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Irish Kendama Open 2016 - April 9th - Dublin

Started by shalafi, 19 January, 2016, 22:18:41

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shalafi

Nice photos Void! Thanks for taking them, as past year, I totally forgot to document it :)

I have edited the beginners part, I still need to finish editing the advanced, but I hope to finish that during this week.

And it looks like we have a real community of Kendama players in Ireland now. Excited and happy to have run the event.
Spanish Kendama Champion 2010, 2012, 2014-16
Depth Perception is Overrated.

The Void

I enjoyed last year's IKO, so had hoped to make it over again this year. Royal Kendama kindly helped me out with getting there, and I managed to find a cheap flight, so it was on again!

Up early, and my girlfriend dropped me off at the airport. Aer Lingus prop plane. Flight delayed, and no free coffee. Tchuh! Anyway, we got there, and I got the bus into town. (First one full up, the next one "in a minute" was in 12 minutes. Oh well, worse things happen at sea.) Walking from the bus station to the venue, and I saw a café. That latte tasted good.

Arrived at the venue and saw Raul & Mercedes straight away. Also recognised Logy, Ed and a few other juggley faces. Unpacked a few prizes. Gentle clicking warm up, played a game of follow with Raul.

In a quiet lull, Raul wanted to take his grading exam. Sadly, although his practice runs had been going excellently, the old exam pressure got the better of him. Better luck next time!

I knew there would be no Matt this year to battle against, but I as hoping Donald or Gareth might be there to give me a good Advanced battle. Sadly, there was no news of either, so it looked like Raul was going to have to enter his own competition to fight against me.

Then it was beginners workshop time. I let Raul take the lead, going through the beginner's division tricks, but after a few minutes, two more chaps strolled in, and introduced themselves as the local players who had been in touch with Raul. Hooray, a local kendama community! This was Don and Graeme, who weren't sure about entering beginner or advanced. Both obviously already had some skills, so I started going through the Advanced list. Don fairly soon decided that he would stick with beginners, but Graeme seemed up for it. So, I gave him as many tips as I could, and I think he landed all the tricks in our session. Hooray, I had an opponent!

In the end, there was one more competitor than last year, with several players showing signs of improvement. Sean took the Beginner's title, getting to the end of the list, but not quite completing it, missing the Falling at the end.

Having practised the list a fair bit over the last 2 months, I was feeling fairly confident of putting on a good show, but when Graeme levelled the scores at 2-2 I was beginning to regret giving him all my best tips! Luckily for me, I was able to close it out, and take the IKO title, with Graeme taking "Irish Champion". That one's for you, Royal Kendama!

Group photo, and a little light clicking, then it was off to find a nice coffee, and sit and chat. Overall, a good day, and new local connections were an encouraging sign for a Dublin scene. Hopefully there will be some local meetups before too long. (Also, hope to see Graeme and Don signing up here like they said they would.)

Graeme was also contemplating a trip over for BKO - I hope he makes it.

Back to the venue to pack up and head back off to the airport.

Thanks Raul & sponsors for putting on another fun IKO. Hope that I can make it again next year!
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!

The Void

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!

shalafi

Quote from: The Void on 15 April, 2016, 18:08:54
Some more pics here: https://www.facebook.com/oisin.carroll.1/media_set?set=a.1096333513752179.1073741829.100001266233255 (not my link, no idea if they're visible or not.)
Ah, yes, I tagged you on one of those (really good one) and I was going to post the link. Thanks! You were faster.
Spanish Kendama Champion 2010, 2012, 2014-16
Depth Perception is Overrated.

shalafi

And thanks for the journal, it was very good to see you here again :-)
Spanish Kendama Champion 2010, 2012, 2014-16
Depth Perception is Overrated.

shalafi

Finally some time to finish the edit...

Spanish Kendama Champion 2010, 2012, 2014-16
Depth Perception is Overrated.

The Void

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!

shalafi

Quote from: The Void on 03 May, 2016, 00:04:38
Highlight: Mercedes!
Best hit celebration ever :)
When you land something for the first time during the competition...
Spanish Kendama Champion 2010, 2012, 2014-16
Depth Perception is Overrated.