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British Kendama Association

Kendama: "Elegant Simplicity. Infinite Complexity. Ultimate Fun."

Welcome to the BKA: the ultimate resource for all kendama-related information. You'll find the all latest kendama news, and a wealth of other info on the pages linked below. If you're completely new to the Japanese skill-toy that is kendama,
and don't know what it's all about, watch this.

British Kendama Open 2015

Where and When

IT'S OVER!!! Full results are here.
Thanks to all attendees, judges, organisers & sponsors!
bko group 2015

The 2015 BKO Social Day will be held in Bushey Park, from 12:30pm on Saturday May 2nd. -> Meet here!
The 2015 BKO Competition Day will be held at Vine Hall, Vine Road, East Molesey, Surrey (West London) KT8 9LF, from 10.50am on Sunday, May 3rd.

Forum discussion thread is here.

Thank you to all our lovely sponsors!


Vine Hall is 15 minutes walk from Hampton Court Railway Station. <-- click for map.

Vine Hall
click the pic
to open Google Maps in a new window.
Admission to the event is FREE!

Entry prices for the divisions are as follows:

Division: Entry price
Beginner: £5*
Intermediate: £6*
Advanced: £8*
Dan Jam: £3*
7 to Spike: £3*
*BKA Members get a discount of £1 per division, on presentation of a current membership card.

Entry to either Beg, Int or Adv divisions also includes a free Kyu grading††.

Free tea, coffee and biscuits for all!

The BKO will have 5 divisions:

Beginners Division Trick Ladder.
Intermediate Speed Ladder.
Advanced Division Knockout Competition.
Dan Jam.

7 to Spike.

...Plus BONUS GAMES throughout the afternoon, if time permits.

Competitors may only enter one of Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced, but may enter all the other categories.


Approximate Schedule:

10.50 Doors open
10.50 - 13.00 Arrival, registration for divisions, meet, chat,general play, plus official gradings.
13.00 Registration for divisions ends
13.10 Beginners Division
13.50 Intermediate Division
14.30 Advanced Division begins
15.00 Dan Jam begins
15.45 Advance Division continues
17.00 Advanced Division Final
17.20 7 to Spike
18.00 Prize giving, photos, relax!
18.30 Clear up, leave Hall.

19.00 Meet up for food!

Beginners Trick Ladder.
(Advisory skill level guide: 10th Kyu - 1st Kyu players)

If a player enters the Beginner division, then they can not enter the Intermediate or Advanced divisions.

Players start at trick number 1. If a trick is completed successfully, the player moves on to the next trick in the list. Players are allowed a total of 3 misses for the whole ladder. (If their first 3 misses are on one trick, they may proceed to the next trick). A player's 4th misses signals the end of their run.

The player who gets furthest through the list wins. In the event of a tie, the player who reached the highest level without missing is the winner.
If the game is still tied after this, then players will compete in Moshikame, each player having one minute to complete as many catches as possible. Their run ends at the first drop, or after 60 seconds, whichever comes first.

Trick name (Clarification)

1. Big Cup
2. Candle
3. Moshi Kame (3 catches).
(No rimshots allowed. Start from hanging.)
4. Orbit (Orbit must be around the ball, in any direction)
5. Spike (No spin on ball)
6. Flying Top (Ball must completely leave the spike)
7. Tap-back
8. Aeroplane
9. Around Japan
10*. Lighthouse (Hold still for 3 seconds)
11.* Falling Down

*Note: Tricks #10 & 11 are performed in the SAME attempt.

See RULES below. If in doubt, tricks must be performed as in the video below.
Video below....
Intermediate Speed Ladder Division
(Advisory skill level guide: 1st Kyu - Pre-Dan players)

If a player enters Intermediate Division, then they cannot enter Beginners or Advanced.

Players must complete all the tricks, in order, as fast as possible. If you miss a trick, keep trying until you get it before moving on to the next trick.

If in doubt, tricks must be performed as in the video below. Transitions between tricks may be done in any way, as long as they do not prevent the tricks being started and completed properly.

Trick name (Clarification)

1. Knee Bounce
2. Around The World
3. Aeroplane (From Held start)
4. Spike (No spin on ball)
5. Earth Turn (including Swing In from Held start)
6. Trapeze Acrobats (Minimum 2 rotations)
7. Moshi Kame x 10
8. Jumping Stick


See RULES below. If in doubt, tricks must be performed as in the video below.
Video of the Beginner and Intermediate tricks demonstrated by The Void.
(Video is the same as the 2013 EKO tricks)

Download/watch on iOS here.
Advanced Knockout Division.
(Advisory skill level guide: Pre-Dan and above players)

If a player enters the Advanced division, then they can not enter the Beginner or Intermediate division.

Players compete in pairs, in a knockout system. A random trick is drawn, and the players attempt it once each. If one player succeeds and the other fails, the successful player gets 1 point. If, after 3 attempts each, no player has scored a point, a new trick is drawn. The first player to 2 points proceeds to the next round.

In the final, the first to 3 points will be the winner.

For the early rounds, tricks are randomly selected from #1-10 on the list. For the Quarter Finals, from 6-15, for the Semi-Finals, from 11-20, and for the final, from 16-25.

NEW RULE - The Joker!
Each player has one "joker", which they can play at any time during any round of the Advanced division. The joker can be used in any of the following ways:

i. To "reject" a trick that is drawn. The trick will be set aside, and a new one drawn. Note: The joker must be played before either player has attempted the trick.
ii. To cancel an opponents "rejection".
iii. To "force" a specific trick from the list, instead of a random one.
iv. To cancel an opponent's
"force".
If a joker is played, and the opponent plays their joker to cancel, both players lose their joker. Each player only has one joker for the entire division, so use it wisely!

BOUNTY PRIZE!
Anyone who beats reigning champion
Thorny in the Advanced Division will win a bounty prize of £50 CASH.

Tricks

Early Rounds:
1. Around Britain
2. [1 Eye] 10 Moshi Kame > Spike
3. Kiss Big Cup
4. Kneeling Liberty Candle
5. Knee Stab
6. Reverse Swing In
7. Backhand Slip-on-stick
8. Weak Hand Lighthouse
9. Jumping Stick
10. Prayer Spike
Quarter Finals:
11. Aeroplane > Breakaway Trapeze
12. Lighthouse > Forearm Trap
13. Floor Spike
14. Trap Pivot > Pivot Aeroplane
15. Lighthouse Somersault
Semi Finals:
16. Hanging Candle
17. Tick Tock Clock
18. Aeroplane > Double grip change > UFO
19. Thumb Trap > Somersault
20. Hanging 1-Turn Lighthouse
Final:
21. Bird Turn
22. Lunar > Somersault In
23. Wingwalker
24. Whirlwind Big Cup > Juggle Big Cup
25. Axe



See the video below for the trick specifics.
If in doubt.. do it like Void does in the video!
Video of the Advanced tricks ....

British Kendama Open 2015 Advanced <-- Please go to JTV for iOS playback
The Dan Jam
(Obligatory skill level guide: 1st Dan and above)

Any player who enters will have 60 seconds to freestyle with an approved competition kendama(s?).
FREEstyle. Anything you like. Judges will take into account:

- i) technical skill level
- ii) presentation/style/flow
- iii) originality
- iv) success/failure rate

…each scored out of 10. Highest score wins.

The Dan Jam is only open to players with an official BKA or JKA grading of 1st Dan or higher.

7 to Spike

All players line up, with one randomly chosen as "the king". The player at the front of the line comes forward and does a trick (1 attempt only). The King then responds to the trick (1 attempt only).
Any style of trick is permitted, and any kendama. Tricks must all finish on a Spike/Aeroplane.
The 3 judges then vote, and the winner becomes/remains King, and gains a point. The loser goes to the back of the line. First player to 7 points wins.
NOTE!: If a player's kendama touches the floor at any time during their trick attempt, that is an instant fail, and their opponent immediately wins the point.

Rules

The ball must not be spinning when in the start position.

All tricks must be performed with a BKA-approved kendama.
Competitors must own their own kendama.

For multi-stage tricks, no adjustments may be made to the string with the free hand. Similarly, the ball may not be re-positioned after an initial catch, before moving on to a later stage.

The judges' decisions are final.

††Gradings

All competitors may take a free Kyu grading if they arrive before 12.30. Anyone who wishes to attempt a higher grading only has to pay the difference in the standard fee.