Free practice sitting

Flash anzan kentei 20 to 11 kyu: the first ten levels

The first ten levels of the flash anzan ladder use small numbers that never carry. From 20 kyu to 13 kyu every number is a single digit; on Kani's ladder, 12 and 11 kyu move to two digits, still without carrying. The practice sitting below runs any of the ten, and the table shows which figures the Flash Anzan Kentei Association publishes and which are Kani's settings.

10 levels
1- and 2-digit numbers
No carrying
10 questions a sitting

Free, no sign-up, no download

Choose a level

20 kyu3 × 1-digit, 5 s

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Pick a level and start: ten short bursts of numbers, and after the last number of each you type the total. At these speeds there is time to picture every bead move, the habit the faster tiers depend on.

The level's own pace

Every number gets an equal, frame-timed share of the level's total time, with a blank beat before the next one.

Ten fresh sequences

Each sitting draws ten new sequences built to the level's digit width, count and carrying rules.

Marked with the bands

70 or more passes and 50 or 60 is a semi-pass. Every missed sequence is then shown beside its total.

The levels in this tier

Each row gives a level's digit width, how many numbers flash, the time for the whole sequence and the time each number is on screen. The note under the table says where each row's figures come from: the Flash Anzan Kentei Association's published table, or Kani's own setting.

20 to 11 kyu: digits, numbers and times

Level	Digits	Numbers	Total time	Per number
20 kyu	1	3	5 s	1.667 s
19 kyu	1	3	5 s	1.667 s
18 kyu	1	5	7 s	1.4 s
17 kyu	1	8	10 s	1.25 s
16 kyu	1	10	12 s	1.2 s
15 kyu	1	12	15 s	1.25 s
14 kyu	1	15	15 s	1 s
13 kyu	1	20	15 s	0.75 s
12 kyu	2	10	10 s	1 s
11 kyu	2	15	15 s	1 s

The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's online kentei table leaves the time blank for 20 to 18 kyu; the times shown come from its page for schools. For 17 to 14 kyu, its table confirms single digits without carrying, and the counts and times are Kani's. The 2-digit rows at 12 and 11 kyu are Kani's settings.

What these levels ask

The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's table opens its ladder with three image levels: 3 single-digit numbers at 20 kyu and 19 kyu, then 5 at 18 kyu, all without carrying. In soroban teaching this is the stage where a child starts to move the beads in the mind instead of on the frame, so each number has plenty of time: 1.667 seconds at 20 kyu.

From 17 kyu the sequences lengthen while the numbers stay small: 8 numbers at 17 kyu, rising to 20 at 13 kyu in 15 seconds, where each number is on screen for 0.75 seconds. Nothing carries, so the work is holding the total steady across a long run rather than handling big numbers.

At 12 and 11 kyu Kani's ladder moves to two digits, still without carrying: first whole tens, then any 2-digit numbers whose ones and tens never carry. After 11 kyu comes 10 kyu, where carrying begins and the count drops back to 2. That is the next tier.

How Kani builds the numbers

The Flash Anzan Kentei Association does not publish its questions, so Kani generates every sequence. At 20 to 18 kyu the numbers are only added, each is between 1 and 9, and no step needs a carry. The same number never flashes twice in a row, and a blank beat separates every pair anyway.

No carrying keeps a single-digit running total between 0 and 9. With 8 added numbers of at least 1, the total already reaches 8, which leaves almost no choice of digits, and with ten it would pass 9. So from 17 kyu, the first level with 8 numbers, Kani subtracts some numbers: the first number is always added, the running total never goes below zero, and a question never ends on a total of 0. Moves that use the five bead (small friends) are allowed; moves that need a ten (big friends) are not. The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's table does not say whether its no-carry levels subtract, so this part is Kani's reading.

12 kyu uses whole tens from 10 to 90, built the same way on the tens column. 11 kyu uses any 2-digit numbers, added and subtracted, with no carry or borrow on either column. Every sequence is checked move by move against the bead-rule classifier the Kani app's own drills use.

One sample sequence per level

One sequence per level, generated once by the same engine as the practice sitting and printed here in the order the numbers flash. A number with a minus sign is subtracted. Read a row once, left to right, at an even pace, then open the total to check.

20 kyu3 × 1-digit, 5 s
531
Show the total
Total:9
19 kyu3 × 1-digit, 5 s
521
Show the total
Total:8
18 kyu5 × 1-digit, 7 s
21213
Show the total
Total:9
17 kyu8 × 1-digit, 10 s
18−4−56−351
Show the total
Total:9
16 kyu10 × 1-digit, 12 s
241−521−57−67
Show the total
Total:8
15 kyu12 × 1-digit, 15 s
7−3−436−431−86−45
Show the total
Total:8
14 kyu15 × 1-digit, 15 s
54−62−3−134−2−52−143−8
Show the total
Total:1
13 kyu20 × 1-digit, 15 s
41−32−15−2−1−514−36−817−53−1−4
Show the total
Total:1
12 kyu10 × 2-digit, 10 s
1050−6070−60−1070−30−1030
Show the total
Total:60
11 kyu15 × 2-digit, 15 s
43−401175−5161−51−2758−634012−2540−81
Show the total
Total:2

How to practise

Start where every answer is easy
Stay on a level until ten out of ten comes without strain, then move up. At these levels accuracy matters more than speed: a pass with seven correct still leaves three habits to fix.
Picture the beads, not the digits
A child who learned on the soroban usually does best by moving imagined beads for each number. If you notice counting on fingers or whispering the numbers, drop back a level and slow the rhythm.
Give subtraction its own attention
From 17 kyu a minus sign appears. Before a sitting, read a sample aloud and say “minus” with every subtracted number, so the imagined beads move the right way when the flash is silent.
Keep sessions short
Two or three sittings at a level, then stop. Short, frequent practice keeps attention high, and a fresh set of ten is drawn every time you start.

Common questions

Are 20 to 18 kyu timed?

The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's online kentei table gives no time for them. Its page for schools gives 5, 5 and 7 seconds, and Kani's practice sitting uses those times.

Why are some numbers subtracted from 17 kyu?

Without carrying, a single-digit total can never pass 9. With 8 added numbers of at least 1, the total already reaches 8, which leaves almost no choice of digits, and ten or more would pass 9. Kani therefore mixes in subtracted numbers from 17 kyu, the first level with 8 numbers. The Flash Anzan Kentei Association's table does not say whether its own no-carry levels subtract.

What does “no carrying” mean on the abacus?

The total never needs a ten carried to the next rod, or borrowed from it. Every number goes on or comes off the rods already in use, directly or with the help of the five bead, so no move ever reaches over to the next rod for a carry.

When is a child ready for 10 kyu?

When 11 kyu passes comfortably, or when the child can already add 2-digit numbers mentally with carrying. 10 kyu flashes only 2 numbers, but they carry, which is a new skill rather than a longer version of the old one.

Sources

Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by the Japan Flash Anzan Kentei Association (Nihon Flash Anzan Kentei Kyokai), the League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren), the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren) or any other exam body. The levels on these pages are a practice ladder modelled on the one that association publishes: levels the table notes name as Kani practice settings carry Kani's own values, every sequence is generated by Kani, and a practice result is not a certification. Flash Anzan is a trademark of its owner. Exam details can change, so confirm them with whoever runs your sitting.