A Brief Guide To The Kendama

Ken Who...?

The Kendama is a Japanese version of the traditional English 'Cup And Ball', French 'Bilboquet' and Mexican 'Balero' toys. Instead of having a single cup mounted on the end of a handle, as in Cup And Ball, the 'body' of the kendama has three separate cups of differing sizes as well as a spike. In additon, a hole is drilled into one side of the ball, thus allowing it to sit on the spike. The extra complexity of the kendama, over the western versions, makes the toy more challenging and of greater potential interest to jugglers.

I put this page together after searching, in vain, for any English-language kendama pages on the net. I have to confess that my knowledge of Japanese kendama culture is fairly minimal. Thus, I tend to use my own terminology throughout this page - although I've supplied a few of the Japanese names where I can. I certainly don't pretend that the tricks included here are in any way a complete list - more a selection of stuff I tend to do myself.

The relative difficulty of each move can vary from person to person and, more crucially, from one design of kendama to another. For this reason, I've generally refrained from allocating difficulty ratings. I've personally managed all tricks listed, at least once, using a plastic 'Swingamajig' kendama. However some of the tricks (the Lighthouse being a notable example) seem better suited to other equipment.

The following pictures and descriptions are written from a right-handed perspective. Obviously, just switch 'left' for 'right' if you're doing things the other way round.

Kendama Anatomy

Although the term 'Kendama' probably ought to refer to both the ball, string and body, I personally tend use it to refer to just the body. I use the term 'Loaded Kendama' to indicate that the ball is resting somewhere on the kendama and 'Unloaded Kendama' to represent the kendama body being held, with the ball hanging freely.

By the way, if you're having trouble trying to find somewhere to buy a kendama, it might be worth checking out some of the on-line skill-toy vendors. A few of these are listed on my Yo-yo page.

Unloaded Jumps

Jump to Side Cup (Ozara/Kozara)

This is the most basic kendama move. To start off, hold the handle of the kendama body with your right hand, making sure one of the side cups is facing upwards. Let the ball hang still below - as shown left. When you're ready to go, give the ball a sharp tug upwards, giving it enough impetus to jump straight up. Catch the ball in the upward facing cup. Don't jump the ball any higher than it needs to go - it will just make catching it more difficult. When you make a catch, try to dampen the impact by moving your hand down and thus slowing the ball to a stop. In Japan, this move is known as the Ozara when jumping into the big cup and Kozara for the small cup.

Catching ball on side cup - regular grip.

As you can see from the images on the right, there are two different ways of holding the kendama. Which you choose will depend on what you plan to do subsequently. The top method feels most natural. The bottom - in which you hold the handle as if it were a pencil - is more useful if you want to jump the ball between cups.

Catching ball on side cup - pencil grip.

Jump To Handle Cup (Chuzara)

The technique for this is pretty much the same as Jump To Side Cup, shown above. However, the smaller cup size makes it significantly more difficult. You'll need to use a pencil-grip for this one. An alternate version of this, the Rosoku, involves holding the spike, rather than the handle.

Jump To Centre

This move is less obvious than the other basic moves listed here. Its difficulty/feasibility will depend on the make and design of your kendama. The picture (see right) pretty much explains what's going to happen - the ball lands in the gap between the spike and the side cup.

Jump To Spike (Tomeken)

Probably the single most important kendama trick that you can learn!

This trick's description mirrors that of Jump To Cup, with the difference being that the ball lands on the spike. Obviously, the spike enters the hole in the ball. This trick, when you first try it, will most likely seem impossible (thus, I guess, the appeal). However, with a bit of thought and practice, you really can get it down. The following tips might help you out:

Be sure to hold the ball completely still prior to starting.
Make sure you jolt the ball straight up, keeping the hole facing the ground.
Don't jump the ball too high. It's better to bring your hand down and under it, rather than wait for the ball to land on top.
When first learning it, spinning the ball on it's vertical axis can help a lot. Ultimately, though, this does almost resemble cheating!

Swings

Instead of jumping the ball directly upwards, you can also swing the ball out, up and onto the kendama. Many beginners to kendama (or, indeed, basic Cup-And-Ball) often default to this method even though it's more difficult than the Jumps described above. Don't forget that you can swing the ball across your body as well as out to the front. Upon catching, it's important that you try to dampen the momentum as the sideways motion will, more than likely, cause the ball to fall off of the side of the cup. Swinging versions of all tricks in the 'Jump' section can be attempted, including...

Swing To Cup

The basic swinging move.

Swing To Spike (Furiken)

Basically the same as Swing To Cup, except...

...er, OK, if you've followed it down to here, you'll already know what this entails. At first sight, this seems pretty much impossible, but it really isn't. The required technique involves swinging the ball so that the hole travels in a controlled spin. Thus, by the time the ball and spike meet, the hole is in the right place. The difficulty of this trick will depend largely on the size/weight/design of your kendama - so, experiment!

Mounted Hops

Once the ball has mounted the kendama, you can hop it from one position to another. Here are some ideas...

Hop From Cup To Cup

It's possible to hop the ball from any cup to any other cup. Your grip style is key here - some moves work with the standard grip only, others rely on the pencil-type grip. The photo shows a pencil grip turned 180 degrees, thus enabling a side-cup to side-cup transfer. Cup hops look good if performed in a fast sequence.

Hop From Spike To Cup

Hop the ball from spike to cup (side or handle). 'Nuff said.

Hop From Cup To Spike/Hop From Centre To Spike

More self-explainatory tricks. Like Swing To Spike, these rely upon your ability to control the spin of the ball, so that the hole is in the right place when you land it on the spike. The 'Centre To Spike' version seems particularly problematic (for me, at any rate). Yes, it really is possible to do this stuff.

Swing Hops

A simple variation on the above tricks is to let the ball swing down and under the kendama before rising back up and landing at it's destination.

Body Moves

Hand Catch

OK, this is so simple, it probably counts more as a 'move' than an actual trick. However, it's great for combining with other techniques or for building sequences. Basically, from a loaded kendama, throw the ball and catch it with your left (free) hand. Then throw it back...

One effective variation, if you can do it quickly and smoothly, is to do a quick club-juggling style spin with the kendama body, whilst the ball is in the hand.

Alternatively, you can achieve a 'Mills Mess' (er, ask a juggler...) style sequence of alternate hand crossing/uncrossing moves.

Finger Catch

This relies on a technique commonly found in three ball juggling - that of catching a ball on the top of your outstretched index and middle fingers. You can make the catch with either hand - i.e. either with the empty hand or with the hand still holding the kendama body (see picture).

Arm Bounce

Start with a loaded kendama. Toss the kendama so that it bounces off of your right arm and lands back on the kendama (most likely, you'll want to return it to a side cup).

Arm Catch

Essentially the same as the Arm Bounce, but the ball is 'caught' on the arm for a short period, before being tossed back to the kendama. Those of you with 'contact juggling' experience will be at a distinct advantage here. Variations on this could involve swinging the ball onto or off of the arm. Also, the ball could be rolled along the arm into position.

Arm Wrap

Start with a loaded kendama in your right hand and your left arm stretched straight out in front of you. Throw the ball across your body, so that it travels over your outstretched arm, then moves down and around it (you might want to wriggle your left arm to help the ball on its way). Once the ball has got as far as its going to get, let it change direction and unwind itself. Eventually it should pop back over your arm, ready for a catch back onto the kendama.

Leg Wrap

As the arm wrap, but let the ball travel around your leg. The difference in girth between an arm and leg makes this trick look somewhat different to the arm version, as the ball probably won't make it all the way round. There are options here for alternate left/right leg sequences, without the ball necessarily having to land on the kendama in between. Or what about a Foot Wrap?

Other Moves

This is my section for moves that don't fit anywhere else!

Orbit

Start with a loaded kendama. Throw the ball straight upwards, then quickly carry the kendama body right around the ball in a vertical plane. Catch the ball back on the kendama. Remember that you can circle both clockwise and anti-clockwise. Several Orbits done in quick sucession can look quite effective. Be careful not to get the string wound around the body.

Body Flip

Starting with the kendama held by it's handle and the ball resting on a side cup, simultaneously throw the ball straight up and spin the kendama end-over-end, club juggling style. Catch the handle, then catch the ball back on the side cup. When trying this, it's important that the ball is not thrown too high - at no point do you want the string to tighten, as this will stop the kendama from spinning.

Swing to Plant/Helicoptor (Hikoki)

This is a really great move which, like the Spike, people aren't going to believe is possible. Start in the position shown (right image) with the ball being held in the right hand - hole facing upwards - and with the kendama body hanging freely. When you're ready, then swing the kendama across and up, so that the spike lands in the hole.

The trick here is to ensure that the hanging kendama is facing in the right direction. A hanging kendama will always lean to one side - you thus need to turn so that the spike is pointing to your left. With a bit of experimentation, you should then be able to launch the kendama so that it spins just enough so that, when it reaches it's peak, the spike is pointing straight down.

Plant to Plant

Once you've landed a Swing To Plant (see above), a great follow-on move is to throw the kendama body up and out of the ball, let it spin 360 degrees, then let the spike fall back into the hole. Not so easy, but certainly possible.

String Hold

The String Hold, as depicted left, is one of the more unusual unmounted starting positions. The basic trick here is to hold the centre point of the string, letting both the kenadama and ball hang free. From here, a quick upward pull on the string should give you enough time to grab the handle then immediately spike the ball. As an less-impressive alternative, the ball could be caught on one of the side cups.

Lighthouse (Todai)

This is a very simple move, but can prove particularly difficult if attempted with an unsuitable kendama. When using plastic Swingamajig kenadams, it's very difficult indeed (at least, it is for me...). So, perform the trick, start with a hanging kendama (as you would for a Plant) and then jump it straight up so that it lands, handle-side down, on top of the ball (see right). Then, see how long you can hold it in this position.

Suicide

This is tricky, whichever kendama you use. The term 'Suicide' is used both in diabolo and yo-yo terminology to represent the letting-go of the equipment. It seems relevant here, too.

Start it as you would a Swing To Plant - i.e. holding the ball and letting the hanging kendama swing forwards. However, instead of catching the body in a Plant, let go of the ball, catch the kendama's handle, then catch the ball on one of the side cups. This, in theory, all happens in a single swift motion.

The difficulty with this trick lies with judging the correct amount of spin to impart to the swing. In particular, it's hard to get the ball to swing up high enough, so as to give you enough time to catch it.

Two Handed Kendama

Yes, it's possible to operate two kendama at the same time - one in each hand (or not...). Obviously, to achieve this, you're going to have to first work at tricks using your weaker (left?) hand. Learning alternate and simultaneous versions of the single-handed tricks listed above ought to give you a good start. Additionally, tricks that involve catching the balls on the opposite kendamas become a possibility.

No-string Kendama

Another intriguing possibility is to remove the string, just leaving the kendama and ball. Whilst this will obviously rule out Jump and Swing type tricks, a new set of juggling-related moves will make themselves available. In fact, for the jugglers amongst you, how about using two or even three balls with a single kendama body? Or tossing the ball between two people, each with a kendama body?

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