Kendama Contest
Kailua Elementary School - students show your skills!
Family Movie Night Pre-Show Event
Open to any Kailua Elementary School student who owns a standard-size kendama (sorry, no mini's or jumbos or other weird styles). Bring your kendama and be ready to show off your skill and talent.
Categories
Category I: For students in Grade 2 and under
Category II: For students in Grades 3 or 4
Category III: For students in Grades 5 or 6
One 10-minute round per category.
5:30p - 5:40p Category I
5:45p - 5:55p Category II
6:00p - 6:10p Category III
6:15p - 6:30p Prizes for the champions!
Prizes:
Category 1: Grade 2 and under champion gets one brand new 5-cup kendama
Category 2: Grade 3-4 champion gets one brand new 5-cup kendama
Category 3: Grade 5-6 champion gets one brand new 5-cup kendama
Contest Rules
- Contestants line up facing the audience and judges.
- Emcee has a deck of cards with specific tricks on them. Starting with the "BEGINNER" deck, emcee will shuffle and draw a card and announce the conditions (example: "Big Cup - hold the ken, ball at dead hang, toss ball and catch with big cup")
- All contestants attempt to land the trick. Maximum of three attempts for each trick.
- If successful, the contestant steps back and is "SAFE". If unsuccessful, the contestant is "OUT" and must leave the stage.
- Emcee pulls another card and repeats until there is only one contestant remaining.
- After the beginner deck is used, there are "INTERMEDIATE" and "ADVANCED" decks.
- If there is a tie between two or more contestants (time is running out) or the remaining contestants are all eliminated at the same time, then emcee will announce "FREESTYLE" since there must be one winner.
- FREESTYLE is a showcase by each remaining contestant has 15 seconds to show off their best tricks. Audience encouraged to cheer for their favorite. Judges will select the overall "most awesome" performance.
Trick List (as suggested to Mr. Tanaka by KES students)
BEGINNER
- "big cup" - dead hanging ball, toss ball and catch with big cup
- "small cup" - dead hanging ball, toss ball and catch with small cup
- "base cup" - dead hanging ball, toss ball and catch with base cup
- "candle" - dead hanging ball, hold spike, catch ball with base cup
- "clack" - start with ball in cup, toss ball, hit with base, and catch with same cup
- "spike" - dead hanging ball, toss ball upward and impale on spike (wet/spinning ball, or dry/still ball OK)
- "swinging spike" - hold the ken, swing the ball upward and impale on spike
- "airplane" - hold ball, dead hanging ken, swing ken up and impale ball with spike
- "frying pan" - dead hanging ball, toss ball and catch between cups (not touching hands or fingers)
- "orbit" - ball in big cup, toss ball and move the ken around the ball in a circle, then landing ball back on the cup, either direction OK
- "The Rabbit and Turtle" - ball in big cup, juggle between big cup and base cup back and forth (5 tosses minimum)
- "rainbow" - dead hanging ball, catch with big cup, then toss and catch with small cup
- "around the block" - dead hanging ball, toss and catch with big cup, then toss and catch with small cup, then toss and catch with base cup.
INTERMEDIATE
- "bird" - dead hanging ball, toss ball and balance ball between spike and big cup (perched like a bird)
- "under-bird" dead hanging ball, toss ball and balance ball between the big cup and handle (not the spike)
- "Lighthouse" - hold ball, dead hanging ken, toss ken upward and balance it on ball for 3 seconds minimum
- "Trip around Japan" - dead hanging ball, toss and catch with small cup, then to big cup, then to spike (or any order, just catch ball on these three)
- "around the world" - dead hanging ball, catch with big cup, toss and catch with small cup, toss and catch with base, toss and impale on spike (or any order, just catch ball with all four points)
- "acrobat/superman" - ball on spike and holding the string, then swing outward, catch kendama in the air and catch the ball on base cup
ADVANCED
- "alien head" - dead hanging ball, toss ball and catch on spike, landing the ball off-center and wobbling.
- "earth turn" - ball on spike, toss ball off spike, and impale on spike
- "jumping stick" - ball on spike, invert and hold the ball (ken on top), toss ken up so it does a complete turn, then catch ken by the spike (same position as the start)
- "lighthouse flip" - hold ball and balance ken by base cup on ball (spike pointing upward), toss ken up so it does a complete turn, then balance ken on ball for 3 seconds minimum
- "lunar" - dead hanging ken, hold the ball, swing ken upward and balance ken on big cup for 3 seconds minimum