Bonz Atron.
Kendama Pro · World Champion · Trick Inventor
He picked up a kendama at a house party and two years later became the first-ever World Cup champion — then won three more titles. The greatest freestyle kendama player alive.
Four world titles. Zero excuses.
Bonz Atron didn't just win the first-ever Kendama World Cup — he came back and won three more freestyle championships. He beat his own idol. He invented tricks that the entire community now uses. He dropped out of college to chase a wooden ball on a string — and became the most decorated freestyle kendama player in history.
“How a US kid became world champion of a Japanese sport.”
Vice documented Bonz Atron's journey from a house party in Boulder to the Kendama World Cup finals in Japan. Two years. Zero formal training. One world championship. This is the story that put kendama on the map.
A career built on gravity-defying creativity.
From the first-ever KWC title to an unprecedented freestyle three-peat — Bonz Atron's competitive record reads like a kendama legend.
Connected across continents.
From Japanese kendama brands to mainstream media — Bonz Atron has built bridges between the underground skill toy community and the wider world.
A story only kendama could tell.
It started at a house party in Boulder, Colorado in August 2012. Corbin Stafford — known to the kendama world as Bonz Atron — watched a friend playing with a wooden ball on a string. On his very first try, he landed the Lighthouse trick — a move his friend had spent six months trying to master. He recalled:
What followed was obsession in its purest form. Bonz practiced eight hours a day, skipping college classes to master every trick he could find. Within a year, he entered a Kendama Co online competition — an audition he was convinced he had no shot at winning. His video won him a spot on the team. His first major outing was the Battle in Seattle, then the biggest kendama competition in the world, where he faced off against his idol Keith Matsumura — and won.
By September 2014, just two years after touching his first kendama, Bonz found himself on a plane to Hatsukaichi, Japan for the first-ever Kendama World Cup. He scored highest on day one, competed through the finals, and walked away as the inaugural KWC champion with 846 points. He was 20 years old, working as a receptionist at a log cabin complex in Boulder, and suddenly a superstar in Japan.
But the titles kept coming. In 2015, he won the inaugural Catch & Flow freestyle championship, the National Kendama Retreat Open, and the Rocky Mountain Rumble. He founded his own brand, Bonzai Kendama. In 2016, he signed with Danish kendama company KROM as a pro team rider and won the North American Freestyle Championship. In 2017 and 2018, he reclaimed the Freestyle World Championship — becoming the only player in history to win three freestyle world titles.
Beyond competition, Bonz is known for inventing tricks like the Lightning Drop and Splinter Spin — moves that have become staples in the global kendama community. His KROM signature model, the DJ Pro Mod (built on “The 1%” ken shape), is designed to be the only kendama you ever need.
Now, the greatest freestyle kendama player alive is bringing his world-class skills to Knoxville, Tennessee — for one electrifying appearance at Knox Pop Con 2026.
More than a show. It's a session.
A live kendama performance. An interactive workshop. A jam session with a world champion. Bonz Atron doesn't just perform — he invites you into the world of kendama.
A 4X world champion. Live in Knoxville.
- Knox Pop Con exclusive — not part of any national tour
- The only 3X Freestyle World Champion in kendama history
- Live performance + interactive workshop + jam session
- Bring your kendama — or pick one up at the con
- May 2, 2026 at Bridgewater Place, Knoxville, TN