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Lunar/Moon Lander Techniques

Started by AlexSmith, 07 July, 2011, 00:15:41

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happygoat

#15
Quote from: MisterJumpshoe on 08 August, 2011, 19:07:24
1.  Hold the ken straight down and with the string-hole facing you.
2.  Twist the ken horizontally to a 45 degree angle (so the big cup is closer to your body than the small cup).
3.  Give the ball plenty of swing (almost horizontal), but don't swing the ken out very much.
4.  When you swing out, let go when the entire kendama is horizontal.
5.  Catch the ball when the entire kendama is vertical (ball at the top, ken at the bottom).
6.  Give a slight tug away from the ken to make it turn.
7.  With practise, the ken will be in the lunar position, so you just have to catch it at the apex of its arc.
8.  Bend your knees!

I cannot lunar...yet, but I have question regarding the catch. When I try to just place the ken in lunat stance on the tama it seems to stick better if the hole in the tama is directly below the big cup instead of the hole facing directly up in the air. So, what is the correct position of the tama hole when catching?

the milky oolong

I think generally with balance tricks such as Lighthouse and Lunar, there seems at least to be a little extra 'glue' in keeping the string hole centred beneath the cup you're trying to balance around; I have heard people saying that this is due to a slight vacuum created by the contact, but it could just as easily be that one's ability to keep the ken centred on the tama is helped by being able to visualize dead centre before in that moment before the landing. Either way, I personally find it beneficial. Sure many other players do too.

Seeing as there's lunar question fever running high on the K Forum, I wanted to ask a few things about the Inside Lunar (apologies if this is the wrong terminology; a lunar landed with the base cup facing you, spike pointing down); I have seen people popping a kind of Inside Aeroplane start and arching right over to land this, and I've seen people start from a string-hook, which, when I try it at least, means a small cup string-hook, the ken rising relatively horizontal and (hopefully) dipping forward as to get the angle for the landing. I was wondering what people are using for this one, as I can foresee limitations in the string-hook Inside Lunar when wanting to put this trick into combos.

Any thoughts?
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

happygoat

#17
Quote from: AlexSmith on 07 July, 2011, 00:15:41
The second way I usually call 'hanging'. This involves hooking the string under the bottom of big cup, so that when you let go of the ken it hangs somewhat horizontally, with big cup facing more or less upwards. From there you can pull the ken up so that it rotates about 180 degrees, leaving it in the correct orientation at the top of the arc. I learned this method while looking through a book of kendama tricks a friend brought me back from Japan.

I'm still a little bit in doubt what the starting position of the ken (and the string) should be, when reading this description. If anyone could post a picture of it, it'll be greatly appreciated!

Also, when looking at Void doing it in the kendamaapp it does not look like the ken rotates 180 degrees, when he does the pull?  :o Or maybe I'm wrong?

Another question...when looking at tutorials on youtube regarding how to lunar, it often looks like the ken is pulled up when the ken is just below the tama. It doesn't look as if it swings out as much as when pulling for an airplane. Is that correct?

the milky oolong

Quote from: happygoat on 01 April, 2013, 11:52:14
Another question...when looking at tutorials on youtube regarding how to lunar, it often looks like the ken is pulled up when the ken is just below the tama. It doesn't look as if it swings out as much as when pulling for an airplane. Is that correct?

Are you talking about string-hook (hanging) technique? If so, I think the start is generally a vertical one with a mix of a swing and a pull; the swing to get the level, the pull to get the extra angle on the ken. I tried a few 'swing only' lunars and found that it was almost impossible to get the 'tilt' necessary for the ken to stay landed. If not, I'm not sure, as I don't use the twist technique. Hope this helps.
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

happygoat

Yessir, I was thinking about the string hook/hanging method...

Kev

Quote from: happygoat on 01 April, 2013, 11:52:14
I'm still a little bit in doubt what the starting position of the ken (and the string) should be, when reading this description. If anyone could post a picture of it, it'll be greatly appreciated!

Yeah I've just started working on Moon landing and I'd appreciate a photo too.

I'm not totally clear on where the string touches in the hang method. I can:

A) hook it under the outer bottom edge of the big cup at about a 5 O'clock position as I look at it.

OR

B) Pop the string under the big cup but nearer to where the sorado meets the ken

Both methods seem to get a similar rotation with the big cup coming down in a potentially landable position.

Option A seems to get a slightly more level stalled landing (so I suspect this is the better technique)

BUT Option B is easier to quickly set up and launch. Hmmm.

(A first person perspective shot would be really helpful to see the start position of the string in the hook / hang method and also to get an idea of the orientation / angle of the ken at the start.

Could someone take a pic please?

br4d24

putting it in the middle worked for me, lots of people find the string hang method like cheating though :/ Really worth just learning the twist method. I havent been able to land a lunar without string hang so far but im getting close. You just spin your kendama in a counter-clockwise direction (opposite if left handed like me) until the ken will spin the big cup towards you when you let go. Then you have to swing and pull up like you see in the edits! Alex has a great tutorial on it, which i believe has been mentioned in this thread, maybe even posted?

Kev

Thanks Brad -

I think you must mean this vid from KendAlex?

Very helpful, cheers!


happygoat

#23
Quote from: Kev on 02 May, 2013, 23:30:20

A) hook it under the outer bottom edge of the big cup at about a 5 O'clock position as I look at it.


(A first person perspective shot would be really helpful to see the start position of the string in the hook / hang method and also to get an idea of the orientation / angle of the ken at the start.

Could someone take a pic please?

@Kev

Here is a pic of the starting position seen from my perspective. The string is on the left side of the sarado, big cup facing me, and as you can see the string is around 5 o' clock.

Even though I thought I was going to learn to lunar that way, because it sounded easier, I eventually ended up using the twisted string technique. It feels more familiar to start out the trick this way, as it is the same starting position as airplane. Further, I think it takes too much time to set up the string hook method...I experienced several times that the string would slip just when I was ready to lunch the pull up...(could be lack of technique though :))

I found this tut on youtube...take a look around 0:30 to see pictures from the book, and see him land it later on...best vid I have found to show the technique...



I had great success practising lunar for 3-4 hours in a row. I landed it 3 or 4 times, and that got my started. I still cannot land it consistently, but now I have a success rate of around 25-30%...

Kev

Thanks very much Happygoat, I really appreciate your help.


Misterwhang

Ok guys I am a noob but I recently have been landing lunar with the string hook technique. Granted I can land it maybe 2 times out of 20 throws but I can get it. I say do the string hook technique and dont swing it up but pull it up. Oh and find your ken's balance in the lunar position. I have a 2013 pro model and a yellow ozora, both are great kendama's but for lunars the ozora ken is better balanced. The promodel is still capable of lunar but the balance is steeper (I dont know if I am explaining that correctly). The video by Alex Smith really helped, just watch the lunar part over and over, the key thing to look at is the way he pulls it up. Good luck! I will keep practicing and maybe one day I will be a pro lunar man ;D

emagdnim

Don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I thought this was better than making a new topic.

Does it count when you land a Lunar or a still but the string is between the hole and the big cub?
No touching the thumb or anything but when I land my lunars or my stills I notest that a peace of the string was between the hole and the big cub.
Does the trick count?
And do you have any tips to prevent this?

BKA

Once in a while that wil happen. From a BKA perspective, we would allow it in a competition, since it's not something that would benefit the player, nor is it something that could reliably be achieved deliberately.