User:AyanoTanaka/Kendama/PeerReview

The ''kendama'' (けん玉, "sword [and] ball") is a traditional Japanese skill toy. It consists of a handle (ken), a pair of cups (sarado) and a ball (tama), and all parts are connected together by a string. The ken has a cup on one end of it and on the other end it is narrowed down, forming a spike that fits into the hole of the tama. The kendama is the Japanese version of the classic cup-and-ball game, and the Hispanic world toy known as boliche or balero. The main goal of the kendama is the same as its related toys: to balance the ball on one of the cups.

How to Play

To play with a kendama, one holds the handle, and pulls the ball upward so that it may either be caught in one of the cups or land with the hole on the spike. From then on, the possibilities of what a person can do with a kendama are endless due to the number of combinations of tricks one can continue to learn as they progress. Variants upon variants of different tricks have been thought up as kendama has advanced throughout time as more and more people play.

There are m

There are eleven prescribed moves on the kendama trick list for achieving a kyu ranking and several more for a dan ranking. A 10-kyu rating (the lowest beginner grade) is attained by simply catching the ball in the largest cup. A book published by the Japan Kendama Association lists 101 different tricks for the toy and there are supposedly tens of thousands of trick variations. Different stances and grips are required to perform different tricks.

Structure and terminology

The kendama

The kendama comprises the following parts:

1. Main body ken (剣).
2. Spike kensaki (剣先).
3. big cup ōzara (大皿).
4. bottom cup chūzara (中皿).
5. Small cup kozara (小皿).
6. Ball tama (玉).
7. Hole ana (穴).
8. String ito (糸).
9. Cup body saradō (皿胴).
10. Small cup edge kozara no fuchi (小皿のふち).
11. Big cup for lunars ōzara no fuchi (大皿のふち).
12. Slip-stop or slip grip suberidome (すべり止め).
13. Back end kenjiri (けんじり).
14. String attachment hole ito toritsuke ana (糸取り付け穴).
15. Bead (not pictured)

Stringing a Kendama

"Stringing" a kendama is the action of connecting all 3 pieces of the kendama (ken, sarado, and tama) together. To string a kendama together, you need a bead (or mini bearing) and a piece of string. The steps to string a kendama together are:

1. Take your string and put it through the little hole in the tama until the string is coming through the big hole.
2. Put the bead on the end of the string coming out of the big tama hole.
3. Put the untied end of the string through one of the two holes in the sarado. If you want a right handed kendama, hold the sarado up so that the big cup is on the right side and put the string through the whole that is facing you. If you want a left handed kendama, make sure the big cup is on the left side and put the string through the hole facing you.
4. Lead the string through the hole in the ken.
5. Tie a knot at the end of the string you put through the ken.
6. Put the sarado on top of the ken

The kendama has been made out different types of wood and materials over the years. For example, kendamas have been made in cherry, keyaki, enjyu, mahogany, rosewood, ebony, elm, and ash wood.

History

Origins, precursors, and parallels

See also: Ball-and-cup

A French bilboquet, a relative of the kendama known in France from the 16th century

The true origin of kendama is not known. France, China, and Greece all have been separately theorized as the place of origin for kendama. Kendama is said to be a variant of the French ball-and-cup game bilboquet (bil "ball" boquet "small tree"), a toy that dates back to the 16th century.

In Japan

The kendama arrived in Japan via the Silk Road from China during the Edo period (1600-1868), but between 1778-1779 is the time where kendama is thought to have appeared in Nagasaki, Japan. At this time, Nagasaki was the only port open to foreign trade. Reportedly, kendama was initially a sort of adult's drinking game — a player who made a mistake was forced to drink more.

In the early 20th century, the toy had two side cups and was called a jitsugetsu ball (日月ボール). This translates to "sun and moon ball", named so because of the ball's representation of the sun and the cups' likeness to the crescent moon.

In 1919, Hamaji Egusa applied for a patent on the "ball and cup" style toy and it was awarded in 1920. The size and proportions of the toy were later altered. Hatsukaichi City in Hiroshima Prefecture is considered to be the birthplace of the modern Japanese Kendama. The first competition design descends from Issei Fujiwara's model, which featured string holes in the crosspiece. It was also Fujiwara who established the Japan Kendama Association, which established the rules for play, the grading system now in use, and organised competition. To ensure that the toy was suitable for use in competition, the JKA also standardised kendama itself.

Contemporary culture

Today, kendama is popular in many parts of the world. Kendama is particularly well loved in Japan, where national tournaments are held and Japanese employers recognise applicants who have attained the higher dan rankings as "persistent, patient and determined potential employees".

During the 2000s, kendama surged in popularity outside Japan. In 2006 KendamaUSA and the British Kendama Association were founded. They began to promote kendama in North America and Europe, particularly throughout the juggling and rollerblading communities. Also, in 2010 Sweets Kendamas was founded. Sweets Kendamas, KendamaUSA and another company named Kendama CO. began to sponsor certain players, typically young men, who using their creativity began to set a standard for the many ways kendama could be used. These players included Zach Yourd, Collin Sander, Jake Wiens, Keith Matsumara, Alex Smith, Cristian Fraser, William penman, Max Norcross, Bonz Atron and Jake Fisher. As players worldwide began to put videos online, kendama continued to grow and has branched out forming its own global community. Many of those videos can be seen on Downspike, a forum and media hub for international kendama play.

Rules

To play with a kendama, one holds the handle, and pulls the ball upward so that it may either be caught in one of the cups or land with the hole on the spike. More advanced tricks include sequential balances, juggles, and catches. There are eleven prescribed moves on the kendama trick list for achieving a kyu ranking and several more for a dan ranking. A 10-kyu rating (the lowest beginner grade) is attained by simply catching the ball in the largest cup. A book published by the Japan Kendama Association lists 101 different tricks for the toy and there are supposedly tens of thousands of trick variations. Different stances and grips are required to perform different tricks.

While most people play with kendamas for personal satisfaction, competitions do take place, especially in Japan and North America where many kendama matches are held. Participation in such competitions entails performing lists of tricks in sequence or completing particular tricks repeatedly for as long as possible. Additionally, tricks may be performed head to head with a rival to determine a winner. The first competitor to fail a trick loses.

In the trick moshikame (もしかめ), the ball is tossed from the big cup to the base cup and back to the big cup repeatedly, usually at a fast pace. A Japanese children's song of the same name is often sung to help with timing.

Competitions

The Japanese Kendama Association has held kendama contests since 1979. The British Kendama Association was the first group to hold a formal kendama contest outside Japan in 2008 at the British Juggling Convention in Doncaster and has been staging a British Kendama Open and European Kendama Open every year since. These contests have taken a variety of formats including trick ladders, speed battles, freestyle, and the head-to-head world championship style.

Kendama competitions have been occurring since 1979, with the first All Japan Kendama-Do Championships held by the Japan Kendama Association.

Typically at events there are vendors that sell kendamas, clothing, and accessories. Competitions can range from 1-3 days long and prizes are provided for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of each competition category. Popular competitions include the North American Kendama Open & the Kendama World Cup.

Styles of Competition & Rules

With the exception of the Kendama World Cup (KWC), which has its own style of competition, current kendama competitions generally have between 2-3 styles of competing: open division, speed ladder, and freestyle. The tricks for KWC, open-division, and speed ladder get released on the internet (usually on Youtube) prior to a kendama competition - allowing time for players to practice.

Speed Ladder

A speed ladder style of competition typically occurs only for the beginner and intermediate players of a kendama event. There is a set of tricks for the beginner division and a different set of tricks for the intermediate division, and players determine what division they will sign up to compete in by deciding which set of tricks matches their respective skill levels. Players get divided into different sets of heats in sizes that are based on how many players enter each division (ex. if 25 people enter beginner, the beginners will most likely be grouped into 5 sets of 5 players). During each heat, players will race to get the set of tricks the fastest, and the fastest players in each heat (relative to how many players are in each heat) advance to the next round while the rest get eliminated. The heats gets smaller and smaller as each round advances until 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places are crowned.

Open Division

Open Division is typically for advanced and pro players. Players get broken up in a bracket and each match is head-to-head 1vs1. At the beginning of a match, players decide on who goes first based on the winner of a rock-paper-scissors match. To start the match, the first player blindly draws a trick from the set of tricks that was put up on the internet for the event in months prior - doing this motivates the players to get proficient at all tricks posted for the event rather than just a select few. Once a trick is drawn, the same player who drew the trick attempts to perform it. After the first player's attempt at the trick, it is now the second player's turn.

• If the first player completes the trick and the second player misses, the first player gets 1 point and the second player now draws another trick.
• If the first player misses and the second player completes the trick, the second player gets one point and the second player now draws another trick.
• If both players complete or miss the trick, then the 1st bout out of 3 bouts ends and the first player gets another attempt to complete the trick.
  • If both players complete or miss the trick during all 3 bouts, then the trick is discarded and the second player draws a new trick

The first player to 3 points wins. In the final match of a open division, the first player to 5 points wins.

*the Open Division is commonly known as the main form of competition, so the champion of each event is usually referring to the Open Division winner.

Freestyle

Freestyle is also a head-to-head style of competition. Players get broken up into brackets and compete 1vs1 against each other. Each match is judged by a panel of 3 or 5 judges. In each match, players decide who goes first by playing rock-paper-scissors. The first player has 45 seconds to do whatever tricks or sequence of tricks they want, and after that, the second player goes up to showcase their tricks for 45 seconds. Once both players have gone, that is the end of round 1 for the match and round 2 of the same exact structure is to be started. After 2 rounds, it is up to the panel of judges to decide the player that won by vote. Each judge decides who wins based who each of them thought collectively did the best in the following 3 categories:

• Creativity: Did the player attempt different styles of tricks? Did the player incorporate stage movement as a part of their freestyle? Did the player incorporate their own style in their freestyle? Did the player do a trick or set of tricks that is not commonly seen in the kendama community?
• Consistency: How many spikes did the player land (a spike marks the completion of a trick or a combo of tricks)?
• Difficulty: Did the player complete tricks that were challenging?

The player who wins moves on to the next match, and the bracket grows smaller as players continue to advance until 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are crowned.

North American Kendama Open

Formerly known as the Minnesota Kendama Open, the North American Kendama Open (NAKO) has been an annual kendama event in Minnesota every Fall since 2013. The NAKO has developed over the years, going from a one day event in 2013-2014, to a two day event in 2015-2017, to a 3 day event in 2018-2019. The event has been hosted all over Minnesota - in 2013 it was held in St. Paul, in the years 2014-2018 it was held in the Mall of America, and most recently it was held in Minneapolis at the Varsity Theater in 2019.

The forms of competition that the NAKO offers are as following:

• Beginner speed ladder
• Intermediate speed ladder
• Amateur open division
• Pro Open Division
• Freestyle

Each style of competition is split up into different times across each day of the event, so a portion of every competition is completed by the time each day ends. On the final day, a champion is crowned in all divisions.

Winners

• 2013: Max Norcross
• 2014: Lukas Funk
• 2015: Zack Gallagher
• 2016: Nick Gallagher
• 2017: So Kanada
• 2018: So Kanada
• 2019: Motty

Kendama World Cup

Starting in 2014, the Kendama World Cup (KWC) is an annual 2-day event in the summer that takes place in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan and is the largest kendama competition in the world. In 2018 alone, the KWC had an audience of 49,000 members that were watching 415 competitors from 18 different countries battle for the title of Kendama World Champion.

Besides the main competition, there are also an abundance of vendors selling their merchandise and kendamas, kendama games, and live performances all spread out over the 2 days of the event. Admission to the KWC is free.

Rules

Competition preparation starts ~3 months prior to the KWC with the online release of the tricks that will be judged at the event. There are 120 tricks divided up into 12 different levels, with each level containing 10 tricks each. The levels are separated by difficulty, so level 1 tricks are the easiest and worth the least amount of points, and level 12 tricks are the hardest and worth the most amount of points. The trick list is released on the internet in PDF format as well as in 12 different videos on YouTube, each video corresponding to its particular level of tricks in order to visually demonstrate the correct way of completing each trick.

The KWC is broken up into Day 1: Qualifying and Day 2: Finals, and each day has its own set of rules.

Day 1: Qualifying Round

In this round, the competitors are competing to get within the top 25 highest point totals in order to move on to the Finals. Each trick level corresponds to how many points it is worth (ex. a level 6 trick is worth 6 points), with the exception of level 11 and 12 tricks as those are excluded in the qualifiers. There are 2 rounds in qualifiers. Each player picks 12 tricks from levels 1-10 and divides them into 2 sets of 6, one set for each round. Each round has 5 main tricks and one "backup" trick - the backup trick's level in each round has to be equivalent or lower than the lowest level of trick of that round's main tricks. Each backup trick is there to to cover one of the main tricks' points in each round if a player happens to miss one or more main tricks. Once the players pick out their tricks in each of their rounds and mark them on a sheet of paper, they turn their sheets into the staff.

Players are divided into groups A, B, and C. Within group A and B being divided into sub groups of 3-5 players each, and group C being divided into subgroups of 4 players each. The players in each subgroup will judge each other on the completion of each others tricks (ex. player 1 in each group will be judged by the other players in their groups). Players may use up to 2 kendamas, one for each round. The qualifiers begin when the first person in each group is ready to compete, and a timer of 3 minutes starts. This timer marks the time limit the players have to get as many tricks as possible in their first round of tricks. Once 3 minutes is up, the same process is repeated for the other person in each subgroup for their first round of tricks, and then the process is repeated again for each player's second round of tricks. Once the staff totals up the points at the end of the day, the top 25 players with the highest scores are chosen to move on to the next day: the Finals.

Day 2: Finals

During the finals, the objective is to get the highest amount of points in order to win. Each trick is worth its value to the exponent of 2 (ex. a level 7 trick is worth 49 points), with the exception of level 11 and 12 tricks, as a level 11 trick is worth its value squared with the addition of 30 points (151) and a level 12 trick is worth its value squared plus 50 points (194). The final players compete one by one in order from the lowest scoring player to the highest scoring player in the qualifiers. Every finalist is only permitted to use one kendama in their final round. Each player's final round begins by the start of a 3 minute timer, and within those 3 minutes the player is free to do any trick from levels 3-12 that they choose.

Once all players are finished competing, the judges tally up their scores and then add each players score that they got in the qualifiers to their score they got in the finals, making their total final score.

Winners

2014: Bonz Atron

2015: Wyatt Bray

2016: Bryson Lee

2017: So Kanada

2018: Nick Gallagher

2019: Rui Sora

See also

• Bilboquet
• Yo-yo

External links

• Kendama USA
• KROM Kendama
• Gloken Kendamas Network
• British Kendama Association
• Japanese Kendama Association
• Kendama London
• Kendama France
• Kendama Lithuania