The Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy which consists of the “Ken” (handle) and the “Tama” (ball), which is connected by a string. The two extending sides of the kendama are concave cups, with one end smaller than the other. The larger cup is called the ōzara ("big cup") and the smaller cup is called the kozara ("small cup"). There is another, even smaller cup, called the chūzara ("center cup") at the bottom of the ken. The Kendama tricks are done by variations of juggling the ball in the three cups spiking the ball with the Ken spike, and balancing both in new creative ways. Mastering the Kendama takes practice, focus, patience, and creativity.
So there you have it, readers! The Kendama is anything but a boring toss and catch game…and it goes to show
that sometimes the simplest games (sans lights, batteries, and sound effects) provide the most fun of all. Here’s to hundreds more years of good old fashioned fun with the Kendama.
Review:
All I can say is that the "beginner tricks" are more advanced that I can do - I thought I was doing great being able to "catch" the ball on one of the side cups - I got so excited. Then, I watched the video on the Kaleb Kendama website and was in awe of the amount of fun tricks that the boys in the video could do. I definitely am a novice compared to them but still find it fun - more fun even than Yo-Yo or Hacky Sack (yep, I'm showing my age!).
Now, for quality - the Kendama from Kaleb Kendama is solid wood with nice painted swirly surface - striking in style and color - I love the variety and selection of designs available. After some use there are nicks and scratches in it but nothing that takes away from the look or use of it. Overall I find it to be of good quality, string in strong and great for many, many hours of play and even better - it comes with a replacement string. There is a video on the website that shows you how to replace the string step by step.
A fun new game that my 14 year old son, 10 year old daughter and 7 year old daughter all love to try to catch the ball on one of the three different size cups. Now that we have seen the video of tricks, we are all trying to increase what we can do with our Kendamas and also see who can get a new trick first.
Kendamas are a great way to entertain kiddos, youth and even adults without electronics. It also gets them up and moving and having fun alone or in a group. I highly recommend this toy for kids of all ages ~ good for home or travel. Personally I think it would make a great group activity too!
Now for the FUN - A Giveaway!
Kaleb Kendama has generously offered to provide the followers here on Mom Loves 2 Read with a Giveaway of 4 Kendamas! 4 separate winners will get to choose a Kendama from Kaleb Kendama website of their choice. Winner must be 18 or older and have a valid US address. All entries will be validated - winner will have 48 hours to reply and claim prize.
**Any Bloggers willing to post this giveaway and promote may request the html in exchance for a free link on the giveawaytools form!
Disclosure: I received free the item(s) mentioned in this post in exchange for my honest review. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.
