Kentaro Kimura is a Japanese yo-yo player who specializes in 3A, winning the World Championship in 2009.
He was a member of Team Buzzon and the Yoyofactory Contest Team before leaving to start his own company, known as Turning Point, which specializes in high performance machined metal yo-yos. He also occasionally does design work for YoYoFactory, having designed the Chaotic, Proton, Cyborg, and others.
He lived in NYC as an employee at YoYoNation.com for some time, providing support to Japanese speaking customers of the store, before he was deported back to Japan for an expired visa.
He is also accredited for discovering various adhesive backed materials for use as yo-yo response systems. In addition to the black textured rubber Kentaro Pads and the White rubber Kimu Pads, he is also responsible for the K-Pad silicone pad response system currently used in YoYoFactory products.
After qualifying for the 3A Finals at Japan Nationals 2014, Kentaro decided he didn't feel like competing, and instead went fishing for the day. He currently resides in Prague, where he shares an apartment with Hank Freeman. He is an avid player of Jubeat.
His current website, where he sells Turning Point's yoyos is http://tpstore.shop-pro.jp/ .
Achievements[]
2003[]
- World Yo-Yo Contest 1A - 11th Place
2005[]
- World Yo-Yo Contest 3A - 5th Place
2006[]
- Southeast Regionals 1A - 1st Place
- Southeast Regionals Y - 1st Place
- Bay Area Classic 1A - 7th Place
- Bay Area Classic Y - 12th Place
- National Yo-Yo Contest 3A - 1st Place
- National Yo-Yo Contest 2A - 3rd Place
- World Yo-Yo Contest 3A - 3rd Place
- World Yo-Yo Contest 1A - 10th Place
2007[]
- World Yo-Yo Contest 3A - 2nd Place
- National Yo-Yo contest 3A - 1st place
- SER Yo-Yo contest 1A - 1st place
2008[]
- World Yo-Yo Contest 3A - 2nd Place
- BAC 3A - 1st Place
- East Coast Classic 3A - 1st Place
- MA State Yo-Yo Contest 3A - 1st Place
- Asia Pasific Yo-Yo Championships 2A - 5th Place
2009[]
- World Yo-Yo Contest - 3A Division - 1st Place
2010[]
- Asia-Pacific Yo-Yo Championships - 3A Division - 1st Place
2011[]
- California State YoYo Championship - 3A Division - 1st Place
2013[]
- East Japan Yo-Yo Contest A-Block - 1A Division - 5th Place
- East Japan Yo-Yo Contest A-Block - 3A Division - 3rd Place
- European Yo-Yo Championship - 1A Open Divison - 4th Place
- Japan National Yo-Yo Contest - 3A Division - 2nd Place
- World Yo-Yo Contest - 1A Division - 18th Place
- World Yo-Yo Contest - 3A Division - 5th Place
2014[]
- East Japan Yo-Yo Contest A-Block - 1A Division - 3rd Place
- East Japan Yo-Yo Contest A-Block - 3A Division - 5th Place
Media Coverage[]
- Was on segment for The Bryant Park Project an online interview for NPR(National Public Radio)[1]