Catching the Airplane?

[mwlcarter]

Hello.

Just got my kendama yesterday, and I'm stuck on the airplane... I see videos where the ken is very smooth and controlled in the air, but I just can't get anywhere close to that.  Any tips on controlling the ken mid-air and actually making the landing?  (Apart from presumably thousands of repetitions...)

Mark

[AlexSmith]

To control the ken in mid-air you have to be in control of it from the get-go. The trick starts before you pull the ken up into the air. Make sure the ken is sitting very still right before you pull it up (hanging straight, string not tangled or all spun up). Then just give it a little swing and a gentle tug. Practise is your friend. Don't get discouraged when you miss it a bunch!

[mwlcarter]

Woohoo!  Just caught my first airplane!  ;-)  Thanks for the tips.  Videos I'd seen showed people swinging it rather than starting from hanging straight down... while that's something to aim for, your description of starting it stationary, gently swinging it forward, and using a gentle tug made it all come together.  Doing it that way, I could tell right away I had tons more control, and it didn't take many tries to land it for the first time.  Thanks!

[shamwow]

Hi.

I recently got my Kendama, so I am still learning. Whenever I try an aeroplane or a spike, the ball seems to rotate and I can just never land the hole on the spike.
Also, for the aeroplane, I can never control the flip in the air. It always flips/spins out of control making it impossible to catch.

Any help is appreciated!

[BKA]

Search is useful

Spike:
http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7.0.html

Aeroplane:
http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,544.0.html

Hope they help.

[shamwow]

Yeah thanks
My spike has improved. Just need to practice it a lot.

I have seen that tip for the airplane before, but I still struggle with getting it to rotate correctly.

[The Void]

Aeroplane is one of the tricks on the free sample PDF of Spike! <--- Go there to get the download link of the PDF.

HTH.

[TheKendamaSensation]

I know exactly what you mean. I had the same problem when I had just begun playing kendama. So here's a few tip that helped me. Good luck on your career!

Tips to Landing an Airplane:
Tip 1: Straighten out your string. You can do this by connecting you thumb and fore-finger across the string. It's hard to land an Aeroplane with a spinning ken!
Tip 2: Try not to give it a pull when you're about to land it. Make sure it just swings and only swings.
Tip 3: Make sure you're holding the ken to where the hole is facing upward.
Tip 4: When all else fails, MORE KNEES!

[theobau]

The thing that helped me landing airplanes, was to know where the hole is without looking at it, so i could focus on the swing of the ken. I always have the same distance from my index finger to the hole as from my thumb to the hole, so i have a feeling of where the hole is without looking. -Does this make sense?

- also knees will help you to make the swing more smooth, try to bend your knees at the start of the swing and then go more straight when the spike comes closer and when your about to catch it, try bend your knees again to land it smooth.

Just some tips that i used to get my airplane more perfect :-)

Theo

[BKA]

Newly online tutorial:
Kendama Tutorial - 06 Aeroplane - juggling videos hosted @ Juggling.tv

[The Earth Turner]

I am a beginner and I am having so much trouble with them.
I have watched loads of tutorials but they don't help
Any tips or help

[BKA]

Hi Earth Turner,
Welcome to the forum. We're going to merge your thread into this one:
http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,588.0.html
...which has a tutorial video and some tips in it. Read/watch them, try some more, and see if they help you.
If not, then you're going to have to tell us exactly what the problem is!

[modraska]

But airplane I'm just finding impossible 

let the ken swing from your hand, dont force it and when the string is tense do a small pull up, so ken will rotate to the hole.

[SAW]

Can you explain what you mean by 'when the string is tense' ? I thought I had to keep the string taught when I release it ?

[The Void]

It should stay taut, yes. Not sure what modraska means. I suggest watching the above tutorial again, this time concentrating on copying Donald's body movements and timing exactly. Use JTV's slomo button, or download it from the JTV page to playback frame-by-frame if necessary.
Keep at it!