JKA Kendamas

I'm not sure exactly what modifications you mean however I've been told that beeswaxing a ken is considered a change that is not allowed. Also all the painted/stained aftermarket JKA kendama wouldn't be allowed in competitions or testing either.

Only JKA "approved" kendama are allowed in competitions and for Dan level testing. JKA "recommended" are OK for testing through Jun Shodan testing.

Some Yumu products I believe hold the JKA "recommended" seal but have not yet produced JKA "approved" kendama. It's an ongoing process as I understand it.

 

@Emil Apostol
-New string
That would be fine as long as it is a 'normal' string (ie no silk strings or whatever), min 38 cm though

-"coining" the bevel (making the bevel more open)
Definitely not** (see below)

-Switching parts between JKA kendamas (e.g. An Ozora tama on a TK-16 Ken).
Nope (or at least, I would be very surprised if this was okay)

-licking the bevel during tests/competitions
I would guess not, they are strict about the routine and culture of the game ('kendama-do'), so something like that would probably be seen as inappropriate.


To make clear how rigorous they are, I'll give the same example that I was given, when I took the JKA examiner training course:

A competitor has pulled up to lighthouse, and now they must do 'falling in' to complete the trick. They want to double check where the tama hole is, so they twist their hand to one side, rotating the ken so that they can see where the hole is. Having located the hole, they twist their hand back, and then complete the trick, successfully dropping in from lighthouse.
BUT WAIT! All the JKA judges have flagged it as a miss! wtf?
The reason is: once you are holding a balance trick like lighthouse, you are allowed just one movement of your hand to prepare for the next move, while in the example above the competitor made two movements. Keep in mind that during those movements, your fingers cannot move on the tama, so shuffling the tama to get the hole into the right spot is a fail as well.
This seems extreme, but it keeps things in line with the 'kendama-do' philosophy, in which all parts of a trick are completed clean and efficiently. It isn't just above the spike at the end, its about all of the parts of the trick working perfectly, the whole way through.

So, I hope that example helps illustrate the mentality of JKA contests. It really is in a very stark contrast to the 'Western' style of play.



** For official contests and testing, the kendama used must be JKA certified, and in very good condition. A tama that has reached the point of needing to be 'coined' would not be allowed in the first place. Basically, any marks / dents / etc that may affect the playability in any way are not allowed.

Of course, if you find some lonely JKA examiner to take an exam with, they may be a little more lax on the rules, but in general, expect it to be very strict.

 

My understanding is that previously there was a string length rule for competitions but that is no longer the case. They do still generally "recommend" the two-finger length but leave it up to the player.

 

As per my report from the November News, a new brand called “Kodama” has showed up :



(images courtesy of Tamago Kendama)


Don’t know what the design is like, but we can definitely see the new white JKA holo seal.

 

Hahaha yeah, color me surprised too.
The company behind the Kodama is Ikeda Industrial.
I’ve had Hanasaki-san look up the company for me last month, and they have no experience in making kendamas (or at least it’s what he can see from the website).

 

Premiums are actually JKA approved, all the way.

 

IIRC current versions of the Sakura, Galaxy, Keyaki, Enjyu have JKA Approved seals.

I believe that the only current production Ozora that have the JKA Recommended seal are the Emperor, Taiyo, Taisei, Ebony, Rosewood and Mahogany.

 

My understanding is that it has more to do with the production abilities of the manufacturers rather than the restrictions of the JKA.