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!
The 4th Annual Kendama World Cup took place in none other than Hatsukaichi; the birthplace of Kendama. This year was even greater than the last and seeing more and more players from across the globe shows how Kendama is spreading. There are so many connections that are made through Kendama and friends seeing each other for the first time or linking back up at the airport and venue is always a warm welcome. The first day is always arduous as the full list of registered players which is always over 100, is whittled down to 35 top finalists which will compete in the next day’s championship round where one winner will be crowned the 2017 Champion. Let’s take a look at what all went down…
DAY 1:
The competition was fierce and by the end of Day 1 KUSA had 4 people moving onto the final round with Nobu of Tribe in the #1 spot.
Bookmark this page! This’ll be your one stop shop for all of this year’s tricks for the upcoming Kendama World Cup in July.
We’ve got the entire trick list in one easy to use playlist as well as a link to the entry form and rules.
It’s easy, you simply purchase your entry ticket or package from Gloken at the link below.
Keep in mind that you will have to get yourself to Japan; entry and / or packages do not include airfare.
You can use any regular-sized Kendama (The Ken can not be any taller than 17 cm / 6.7 inches).
You’ll be required to place a KWC2016 sticker on after this “Dama-Check”.
The tama can only have ONE hole in addition to the string hole.
The Kendama is not allowed to have more than one spike and three cups.
You can get up to THREE Kendamas passed per player via the Dama-Check” for the Kendama World Cup 2016.
Ken or tama must not touch your hand/clothes while doing balance tricks.
Don’t change or move the Kendama’s string position with your free hand during the play.
No points are awarded on whether you keep ken and tama stable completely. Once laced go proceed to the next trick.
There are no limits on how many or which direction of turns or flips you do, unless otherwise specified.
How It’s Gonna Go Down:
Qualifying Rounds 1 & 2 – Day 1
Choose 10 different tricks in total from the trick list, the first 5 for Round 1, the other 5 for Round 2. You will get the points corresponding to each trick’s level. The maximum score for each attempt is 50, the total is 100.
Round 1: Try 5 tricks in 180 seconds. Use ONE Kendama.
Round 2: Try other 5 tricks in 180 seconds. Use ONE Kendama. You can use different Kendama from Round 1.
Top 24 players go to the Final Round, and additional 8 players will be granted wild cards for the Final.
IN CASE OF A TIE / DRAW
If two or more players have an equal score, their rankings will be determined by the SQUARE basis of the Final Round.
How to be granted “wild cards”
Countries/regions which fail to produce players who qualified may be granted wild cards.
Wild card players must get at least 30 points from the Qualifying Round.
ONE player from each country/region is picked, then up to 8 players w/ the highest score can proceed the Final Round.
If less than 8 countries/regions are granted, the quota(s) will be transferred to the eliminated players.
A total of 32 players go to the final round.
Final Round – Day 2
Go up to the stage, try different tricks (level 3 or upper) from the list as many as possible in 180 seconds.
Points are the SQUARE of the trick’s level.
You will get 100pts from level-10 tricks, 81pts from level-9s, 64pt from level-8s, 49pts from level-7s, and so on.
You can get points only once from each trick.
Final Round is not a tournament, competing by the total point you get.
The points of Qualifying Round will be added to the final score.
If you get 77 points in Qualifying Round and 700 points in Final Round, your final score will be 777 points.
Use ONE kendama throughout the performance.
Bring a CD with your favorite song longer than 3 minutes for your stage, if you want.
Sakura Classic this year was bigger than ever, with an amazing first place prize for the amateur bracket – an all expenses paid trip to the 2016 Kendama World Cup in Japan! Not only did we have members from Gloken fly all the way out to the event from Japan, but we had the world’s best kendama performing duo, Zoomadanke, show some of their most impressive Kendama play ever.
Huge congrats to the winners of the Sakura Classic!
Amateur bracket:
1st: CJ Martinez
2nd: Hayden Brickman
3rd: Keilan
Pro Freestyle Division:
Logan Tosta
We were stoked to see the commitment from the kendama community to come out and jam despite the rain. Huge thanks to all the volunteers from the Bay Area that came out to help, Gloken, KendamaUSA, Grain Theory and of course, Jake Wiens for putting on another incredible Sakura Classic! See you next year!
“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 the next 10 days straight we will release one of the players pages so be on the look out so you can see what set ups some of your favorite pro players are choosing to jam these days.
“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
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.
Dave was honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with Gloken on his recent Spike Hard Catch Low edit #3. During his last trip to Japan for Catch&Flow, Dave was presented by Yukka this rare Jumbo Snow-Gold Musou from famed kendama-maker Kazuma Iwata. Dave told Yukka that he would dedicate the Spike Hard Catch Low edit #3 to Gloken for gifting him this awesome Kendama.
From Dave:
“The sound and playability of this Kendama is unreal. I did by best to help capture what this Kendama sounds like while being played. It has deep clicks, not too tacky but forgiving tama grip and amazing balance feel.
Thank you Kazuma, Yuka, Tomatsu, and Zoomadanke for letting me experience this Kendama. ”
Special thanks to
Takeshi Kamisato (Duncan), Dominic Calimquim (Folken) and Carolina Herrera (E&R) for helping me film.
Japan this year was a unique experience. We were deeper into the country than we had ever been before. The entire team was together for the very first time. With obligations like the Kendama World Cup, it wasn’t easy to find time to just play and lace some tricks. We worked in some stompage for the sake of having memories of this classic era of the team. We are stoked to see it evolve.
2014 has been a huge year for Kendama, there have been so many memorable moments that it is hard to pick just one, so we decided to ask each of our pros what their favorite moment was. Sit back, relax, and read through these amazing stories as we bring 2014 to a close. From all of us here at KendamaUSA we would like to give a huge thanks to YOU the fans, with out all of you’re amazing support we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, so here’s to another dama filled year! cheers!
Colin -
There were so many great memories that were made in 2014 thanks to the wonderful team and family that is Kendama USA, that it’s hard to pick just one. From swimming with sea turtles in Hawaii after an awesome event to performing on sacred stages on islands in Japan, to the simpler things like interacting with the community, and redesigning our products and pro models.
One thing that stood out to me as a real highlight was giving a speech at the opening ceremony for the Kendama World Cup, in Hatsukaichi. When I first started playing kendama I never imagined that I would ever travel to Japan, or get to meet the infamous Kazuma Iwata, my favorite kendama-craftsman. But thanks to Kendama USA sending us to the KWC, I got to experience his hometown, which is also the actual birthplace of Kendama in Japan. I poured my heart out about how thankful I was for the growth the community has seen internationally, and enjoyed the moment of being honored for the community-building work I had done over the previous 6 years. At that moment I could feel that kendama had grown so much, and with or without my help it would continue to progress, grow, and evolve. Thanks to Jeremy and the entire Kendama USA team for making all of these awesome moments possible! see you in 2015!!!
Zack -
2K14. A year of many definite big ups, and few downs! So that’s good! This is my last year in college @ Penn State University, so I haven’t had as much time as I have in the past to put forth to kendama practice/travel/competition. That doesn’t mean that my kendama has distanced itself from my everyday loops, in fact this year I had some major kendama career highlights.
V4’s: Having free range to design a pro model however I wanted produced an overflow of creative chaos in my brain. It felt good. Not having to cling to a theme let myself and the other guys really relate our own kendama to our personality, yet produced the challenge of having one shot to capture your ideal kendama. The process of back-n-forth communication and testing all the most miniscule tweaks from ken shape to paint type was awesome. All in all, beyond satidfied with the final pro model, the BREW DAMA is alive!!!
Kendama World Cup: How can this not be mentioned!? It was the first ever titled “World” kendama event, and all the homies/homettes were present and looking good! It’s hard for me to put a time like that into a minimal word count description, so I won’t dive in. Highlights were, ranking 16th overall in the comp, meeting a ridiculous amount of other peeps who share freakish hand eye coordination (fellow kendama players), and experience a new part of the world with culture/tradition very foreign to what I am used to! <3JAPAN<3
Random Day Kaizen Session: I believe the day was November 19th? Not entirely sure. But I’ve been playing kendama longer than most people in the US, and been with Kendama USA since almost theie near start. That being said, I’ve witnessed the evolution and progress that’s been made since…yup, the premiere line (secretly love still). In the past when we released a new line, it always seemed that issues, both big and small, would come up. Issues like paint durability, ivy rashes, engraving depths, butt heaviness, etc. This year was different. I finally got my first box of Kaizen’s fresh from the works. To be honest, I didn’t even play one that day, merely just looked at them, did some weight tests, and put them back in the box. About a day or two later when my classes were at a dull point I busted out the new light-pink kaizen. I played kendama for the next 2 hours straight. And had easily 10 self-realizations that this kendama was sturdy as shit. It played amazing! Just such a good feeling to see how far the company and kendama in general has come. Very humbling
A Kendama (Christmas) Story: This little edit really brought it back to my roots. Late night filming sessions with pizza, beer, homies, music, college apts, good vibes, etc. And who better to have your back than my man Bryan Scagline. I’ve known this fellow yinzer for quite some time now and ever since he was introduced to kendama he hasn’t for a second slowed down toward becoming future kendama style champ. Anywho, the night we spent filming this edit really brought me back to my edits #1-4 where sweating on indoor carpet tricks was a normal. Too much fun! Scagz Rulez!
Turner -
My favorite moment from 2014 was during the Kendama world cup trip in Japan, but it wasn’t the contest itself that was my favorite and this is why. We landed in Japan at 6pm and had a long drive from the airport to Tamotsu’s house, when we arrived it was completely dark so we had no idea where we were or what our surroundings looked like. The next morning I woke up around 7am to find everyone else asleep, the Jet lag kept me from going back to sleep so I decided to get up. After taking a freezing cold but surprisingly refreshing shower I saw that Jake and Zack were awake as well, so we decided to take a walk around outside. As soon as I stepped outside I was in awe, the sun was just starting to rise over the mountains and we were surrounded by tons of bright green rice fields. We just wandered through the streets taking in the sounds of the birds and watching our step as tiny frogs would hop to safety into the rice fields. The calmness of that morning will stick with me forever. I would like to give a huge thank you to Jeremy Stephenson and everyone at Gloken for making this trip possible! Heres to 2015! Cheers!
Alex -
Hosting the Van Jam, the grand opening of the Terra Kendama workshop in Vancouver. Players from across the US, Canada, and Japan came to Vancouver for the event on September 1st. We had a sort of ‘mini-tour’ leading up to the event, stopping at the battle in Seattle, and then Canada national yoyo championships the previous two days. Colin S won the game of DAMA tournament at the van jam, playing a handturned Mun Ebony Terra Kendama. It was an honour to host so many talented players in our workshop!
Jake -
2014 was an amazing year for kendama. I got to travel all over the world MC’ing, competing, playing, and working on the new Kaizen line. One moment that stands out to me was in Japan during the Kendama World cup. It was the end of the trip and Tamotsu took everyone who was left to an epic swim spot in Nara. We spotted a perfect cliff jumping spot across the river. We jumped in and swam over to the cliff and began to investigate. It was perfect. We immediately started flipping and trying new flips off the rocks. After a moment I realized that it was everyone from the Kendama USA team that was on the rock and busting flips and it wasn’t a “hey everyone come jump off the cliff” deal. Everyone just naturally thought “LETS DO THIS!”. Everyone on the team really does have this urge to go nuts and jump off cliffs. At this moment I took a chance to be thankful for having the best Kendama family you could ask for and realized how many amazing people I have met through playing Kendama. We have traveled the world together and dedicated weeks and weeks to spreading the kendama love. So this New Years Eve I raise my glass to you Jero, Colin, Turner, Zack, Alex, Dave, TJ, Keith, and Haley! Happy Shreds year!
Keith-
2014 has been a crazy year with the KendamaUSA family. We’ve been a lot of places with a lot of amazing people and I can’t express my thankfulness adequately for all the opportunity kendama has brought me. It’s hard to choose a favorite memory. The entire team together in Japan for the Kendama World Cup and traveling afterwards through the country was an unforgettable experience. Seeing the European kendama community firsthand was a dream come true, and the North American community has seen so many amazing events this last year as well; like the Kengarden Roots Tour, New York Toy Fair, Battle in Seattle, Minnesota Kendama Open, etc. etc.
I think I can say that my favorite memories from 2014 were being able to begin welcoming the new KendamaUSA Tribe team to the family. Wyatt Bray, Bryan Scagline, and Joris Schweppe are all amazing people and I can’t wait for the Tribe to grow. Seeing the excitement from these guys has brought me back to when I first was asked to join the KendamaUSA family. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people with the same excitement that I had my first time with the team.
With that note in mind I have to say that the people behind KendamaUSA and the team that that I’m blessed to be a part of is what made 2014 so special and memorable to me. Here’s to 2015 and another year of people coming together through kendama!”
TJ-
My most memorable moment of 2014 took me a while to figure out due to all the amazing trips, awesome people I met and the experience of traveling who made me who I am today. The number one moment for me was the trip out to Hawaii with Jake, Haley and Dave for the first ever YoDAMA event held in Honolulu, Hawaii.
This was my first time traveling to Hawaii, so for that reason alone, I was so amped to head out there. This was one of the moments where I actually felt like a rockstar. We got to stay at one the nicest resorts I’ve ever seen, eat the most delicious food, and get bombarded by kids screaming our name and wanting our autograph. 1,800 competitors we went through in one day 5,000 people foot traffic throughout the mall just to see us! The craziest feeling ever. It was one of the most hectic days in my life but it’s a day I will never forget. Security escorts, non stop signing, performing Kendama and making dreams happen by being a role model and inspiring kids to never give up.
The rest of the trip we spent bouncing around the island filming, seeing the scenic spots of Hawaii and soaking up the sun with a few cocktails here and there. All with the greatest of friends that I’ve meet through this wooden toy. Thank you friends, family, supporters and most importantly, Kendama USA. Let’s kick 2015 off!
Haley -
In the past year, I would have never expected to experience so many incredible memories with the kendama community. From massive events in Oahu, Hawaii to wandering around New York City to escaping the rain in Shibuya, Tokyo in hole-in-the-wall coffee shops, there are innumerable memories that have made this year unforgettable.
My first real event with the team was in Oahu, Hawaii with Dave, TJ and Jake at YoDama. The kendama scene in Hawaii blew my mind with 1,800 competitors and a crowd that filled a majority of Pearlridge mall. We were living the island dream; eating way too much good food and watching thunderstorms fill the sky from the balcony of our classy villa.
Traveling to the Kendama World Cup was my first time out of the country and was filled with experiences I never considered imaginable. Taking over the streets of Hatsukaichi with dama and dancing, firework nights, and cliff jumping in the rural prefecture of Nara, Japan were spent with some of my favorite people. Round two of Japan was just as great. TJ and I spent nearly a month traveling around doing gift shows with KIT, filming in Okinawa, exploring countless rooftops in Tokyo, overlooking the whole city from over 600 meters up in sky tree, running through the streets in the heaviest rain I’ve ever experienced, and impulsively taking a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. When Dave and Jake came out for the Catch and Flow, along with a bunch of other kendama teams, we explored the streets of Tokyo, found ourselves in karaoke bars and skating though the streets around our hotel.
I’ve seen places I never thought I would, met incredible people along the way and learned a lot about myself in the process. December 2014 marks one year with the KendamaUSA family and the memories have just begun!
Dave -
My favorite moment was having the honor of plating on the sacred stage on Miyajima island, Japan.
Danish kendama player Thorkild May recently took home the Red Bull Catch & Flow Championship in Tokyo Japan. Check out all the madness in the video recap down below!
