If you’re a KicksOneTwo reader, we’re going to take a leap of faith and say you know what streetwear is. You know the difference between a camp cap and a dad hat, can discuss rare Supreme pieces, and still love a good mid 00’s Kaws tee.
We’re going to take another leap of faith and say that you might not know what kendamas are. They’re a hand-eye coordination skill toy that originated in Japan several hundred years ago. They consist of a ball on a string attached to a handle with three different size cups and a spike. You can toss the ball up into the cups and do all sorts of dope spins, flips, and other tricks with it. If you’re still confused, it’s similar to freestyle yo-yoing with all the nifty moves and tricks you can do.
The worlds of streetwear and kendamas have clashed before (as indicated in the picture above … the very rare Baby Milo kendama), and they clashed again this week as Piff MPLS released a collaborative video with Sweets Kendamas, one of the leading kendama manufacturers in the world (they’re also based in Minnesota. How cool is that?).
Check the video out below. Although you’ve probably never seen anything quite like it before, we’re impressed. The hand-eye coordination that’s required to bust some of these moves in the video is nothing short of incredible … and there’s plenty of fire Bape gear (and a dope Keith Ape remix) in the video as well to add to the vibes. It’s one of the more unique videos we’ve seen in a while, and the collision of two different worlds is pretty cool to see. If you want to find out more about the kendama culture, head on over to Piff’s blog to check out an exclusive interview with Matt, the founder of Sweets Kendamas!
Have you ever used a kendama before? If so, can you do any tricks? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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