DamaTalk is back?! The first episode was made a little over three years ago by Kendama USA Pro Alex Smith and featured Keith Matsumura and covered a plethora of topics.
In vol. 2 Alex interviews Philip Eldridge, Rodney Ansell, and Craig Langkass. The conversation ranges from life in Denmark to Terra’s new retail shop in Vancouver. Alex even cover some ‘would-you-rather’ questions, and more…
Hit the play button below and take a listen!
We’re happy to release the Make Waves World Tour ft. TJ Kolesnik.
Over the summer of 2016, Tj embarked on a six week journey across the world, touring to multiple countries, cities and states upon his #MakeWaves Pro Model being released. Starting in Japan, he traveled to counties like Singapore, Sweden, Canada and the United States. Each day brought a new crowd of eager Kendama players, fun and exciting experiences and memories that will last forever.
We hope you enjoy this full documentary style / video piece Tj shot during his trip. With help from all of you, Tj was able to turn his dream into a reality.
Countries:
“It was crazy to be away from home for 6 weeks. I’ve traveled all over the world for the last couple of years, but going non stop for 6 weeks, I was a bit anxious to start my journey. Every second of my trip was memorable. I met so many amazing people, new Kendama players and like-minded individuals who are chasing their dreams, just like me.
I want to give a HUGE thank you to every single person who has supported me since day one, as well as all of the new players who are just starting their Kendama journey. I realized a long time ago that hard work, dedication an persistence can get you anywhere in life. As long as you’re humble, patient and hungry, anything is truly possible. Thank you to Kendama USA, Original Grain, Goorin Bros., and Dama Mods for sponsoring this tour.
Enjoy some photos along my journey during Tour. If you haven’t had a chance to pick up the Tj Kolesnik Pro Model, click below to get yours today.
At the end of the summer, the Terra Kendama workshop celebrated one year of being open in Vancouver, after moving to the coast from Edmonton last spring. The ‘Van Jam 2′ is an event that celebrates the core of what kendama is: having fun while hanging out with friends, learning some new tricks, and maybe a little bit of competition on the side.
This year’s event brought players from across Canada, the US, and Japan to the Terra workshop. Turner Thorne, Haley Bishoff, and I were the repping Kendama USA, and it was awesome having teammates in town! We spent a lot of time seeing sights, eating good food, and jamming kendama around the city.
Last year KendamaUSA’s own Colin Sander won the game of DAMA tournament at the Van Jam, but this year it was Brandon Meyer that took home the first place prize. Good times were had by all, this certainly won’t be the last of the Van Jams!
“This project highlights each of Kendama USA’s players and the specific kendama set ups they chose to use for the KWC while also adding my own style into the mix. Every photo was taken with instant-print cameras (Polaroid OneStep SX-70 and Fujifilm Instax 210) and every word written by hand. I like taking the foreign route in todays technology era and crafting things by hand. Having a limited amount of film for the cameras also added a surprise/suspense element to it all because each shot was a make-or-break on whether or not it would come out in focus or not. I really want to thank Jero, Cecilia Chow, Luke Evans, and the K-USA team for their contributions on making this come together ”
For our last players page we are featuring Alex Smith! Look for our KWC Setup Recap here soon!
We are proud to announce Alex Smith as the winner of our annual contest, and the newest addition to the Kendama USA Pro Team.
Alex’s edits clearly showed a wide variety of talent and professionalism. Amazing tricks, technical ability, creativity, lifestyle, personality, and production value. He has already made a positive mark in the Kendama community, and we couldn’t be happier to have him as part of the family here. If you haven’t seen them already, make sure to check out his edits below.
We also want to tip our hats to everybody who entered this year, and especially those who came very close in the 2nd round. The quality of the entries absolutely blew our minds, and we have immense respect toward everybody who participated. It was by far the most difficult contest we’ve ever had to judge, so hold your heads up and give yourselves the well deserved credit for what you accomplished. We hope you had a fun time making the edits, and can’t wait for next year.
much respect
-Kendama USA
Round 1
Round 2
