Kendama for concentration

Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy.  Kendama is a wooden, cup-and-ball game. The  ball, called a tama in Japanese, is attached by a string to a handle, called a ken in Japanese, with three cups and a spike. It is used to perform tricks by catching the ball on the cups or on the spike.

But more than just a toy, kendama has proven to be a tool to hone concentration skills. It develops focus as well as balance and creativity. When kendama is played, the activities of the prefrontal cortex is extremely suppressed. This is a phenomenon that occurs when the brain is focused on one thing. It might be useful for current "jukensei" (students with entrance exams coming up) to calm the mind and improve their study power!

Kendama is also a competitive sport, with established formal rules, competitions, and grading systems. Reportedly, the number of acrobatic techniques and super-difficulty techniques exceeds thirty thousand. I think almost every Japanese person has played kendama at some point, but not everyone can master the complex skills. It takes a lot of practice and concentration.