Kendama Tricks List

March 17, 2025

The Ultimate Kendama Trick Lists to Prepare for Competition: Skill Divisions for All Players

Whether you’re just starting your kendama journey or you’re looking to improve and take your skills to the next level, having a clear roadmap of essential tricks can significantly help. Kendama progression is all about learning new tricks and styles, step by step. For Open style competition, consistency is key, while Freestyle formats are much more favored by creativity, difficulty, and flow of tricks. No matter what your goal is, mastering the right tricks, starting with a strong foundation is key to elevating your performance. To help you prepare, we’ve broken down some of the best tricks by skill division, from Beginner to Pro— so you can build your way up to the top!

Beginner Open Tricks (from BATB 2025)

If you’re new to kendama, mastering these 10 tricks will help you establish a strong foundation, setting the stage for progression:

1. Candlestick
2. Swing Spike
3. Big Cup, Orbit Big Cup
4. Lighthouse, In
5. Around Japan
6. Sara Grip Around the Block
7. Airplane
8. Top Grip Bottom Cup
9. Big Cup Spike
10. Frying Pan

These tricks focus on the basics. Once you have mastered these 10 tricks, you can begin to expand on combos, and tricks that progress you towards more advanced techniques.

Intermediate Open Tricks (from BATB 2025)

Once you’ve mastered the basics, it's time to start leveling up your game a bit with some extra spikes, earth turns, and some new balance tricks:

1. Around Europe
2. Swing Spike, Inward Earth Turn
3. One Turn Lighthouse, Trade Spike
4. Big Cup, Juggle Big Cup, Spike
5. Airplane Jumping Stick
6. Downspike
7. Lunar, In
8. Bird, Spike
9. Stunt Plane
10. Swing Spike, Whirlwind

These tricks will improve your versatility and expand your library of tricks significantly.

Advanced Open Tricks (from BATB 2025)

Advanced tricks take everything you've learned so far, and put them to the test. These tricks will further develop your muscle memory, and will become staples in your kendama trick book:

1. 1-Turn Lighthouse, Lighthouse Flip, Trade Spike
2. Kenflip Spike
3. Inward Lunar, Lighthouse, Small Cup Lunar, In
4. Stilt, In
5. Spacewalk In
6. Stunt Plane Fasthand, Earth Turn
7. Handlestall, In
8. Airplane, Jumping Stick, Inward Jumping Stick
9. Candlestick Swap Spike
10. Kengrip Underbird, Swap Tama Grip In

After successfully mastering these tricks, you can confidently say you have spent a lot of time playing kendama.

AM Open Tricks (from BATB 2025)

AM-level tricks is where tricks begin to get really technical, integrating complex coordination and high-level timing developed over time:

1. Bird Over Valley, Flip In (tama grip finish)
2. 1-Turn Tap Juggle Spike
3. Swing Spike, Juggle Spike
4. Stilt, Stilt Flip, In
5. 1-Turn Airplane, 1.5 Swap Spike
6. Double Gunslinger Spike
7. Opposite Hand Airplane
8. Downspike Fasthand, Jumping Stick
9. Handlestall, Bird, In
10. Lunar Barrel Roll, In
11. Inward Lunar, Flip Cushion Inward Lunar, In
    
12. Swing Spike, Double Whirlwind
13. Goon Circle Spike
14. Lightning Drop Swap Spike
15. Stunt Plane, Inward Stunt Flip
    

Tricks from the Am Open list combine a good mix of staple kendama tricks with some higher level technical moves requiring a lot of dexterity, focus, hand-eye coordination, and muscle memory. This is the bridge between casual and serious kendama play. If you can consistently land these tricks, you have spent hundreds of hours playing kendama, and are well on you way to professional level kendama play.

Pro Open Tricks (from BATB 2025)

Pro tricks are for the top-tier professional players. These tricks require thousands of hours of practice, a high level of hand-eye coordination, finesse, and commitment to grinding dama:

1. Inward Lunar, Inward .5 Flip Tap, Inward Lunar, In
2. 2-Turn, 2-Tap, Juggle Spike
3. Kenflip, Juggle, Late Kenflip Spike
4. Stunt Plane, .5 Flip Tap Stunt Plane
5. Airplane, 3-Turn Swap Downspike Fasthand
6. Candlestick, Inward Juggle Candlestick, Ken Grip Spike
7. Opposite Hand Lighthouse, Trade Spike
8. Bird, Juggle Bird, Spike
9. Airplane, 1.5 Cushion Lighthouse, In
10. Lunar, Laser Flip, In
11. Triple Regular Stilt Flip, In
12. 1-Turn Tap Swap Juggle Late Gunslinger Spike
13. 3-Tap Flip In, 3-Tap Flip In
14. Gooncircle, Late Kenflip Spike
15. Triple Kenflip, Late Kenflip Spike
16. 1-Turn Tap Swap, Inward Throw Swap, Tap 1-Turn In
17. 2-Turn Swap Candlestick, Double Candlestick Flip, Trade Ken Grip Spike
18. Inward Lunar, Flip Cushion Spike Tap Small Cup Lunar, Flip Cushion In
19. Nightingale, Inward Juggle Bird, Spike
20. Airplane, 1.5 Swap Late Gunslinger, Swap 1.5 In

Achieving mastery of these Top 20 Pro tricks will without a doubt put you in the top level of kendama. If you can land all of these tricks, you will most definitely be considered a highly skilled player amongst the community.

Conclusion

No matter where you are on your kendama journey, practicing trick lists, and peparing for competition is all about mastering the basics, and progressing your skill level over time. Starting with beginner tricks and progressing through to pro-level tricks will ensure you have the necessary foundation, control, and skill to shred dama. By focusing on each skill division and honing your craft, you’ll be able to bring your best performance to the table—making you a strong contender on the competition circuit.

Start practicing these tricks, and who knows? You could be the next kendama world champion!

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