Do I need to practice more?

[Jedi_man]

I've been playing kendama for a year now, and I feel like my skill level is not up to par with others with a year of practice.
To be fair, I don't know how skilled 1 year players usually are, but I see people with only a few months of practice making sick edits and stuff.
I can land many tricks though, but my spacewalk, juggle, and kenflip skills all need help. I feel like I hardly have any flow or consistency!

What is the expected skill level and BKA/JKA rank for a 1-year player, and what is the recommended practice method, time, and frequency? Do I practice too much?
Should I try to find new tricks to practice? I usually practice Lunar tricks, Lighthouse flips, Birds, Around USA, and stuff like that.
Nothing too complex, but recently I have started practicing complex tricks like Juggle, Whirlwind, and Kenflips. What gateway tricks should I be practicing?

Do I need to take a break? I am forcing myself to take a 1 and 1/2 week break until my birthday comes, so when I get new kendamas, I will finally be able to play again and fully enjoy my new damas I couldn't stand not playing, I had to play after writing this!  I'll still try to see how long I can go without playing though.
I'm getting the Spike!, Knees!, and Click! books for my birthday, so that should help me a lot.

Or is this all in my head? (I desperately need that break if that is the case... :p)
I'm probably overreacting, but I'm pretty sure that my skills are not as good as you would expect from a 1-year player.

[Chunky Nutwhip]

Being frustrated with your own progress is pretty normal I guess, it certainly is for me.  I would be careful about judging yourself against others though, it's about your own journey and you have to be enjoying it or whats the point?  It sounds like you enjoy practising kendama so why take a break? maybe just practise some different things for a while and don't be too hard on yourself or pin so much on perceived 'progress' it's all about the moment! Finding encouragement in small victories is a skill in itself!

This might sound odd but try to be aware of your feelings when you practise sometimes this gets lost in concentration.  Forcing yourself to practise when your heart isn't really in it will seldom produce positive results.

Ten minutes of enjoyable positive practise is far far better than three hours of laborious impatient practise!

I guess I'm saying, chill man, you have the rest of your life to play kendama, don't try get it all done this month 

[BKA]

What Chunky said.
Also, do you play with other players, or on your own? It can be frustrating to play solo, and sometimes hard to find motivation. If you get the chance, meet up with other clickers whenever you can, as it's always so much fun to learn & play with others, swap tricks, find inspiration, etc.

Of course, that's not always possible, so if you're flying solo, find the things that keep you interested. Whether that be solidifying an old trick, learning a new one, trying to self-certify yourself in the Dan system, inventing/discovering new tricks, entering online competitions, painting your own tamas, trying to convert new player to kendama, or whatever.

Try to push yourself along, by all means, but above all else, keep it fun.

[Jedi_man]

Thanks guys

[johndmc]

I've been suffering from a case of progress frustration recently also. As far as progress goes it's all relevant to you as an individual. I got my first kendama in I think 2013 and can't do most of the tricks you have mentioned.
I got Chunky in to playing kendama approx 4-6 months ago and he's already doing kenflips juggles and space walks etc, but already had a strong juggling background, and practices a lot!!
Keep it up and keep it fun.

[johndmc]

Also beware of comparing yourself to edit videos, they are after all edits.

[donald grant]

Too true: watching edits can be a great source of inspiration, but they are very rarely a realistic example of a players true ability. 

As with many other juggling things, keeping it always "to hand" (next to the remote control, near the kettle, in your bag when you go out) can some times help: short spontaneous sessions can often be more productive than long, enforced training runs.

Oh, and happy birthday when it comes   PM me your address, and I'll stick a little something in the post for you...

[Jedi_man]

A lot of helpful advice from everyone! I think your tips should help me, and I see now how I shouldn't compare myself to others, and edits. Thanks.

Oh, and happy birthday when it comes   PM me your address, and I'll stick a little something in the post for you...

Wow, thank you so much! I sent a PM with my address.  Tell me if you receive it or not. I'm not sure if it went through ._.

[Chunky Nutwhip]

John, bang on about comparing to edits!!  Solid advice!!