Not only is kendama fun and exhilarating, in order to level up your game it can become extremely challenging even to the point of frustration. But luckily for us there are certain little tips and tricks that can get us to the next step just a little bit faster. One of them is hole control.
Hole control is a bridge every kendama player is going to have to cross if they want to excel in their kendama journey. I cannot stress enough how important this technique is for landing difficult tricks. By applying this technique it gives you the advantage of landing tricks more frequently.
Hole control is having the ability to always know where the hole of the Tama will be at all times so you can become more consistent with spiking tricks. The smallest use of hole control is one of the first kendama tricks we land as beginner players - the spinning tama pull-up spike. By spinning the Tama we create what is known as a gyroscope in scientific terms.
Because of gravity, while the Tama spins as you pull it up, it will remain in the same spinning orientation, therefore we will always know the whole will be on the bottom. You can then just let the Tama fall onto the spike without having to hunt for it! So no matter which level you currently are at skill-wise, hole control can be used for an assortment of tricks so you can spike very time.
Another good way to learn hole control is from other players who have already mastered it. BY seeing it in front of you with your own eyes you can get a better understanding of how you can set the Tama hole up to where you can predict its orientation. Just another good reason to go to kendama events and meet experienced players!