities.
The All Girls Kendama Event 2017 was the first of its kind. A series of contests for women, all hosted by female players in the scene, in three different countries. KendamaUSA’s tribute member Haley Bishoff teamed up with some a few other kendama players in the community to create an incredible event!
All Girls Kendama Event Trick List Video:
First Stop: Portland, OR.
Haley Bishoff, Carolina Herrera & Molly Harney hosted the first stop in Portland, OR in August at the Portland Pastimes & Velo Cult complex. Almost 100 people came out to support, with about 15 competitors. KendamaUSA’s Tribe member Miya Song took 1st in the Open division, with Emmy Evans coming close in 2nd. Chelsea May Perez from Sweets took 3rd! The Portland event was surely special, because it was the first ever All Girls Kendama Event in the United States.
Special shout outs: Carolina Herrera, Molly Harney, Masako Hosoi, Arque Richards Pagh, Kristin Olinyk, Dave Mateo, Portland Pastimes & all the sponsors.
You can buy a limited run T-Shirt from the Portland event HERE!
Haley and Yuka Hyuga from Gloken put together the second stop.
The Tokyo event was once again, such a success with 100 attendees and 39 competitors, making this the largest All Girls Kendama Event, EVER! This year’s event was the second all girls kendama event in Japan. In 2015, Haley and Yuka hosted another event in Osaka, Japan. But this year’s event was so much bigger with a way higher skill level. Huge congratulations to all the competitors and winners.
Special shout outs: Yuka Hyuga, Mirai from Tokyo Dama Girls for MCing, DJ Moco, Peter Richards, Zawa, Gloken & all the sponsors.
You can watch both Tokyo Recap Videos Below!
Third and Final Stop: Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
The Taiwan scene is incredibly special, a collection of close friends who just genuinely love kendama. The innovative mini games that Super Friends Kendy has created made the event so fun and interactive for everyone who came out. This time, 100 people attended with 32 female competitors.
Special shout outs: JiJan Chen for creating all the beautiful artwork on the flyers for all three events and MCing the Taiwan event alongside her brother, Jiaziu Chen. Duck, Janet & Rain from South Kendama for being such gracious hosts to Haley and Yuka, and of course, SUPER FRIENDS KENDY!
VSauce’s Michael Stevens visits Tested’s/MythBusters Adam Savage to build themselves, that’s right, a KENDAMA!
Michael recently started playing Kendama and enlists Adam’s help to make one from scratch that will help optimize his play.
They quickly find out that there is a lot that goes into making one and this one day build vid is one of the longest yet!
