Complete Guide to Kendama Models, Materials & Tricks: What to Look for when Buying Your First or Next Kendama
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Choosing the right kendama can feel overwhelming, especially with how much the craft has evolved over the past decade. Different woods, paints, shapes, and designs all influence how a kendama feels and performs. This guide is designed to give you accurate, experience-backed information so you can confidently choose your first kendama, or level up to your next setup with confidence.
Whether you’re just learning your first earth turns or dialing in advanced balance tricks, understanding how kendama materials and design choices affect play will help you progress faster and enjoy the journey more.
Understanding Kendama Woods: Beech, Maple, and Bamboo
The wood used in a kendama has a major impact on durability, feel, and how quickly it breaks in.
A full beech kendama is one of the best all-around options, especially for beginners or players looking for an affordable setup. Beech is slightly softer than maple, which allows it to break in more quickly. This makes stalls, balance tricks, and cup control feel more natural sooner.
A full maple kendama is more durable and typically a bit more expensive. Maple resists denting and wear better than beech, meaning the ken holds its shape longer and stays consistent over time. Many players prefer maple for its longevity and solid feel, making it a very well-rounded option.
One of the most popular setups among professional kendama players is a maple ken paired with a beech tama. This combination offers the best of both worlds: a durable handle that maintains its structure, and a tama that breaks in faster for stalls and balance-based tricks. Because beech is softer than maple, the tama develops grip points more quickly, which many players love for lunars and lighthouses.
Bamboo is a very unique material in kendama. While technically a grass, bamboo is surprisingly durable, lightweight, and soft to the touch. Bamboo kendamas have a distinct look and a naturally grippy feel inside the cups. They offer a completely different playing experience and are an excellent option for players looking to explore something outside traditional hardwoods.
Kendama Paint Types: Sticky vs Matte
Paint choice plays a huge role in how a kendama performs, especially for modern balance tricks.
The two most common paints today are sticky paint and matte paint, and both provide excellent grip. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference, which is why we recommend giving both a try.
Sticky paint offers strong initial grip and excels at tricks like lunars and lighthouses. However, it tends to get slick more quickly when the tama becomes sweaty or greasy during longer sessions.
Matte paint is soft to the touch and also performs extremely well for balance tricks. One key difference is that matte paint allows for more micro-adjustments for tricks like lighthouse and lunar, which a lot of players prefer.
Neither option is better, so it really comes down to preference and play style.
Modern Kendama Quality and Brand Reliability
The quality of kendamas has improved dramatically in recent years. Any kendama produced by a major kendama company after 2023 is likely to be very high quality, with refined shapes, durable finishes, and reliable performance.
When choosing a brand, look for companies with a strong and active presence on Instagram and YouTube. Brands that consistently post videos, host events, and support players tend to be the most reliable and invested in the growth of kendama culture.
Kendama Designs and Tracking: Why It Matters
For new and pro kendama players alike, tracking is critical. Tracking refers to how easily you can visually follow the hole on the tama AKA the ball during tricks.
We strongly recommend choosing a kendama with a horizontal tracking stripe or a design with strong color contrast. These designs make it easier to see the tama’s rotation in the middle of a trick, and makes a huge difference in either landing or missing a spike.
Kendama Co offers a wide variety of halfsplit fades, stripe fades, stripe zens, and other horizontal fade designs that provide exceptional tracking. These visual cues make learning tricks faster and more intuitive, especially in the early stages.
Mixing Setups for the Best Learning Experience
If you’re serious about progressing, experimenting with different setups is invaluable. We recommend trying a maple ken with a beech tama alongside a full bamboo kendama to experience how different materials affect play.
Pair one setup with sticky paint and the other with matte paint to develop adaptability and discover what feels best for your style. Playing multiple setups will sharpen your control and deepen your understanding of the mechanics of kendama.
Kendama String Length: Finding Your Sweet Spot
New kendamas usually come with longer strings so players can cut them down to their preferred length. String length primarily allows players to extend their range of play without the string tangling or getting in the way when landing high level tricks. Tricks with a high level of rotations, juggles, or taps benefit greatly from a long string.
Many professional players use strings that measure 10 finger lengths or longer. For beginners, we recommend starting somewhere between 4 and 8 finger lengths.
To measure string length, place the tama on the spike while holding the kendama. Insert your free hand into the closed loop formed by the string, bring it beneath the bottom cup, and use your fingers as a unit of measurement. This method has been used to measure kendama string length for decades, and it really comes down to personal preference, and will most likely change as you learn and try new tricks.
Kendama Shapes: What We Recommend
The shape of your new kendama absolutely matters. The height of a ken, cup sizes, spike length, and overall balance all influence performance.
For an all-around, refined setup that works across all trick styles, we recommend the Zen Shape, 2UP Shape, or KD Shape. These shapes are well-honed, versatile, and trusted by players at every skill level, from beginners to professionals.
Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Kendama for You
The “best” kendama is the one that fits your goals, feels good in your hands, and inspires you to keep playing. Understanding wood types, paint finishes, tracking designs, string length, and shape will help you make informed choices and progress faster.
Modern kendamas are better than ever, and with the right setup, you’re not just buying a toy, you’re investing in a skill, a culture, and a lifelong craft. Whether it’s your first kendama or your next upgrade, choose intentionally, experiment often, and enjoy the process.