Kendama culture
It takes some handeye coordination, yet kendama is catching on like wildfire in Malaysia. In troubled times, we are reminded how important it is to care for our fellow humans.
Photos by SARA KONG
brats@thestar.com.my
IF you’ve never heard of what a kendama is, don’t fret. It’s something that’s only recently catching on in Malaysia, thanks to a few very enterprising young people.
A kendama is a traditional Japanese toy, and like so many things from Japan, it is a simple and effective piece of work. A kendama is basically just a T-shaped wooden stick with wooden “cups” attached to each end and a ball tied to it on a string. But believe us when we say this – this little toy will have you hooked in no time.
You start out by juggling the ball on the different cups, and slowly move on to other more advanced, and impressive, moves.
Local enthusiasts have been sharing their love for kendama for quite a few years now, through groups like Kendama Malaysia (kendamamalaysia.blogspot.com). But the scene recently got a huge boost THE recent spate of tragedies and disasters around the world has certainly created a lot of fear. As I read more and more about the spreading of Ebola virus disease (EVD), the gas explosion in Taiwan and the earthquake in China, my heart sinks every time. And who can forget the tragedy that befell MH370 and MH17?
Canadian writer Charles de Lint once said: “I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand.
“I can’t change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.”
I wish I could live up to those words. I wish I’d able to help the helpless. I wish I was there to share their pain.
Since I was a little girl, I have always believed in lending a hand to others. With just one simple act of kindness, we can make a huge difference.
I believe that young people today genu- when Ho Ming Yue, 22, and Aaron Khoo, 27, established the suitably named Kendama Culture community, and got their friends from the local YouTuber scene to help spread the word.
Ho is a part of Core Studios, founded by the people behind popular YouTube channel, The inely want to help those in need, but those who don’t actually get down to doing it usually complain about how it takes too much effort.
In some ways, I can relate to that feeling. The young people around me generally have comfortable lives, so why would they go out of their way to do something for someone they don’t even know?
But being a bystander in times like these is as bad as being the cause of their pain. If we want the world to be a better place, we cannot let others suffer in silence.
I recently read the story of Dr Kent Brantly, who contracted the deadly EVD while working in an Ebola isolation ward in Monrovia, Liberia.
Fortunately, one of the patients he helped save, a 14-year-old boy, offered to donate a unit of his blood to the doctor in hopes that the antibodies in the blood would help save Brantly. And it worked! How amazing is that?
The story was a great reminder of the amazing deeds humans are capable of, and there is no better exercise of that capability than to give those around us a helping hand.
Not all of us would be able to help in the capacity that Kent Brantly did; but we all Ming Thing. Aaron Khoo, on the other hand, is part of Tree Potato, a Singaporean YouTube channel with over 220,000 subscribers.
The BRATs were at Kendama Culture’s first ever event at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, last week, where Ho’s brother, popular YouTuber Ho Ming Han, told us how he can’t seem to put his kendama down these days.
“I was looking for something else to do apart from staring at screens and playing Candy Crush all day long. It so happened my brother Ming Yue watched a few videos on it and started picking it up. Needless to say, I got hooked right after,” said Ming Han.
Kendama Culture now sells kendamas as well (on their website, kendamaculture.com), which they import from Japan. They usually have to start somewhere. Volunteer with a local charity, donate to a noble cause or just put an arm around someone who’s down. Who knows how far your good deeds will go?
The writer is a member of The Star’s BRATs young journalist programme. For more info, and to apply to join the programme, go to facebook.com/starbrats. cost around RM80-100, depending on the quality of the wood.
Raffi Th’ng, another Core Studios member who has caught the kendama bug, said: “For me, playing the Kendama is like therapy – it teaches you patience and perseverance. It’s like Flappy Bird. It looks easy, but is actually really hard.”
One of the first-timers at the Kendama Culture event, Sonia Hew, 18, said she was hooked in minutes. “It’s very challenging, but that’s what makes it so addictive!”
The event also saw beginners joining in the fun by participating in the Moshikame competition, where players have to juggle the ball back and forth between the big and center cup as many times as possible. There was also a Kendama Ladder competition where players had to complete five different sets of tricks as fast as possible.
“The interactive nature (of the kendama community) just makes us enjoy the game even more,” said Ming Yue, 22, during the wellattended event. “We hope to be able to grow this community, then maybe even organise camps, kendama festivals and regular meets for players.”
It might sound like a long way off, but in Japan, there are actually exams for kendama players, and there’s even an annual Kendama World Cup.
Having played kendama for five years now, Jerald Kang, 21, who was also at the event sharing his skills with other players, explained that he would be taking a year off to get his Level 1 certification from the Japanese Kendama Association.
“Just pick up a Kendama,” he said. “Who knows, you might just get hooked!”