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The kendama community is full of vocabulary and slang that can be a challenge to keep track of. As an outsider first joining the community, the last thing any of us want is to be at a kendama event and be confused when they keep saying “wet tip” or “laced”.
But kendama jargon is important to learn as it is another fun part of kendama culture that is used to describe tricks, kendamas, and other miscellaneous things players do.
This page is dedicated to to keeping all of our readers, whether you are a casual or hardcore kendama player, up-to-date and informed about the latest terms being used within the community.
It’s with that in mind that we put an end to kendama illiteracy!
Battle/Grind
The long term of tries and frustration that goes into landing a trick.
Base Cup Hole
The drilled out section on the base cup.
Cop/Copped
To buy a new kendama.
Freshie
A brand new kendama that is ‘fresh’.
Hand Check
A photo of a players hand holding the current kendama they are playing,
Honed
A perfectly broken in kendama that helps you sharpen your skills.
Ken
The main body that contains the 3 cups, and the spike.
Mash-up
A custom kendama made up of parts from different brands.
Natty
A full wood kendama that doesn’t use any paint.
Tama
The ball that is paired with the ken.
Sarado
The piece of the ken that contains the big cup, and small cup.
Seshed
A well played and worn out kendama
Set-up
A kendama that is set up with a players personal preferences such as string length, paint type, etc.
Slayer
A kendama player.
Sword
The handle piece of the ken that contains the base cup, and spike.
Banger
A difficult and stylish trick.
Clean
When a trick is landed smoothly.
Dirty/No-hole
A stall trick that doesn’t use the bevel to stall on.
Dub
A trick that rotates the ken or tama twice.
Flow
A style of playing kendama play that is steady and continuous.
Lighty
A Lighthouse.
Lace
To spike after a long trick line.
Line
A combination of multiple tricks in one.
Lofty
When a tricks is performed high and slow.
Loon
A Lunar.
Quad
A trick that rotates the ken or tama four times
Rint
A clean trick.
Slay
To repeatedly land difficult tricks on a consistent basis.
Slaps/Slapper
When a lunar or lighthouse trick makes a slap sound when it lands on the tama.
Soft
A trick that is deemed easy by experienced players.
Trip
A trick that rotates the ken or tama three times.
Tech
A very technical and complex trick.
Wet Tip
When the trick is spiked but immediately falls out of the bevel.
