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Fave kendama players

Started by Dimensions, 20 February, 2013, 20:30:07

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Dimensions

Ok so I did this on the diabolo.ca forum and thought ill do the same on the kendama forum
Can you give me your favourite kendama players
When I've got all the names I will make a big edit and post it here on the forum
Voting rules:
You can only vote up to 10 names (and surnames if possible)
You can't vote for yourself
If you don't know surnames give me there youtube or j.tv account name
Voting closes on march 30th

So here is my list (yes it only has 5 names but I think they deserve it the most)
Alex "kendalex" ruisich
The void
Donald grant
Jeffrey van reeven
Jake weins

You can still vote up to10  people
And I don't know if its going to be a top 5, 10 or 20 kendama players, it depends on how many names I get

Remember to vote
Shameless Self-Promotion:
http://www.youtube.com/user/escapees6

MrSquirrel

Keith Matsumura is my favorite. I also really like Alex Smith, Zack Yourd, and Turner Thorne.

br4d24

Hands down Dave Mateo, hes got great technical skill and STYLE FOR DAAAYYYYSSS! (thanks to his breakdancing background)

Other notable players are Turner Thorne and pretty much the rest of the KenUSA crew.

Mr. Sweets is a great player as well, very smooth!



Oh and the long haired dude (Avery Young) in this video could be my new favorite, he is unbelievably smooth - but ive only seen this footage of him.

The Void

Thank you kindly for the vote, Dimensions. :-)

Oof, well, this is a tough choice to make. I'll restrict myself to players I have met and seen clicking in person, 'cos you know there's no editing in real life.  ;) In no particular order:

Matt Hall - for introducing me to kendama with his boundless enthusiasm.
Donald Grant - True innovator. Always has something new. Keeps goading me into kendama projects.[nb]Watch this space! Something new coming soon.[/nb]
Yusuke Ito - The first Japanese player I met, and the first kendama performance I saw. Blew me away.
K.Cima - Great guy to hang out with, and incredibly helpful and informative to me/the BKA for general kendama info. Plus, he's been my sensei for my 3 Dan gradings.
Tomoya Mukai - I've seen him win 2 European Opens, and come 2nd (by a fraction) in the World championship. This man's focus, intensity and dedication are amazing.
Matt Nix - 2-time British champ, and undoubted favourite to make it 3 in a row in April. Seems like he has natural talent, but his amazing skills come with dedication.
Alex Ruisch - Goes deep. Kendama love shines through him.
Jeffrey van Reeven - Incredible on video, incredible in the flesh. Hardcore monster.
Thorkild May - See below.
Mattias Steen Rasmussen - For me, Thorkild & Mattias come as a pair. Encountering them together at the EKO last summer, I was amazed at their joint skills, and novel juggle-style and air moves. Plus, 4th Dan with a bullet.

Sorry to anyone I had to leave out - you know I love you all, right?
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!

HansNickmans

These are tough decisions, but I'll try something:

- Matt Hall: for hosting the workshop at EJC2008 and selling me a first EKO-used Mugen for 10$ (:-)). I wouldn't be playing kendama if it wasn't for him.
- The Void: for teaching me swing-in during this workshop, his books (also thanks Donald Grant) and his work in the BKA. When I first started out the source material was not that abundant, I feel he (within the BKA) contributed a lot to change that.
- Jeffrey van Reeven: his first sunrise kendama edit got me back into playing after neglecting my kendama for some time
- Alex Ruisch: what Void said is so true. Truly a great inspiration.
- Colin Sander: if there was any must-see source material back in 2008/2009, it were his edits. The blooper reel in edit 4 showed me the joy of playing kendama with other people.
- Alex Smith: he blew my mind with miniedit 7 (beadwalk, anyone?). After that his work with KE has been groundbreaking ever since. Same for Terra and the invention of the pill. His creativity will spawn some tough tricks and combos in the years to come.

Honourable mentions:
- Mirek: for a great customer service and selection in my favourite online kendama shop in Europe
- Sweets: the fact that he turned playing and making kendamas into a booming business, together with staying true to the roots. Much respect.
- WKT: those movies are so spot on. The joy, the skill, everything is right there. When non-players ask me to show something, I go right into those ones. They are the best!

Wow, I had more to say than I thought.. ah well :-)
Kendama Belgium!

RodDama

#5
this is actually a tough question to answer... haha mine would have to be (in no real order..)

Takumi. O (Freedom Kendama). First real edits i watched that blew my mind. r.i.p.

Tsean and Lobush (bitter Beans). So inspiring. In every way.

Kenta Sakamoto. That guy is just so solid with a kendama in his hands.

Alex Ruisch. who didnt learn to play kendama from his videos??... everyone has learned something from this guy. thanks alex :)

Jeffrey Van Reeven. so many edits. so many ridiculous tricks. always inspiring me to push forward and learn new shit!

Tamotsu Kubota. I hd the pleasure of staying with This generous man and his family for a week or so. and this guy slays kendama. and always with a smile.

Tomoya Mukai. Watching this guy compete is astonishing. He just doesn't miss...

Katsuaki Shimadera. Such clean style and consistency.

Maruishi-san (jka president). This man just embodies what it is to love kendama. 10th Dan. been playing for 30 years or so i believe. just so stoked on kendama, and life in general so it would seem. I hope to grow into an awesome old man like him!

Alex Smith and Eric Martin. These guys are 2 of my best friends. and we've all been into kendama around the same time. progressing together and always having the best times! I love these dudes. and they both shred!!


i guess i have a couple doubles. so im over 10.. sorry! lol
-RodDama!

www.terrakendama.com

br4d24

wow how could i forget Curtis Fagan! The guy who brought me into this kendama world!

Haha this video is pretty sweet, rocking a "moose" pill (you might have seen it posted by the kengarden recently)

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10152582312085368

AlexSmith

This is a bought question, but:

Jeff Van Reeven: his edits were my favourite back when there were no other edits. The best part is, I can still go watch those edits and be blown away. I feel like the majority of high-skilled players are just beginning to enter the level Jeff has been at for years.

Bitter beans (Tseann, Lobush & crew): Same as with Jeff, Bitter Beans Vol. 1 is legendary, and full of style. First time I saw bird over the valley was in that video. Mind:blown

Colin Sander: self explanatory.

Takumi.O: Freedom kendama provided so much inspiration long ago. I was sad to hear of his passing, though I think it was before I was first introduced to his edits. rip.

Oase: I've always felt like I was simply chasing his skill level, every time I thought I had an awesome new edit, he had a better one. Absolutely love his style and tricks.

Rodney Ansell: Kendama is like his third arm or something, I dont know where he comes up with half the tricks he does. Super fluid and innovative!

Eric Martin (& the rest of the KE crew): I jam dama with Eric regularly, and he always has something new and difficult for me to try out.

Alex Ruisch: His heart has always been in the right place, he's a guy who truly loves kendama, and helping spread the love of it. And of course his consistency is legendary - serious skills.

Matt Rice & Jake Weins: style and flow. Both have been big contributors to the kendama community, I have a lot of respect for what they've done.

Tamotsu Kubota-san: I don't think I've met anyone who loves playing kendama more than Kubota-san. I've seen him play 12 hours a day for days on end, when the rest of us had grown tired and succumbed to beer and weird japanese snacks he was still going hard. He's also working very hard to spread kendama around the world, and doing a great job of it.


Umm thats probably more than ten. I could add more still. This is hard..

Dimensions

As I still have a few spaces to fill I'm going to add
Richard kohut
Yes, he is a juggler (and a very good one) but he has posted 3 kendama edits and some of his tricks are really unique!
Shameless Self-Promotion:
http://www.youtube.com/user/escapees6

Dadooh

Well, it's an interesting question. Considering that i've been playing kendama for a short time, I don't really know all the legends (can't even quote one japanese player  :-[) but those guys are very inspiring:

- Keith Matsumura: I'm a big fan of 1/2/3 combos and Keith is the best at this. I love how he always push the limits of tamagrip consistency and the fact that he's always smiling and having fun playing kendama.

- Alex Smith: I started with kendama watching KE edits and I have to say that Alex never disapointed me. He's one one of the most creative player I use to watch on the internet.

- Jeffery Van Reeven: He's one of my favs too. I think he's maybe the highest skilled non-japonese player. I learned a lot of new tricks from his videos.

- Li Ho Cheung: This kid is probably not human. Tricks look so easy when he's playing. Plus i really enjoy gunslinger-based tricks :D

- Turner Thorne: Legen... wait for it... dary! 

Here is my big 5!