Kendama

Kendama Is for Everyone

On this page, you can check out our wide selection of high-quality kendamas. All kendamas in our selection feature stand-out designs and are shaped with minute precision; your new path to self-expression and fun starts here!

Kendamas are more than just another toy or add-on to go with your scooter, skateboard or BMX. While kendama is the perfect opportunity to integrate play in day-to-day life, it is also a sport, a passion, and a global community.

What Kendama Should I Get?

We recommend that you get any standard-sized kendama that you think looks cool.

Beginners will benefit from getting a kendama where the ball features a sticky rubber paint in order to make certain tricks easier.

Mastery of the kendama comes with practice. Once you start going into finer details about the shape of the ken or the weight distribution between the different parts, you will already be an experienced kendama player, and you probably won't need advice on choosing a kendama at that stage.

What Are Kendamas?

Kendama is a wooden toy that has its origins in Japan. Kendamas consist of the following parts:

• Ken: This is the handle, or the sword, and it is the long stick that is the most central part of the kendama.
• Kensaki: This is also referred to as the “spike”. It is the pointy end of the ken that fits into the ball (aka tama).
• Sarado: The cross-piece that fits over the ken to form a T.
• Ozora: The biggest cup of the kendama, located on the sarado.
• Kozora: The small cup located on the sarado.
• Chuzara: The cup located at the bottom of the ken.
• Tama: The ball which has a hole (aka ana).
• Ito: The string that connects the tama to the ken.

Standard kendamas usually weigh between 140-150g, and typically the ken and tama weigh almost the same.

Kendamas are typically made of hardwoods like beech, maple, or cherry. These woods are chosen for their stiffness. Aesthetic qualities also play into the selection of kendama woods, where specific grain patterns and wood combinations can add to the visual appeal of the kendama.

Kendamas feature either paint or high-gloss lacquer finishes, and while adding to the esthetics, they also protect the wood from damage. Some finishes are also developed to help make tricks easier - this is often applied to the tama, where specially developed rubber paints make it easier to perform balance tricks like lighthouse.

Sharpen Your Mind with Kendama

Do you like the feeling you get when you focus intensely on learning new tricks? If so, you will love to play kendama.

There are no specific rules in kendama, so the options are endless: anyone can play kendama, and anyone can express themselves by performing classic tricks as well as inventing new ones.

Through playing kendama, you develop your hand-eye coordination and your balance skills. Playing kendama has a meditative, yoga-like calm to it because it involves extended concentration and bodily awareness.

Kendama is very popular among skaters, BMX-ers and pro scooter riders. To many they offer a welcome distraction while waiting for the bus or while waiting for an appointment, and thanks to the handy size, you can bring it wherever you want. In short: Kendama has the potential to be the perfect cure to any smartphone-related fatigue.

Where Does Kendama Come From?

Kendama as we know it today originated in Japan. Originally, kendama was considered a toy or a pastime for kids, but today it is a sport and activity that brings people together all over the world. If you aspire to become a professional kendama player, there are even international competitions, including the World Cup.