Going Pro with The Kan Jam Game

To help you in going pro with the Kan Jam game, here I am going to talk about every other aspect of this rapidly growing game while also focusing on improving your skills. Plus, I will also discuss the rules, point system and also the dos and don’ts. Whether you just want to become a professional in this game, or just want to hone your skills; this article should suffice.

Although the rules and mechanics of Kan Jam are not that complicated, the game itself is fairly difficult to master. To master it, you must play it regularly. If you have a good hand in throwing a frisbee that should help a lot in becoming a pro.

Charles Sciandra and Paul Swisher may have never thought that their messing around with frisbee and garbage cans would turn out to be a super popular backyard game. Not only that, a professional scene of Kan Jam has been formed. Its skill level, excitement, and popularity have been going through the ceiling recently.

 How to Play Kan Jam?

To put it simply, your partner throws a frisbee-like disk, which is called Kan Jam disk to a specially designed bucket, which is called the goal. While your partner throws, your job is to help the disk to go into the goal by deflecting with your hands.

You play against a team of two whose goal is also the same as you. The first team to score 21 after equal throws are the winners.

The one who throws the disk is called the thrower, his partner who tries to deflect the disk is called the deflector.

After each throw, the roles are reversed. After one team completes both roles, the opposite team takes turns.

In the picture above the red circles are two team members, the two yellow circles are their opponents, the blue circle is the Kan Jam disk and the black circles are the goals.

Members of the same team are placed opposite to each other and the members of the opposite team are placed on both sides of the goals.

Point system

You can either score 1, 2, or 3 points. There is also an instant win system. Let’s break those down:

• If your teammate deflects the disk and is able to touch the goal, your team scores 1 point. This is called a dinger.
• If you can hit the goal without any assistance from your teammate, your team scores 2 points. This is called deuce.
• If you throw the disk and your teammate deflects the disk into the bucket, your team scores 3 points. This is called a bucket.
• If your throw directly goes into the bucket, either through the top of the front slot; your team instantly wins.

Note that the first team to reach 21 points is not the winner. As I mentioned before, each team must have an equal number of throws. However, if one team scores 21 and the other team is at 15, there’s no way that they can reach 21. So, the game ends there. You might question what if there is a tie? In case of a tie:

• An overtime round is started.
• Whoever reaches 21 points second, throws second.
• The first team that throws, no matter what score the team achieves, the team throwing second must score above that.
• If they score below that, they lose the game.
• If they score equal, another overtime round is started.
• This is unlimited over time and continues until a winner is decided.

What about scoring more than 21?

If your team’s score is 19 and scores a bucket, the score does not become 19+3=22. Instead, 3 is deducted from the initial score.

So, the score becomes 19-3=16. So, you must be aware of what your score is currently and what you must score.

Things you can’t do

There are certain rules that you can’t break. Let’s take a look at them:

• There’s a line that you cannot cross when throwing.
• The deflector cannot catch the disk.
• The deflector cannot carry the disk.
• The deflector cannot double hit the disk.
• The opposing team cannot interfere with the deflector or defend the goal.

Pro Tips on Improving Your Kan Jam Game

Although the game sounds easy, it is not. Throwing and deflecting requires a lot of practice. Both you and your teammate must coordinate to win a game. If a throw is good but deflection is bad, it is fruitless and vice versa. Let’s talk about how to sharpen your skills in this game:

1. Don’t always play in good weather. Try in windy, rainy, cold, hot weather, etc. This will improve your deflecting skills.
2. Improve your wrist-game for better throwing. Try to direct your throws with the help of your wrist, not with the arm or the entire body.
3. When deflecting, try to position the disk between the goal and yourself. This will give you a much better chance of bucketing.
4. Try to use both hands for deflecting. Although that might not be possible always. But when possible, try to achieve this skill.
5. Try to manipulate the numbers to your advantage. Try to stay on points that are multiples of 3.

Kan Jam Equipment: Buy or Make?

You can either make the gears yourself or buy them. Making them on your own will save you some bucks. However, we are only going to talk about making the Kan Jam goals, not the disk. Because making a disk that will fly perfectly through the air is difficult. Plus, the disks are pretty cheap and you can buy them from stores at any time.

The goals are pricey and they are also easy to make at home. The things that you will need are as follows:

1. Polywall utility panels
2. Hex bolts and nuts (¼-inch)
3. Drill machine
4. Marker
5. Measuring tape
6. Duct tape
7. Knife

Procedure

Step 1: Select the size

The ideal height and diameter of Kan Jam goals are 20 inches and 16 inches respectively. But you can go for slightly more. When selecting the diameter, be sure to have some extra inches for overlaps.

Step 2: Trace and cut according to the size

Trace on the Polywall with permanent markers using a scale ruler. Then cut carefully using a sharp knife. Be careful during this step and try not to hurt yourself.

Step 3: Make the slot

Cutting the slot will be difficult after making the panels into a barrel. So, I suggest making the slot beforehand. Trace with a marker and cut with a knife. You can choose any measurement, but I suggest the slot to be 3 inches below the top and 12 inches wide.

Step 4: Hold together with duct tape

Role both edges together overlapping one side over the other and then join them together with duct tape.

Step 5: Drill holes

Take a drilling machine and make a few holes where the two sides of the poly wall overlap.

Step 6: Screw in the bolts

First screw in the bolts, then the nuts and tighten them up. You can also use washers to make it more secure. And that’s it! You are done! Enjoy an exciting round of Kan Jam with your friends and family.

If all of this seems a bit confusing to you, try checking out the video below which explains this whole process quite nicely.

Tutorial Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XmGX1f8yG0

Now, this may seem like a lot of work and expecting everyone has the required tools would be foolish. So, if you want to buy Kan Jam equipment instead, you can find them here.

Conclusion

It’s pretty amazing that despite the abundance of sports that are equally fun in the backyard like soccer check out this article. This very recent and simple game has gained so much attention and becomes popular. Kan Jam is simple and fun. If you think you are too good at it, there’s a pro scene waiting for you. You can also arrange family or friend tournaments in your backyard.

I believe that after reading this article you have enough knowledge for going pro with the Kan Jam game and can finally have the upper hand over your rivals. Thanks for reading, and best of luck with having tons of fun with your friends and family.