When we arrived at the hotel in Tokyo, we found Zack Yourd already jamming with big group of Japanese Professional Kendama players. We wandered around the Shinjuku area and took in the epic views of Tokyo from the tops of sky scrapers. We had a late night jam session in the streets of Shinjuku. The group included Katsuaki Shimadera, Satoru Akimoto, Akira Tajima, Kenta Sakamoto, Hajime Ishibashi, Tomoyuki Tsukui, and the Kendama USA Pro Team. All the Japanese players stomped out tricks with clean style and mind boggling consistency. It’s a level of skill that is amazing to witness in person. 99% of the tricks were landed first try!!! It was an honor to meet everybody and really good time in the streets of Tokyo.
Special thanks to Colin Sander for the skills behind the lens and inside the editing room.
In this powerful, long-form showcase- one day of Japanese kendama-play is documented. Top performers from across the globe spend quality time with one another in the land o’ the dama. This was just one of many days during a blessed summer trip for WKF2012. I photographed so much, but had such little time upon my return I have only now begun to reach the footage. The longer-yet piece, ‘Peak Performance Kendama’ is in the works, including the whole of this trip, as well as the KG Roots tour, and more. One Day In Japan shows the joys of veteran-form… we didn’t set out after stunts. … this time.
Featuring:
Alex Ruisch
Jeffrey Van Reeven
Kenta Sakamoto
Tomoya Mukai
Rodnel Ansell
Tamotsu Kubota
Tajima Akira
Katsuaki Shimadera
Colin Sander
Musc by:
Beck
Phillip Glass
Rocket Juice & The Moon
