Snarkle Talks: Episode 5 Part 2 (The Episode About the European Kendama Championship)
Join us for a thrilling episode of Snarkle Talks as Teo Fiorina unpacks the electrifying atmosphere of EKC kendama competitions. Discover how competitors thrive on crowd energy and create unforgettable moments on stage. It's an exploration of culture, competition, and community that you won't want to miss!
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Hello, hello, and welcome back to Snarkle Talks, your go-to podcast for kendama, creativity and community! I’m Kellie, your host, thrilled to have you join us for another episode. If you tuned in last week, you know we started a fantastic conversation, and today, we're diving right back in where we left off.
Joining us again is Teo Fiorina, the dynamo behind the European Kendama Championship. Teo captivated us with his stories and insights, and he’s here to keep that kendama spirit burning brightly. For those new here, Teo is a pillar of the kendama community, inspiring players and fans with his passion and innovative approach to competitions.
So, grab your kendama, find your favorite spot, and get ready as we continue our journey with Teo. There’s plenty more to explore, and we promise today’s episode is packed with even more kendama thrills! (I might even cry a little?)
Stay tuned, you definitely don't want to miss a moment of today’s exciting continuation!
Kellie Kawahara-Niimi (00:01.262)
Woohoo! I'ma make some noise at the beginning so the sound editor has something to cut. Dun dun!
Kellie:
So the competitors, when they show up to the event, what does it take to be an EKC competitor? What do you think will get you not just to the top, but through your own division?
Teo:
Well, first of all, as you've said, the level is incredibly high. So for that top division, of course, just like any other kendama event, you have to be an insanely proficient kendama player. And then you have to learn to feed off the crowd and to...fully get into the groove of the event. The rhythm is fast paced. The freestyle just clicks like round, round, round, round decision, round, round, round, round decision. I timed it compared to other freestyles and it's the fastest one. There's an atmosphere and it's a freight train. So you have to be ready to match that rhythm. You have to match our MCs rhythm because their job is also very difficult. So for EKC, you really have to be ready for the smoke. Just come ready to immerse yourself into this competition and then the level of focus that you have to find. I mean, the atmosphere is crazy. The sound is crazy. Like I've been to a lot of parties and events at this club and I'm always watching the decibel meter and at EKC I saw it peaking like 115, 120 and my face is red. I'm looking at the manager of the club and he goes over to the mics and he's like turning down the mics. And then I go look back at the decibel meter and I see 120 and I'm like looking at him and he's like, yeah, we can't do anything about this. Everyone's just crazy. And you're supposed to compete in all of this. Unless you're feeding off that energy, you're not going to be able to measure. If you're stoic and stiff, it's just going to eat you alive. There's no other way of looking at it. You just have to be fully immersed in the room's energy.
Kellie Kawahara-Niimi (02:06.926)
The freestyle style of event really requires that. It requires the participation of everybody, like you were saying, right? There's no spectator. If you're in the audience, you're giving hype. If you're on the stage, you're giving your all to perform in front of these people. And it's a back and forth play between those energies. When I think about Kendama, how you show respect as a spectator is different right? In times of concentration, you want to be able to give concentration. And in times of energy, you want to be able to give that type of hype.
Teo:
Yeah. You have to adapt to the competition. When you get onto the stage at KWC, there's this reverence. The stage is massive. It's huge. Does it have to be this big? You're on a continent and you feel this sense of reverence and you see the KWC logo. The first person is three to four meters off the stage and it's just like the pressure is different there. It's really different. And EKC is, you have to come in with a different mindset. You're in this dark industrial looking room. You're not in a big gymnasium. There's pillars all around you and these big containers and the DJs right next to you. And you have all these people just lined up against the stage. Like that's really different. We have open at EKC as well. And open at EKC is a party. At other events open is like, we're watching lawn bowling. It's very reverent, the polite clapping and you have that rhythm at EKC of the silence, noise. But at EKC, there's also the DJ. And that was pretty much the first time I'd seen that in an open division where our DJ and much loved figure in the kendama community, DJ Salvador Aldi was playing the tail end of like a three hour set and absolutely massacring it, doing outrageous stuff. It was so good. The whole crowd was just nonstop head bobbing. I've never seen that at a kendama event to that level. And then the competitors, like if you've watched the Yasu and Shredwin match, was it in that match?
No, it was in the match before these two players just feeding off of each other. And then Yasu is like holding his inward lunar after the rising dragon. And he knows the song that's coming on and you see his head bobbing and he knows when the drop comes and he just spikes it as the drop goes and the crowd goes wild. And that's just another part of what you need to be ready for when you come to EKC is just countless highlight moments. The whole event is a highlight and everyone is just constantly popping off. It was just unlike anything I've ever seen in Kendama.
Kellie Kawahara-Niimi (04:33.166)
Yeah. Yeah. What role do you want EKC to play in how Kendama in general and Kendama comps move in the future? What do you want EKC to be for that?
Teo:
First of all, I think EKC has become the culture. There's such a thing as the EKC culture.
And I've seen it affect everyone. And like, I think what EKC culture at its basis is just to be bewildered, to get excited, to get loud and to get hyped, to move as a unit, to have the crowd, the music work together. And that feeds the player. And like, when I went to KWC, there was a freestyle showcase that Catch and Flow was throwing. And they'd gotten this sick lineup of Japan versus the world. And as soon as it was starting, I was just sitting there and I was like, why am I sitting? I'm sick of sitting. And all these players here are all on their toes excited. And so I walk over to the stage, you know, I crossed this line and like I'm alone and I put both of my elbows on the stage and I look over my shoulder and I see Soma and he just whispers, he says, E -K -C and I nod. And then that's his trigger. And he just jumps up and starts yelling something in Japanese. And then...All this crew looks around like what's happening and they all just start coming up to the stage and we all start making noise and like all these other Japanese people are looking at us bewildered. But some of them know, some of them have seen the images. And so when the players start playing, you have Takuya and Nick Gallagher in a freestyle match, of course, incredible. And the excitement rises and I see the EKC energy at KWC. And that's when I know that's how EKC culture can affect these kendama events.
It's just taking all of these figures of the Kanama communities around the world and showing them that. And that's one of my biggest goals with EKC and something I do that's different from other event organizers is I reach out to players and handpick a squad, like a lineup, and I make monetary investments into bringing these people here. And I talk to these people for months and I build up expectations. So it's like, helping other events getting more entertaining, catering that lineup and just spreading it from person to person. And if you come to EKC, you experience it. And to me, it's like, bring that wherever you are. Keep this energy with you wherever you are and this ideal. And that's how I see EKC influencing other kendama events and kendama players and communities and kendama brands. That's how I see it now.
Kellie:
I started tearing the idea of not rushing the stage because that's not what you did, but the proverbial like you rushed the stage to be the hype for the crowd, right? You were the one that broke the mold in that moment. But EKC is the thing also that's breaking the mold in the kendama competition scene. And it made me think of the event that I want to create and how I look up to EKC and the passion that I get caught up in and all like teary and emotional is the thing that I think you bring. And so you're doing the thing you're already doing the thing I want you to know.
Teo:
Yeah, and that's the perfect response. And EKC is that for so many people. I'm just being a vehicle and a mirror for what I've seen there. I've seen so much crying at EKC like my good friend Toplar, Thomas, legend of the European scene, great homie of mine. Second day, this was doing Rudny and Yasu's match. And I'm next to Toplar and Yasu's doing all these things on stage. I see Toplar stand up and lose his mind and then turn to me with tears on his face and just grabs my shoulder and he's just saying, thank you. And I'm just like, dude, thank you. And I'm just throughout the whole event, that's the theme. Like people just bawling, crying of happiness. And it's sick. It's incredible. All these people just coming together and the emotion it elicits is really, really insane.
Kellie:
Yeah. Yeah. Just hearing about it is overwhelmingly joyful. Yeah. Yeah.
Teo:
Yeah. I cannot wait. It's gut wrenching. Like, I really want it to come tomorrow. Yeah. I can't wait. Every year I'm so relieved when it's done. I'm just happy to have accomplished it. And every year I'm thinking like, there's no way I'm going to be more excited for this. This was the first one. this was the second one. I'm just as excited for the third one. And it's so infectious. I was at a Kenama event in Romania, the number of people coming up to me and talking or the people at the local sessions every weekend, or the people I'm going to see at kendama events at the end of the month. It's just like every single person that comes up to me has a look now.
They have a look like I'm it's beautiful. I love seeing that and just being like, you know, you're excited too, right? And yeah, it's just that's how every single conversation goes. It's crazy.
Kellie:
I am so grateful and I love that you are getting to feel the love for all of the work and time and energy and blood, sweat and tears that you've put into this. It makes me feel so good that you get to feel that appreciation because what you're doing is really special. If people wanted to get involved, either show up, compete, volunteer, how would they go about getting involved with EKC?
Teo:
Course attending is number one. Then my channel is always open to anyone and for anything, you know, like just reaching out to me about EKC. And then, yeah, it's just think about something weird, Like think about something new that you don't really see at a kendama event. At EKC, I have something called branded events where companies can basically do their own mini event within the event. And it's just like, they can host a certain contest or do anything. Some of the companies this year are doing some new stuff. I can't wait to announce. That's awesome. But I feel like we're just scratching the surface with that. There's just a million ways of doing that. And then when it comes to the organization, I'm the one person operation with a bunch of advisors and helpers and yeah, I always feel like there's room for more and I'm slowly learning to do all of this and slowly amassing some form of infrastructure to be able to do it. You know, it's yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cause you know, EKC is a, it's a business and it's something that I'm learning to get a hold of, you know, and get a grip on. And we just need some of everything like.
To be a part of a kendama event, you have to forget how to be a player sometimes. And you have to think outside of that. And then you have to think about what can I bring to the table that's new? And that's how you get involved in anything. It's just starting a conversation, amassing experience, and yeah, just being a bit brazen as well and just asking, how can I participate?
Kellie Kawahara-Niimi (11:41.198):
Yeah. I love that. You got to shoot your shot. If you want to do a thing, you got to shoot your shot. How do you want...fans of EKC to keep that spirit alive throughout the year and keep EKC at the forefront of our memories so that when it comes back around, we know. We're like, we have been here all year long.
Teo:
Yeah, I mean, bringing EKC culture everywhere. And that's a way of interacting with it as a fan and an involved individual because that's something that also ties into your own philosophy for kendama events and just existence within a Kanama happening. And another thing is just being a vehicle for the information. So talking about it to everyone is a way of helping it and yeah, just engaging with it and then sharing the images and being an online presence because a lot of how we exist is online. And then also supporting me in a way is a way of being a fan and helping me do this. So, when I'm posting something, read it. When I'm calling out to the community, answer or offer up your help or there's ways to support each other that aren't always the ways that you think. I may be a kendama pro and you can buy my kendama, but there's also a million other ways of supporting me that can have much more positive impact.
Kellie:
Yeah. I had a talk recently with someone and the share, like, subscribe, comment, leave a message. Honestly, it does a lot. Even if we're not playing to the algorithm, just knowing that someone out there is listening to what we're having to say and responding to it is a big deal.
Teo:
Yeah, it's massive. Yeah. You're talking to an audience every time you're putting anything out. So it's always massive when someone answers, especially when it's positive. It's just like, that's one of the ways of doing that. Yeah. Yeah.
Kellie Kawahara-Niimi (14:03.822)
As we close out, are there any last thoughts that you wanted to share that we didn't get to touch on before.
Teo:
Yeah. I mean, we were talking about me being a competitor and I have this thought that came out of my mind and it's that running EKC has completely changed my outlook as well on being a competitor and a player. And it's just like, I used to, like, I used to get tagged in so much kendama play and sometimes being listed as the people's favorite, like player, whatever. And now it's different where I'm not being listed as that, but I'm feeling happier about the respect and the sense of camaraderie with some of the kendama owners and those event running businesses. And that's another just small tidbit in transition in my kendama journey that I wanted to mention as an event organizer. And it happens to a lot of players around the world. And it's something I want to encourage. And I want people to really become involved in kendama for that sense of purpose within the effort. And kendama events are one of the best mediums for that. Just being a new figure within our community and finding a new place. That's one of my biggest pieces of advice for professional kendama players out there and players who have honed in their skills is to always think about the next thing if you care about kendama and repurpose your attention and find another way of being productive within the sphere of Kendama community.
Kellie:
Yeah. now that you've said that, it made me think of how do you get fulfillment in Kendama? Right? As a player, there's a level of celebrity that you have as a pro player that is interesting. But when you really embed yourself in the community and you start making the connections with businesses, with the other players, with the fans, is what you're saying that you find a lot of fulfillment or more fulfillment in that space than you did just being a pro player.
Teo:
Absolutely. Yeah. I could not have imagined it, but I feel a sense of fulfillment that dwarfs my competitive achievements. And of course I value those, but I was competing at the recent event and during the competition at some point I was like, I just wasn't feeling the same enjoyment I used to and the same drive I used to from competing. And I just had to take a step back and be like, why is that? And I was like, right. It's just that different drive that you've just got into. And it's just an interesting transition for me and for a lot of people as well. And you can figure it out as you're doing it, just pay attention to what you're feeling and pay attention to what's bringing you more fulfillment. And for me, that's been working within the sphere of kendama happenings, kendama culture and media. And then the competition aspect has completely fallen off for me, where it's just like, I feel no particular closeness to it anymore as a player. I still absolutely love playing kendama and play it a lot. And every Sunday we compete in our own ways, but it's more like playing together. And then that's just something like there's a million ways of feeling fulfilled within kendama and that's amazing. And it's just like, I've seen so many players run into dead ends in their heads and falling off. And I'm just like, there's the creative sphere in kendama that you can touch upon everywhere on the sphere is just something new and different. And I invite everyone to go exploring, try to figure out exactly what your calling is in kendama. For most people, it won't be competition. Yeah. That's just how it is. And I feel like that's okay. And that's really sick. I mean, I was competing at the highest level only two years ago. And in that short span of time, I've completely looked the other way, you know? Yeah. And I love that. It's just so sick. Yeah. You can just completely change on a dime. And if you just abandon yourself to this new passion, the old one, even though it was your whole world for a little while or something you were focused on completely, it just fades away a little bit. And yeah, it's fine. I may come back to competing. I'm also not closing that door. But yeah, it's just something something cool to think about.
Kellie:
Yeah. It's a different take on kendama is life. Right. Like, when you're just trying to land the cool trick, it's not as fulfilling as if you were building community. And I think that that is such a poignant thing to say. And I love that you brought that up. Thank you.
Teo:
Yeah, we've really been something on my mind. And it's like, there's a place in this community for everyone. Sometimes I feel like some of the things that exist in this community is just an oversaturation. And it feels like there could be a more balanced scale on some of it. But everything is essential. The tricks are essential. The competitors are essential. The community builders, the company owners, everything is essential, but never close off one of those things to yourself and explore them all. And yeah, that's one of my biggest pieces of advice for players is to avoid that brick wall that I've seen so many people hit. It's actually insane over the years and it's happened in every walks of life. Take a step back from that thing you're hyper fixating on for a second and look elsewhere and adapt. Yeah.
Kellie:
The thing that you're saying is we are whole people, right? As humans, as kendama players, we have other skills that we can utilize in this space that make us more proficient, more embedded, more important. We have filmmakers and photographers and organizers and artists. We are so many things and just bringing more of ourselves to the table is more fulfilling.
Teo:
Yeah, absolutely.
Kellie:
We are more than just the Instagram post, you know?
Teo:
Yeah. And it's a way of interacting with kendama as a subculture and understanding it on a deeper level. Understanding that all the building blocks of kendama are building blocks that you find everywhere else in the world and every other infrastructure, every other sports community is just you have to interact with kendama in ways that will build the blocks for a subculture. Yeah. If you look at skateboarding, you have to be making moves that have been made in skateboarding and you have to be thinking big. And it's just like, you're not going to be doing that by just boxing yourself in. You have to really figure out how to interact with kendama as this infrastructure and that it exists within the realms of taxes, within the realms of all these mundane things. And that's just how we're going to legitimize it even further. If the people take it seriously in ways that other people have taken it seriously. And it's something I had a huge problem with at the beginning actually, because I was having problems interacting with other people who didn't see it that way. So it's just like always remember as well that other people have different levels of investment in it and then always work towards proving to that other person that this is a culture and that this exists within the realm of, I don't know, civilization.
Teo:
Yeah. Capitalism all about it's like if you're fully committed to that ideal, it'll rub off on other people.
Kellie:
Yeah, I find running into people who don't have a ton of imagination on what the future could look like. I want to be on my soapbox and just like, you're doing it wrong. But there is this idea of if we build it, this kendama industry, right? It's an industry because it's not just, we're going to play a game. It can be live streaming. It can be events. It can be magazines, TV shows, YouTube channels. It could be so many things outside of just one toy. And I totally agree that the way to legitimize our industry is to be creative and bold.
Teo:
Yeah. And to interact with it as such. Yeah, just fully encapsulates what you want this to become. Yeah. Yeah, no, no, just be faithful to that ideal. Because if you're not going to do that, then no one else is going to take it seriously. That's what I do every time I walk into a room. kendamas on my chest and it happens to me so often now because EKC has become pretty much a full -time thing. And it's still surreal that that's the case. Just like, shit. This is rent. This is all that stuff. And it's just you have to really soak that in. And every time you're interacting with someone, just own that part of it. It's like this thing is insanely legitimate. Yeah.
Kellei:
Yeah. It's a job. This is a career and a job for people who really want to make it that. Yeah. I am. I absolutely believe that there are ways to get paid to do kendama related things. We are just not trying to even, yeah.
Teo:
Yeah. I mean, once again, any way anyone else is getting paid within those other subcultures, it's coming and yeah, there's just this huge amount of new companies, for example, and it's nuts. There's a lot of new ways that we're going to find to monetize it. And it all comes down to bringing new people into the fold.
Teo (23:25.806)
If I want to be able to live from this and if other people like me want to be able to live from this, it's important that every single move you make works towards that. That's the biggest thing right now. We have to bring more people into kendama if it's to sustain us. There's kendama companies in Europe that are not involved in kendama culture at all. They sell kendamas, that's it. So they go around markets on the weekends, they go around conventions and they sell kendamas there.
And they don't sponsor EKS, they don't go to kendama events and every single place they go to like this, they bring people into the pie. And it's like, on one hand, I'm like, it's kind of counterculture not to be part of the culture. And then on the other hand, I'm like, but you're also doing the thing that I said is the most important thing. And there's just a million ways of putting value into your kendama work. And it's just like, don't look at this other economic company, try to bring value in another way. And you guys are doing that with snarkle rocks for sure, because you're definitely not like any other kendama company out there in a great way, because that could also be in a terrible way. But you guys are doing something completely different just from the visual identity to these new things you're trying to these micro adjustments. Yeah, that's what it's about. You're definitely not a copy paste kendama company. You are your own thing. And that's what I would encourage all these companies to be doing is just try these little little jumps, these little things.
Kellie:
Yeah, they it's scary. I do understand that it's scary to have the newness of it all. But also, because we're not a kendama company, and I haven't been playing kendama for decades, I don't have the same hang ups. I can think outside of a box more than someone who has had a kendama in their hand for a decade. My ideas may not be the best, but they're different in a way that I think allows us to be a separate niche within the niche. Absolutely. And I'm really proud of that. Thank you for saying it.
Teo:
Yeah, with pleasure. And it's how I feel about a bunch of new companies as well as trying something new. And then sometimes the rules are blurry because there are no rules, but there are these parameters to existing within the economic community that are important. And there are these things that people value more than others. And some entities are working towards that in insane ways and some just aren't. And that's just the reality of it. You take sweets, for example, with its all -encompassing desire to integrate kendama to pop culture. That's their whole thing. For the most part, it's not subtle. It's just, let's put the kendama into this person's hands. And that's just it. It's just about being there. And that's what a lot of kendama companies should strive to be, you know? Like putting the thing into people's hands.
Kellie:
Yeah, when you mentioned there are small companies that sell kendama is they just go to cultural affairs Like we should do that. It's essential. We should be doing that Why are we not part of their community and not just why are they not part of ours?
Teo:
Yeah, absolutely It's about outreach and we see it in Kenoma in our communities everywhere there's people from so many different backgrounds like BMX saying and scooter riding and Yo -yos. Yeah, yo -yos and tricking and my god, chess. I could name so many people within the kendama community that just come from all these different backgrounds and it's just like keep reaching out, keep invading their place. Keep spearheading kendama pretty much everywhere you go and try to find these new communities. I'm starting to work with someone in Berlin who's huge in the FLINTA community in Berlin. They've reached out to me and have asked me to help them with spreading Kenama there because they feel this intense rush of passion coming. And that's amazing. And that's a sector of our demographic that's not being reached as much. It's like we have had enough people make kendama attractive to mostly men and cis males. And it's just like, I want to support that as much as I can because this person is just going for it. And it's not just because it's the FLINTA community, it's just because this person has a vision about a certain demographic they want to reach. It's just like, find that community that you want to reach out to and maybe cater kendama to them. Of course, kendama is about inclusivity, but if you're going to make this part of this community's identity, you have to understand this community and that's how kendama will have an impact. I encourage everyone to go out there and try to find these hidden communities and peoples that we haven't found yet.
Teo (28:00.654)
And kendama is just the most easy to understand object for just the stupidest reason. It's a little cup with a ball and it's dope that you can reach basically anyone across the planet with it. And yeah, go reach that community. We need them, you know?
Kellie:
Yeah. Yeah, we do. Because we all have separate communities, right? Like I have friends who don't play kendama. Yeah, absolutely. And I have communities that don't interact. And I can be the bridge between the magic cards that I really love and the kendama community. Like I can be that bridge. And I think that the reminder to be the one who spreads the love. I think that that's amazing. If you don't mind, I would love it if you could tell the people where they could learn more about EKC and more about you. If you could leave us your contact info.
Teo:
So you can learn more about EKC at EU Kendama Champ on Instagram. And then you can learn more about me at Teodore Fiorina on Instagram as well, or on YouTube, if you look me up, there's stuff there. Also maybe on Spotify, there's other podcasts where I may be talking about similar things, but probably not because we explored a lot today, which is dope. And yeah, that's pretty much it.
Kellie:
We will put all of the linky things in the description below. So if you didn't see it in the captions, it'll all be there for you to click. Thank you so much for chatting with me. We will talk again soon and I will also leave all of the links and information for EKC, like the dates and all of that in the description below too. So if people have any questions, it'll be there. Absolutely. Thank you so much and we will talk again soon.
Teo:
Yes. Bye. Bye.
And that wraps up another electrifying episode of Snarkle Talks.
A massive thank you to Teo Fiorina for joining us today and sharing his infectious energy and deep insights into the EKC.
For all our listeners, don’t forget to follow Teo’s journey and check out the EKC by clicking the links that we’ve linked below. If you enjoyed our chat today, why not share this episode with a friend or leave us a review? We love hearing from you, and it helps spread the kendama love far and wide.
Before we go, did you know that the albatross can sleep while flying? These large seabirds are known for their incredible stamina and ability to fly great distances over the oceans. Scientists have found that they can grab bits of sleep in short bursts while cruising through the air. This ability helps them conserve energy during their long flights across vast expanses of water.
While I am neither flying, nor a bird— it is my nap time now, so I’m gonna do that. Thanks for tuning into Snarkle Talks. We’re here to bring you the best of the kendama world, episode by episode. Until next time, keep may your lighthouses always be upright. Have a good one.