玉Kendama Trick GuideTrick index
Rank 一 · Novice

The Grip

握り · Nigiri

Before any trick: how the ken and tama are held.

Difficulty Rung 1 of 5 on the Novice ladder

How to hold the ken and tama before anything else. Every trick downstream inherits your grip — a tense hand here shows up as a crooked toss two levels later.

How it's done

  1. 一

    Hold the ken in your dominant hand, thumb and index finger loosely around the handle — firm enough to control, loose enough to pivot.

  2. 二

    Cradle the tama in your other hand with the hole facing up. Never pinch it with fingertips alone.

  3. 三

    Keep your elbows soft and your eyes on the ball, not the cup.

  4. 四

    Drill the rhythm: drop the tama from your cup hand, let it swing, stop it dead.