The IJA Festival, hosted by the 75-year-old International Jugglers’ Association (IJA), is a grand 7-day juggling industry event. The Festival took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in mid-July this year. There were eight performers on stage every day, and thousands of people in attendance watching the performances.
22-year-old Hong Kong youth, Pu Ho Lam, participated in the competition with a kendama as his juggling prop; immediately standing out from the competition.
“The audience was very enthusiastic, and when the music played and before the performance officially started, they already gave me cheers. When I completed a beautiful movement, they would applaud and cheer. Everyone was very engaged, especially after the performance, when the audience stood up and clapped, I was so surprised!”
Many of the contestants were talented and some of them have set Guinness World Records. But Pu didn’t let that get to him.
“My attitude was to ‘enjoy the stage,’ if I keep thinking about whether I could win or lose, then I put too much pressure on myself.”
After the performance, Ho Lam left the stage feeling like a winner just from the crowds reactions but then there was another unexpected surprise, the judges announced his score, and he was the 2022 IJA Juggling Championships Champ!
“It was a dream come true. My head was blank, I didn’t know what to think so I just went on to accept everyone’s applause. I was humbled b/c I was already happy just to be there and be able to perform on the international stage level but winning was truly a bonus.
And although Ho Lam did not have his family and friends with him when he won the trophy in America, Niels Duinker, a juggler who holds 8 Guinness World Records, took the initiative to congratulate him on winning the award. This overwhelmed him. He said,
“I watched Niels’s video when I started learning juggling. I wouldn’t be a good juggler without him!”
Ho Lam happily took a photo with Niels and had a brief exchange with him. Niels also gave his autograph on the KendamaUSA Kendama which he used in the competition. This experience became his precious memory of that day.
The short trip to Cedar Rapids was an eye-opener for Ho Lam. He not only witnessed in person the performances of jugglers from all over the world but it also inspired him to continue on his journey. Now he is studying a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong and is working in the field.
Meet Jarvis a.k.a Jay, the newest member of the Tribe team! His quick wits and even faster hands will have yous guys blinking in disbelief. The ‘Scansin native, has been playing kendama for 3 1/2 years and first encountered kendama at school when a kid in his class pulled a kendama out and started playing it; after that Jay picked up his first Kendama a green & black Tribute Kendama and the rest is history.
Jay is constantly challenging himself and those around him to improve. His flow, consistency, and dedication to both the sport and the Kendama community are inspiring and we can’t wait to see more from him.
Watch his Tribe announcement edit below and help us welcome him to the family!
A few years back Bryan Scagline first met Jarvis and saw the potential of being a great role model and leader in the community. Not only has Jay’s skills evolved since then but he hosts jams in his home state of Wisconsin with his crew 608KEN.
If you have been playing Kendama long enough, you know that after a while, you have to retire your setup. At some point, your Kendama is just going to get worn out. Newer players may not know how to tell the signs of a defeated Kendama. so here are five major signs that will let you know it’s time to replace your Kendama and get a new setup.
1. The easiest sign that your Ken is beaten is when your spike is totally flat.
Yeah, maybe you can do a border balance now, but anytime you go to spike, in the back of your head you know that if you miss it’s because your spike is as flat as the screen you’re reading this on. If you didn’t add any kendama glue to the spike, it is inevitable that it will flatten out completely with normal play. Don’t even get us started if you yank spike often. If the spike doesn’t inspire confidence with every down spike attempt or gunslinger to spike, then it’s time to replace your Kendama.
2: If your base cup looks like it has been put through a woodchipper, it’s time to replace your kendama.
Look, taps are cool. In the past few years, the community has made taps a huge achievement in one’s Kendama journey. Two taps, four taps, nine ??? It’s crazy. All those taps are basically nibbling away at your base cup over time and just like water over a rock, your base cup will start to wear away. Chips in your base cup not only prevent you from landing a handle stall, but also makes tracking hard and lighthouses painful. That’s why experienced players shed a tear when their ken chips at the base. If your base cup is chipped and worn out, then it’s time to replace your ken.
3: If every time you play your Kendama you spend half of the time pushing the cups back down, get a new kendama.
Yeah, there are fixes for this, but not without consequence. Glue your cups together? Good luck if your string breaks. Sticky notes? Get ready for residue all over your ken if you do it wrong. Especially if you have a hardwood, the amount of time lost pushing the cups down while grinding a trick is annoying at best. If you’ve been playing a setup for a while and can’t get the cups to stay down, then it’s time to replace your Kendama.
4: If the tama paint is making your balance tricks suffer, replace the tama.
Experienced players know that every Kendama paint has a certain amount of time that it’s best for lighthouses, lunars, and technically even birds or stilts. The condition of the paint plays a big part in all of these tricks. While some paints may need a few hours of play to break in well, others might take just one or two sessions to get them to the right condition. That sweet spot is heaven for every Kendama player. The feeling of making your Kendama better just by playing it is like nothing else. All good things come to an end though. At some point, you can tell when lighthouses and lunars just won’t stick anymore. Considering people are lacing four-turn lunar flips like pull-up spikes today, you want to make sure your setup is honed for every game of KEN or lighthouse race. If the paint is well past its prime, then it’s time to replace your Kendama or get a new tama.
5: If the bevel is beaten to pieces, it’s time for a new kendama.
A well-beaten bevel is a beautiful thing. If the wood around the tama hole is slightly curved from play, then birds and stilts are twice as easy. Just like the paint though, the bevel will go beyond its playability. The edges will start to go beyond the curves of the cup, and the chipped wood will make spikes much more difficult from friction. An overplayed bevel can even make lighthouse flips challenging. So if your bevel is chipped beyond comfort, then it’s time to replace your Kendama.
Clan Kendama is one of the newest clubs in the southeast and has been making a splash in the community with their edits and Instagram posts. In the short time they have been a Kendama USA Club, Clan Kendamas has made 16 Youtube videos including five full-length Kendama edits, and have become very active on Instagram.
Gibson, Cameron, and Owen are the founders of Clan Kendama. This trio made Clan Kendamas official just three months ago (September 2017) and have already grown the club to 15+ members. The three founders expanded their club to three different states including Tennessee, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
The club is spreading the Kendama love every day. They have helped dozens of players get their first Kendama and continue to introduce the game to anyone that will listen. According to Owen, Clan Kendamas helps to bring together the community outside of just Kendama players by giving kids a safe place to be themselves and to enjoy another’s company. “We inspire people to enjoy the journey, persevere, and believe that any goal is achievable,” said Owen.
Clan Kendamas meetup bi-weekly to jam and hope to open their regular jams to the public soon. The club is always ready to jam with anyone if you message them on Instagram @clan.kendama
That’s right! We’ve extended our Cyber Monday Sale for all you Cyber Monday procrastinators! So rejoice, pick up a dama and celebrate! Use code: KUSACYBER16 during checkout to save 25% on your order. Hurry though, sale ends tonight!
This year marked the 30th anniversary of JapanFest Atlanta. Kendama USA had the pleasure of participating in the event for the 3rd year in a row. Going to JapanFest is always an amazing time for us to experience the culture from which our favorite toy comes originates. It also allows us to meet new people and get them excited to try out Kendama. There is so much to do at JapanFest from drum shows, sumo matches, Kabuki Shows, and even eating some amazing authentic Japanese food. It also provides the opportunity to pick up merchandise from your favorite animes while getting to know new people and trying new things. This year, Jake Kopanski and Ryan Plourd were holding it down for KUSA, putting on 2 shows and a workshop to teach Kendama to everyone who was interested. It was great teaching new people how magical Kendama is and we hope to see you there again next year!
We’d also like to give a special shout out to NANA, a company we had collaboration with during the weekend. You can check out their app by clicking here.
Thank you to all of the local players that came out and helped with the event. Damafam is strong!
Please welcome Gavin Harvey to the Kendama USA family. We are proud to announce Gavin as Tribe! He is one of the most technical kids in the Kendama community. A few years back Dave Mateo first met Gavin at a small school event with Logan Tosta in Sacramento. Just like Logan, Dave believed that Gavin had high potential of being a great role model and leader for the next generation. Not only has Gavin rocketed his skill since then, he has also continued spread the love of the game through out Sacramento and progressed the players around him. Check out Gavin’s announcement video below.
We are excited to see what will come with your future in Kendama. Congratulations and welcome to the family. -Kendama USA Team
Madison Wisconsin has a lively Kendama community and Kendama USA Pro Zack Yourd stopped in and hosted a couple of events.
Here’s what Zack had to say about Madison, WI:
“There is no doubt that Madison, WI is on the rise to becoming a large Kendama community. A solid crew of both new and experienced Kendama players attended each event. The amount of people who attended and the level of Kendama play was incredible. The buzz even attracted the local news to cover one of the events. The ladder competition came down to the wire but local shredder Gino G. took home the crown! I look forward to visiting again in the future.”
Yourd followed up by reporting nothing but positive remarks about all of the players and their kind/humble/skilled attitude toward Kendama. Keep a look out for more of our players heading to Wisconsin!
Every trip to Japan is always an unforgettable experience for us, and the 2016 trip is right around the corner! As we get honed for KWC 2016 over these next few weeks, we are taking a look back to remember last year’s adventures. We are excited to release our 2015 Japan video to the public today. Enjoy!~
I Had Amazing Times In Rome this past April for the Kendama Attack 2 event,
So many new Kendama Players and overall an amazingly good vibe!
The event was a blast, I placed first in the Freestyle comp and second in the main pro competition. And of course John Paolo Silva taking first Place in the Pro division.
We had the Time to See some Of the Famous places in Rome and film some tricks with the locals.
Thanks to all the Italian players for making the event possible and
special thanks To Dario Patti for hosting it all by himself!
We are proud to announce our newest member of the TRIBE; Dylan Westmoreland from Murrieta, CA. Dylan started playing Kendama in the summer of 2014. His first Kendama was borrowed from a friend and once hooked he finally snagged one for himself. Tribute member TJ Kolesnik has been able to see him grow as a Kendama player since day 1. Dylan attended his first Kendama contest in Southern California which was hosted by TJ in Southern California. From there, he went on to winning video contests, traveling to cities to compete and being active in the community via YouTube / Instagram / Facebook, etc… showing all his progression.
We are happy to welcome Dylan to the team. 15 years old and killing the game. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you and how you’ll grow with our company.
Be sure to check out his TRIBE Announcement video below, as well as a collection of photos below of jams, events and contests Dylan has attended.
