Iijima Hiroki : Portrait of a Kendama Samurai

[BKA]

New Krom Pro, new great vid from [user]MatthewB[/user]

[donald grant]

Excellent style, great movie.  Congrats to all involved!!

[The Void]

I can't believe I was wondering what the news announcement was going to be, when I'd already been told that Iji was going to be the new Krom pro. D'oh!
Great stuff, Matt, cool lenseye as ever, and of course, it's always great to see Iji in action too. And I agree with the sentiment that there's room for both "formal" and "freestyle" schools of play in the kendamasphere. To each his own! Further!
Edit: (Ooh look, "kendamasphere"'s a googlewhack! Only it won't be for long now I've typed this.)

[MatthewB]

I can't believe I was wondering what the news announcement was going to be, when I'd already been told that Iji was going to be the new Krom pro. D'oh!
Great stuff, Matt, cool lenseye as ever, and of course, it's always great to see Iji in action too. And I agree with the sentiment that there's room for both "formal" and "freestyle" schools of play in the kendamasphere. To each his own! Further!
Edit: (Ooh look, "kendamasphere"'s a googlewhack! Only it won't be for long now I've typed this.)

Definitely. Iji is a revolutionary and its just what kendama needs.

Thanks for the kind words Void!

[the milky oolong]

To each his own!

And a bit of that which isn't his own as well - some of the greatest kendama I've yet seen has been where the line between 'traditional' and free-style has not just been blurred but entirely tossed out of the window.

But yes, Further!

EDIT: Somehow got caught up in the comments and forgot to say anything about the vid; [user]MatthewB[/user], thanks for another great film - the care gone into making it and the way you just let the players/makers speak/answer questions makes for a really clean and focussed viewpoint. Fantastic work. Love the 'Oh my goodness!' off-set (Thorkild May?) during the final scene.

[axel.aas.12]

this guy is insane! the whole time i was thinking to myself: what? did he really just do that. His style is so much like any other ive seen before

[LarsVegas]

Incredible skills, great presentation ... and I'm talking about both [user]MatthewB[/user] and Iji.
Really, the movie shows a genuinely congenial person with an original and unique style, mad tricks, and a great message.
Respect!

[PikWik]

really enjoyed this

its so great to see and hear from a japanese player about how the traditional style and western style are merging to create a different image of kendama. props to matt and iji!

_{side note: maybe put the subtitles in frame next time. its hard to read when you have to pull your eyes off screen so much. not hatin tho}

[MatthewB]

To each his own!

And a bit of that which isn't his own as well - some of the greatest kendama I've yet seen has been where the line between 'traditional' and free-style has not just been blurred but entirely tossed out of the window.

But yes, Further!

EDIT: Somehow got caught up in the comments and forgot to say anything about the vid; [user]MatthewB[/user], thanks for another great film - the care gone into making it and the way you just let the players/makers speak/answer questions makes for a really clean and focussed viewpoint. Fantastic work. Love the 'Oh my goodness!' off-set (Thorkild May?) during the final scene.

Thank you! That was me saying "Ohhhhh my goodness" but that was Thorkild who did the "Wooooooo". I took out all of my audio in the first set of tricks where it was daytime. After every one I was like "oooOOOOOHHHHH! SUGOIIIII!" Hahaha.

[Kev]

Really nice, beautifully shot pro film [user]MatthewB[/user].

Thanks! Make more please!

[RodDama]

im so stoked this is finally out.. Iji is the man!!! and matt always killing it...

[shalafi]

Great video. I love his style, but also the interviews. His way of thinking makes him even a more admirable player

[The Void]

This has been made a Staff Pick on Vimeo. Good for a hellabunch more views, I'm sure. Congrats, Matt!

[Kev]

Damn straight! Great for everyone involved and for spreading the KD word.

Word!

[AlexSmith]

This video is making the rounds outside of kendama circles now, and rightfully so. Now, once it has enticed a few new faces to play kendama, we'll need to direct the new recruits to Matt's video profiling Mr. Imada. Give them an idea of 'the other style' of play hehe

Iji is one of the most inspirational kendama players I have ever had the pleasure of watching. His play is like no other, and he has the skills and consistency to back it up. Excited to see him at the front lines of kendama promotion!