Help With Juggle to Lighthouse?

[udgfxp]

I can only do it like 1/100 times, and when i do the hole in the tama isn't facing up which I would like it to... does anybody have any tips for juggle to lighthouse? Any practice tips for juggle to lighthouse?

[BKA]

Break it down into the elements. Try to analyse where you are going wrong. e.g. Is the ken already out of control in the throw? Or is that bit fine, and it's the catch? If so, have you caught the ball cleanly? Or is it just the Lighthouse bit? Reverse-engineering where exactly your problem is could help.
Alternatively, have a read of these threads, something in them might twig for you:
http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1424.0.html
http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1112.0.html
http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,837.0.html

[the milky oolong]

Hello [user]udgfxp[/user],

I think I can do this trick reasonably well, at least one in three on a good day.

In dastardly fashion I have once or twice dropped Swing>Juggle>LH into a game of K.E.N., and I find there are a few little points which tame the whole process right down:

First, hold the ken quite 'deep,' before take-off, i.e. by the slip-grip or lower, and keep a loose wrist.
Keep the string taut; this will reduce how much guess-work you're about to be doing in catching the tama and positioning it for the landing.
Breathe, slow down, give the ken some backspin and a bit of height (for some reason I think of 'alley-oop', not that I know what that means.) , for me the flip of the ken is 'rounder' and slower than that needed for a Whirlwind.
Watch the ken. Practise this enough until your hand finds the tama on its own.
Make the catch. If you're wanting to go straight to Spike, I would recommend either grasping the tama with index and middle fingers around the string, or use the old 'Hole Control', and spike it in the basement. I mean cellar. You know what I mean.