Balancing Acts: Kendama & Cannabis Moderation
There’s an aspect of balance across all areas of life from work to health, personal to public and everything in between. I’ve been working to balance my cannabis use and moderate consumption. It’s not that cannabis use is a bad thing at all; I thoroughly enjoy the plant and all she has to offer, but if I allow myself to do so, I can and will consume all day every day. I have to work on that sense of control with cannabis use regularly.
The goal here, at least from my perspective, is to balance cannabis and moderate use to appreciate the highs without relying on it like a vice for sleep, hunger and vibes. For some, this may be simple, though for others, like myself, it’s a little more interesting (read challenging). To help with spacing out smoke sessions and pushing back the first smoke, dab or edible of the day, I’ve been playing with skill toys.
Skill toys are static or inanimate objects that are used for dexterity, object manipulation performance or simply for play. The go-to example here is the yo-yo. There’s a low-skill floor with endless tricks and things to master. I started again with the yo-yo in 2023 and tried a few other skill toys over the summer. One stuck with me and has become my favorite currently. It’s called the kendama; it embodies balance and willpower metaphorically and physically.
The kendama is a traditional Japanese skill toy dating back to the 17th century. It’s made of a wooden hammer called a ken and a wooden ball called a tama attached with a string. Sounds exciting, right? The hammer has a big cup, a small cup, a base cup and a spike. The “game” is to catch the tama and sometimes the ken in a variety of ways and chain tricks together in progressively difficult combos. Kendama may have started out as a kid's toy, but it has transcended that status at this point. There’s still a cultural significance in Japan where folks of all ages play and compete in events like the Kendama World Cup. The latest champion Takuya Igarashi is on another level with his accuracy, difficulty and balance.
Over the last decade or so, kendama has seen a resurgence globally thanks to wild videos online of pros lacing tricks. Some excellent kendama companies have helped too like Sweets, Sol Kendama, KUSA and Grain Theory. They’ve turned kendamas into modern art using varying wooden materials, paint styles, artists and ken designs. The BMX scene along with the funky fun community involved in the bass music and festival scenes have contributed to this simple toy becoming something so much more.
The crazy thing is that the kendama has no limits other than your hand-eye coordination and the time you’ve spent playing that is. The precision it requires to balance the ken and tama creates a mind-body connection that’s oddly similar to meditation, skateboarding and other more athletic endeavors. This is the right way to approach everything in life, if you think about it. You’re technically not limited when you want to accomplish a new goal; the only real constraint is time and effort against that goal.
There’s a sense of accomplishment when landing a kendama trick like landing a kickflip or sticking a landing in any other sport. It’s like the mind-body connection of Moto GP racers and hockey players, connected to their motorcycles and hockey sticks through decades of practice. It allows a high degree of performance only made possible through hours of experience, effort and failure. The kendama is similar (albeit much more lowkey and chill).
After learning some of the basic holds and the first few tricks, you can begin to control the movement of the ken, tama and the string itself with small motions that seem impossible when just starting. Patience and practice don’t make perfect here, in kendama patience and practice make progress. When it comes to cannabis moderation and almost everything else, progress is key as well. My version of practice in cannabis moderation is mostly done around the home when working or spending time with family. Traveling, cannabis conferences and hanging out with good cannabis folks, like the Fat Nugs crew, is another story.
Cannabis regulations have been slowly progressing over the decades to bring us to this point in the industry. It’s a testament to the patience and persistence of many in the space fighting for what they believed in. Many have put in hours and hours to get where they are today. Over time, we’re seeing the traditional stigma associated with cannabis slipping away as a reward for all the work that’s been done. It’s wonderful and happening faster than all but the most bold could have expected. The pace of things means there are more and more consumers that have been regularly smoking as much as the legacy crowd.
The industry is booming with new products, companies, consumption events and more, but the industry as a whole has overlooked moderation and mindfulness in cannabis use. As you can imagine, it’s not super profitable for companies to advise moderation and caution around cannabis. There’s a certain allure to smoking constantly that different influencers, brands and music promote, but it’s not ideal for most for one reason or another. I know that statement might be controversial in the industry, but the conversation in the space is rarely around “responsible use” and not in the D.A.R.E. way but in the healthy-for-your-life-and-loved-ones kind of way.
There’s a grey area here and a degree of individuality coming to play. As cannabis can be used for so many things, it’s hard to make sweeping generalizations. That being said, the science is pretty solid on overuse and the effects of barraging your cannabinoid system, especially for younger consumers. Check out this episode of the Huberman podcast called “The Effects of Cannabis on the Brain & Body” to get deeper into that side of things.
I’m not saying I’m a neuroscientist or any kind of authority on the topic; I’m just a guy. But Huberman is a neuroscientist, and he seems to know his stuff while being pretty unbiased. That episode has been one of the catalysts for my focus on moderation since it was released. Conscious consumption and responsible use may sound like dry topics in cannabis, but I can’t be the only one walking that line at times between enjoyment and reliance after 15+ years of cannabis consumption.
When completing a trick called the lighthouse with the kendama, players hold the tama and pull the ken up to balance on the ball. You have to keep your arm steady and still while pushing up with your knees to get the right vertical movement of the ken. This mind-body connection makes you very aware of your movements and actions in the moment and for some time after. The mindfulness (focus) here mirrors exactly the approach I’m trying to take towards cannabis moderation when at home to appreciate and enjoy the benefits while avoiding the downfalls of reliance.
Being mindful of cannabis as it is consumed increases your appreciation for the plant and is a necessary piece of every connoisseur's kit. This attention to detail allows you to discern one aroma from another, analyze the trim and notice the trichome coverage as you look a bud over and more accurately gauge the effects of one cultivar against another. It also slows down the consumption process as you consider your flower or concentrates just a little more than you would normally. Of course, some don’t have an issue with this, but I grew up in the days of “blunt after blunt” and holding in 3-foot bong rips. My preference if not checked is to consume as much and as often as I can.
Both kendama and cannabis moderation require and build resilience, adaptability and willpower. Being able to resist a smoke sesh a little longer, or perhaps altogether, seems to draw on the same energy I use to practice a kendama trick endlessly to land it once. In all things difficult, there’s a sense of accomplishment in failing and practicing or in other words pursuing mastery. I’ve yet to master anything and probably never will, but it’s the progress and the practice that I’m enjoying. I landed an “airplane double jumping stick” the other day on the kendama that really made my week.
The other aspect of skill toys that has helped me moderate more is “play.” We lose that ability to just play and do nothing as we get inundated with life and responsibilities. Skill toys ask you to just stop for a second and play again for no reason other than to have fun or to try to do a cool trick. For me, they’ve been a big help with focus and mindset.
With all things, the connections can be there if you find and define them. They can be helpful for some and unimportant for others; there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to life. But, there is a legit connection between skill toys like the kendama and cannabis moderation to be explored if you or anyone you know needs it. That being said again, the kendama is just plain fun, man. I’ve been pushing myself to learn more tricks and started giving them out as gifts. No pun intended here, but I’d highly recommend it. Consider your cannabis consumption habits, and connect with a kendama.