News:

English-language friendly kendama forum open for everyone worldwide. Welcome!

Main Menu

Help with Bird and balance in Lighthouse?

Started by hater, 07 November, 2011, 16:20:14

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Waylon


JamesFM

I was able to land a few legit lighthouses tonight. I realized what I was doing wrong.

Don't let the ken "fall" on to the tama.
Move the tama upward under the ken when the ken reaches its apex from you pulling it up. That way the ken gently rests on the tama as opposed to violently dropping on it.

BKA

Hi Jagmcool,
Welcome to the forum.
Looks like you might not have read the faq, or searched with the relevant terms, and so have missed the topic which we have now merged your one into. Have a read back through the posts in it, as there's some great advice in there.
Cheers,
BKA.

Misterwhang

Hey I know this post has not been active for a while but I found a really big tip for lighthouse (for beginners at least)..

The grip on the tama has to be light, dont squeeze the tama... lightly hold it and it will be easier to balance!

crudeswagstorm

Hi! I have been playing kendama for a month or two, and I am really trying hard to learn the trick the bird. I have watched every tutorial, it just doesn't seem to work. I have tried multiple types of kendamas and still doesn't work. The tama just bounces off the cup. Also i have tried bending my knees, doesn't help. Any advice?  :P

M.Wang

Hi crudeswagstorm!

I find that it helps to put your thumb on the big cup when you're doing bird. Also, make sure the ken is tilted slightly when you pull the tama up. Think of it kinda like a spike in the way that it's crucial to pull the tama straight up.

Hope this helps!

M.Wang
-M.Wang

Simplicity! CLICKON!
KENDAMA.

BKA


the milky oolong

Femur and patella on the catch. I mean:

KNEES!
Kendama Berlin
German Kendama Open 2014: 1st Place Speed Trick, 2nd Place Knockout
German Kendama Championships 2015: 3rd Place Speed Trick
KEN FEST Hannover, 2016: 3rd Place KEN Battle
KENDAMA CLASH Berlin 2016: 1st Place Intermediate

JREAMR

#38
I apologize for bringing up this old post. However, this is the reference I used for learning lighthouse. At some point, I started to land lighthouses more often. However, over the course of the week, I have noticed that the bottom cup's edge is flattening or smoothing out. It's a lot harder to maintain the balance on the tama even if I simply place the ken there. It feels incredibly slippery compared to a week ago. I've been practicing this trick extensively and my landing rate has gone down. I doubt it's the tama since I've been wearing it out more. Also, this has been my 3rd week of kendama (fyi). Do you guys think its the kens's fault? It doesn't make sense for me to get worse at it the more I practice it....
Catch me if you can.

The Void

I'd guess it's one of two things:
1. You're just having a bad patch at this trick. Everyone hits them, on tricks they are normally solid on. Since you've only been playing for 3 weeks, I think this could be quite likely. Breathe! Maybe you've just "forgotten" to soften the knees on the catch, or some subtle hand movement has gone awry. Focus on analysing your technique to see if you can spot anything. If not, advice is: Leave this trick alone for a week or two, then come back to it.
or
2. You've managed to dent the base cup rim so that a small section is protruding inwards into the cup, breaking the clean circular line. This will make Lighthouse catches more awkward. If so, try to GENTLY ease it back into shape, first using the tama, or some other piece of wood, so as not to make things worse.

Good luck.
If you don't want to BUY MY BOOKS 😉, then why not ask your local library to order them in, and read them for free? That would help too. Cheers!

JREAMR

Thanks for the advice. Perhaps, I'll give it a week or so and come back to it. In the meantime, I'll give my tk16 a proper beating by mastering the other beginner tricks.  :P
Catch me if you can.

Kev

Quote from: crudeswagstorm on 17 September, 2014, 00:36:27
The tama just bounces off the cup.

That's a problem. You need to catch much more gently. Move downwards when catching, cushioning with your knees and a whole smooth downwards movement of your body and hands.

That said, with a well placed launch the downwards catching movement can be quite slight - more of a downward dip. Think about the energy in the tama rising, you need just enough to get it to the right height for the catch, any more is both unnecessary and will increase chances of bouncing off.

Finally I'd check the alignment of the tama - make sure the hole is pointing straight down as you catch.

Keep practicing with patience and you will get there.

:)

caiel

I can do 1turn lighthouse more then I can do regular lighthouse, wierd. 1 out of 3 times 1 turn LH. 1 out of 5 times LH.for light house, Try to cushion the landing very slightly meaning when the ken lands use your knees or arms to move with the ken as it goes down