The ever popular "Today I..." thread

[johndmc]

Good stuff! Great feeling 

It really is, better than the first aeroplane! I cant wait till im able to land lunars, they just look so cool.

Im still struggling with the Swing in, i know its similar to aeroplane but i havent figured the knack and timing of the pull back properly yet.

[Kev]

Swing In can be rather awkward, it's the trick I'm most inconsistent with out of the beginners list.

On a good day, a sharp tug backwards / horizontal with the elbow seems to pop it in to place for me. A good starting position is vital IMHO too. With Aeroplane it seems like there's a little more you can do to catch it if the launch wasn't perfect - not so much for Swing In (for me at least).

And it (should) go without saying, but - use your knees! Really helps to get a smooth movement and the timing of the backwards tug is about the moment you start to straighten your legs.

Good luck!

[emagdnim]

Today I had a good Run.

Looked on facebook to high beginner and low intermediate tricks.
Wrote 15 of them down. Than I set 5 diffrent kendama's next to me.

Started trick one with kendama #1 try-ed it for five times, and on to the next kendama.
Or if I land it within five try's I went on to the next trick with a new ken.

Played all the kens lots of times and landed a lot of (new) tricks.

List of Kens
- Beat up Yellow Oozora
- brand new Yellow Oozora
- OG Red Oozora
- Premium white Oozora
- Brand new tk16 Master Red

[shalafi]

Good stuff! Great feeling 

It really is, better than the first aeroplane! I cant wait till im able to land lunars, they just look so cool.

Im still struggling with the Swing in, i know its similar to aeroplane but i havent figured the knack and timing of the pull back properly yet.

To me, doing swing-in the japanese style helped a lot with the consistency.

That is, without holding the tama, you have to focus a lot more on the impulse you give and how you give it.

And yes, I think all of us remember our first lunar

[johndmc]

Good stuff! Great feeling 

It really is, better than the first aeroplane! I cant wait till im able to land lunars, they just look so cool.

Im still struggling with the Swing in, i know its similar to aeroplane but i havent figured the knack and timing of the pull back properly yet.

To me, doing swing-in the japanese style helped a lot with the consistency.

That is, without holding the tama, you have to focus a lot more on the impulse you give and how you give it.

And yes, I think all of us remember our first lunar

I'll check out the japanese style for sure, think i might try and get more proficiency with my current method first though. Thanks for the help

[LarsVegas]

Good stuff! Great feeling 

It really is, better than the first aeroplane! I cant wait till im able to land lunars, they just look so cool.

Im still struggling with the Swing in, i know its similar to aeroplane but i havent figured the knack and timing of the pull back properly yet.

To me, doing swing-in the japanese style helped a lot with the consistency.

That is, without holding the tama, you have to focus a lot more on the impulse you give and how you give it.

And yes, I think all of us remember our first lunar

I'll check out the japanese style for sure, think i might try and get more proficiency with my current method first though. Thanks for the help

Funny, I always found swing-in from free hanging to be easier. I so struggled with a held Kendama at first (and still do a little bit).

[shalafi]

@LarsVegas I think it depends on the person, to me it was easier, but to many people I know, it was harder.

[Kev]

Today I learnt some tricks I've not tried before:

- Around the Triangle.
- Bat.
- Captain Hook.
- Faster Than Fast Hand Base Cup.
- Munich Tower.

Plus some kind of odd "Around the (anti)Clock" style move: Right hand Sara Grip all the way through Big Cup > Base Cup > Small Cup > Spike with my hand always rotating anti clockwise so you end up kinda twisted up.

[The Void]

I managed to get in 30 runs of 6 Dan practice in January, and not pass once. 6 or 7 of them were fails by only one miss of one trick though, so close. Last night I began a run at the juggling club, but it was poor lighting, so I gave up half-way through. Finished it off this morning, and it was terrible. Then I got something in the post, which cheered me up, so I had another go. And I passed. First time for almost 2 months.

Well all I can say is that usually after a rough patch with anything a good patch follows. To reverse an idiom, maybe this is the 'storm before the calm'?

Well, don't think I'm in calm waters yet, but the ship isn't sunk, at least. Hmm, interesting that I'd not had a coffee before that run either....

Well done [user]emagdnim[/user], a nice way to get all your KDs seeing some regular use.
Nice, [user]Kev[/user]. Been doing some reading, I see?

Edit to add:

Plus some kind of odd "Around the (anti)Clock" style move: Right hand Sara Grip all the way through Big Cup > Base Cup > Small Cup > Spike with my hand always rotating anti clockwise so you end up kinda twisted up.

Neat. What about resetting it with a clockwise movement, and then repeating?

[Salvator-vals]

Just landed my first lunar with new keyaki kendama. It takes about 80 min.

[BKA]

Just landed my first lunar with new keyaki kendama. It takes about 80 min.

Yeah! *Hi-Five!*

[Salvator-vals]

Thanks! I just spend another 55 min to my second lunar. Well, it's not so easy 

[BKA]

Not easy. But getting a little easier! Keep going. Try Stilts too!

[The Void]

Blah blah 6th Dan practice blah blah... oooh! Passed again today, with the freshly-opened Mugen. Now I don't want to be one to add to the hyperbole/mythologising of any brand, but I could definitely feel the new, unsmoothed-by-time sara-do gripping on for Birds a little bit more. Phew. Now let's hope I don't wear it in too much, or too little before I get to Japan.

(Sorry if this "6th Dan" and "Mugen" stuff seems elitist to anyone. :| I'm just sharing my kendama experiences.)

[shalafi]

(Sorry if this "6th Dan" and "Mugen" stuff seems elitist to anyone. :| I'm just sharing my kendama experiences.)

Not at all, please keep sharing