Classic Kendama

When I was growing up, yo-yo’s were huge (especially the ones that could sleep). People would do all kinds of tricks. I remember first seeing this Japanese toy and thinking, oh that’s cool but I’d rather play with my Gameboy. Nowadays, kendama are all the rage with people of all ages showing off their cup-catching skills. I wanted to create this model in homage to the beautiful simplicity of the toy.

This kendama is made up of three different components. The cup part slides onto the stick until it’s snug. The cup attaches to the ball via a string. Though the stick is built to be accurate, be sure to use a higher fill-rate on the stick portion to make sure that the stick stays secure.

The entire kendama (when assembled) without the ball is approximately 6.25 in x 2.75 in x 1.75 in. The ball is around 2.375 inches in diameter.

Hope you enjoy playing around with this! Can’t wait to see all the tricks you come up with.