What is a KENDAMA?
For those that haven’t heard of these wonderful items before - 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) that are all connected together by a string.
On one end of the ken is a cup, while the other end of ken is narrowed down, forming a spike (kensaki) that fits into the hole (ana) of the tama. The kendama is the Japanese version of the classic cup and ball game.
The Kendama can be held in different grips, and the tricks and combinations that can be done are limitless.
This is seriously fun for all ages (ideal age might be 8+ but there are some amazing 6/7 year olds our there who totally rock these kendamas, so for how old is too old – I’ll share a video of an amazing 81 year old working her magic!)
NOTE: Words from a Kendama Pro: It is absolutely normal for any Kendama to get chips and dints due to the nature of the game. What you will find is as they "break in" (chip and dint) they will become better for stall tricks etc, especially as they lose paint around the bevel (hole). So don’t fret too much if your Kendama is showing signs of being played with. After all we all know all wooden toys that are much loved will show these marks of love.